Michaels-Beerbaum Can't Be Beaten At Stuttgart

But American Kate Levy makes a strong showing.

It had been 20 years since the legendary combination of John Whitaker and Milton accomplished the feat of winning both the Mercedes German Master and the Grand Prix of Stuttgart at the Stuttgart CSI (Germany), but on Nov. 19-23, Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum and Shutterfly made short work of doing it again.

Michaels-Beerbaum left no doubt about the fact that she came to Stuttgart to win, and everything went perfectly for her. “I wanted to achieve a good starting position in the first qualifier for the German Master, a speed class,” Michaels-Beerbaum said. This plan worked out as she and Shutterfly took second place behind Germany’s Janne-Friederike Meyer and Lambrasco on Thursday evening.

In the second qualifier early Friday evening, Michaels-Beerbaum rode Le Mans, with whom she turned in a safe but slow round. With a 15th place she safely qualified for the final of the best 12 riders from the two qualifiers.

With the greatest of ease in his jumping, Shutterfly made it into the jump-off of the final with seven more riders. American rider Kate Levy set the mark in the jump-off with a clear round in 40.96 seconds on the gray Belgian gelding Vent du Nord.

Her time proved hard to beat, but Michaels-Beerbaum and Shutterfly dared an inside turn no one else had tried to shave off almost 1 second and take the top check. “I asked some colleagues if they believed that it would be possible to take the inside turn. They all said no, but I tried it nevertheless and it worked out. I believed in myself and my horse and succeeded.

“The Mercedes German Master is one of the best competitions we have in the show jumping sport. With its two qualifiers and a final, in which only the 12 best riders of the two qualifiers may compete, it is something very special. I have twice won the Grand Prix of Stuttgart but never before the German Master.”

The thrill of her victories was tinged with a bit of remorse at missing out on an individual medal from the 2008 Olympic Games in Hong Kong. “I still mind that I did not take the inside turn over the flowers in the jump-off for an individual [bronze] medal at the Hong Kong Olympics, though I am more upset for Shutterfly than for myself,” said Michaels-Beerbaum. “He really deserved to have his name in Olympic Games history. He has won medals in all championships besides the Olympics.”

While the Italian Uliano Vezzani received praise for his courses at Stuttgart, the number of clear rounds in the Grand Prix of Stuttgart slipped out of his control. Of the first 15 combinations to jump, nine went clean—eight more joined them, bringing the jump-off total to 17.

Michaels-Beerbaum and Shutterfly joined that list, though a rail kept Levy and Vent Du Nord from the second round. Michaels-Beerbaum acknowledged that she had a few lucky rubs on her way around the first course.

“I thought if I had so much luck in the initial round, then it was all the more reason to take great risk in the jump-off,” she said. And so she did.