There was no getting past Patrick Stühlmeyer (Osnabrück) anymore. The 31-year-old show jumper had already collected so many points over the season before the final leg of the Bemer Riders Tour 2021 that he was already determined as "Rider of the year" before the final in Hagen am Teutoburger Wald.
Now he added another point, so that he ended the season victoriously with 54 points from five starts. Second place in the final ranking went to Dominique Hendrickx from Belgium with 37 points, ahead of Angelique Rüsen (33 points). The victory in the sixth and final leg went to the Swede Henrik von Eckermann with Glamour Girl after two clear rounds. Dominique Hendrickx came second with Koriano Van Klapscheut ahead of Janne Friederike Meyer-Zimmermann (Pinneberg) with Messi van't Ruytershof. Both pairs had also come through the two rounds without any faults.
For Patrick Stühlmeyer, winning the Riders Tour was a dream come true: "I am super happy. To win the title here in front of my home crowd makes me incredibly proud. For me, this is the biggest success of my career," said the rider from Osnabrück, who was born in Georgsmarienhütte, in the immediate vicinity of Hagen a. T. W. He was the most consistent rider throughout the season, collecting at least ten points in each of his five starts. "I had four different horses in five jumping events, was zero in every jumping event. There I have to thank my boss, he made me super mounted over the whole year," said Stühlmeyer, who rides for the stable of Riders Tour organizer Paul Schockemöhle in Mühlen.
Thanks to his points cushion, the bronze medal winner of the 2021 German Championships was able to watch the jump-off of the last leg in Hagen relaxed from the stands. Although Stühlmeyer had managed a clear first round with the Württemberg mare Carmina (by Casall - Cassini I), the two were a little too slow, so that they missed the second round with one penalty point for time infringement. For 15th place they still got another point in the Riders Tour standings and for the title even a car, which he was allowed to test on the lap of honor right after the award ceremony. "The car was a bit faster than the rider in the course afterwards," Stühlmeyer said, laughing. "But my horse did great. I already wanted to be in the mix a bit here, took another point at the end and rode the final home super."
For Angelique Rüsen (Marl), the podium finish is also another milestone in her career. In 2018, she became the German champion in show jumping. She had already won the silver medal in each of the two previous years. She traveled to the last Riders Tour leg in second place in the intermediate ranking. The 30-year-old started with the French stallion Atomic Z in Hagen. However, after a refusal shortly before the end of the first round, the rider gave up and had to watch how the Belgian Hendrickx still passed her in the overall ranking. "In the end, everything has to fit. Unfortunately, I couldn't take my best horse with me to Hagen. Atomic was actually in really good shape, but today was just not my day." Still, she said it was special for her to be on the Riders Tour podium for the first time. She had won the fourth leg in Donaueschingen with her top horse Arac du Seigneur. "I haven't won so many Grand Prix to say I'm in the front every week. I had set my sights high for today and hoped it would work out. Third place means a lot to me."
After opening in Hagen in April 2021, the Riders Tour season led via the Horse Festival Redefin, Pferd International in Munich and Donaueschingen-Immenhöfe back to Hagen, where the fifth leg was held as part of the European Dressage Championships. The final should actually have taken place in Neumünster in February. However, the Corona requirements made it impossible for the organizers to implement this plan. So, as so often in the months before, there was a change of plans. Now, the 2021 Riders Tour Final took place in Hagen at the "Horses&Dreams meets Canada" edition first, before the Grand Prix is on the program on Sunday at 2 pm. This jumping competition is at the same time the evaluation and opening competition of the Riders Tour season 2022. To the great fortune of riders and spectators alike, both the show organizers, the Kasselmann family, and the sponsor, the Bemer company, pulled together.
Source: edited press release