Phillipp Weishaupt will take on the next leg of the Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping at CHI Geneva in December. Photo courtesy of the Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping.
On Sunday, Philipp Weishaupt won the CP ‘International’ Grand Prix, presented by Rolex, at the CSIO Spruce Meadows ‘Masters’, celebrating the second Major victory in his career following his triumph in the Rolex Grand Prix at CHIO Aachen in 2016.
The Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping interviewed the 32-year-old German rider about his latest sensational result.
Congratulations on your victory! Other riders spend their lives dreaming about winning a Major—you are now celebrating your second win. Are you as elated as the first time around?
Philipp Weishaupt: Definitely! Aachen and Calgary, these are two Grands Prix that every rider wants to win once in their lives. I simply can’t describe in words the feeling of having won both in my comparably young career! My sincere thanks go to my horse, LB Convall, who contributed so much toward these victories. Without him, they wouldn’t have been possible. He has simply incredible quality!
When we won in Aachen, LB Convall was just 9 years old and at the start of his career. The victory came as a surprise for many people and made him famous on the international circuit overnight. In Calgary, we were among the favorites from the very beginning, and it wasn’t exactly easy for me to fulfill this role. But LB Convall actually did make it easy for me. He gave me a fantastic feeling throughout the whole week of the show and he jumped superbly on Sunday.
After all, he knows Spruce Meadows very well…
Indeed. At the young age of 10, [he] has already been to Calgary five times and loves the International Ring. He feels particularly at home on such a huge grass arena. We spent five weeks competing at the summer show series here in Spruce Meadows this year and last. That was always great preparation for CHIO Aachen, and of course, also for the ‘Masters’.
In the next two legs of the Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping, you will be competing indoors and on sand. How do you rate your chances at winning an upcoming Major?
I believe in LB Convall’s quality… and [I] will, of course, prepare him as well as I can for the indoor shows. We can train as hard as possible and be in fantastic form, but at the end of the day, we still need that extra bit of luck on top to win a Major.
What Scott Brash pulled off two years ago—three Major victories in a row—was sensational, and probably no one will be able to repeat that feat in a hurry. But the Grand Slam legs are the four best shows in the world. Uniting the two best indoor shows and the two best outdoor shows is something very special, and every rider dreams of winning the Grand Slam. I will certainly concentrate all my energy on this goal!