The final chapter of Codex One’s incredible career will come to a close tomorrow afternoon after as he officially retires ahead of the LGCT Grand Prix of Hamburg. The 17-year-old bay stallion has had multiple International CSI5* wins over his extraordinary lifetime in show jumping, winning three LGCT Grand Prix - Hamburg 2013, Valkenswaard 2014 and Berlin in 2017. Christian Ahlmann took over the ride of Codex One in 2011 and over the past eight years their partnership has grown from strength to strength. Owned by Christian's long time partners Marion Jauss, Codex One will go down in history as one of the best in the sport. An emotional Ahlmann said: ‘So many dreams came true with him, he is a fantastic horse and I am very thankful for what he has done for me, it is now time to say goodbye, a sad moment but I am grateful he is retiring so fit, healthy and enjoying life.’ His retirement ceremony will commence at 14.30 in the Derby-Park arena tomorrow afternoon where he will have his saddle taken off for one last time. Thousand of spectators will get to witness this special occasion and give Codex One the send-off he truly deserves. Following the announcement of Codex One’s retirement a press conference was held in preparation for when the Tour takes to Berlin, Germany's capital city. Looking ahead to the third edition of LGCT Berlin (26-28 July 2019) Volker Wulff, the General Director explained: ‘It is great to take people to the capital city, our aim is to get people gathered around the sport and we know we are in the right place when the seats are full - like last year. We are looking forward to welcoming everyone back for the 13th leg of the 2019 Season.’ LGCT and GCL Sports Director Marco Danese praised the quality of riders competing this year: ‘GCL is stronger than ever, we are have almost all of the best riders in the world taking part." He also commented on the importance of Germany's capital in the global calendar. "It was a dream to come to Berlin as we have a lot of European capitals so it only made sense to include it. It was a huge success in the first year and of the spectators of Germany loved it. Our goal is to have competitions in the centre of cities. This has changed our sport a little as normally they were always outside of the city. We try to combine the new events in the city with some traditional events outside but the mix is very important. We aim to attract new people to our sport, attract more people, more media, more tv and make a show." German rider Christian Ahlmann also spoke about GCL ‘I am motivated to have some big wins this year - having six riders [in a team] means we can all look ahead and plan our schedule. It also allows us to save our horses' energy for the second half of the season and aim for the finals.’ For more information on LGCT Berlin, please click here. The GCL Hamburg second round and the LGCT Grand Prix of Hamburg will be available to watch live tomorrow on our website - GC TVat 12.00 and 15.15 (local time) respectively.
