Photo: Thomas Hellmann

Hamburg - The name already gives it away: When he steps onto the course, great things can happen. And so it was when Dominator 2000 Z and his rider Christian Ahlmann flew to victory in the Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of Hamburg in what felt like seven-mile boots in the jump-off: "His breeder already gave him the name and it fits. He is very self-confident, I'm sure he already was as a foal," laughed Ahlmann in an interview with NDR, which broadcasts about eight hours of top-level equestrian sport from Klein Flottbek during the Derby week.

This victory brought him prize money of 99,000 Euros, but it also had another meaning for the 47-year-old show jumper from Marl: "Dominator is a very special horse for us. In the Grand Prix he simply jumped like a hammer and in the jump-off he needed one less canter jump at almost every distance," Ahlmann enthused about the 12-year-old stallion from Zangersheide. "These are the special horses that you need as a rider to be able to stand right at the front in such competitions." Christian Ahlmann has had Dominator 2000 Z in his stables since he was four years old, initially the focus was on breeding, but for a few years now it has been on sport. But the Corona period initially put the brakes on the black stallion's career: "He is simply a dream horse. He's already twelve now, but he hasn't had the chance to show himself that often and this is our first really big victory and I hope that nothing will get in the way now so that we can still enjoy his sporting career."

Christian Ahlmann had already won the Grand Prix of Hamburg in 2013 with his legendary Codex One: "I have been coming here for many, many years, I always enjoy coming here also because of the connection to the Jauß family. We always have a very nice week in Hamburg and today is a special day. Hopefully a starting signal for a successful future together." This success will certainly help to recommend themselves to the national coach for the Championships in the World Cup year.
 
There was a curiosity in second place, because two pairs managed a clear jump-off with exactly the same time and so European Champion André Thieme with his European Championship horse DSP Chakaria and the Irish rider Michael Pender with HHS Calais shared the silver ribbon. Pender felt visibly at ease with his horse on the beautiful grass arena in Klein Flottbek, which defied the moody rainy weather in Hamburg: "It is a fantastic tournament and I am happy to be able to ride here. Calais feels very comfortable here and he jumped super!"

André Thieme finds himself in incredibly good form with DSP Chakaria, currently riding from success to success - victories in the USA and in Mannheim, now the second place in Hamburg: "I know that I have something very special about this horse. Everything is really different for me at the moment. I get to choose the competitions and stakes for Chakaria and there is almost a danger of not jumping enough. That's why it was important for me to do well today. I just try to keep her healthy. We now have another Nations' Cup in Sopot and then comes Aachen. I just hope it all stays like this!"

Derby organiser Volker Wulff was pleased with the best attendance figures for the tournament classic despite the adverse weather: "The people are here, it's packed, we have a Saturday like we didn't have even in the nicest weather - we are very happy!"
 
 
The Derby Sunday brings the classics of the tournament. The pony riders will start the day in the Anrecht Investment Dressage Arena with the German Pony Dressage Derby presented by Selleria Equipe. This will be followed by the Almased 62nd German Dressage Derby. Both finals will be decided in horse and pony changes respectively. In the jumping stadium, ambitious non-professionals will have the chance to experience real Derby feeling with the Amateur Derby in the Spooks Amateur Trophy, before the tension rises to immeasurable heights: in the 91st German Jumping Derby presented by IDEE KAFFEE.
 
The box office will also be open on the last day of the Derby and standing-room tickets are still available. In addition, tickets for 2023 are already available at the Derby Square.
Tickets from 2020 remain valid for 2022. Currently there are no Corona regulations. We ask visitors to be considerate and keep their distance.

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(SySa/EquiWords)