Longines Global Champions Tour brings world-class sport to iconic site in Berlin

Berlin’s event, taking place from July 28-30, is the 11th stop of 15 around the planet on the Tour, which will wrap up in November in Doha, Qatar. And Marco Danese, Sporting Director of the Global Champions Tour and team-based Global Champions League, welcomes the addition to the Tour of this second German city (after Hamburg) from the equestrian powerhouse country.

“We have many events in capital cities — we have Paris, Rome, London for example,” Danese says, “so Berlin is a natural place to have an event. We’re very excited to have one here for the first time, and have had a fantastic response from the riders. As you can see we have eight out of the top ten in the world coming here — we have all the best riders in Berlin and we will see top sport here.”

The Longines Global Champions Tour and parallel Global Champions League is indeed known for its beautiful and emblematic competition sites, and the Sommergaten fits that bill. The site is a 10,000 square metre park in the heart of this city of 3.5 million people, which has housed a sculpture garden dedicated to Berlin artists since 1981. It is located beside the Messe Berlin exhibition complex, built in the 1930s, as well as the Berlin Radio Tower (Berliner Funkturm), a 147-metre tower which is one of the most recognized landmarks in Berlin. 

Volker Wulff, Managing Director of Berlin Equestrian Events, explains that organizing the location at the sensitive and compact site has been a logistical challenge: “The Sommergarten is a very special place, so we are not able to enter with huge trucks and tractors, but we have built [the show ground] up beautifully and I am very happy with the set up.” And Dirk Hoffmann, Managing Director of Messe Berlin, adds that, “The Sommergarten is the ‘green breath’ of Berlin. We are proud to host such a highlight in equestrianism.” 

German show jumper Holger Wulschner, who will be among the elite CSI5* riders in Berlin this weekend, echoed the enthusiasm of the show’s organizers: “An equestrian event like this in Berlin is long overdue! I’m sure that with the top riders we have already confirmed for this debut here, it’s going to be established very soon as a top equestrian sporting venue.” 

Wulschner is part of a contingent of 15 Germans who will be competing on home soil in Berlin, alongside riders such as Christian Ahlmann and Ludger Beerbaum, and they will be taking on other champions from around the planet, including Canada’s Eric Lamaze, the United States’ Kent Farrington, France’s Simon Delestre, Ireland’s Bertam Allen and Denis Lynch, and Great Britain’s Scott Brash, Ben Maher and Emily Moffitt.

The elite riders will also join together on ‘multinational’ teams in the parallel Global Champions League, which equally serves as a qualifier for Saturday’s €300,000 CSI5* Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of Berlin. The Berlin Lions squad will be hoping to move up the GCL rankings, which are currently led by the Hamburg Diamonds.