Hanne Christensen

Another protégé of the great Ludger Beerbaum is on the ascent. The Swedish rider Henrick von Eckermann, 30, won his first World Cup-qualifier at the Mechelen CSI (Belgium) on Dec. 30. Von Eckermann has worked for Beerbaum since 2002; top riders Marco Kutscher and Phillip Weishaupt are also part of Beerbaum’s team.

In November, Steve Guerdat took over as No. 1 on the Rolex Ranking, a climb up from third last month. Rolf-Göran Bengtsson, who had been No. 1 on the ranking for the last 10 months, has dropped down to fourth place. Nick Skelton remains as No. 2 while Christian Ahlmann climbed from fifth to third.

Although Bengtsson lost his position as No. 1, his groom for 13 years, Celia Rijntjes, made sure that Stall Bengtsson Kristoffersen had something to celebrate as she was named best groom at the FEI Awards on Nov. 8.

In Europe, a big topic of conversation is the draft rules drawn up for the FEI Nations Cup, which have raised concerns among the riders as well as the different federations.

In Europe, May has been the real kick-off of the outdoor season with two legs of the Top League and three Global Champions Tour shows. Germany and Belgium have so far been strong in the Top League while Ireland and France have struggled a bit. But as we all know, things can change fast in this sport.

Our friends at www.worldofshowjumping.com are providing monthly updates about all the happenings in European show jumping, not just who wins what, but all the biggest news.

Our friends at www.worldofshowjumping.com are providing monthly updates about all the happenings in European show jumping, not just who wins what, but all the biggest news.