Markus Beerbaum & Charmed. ph: DKB Riders Tour.
For Germany’s Markus Beerbaum, his win in the DKB-Riders Tour was nothing short of a family affair. Ludger Beerbaum won the event five times, Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum won three times, and now, the latest Beerbaum has followed suit four days before his 47th birthday.
“It feels great,” Beerbaum laughed after winning the title, “I’m still on my comeback year and [securing] the victory in the Riders Tour is beautiful. We have a great tradition in the series as a family, and now that I am successful after many years is beautiful.”
Partnered with the nine-year-old Hanoverian mare Charmed, which belongs to seven-year-old daughter Brianne, Beerbaum ended the six-leg tour with a leading 41 points to secure the win on November 12, 2017 at Olympic Hall in Munich, Germany.
“Charmed belongs to my daughter and she was very excited,” said Beerbaum. The young horse owner doesn’t have a driver’s license yet, so it was Beerbaum who drove away with the Mercedes Benz G 350 d that was awarded to the winner of the DKB Riders Tour.
As if directed by Hitchcock, the sixth and final special leg of the DKB-Riders Tour was filled with drama. Germany’s birthday boy Jens Baackmann entered the competiton as one of the top three. As the first starter in the test, he remained without jumping errors, though picked up a pesky time fault.
“My weekend was perfect”, summed up Baackmann. “On Saturday I won the Gold Cup, and today 2nd in the DKB-Riders Tour – I couldn’t have a better birthday.”
Christian Rhomberg and Philip Rüping tied for 3rd place honors. Felix Hassmann, victor in Sunday’s Grand Prix, finished in an overall 4th place.
The full results and point system can be viewed here.