Daniel Deusser almost felt the same way as his horse Gringovantelzenhout. When the pair rode into the “Bird’s Nest” for the first time on Friday morning, they were incredibly awestruck. Both of them.
At the “Longines Equestrian Beijing Masters”, ten of the best show-jumpers in the world meet up with the best Chinese riders. They compete against each other in the Olympic stadium of Beijing, however on Saturday a team competition is also on the agenda. Whilst the Chinese athletes are competing on their own horses, the international riders have to borrow horses due to the quarantine regulations. The eighth edition of the Beijing Masters is a premiere for Daniel Deusser. The current number 6 in the Longines Rankings is particularly impressed by the stadium and the setting: “The Bird’s Nest is incredible, totally amazing, what a sensational stadium.”
It goes without saying that Daniel Deusser would also like to ride to victory here, even if the concept is different to that of other shows. The focus here lies on the exchange between the international and the Chinese riders, Deusser and co. are to share their experiences and thus help the ambitious Chinese riders to establish themselves at international level. “I am very eager to see what happens here and am very much looking forward to the days in Beijing,” commented the top German rider. Even if the extreme pressure to do well on one’s own top horses is lacking, Deusser is taking a very ambitious approach to the show: I didn’t fly to Beijing just to take part. I take the event very seriously, so there is a certain amount of pressure there, not to the same extent as usual, of course.” He is also curious to see how well his international colleagues do, “it is going to be exciting to see how well we get on with the borrowed horses.”
He is also particularly looking forward to seeing what the sporting level of the show is like: “I haven’t got a clue how well the Chinese ride and if we can keep up with them with our horses.” Especially since the efforts of his show jumping colleague, Ludger Beerbaum, have achieved such a good development among the Chinese equestrians that it actually does seem possible that we could see a Chinese victory in the Longines Grand Prix for the first time on Sunday. That wouldn’t be a problem for Daniel Deusser: “It might be a good thing, if they leave us trailing behind here,” he grinned.