Ludger Beerbaum: a small beer to mark the occasion

When the official message from the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) arrived by email yesterday evening, Ludger Beerbaum had just got off his horse after a long Late-Entry tournament day and was preparing for a nice evening of football. “We are all super happy. In response to this promise, we first allowed ourselves a small beer, ”says the owner of Riesenbeck International. So now it’s official: The Riesenbeck International Equestrian Centre is the host of the European Show Jumping Championships in 2021. From August 30th to September 4th, the decision who wins what kind of medal will be made in the large grass stadium at the Surenburg! That means an accolade for the entire team and recognition for the show ground of Ludger Beerbaum. 

The international federation did not make the decision to host the championship at all easy: Due to the postponement of the Olympic Summer Games in Tokyo from 2020 to 2021, the European Championships were first cancelled. After the appeal of many riders, coaches and also the associations, the world federation withdrew the rejection. “We then threw our application into the ring,” says the four-time Olympic champion Ludger Beerbaum, who also has six gold medals, three silver and two bronze medals at European Championships. He has been gaining experience as an event organizer for six years and can implement his own – high – demands with the ultra-modern Riesenbeck International facility and meet the wishes of his colleagues.

 “Of course there are still things that can be improved,” says Beerbaum. The promise to host the prestigious European Championship is intended to give another push to work on perfection. 

But Ludger Beerbaum wouldn’t be true to himself if he didn’t curb the euphoria a little: “Nobody knows how the corona pandemic will develop up to 2021. Such a large event needs to be well thought out and implemented. It’s about a big budget that needs to be raised. We now have until the end of January 2021 to go into detail. I am confident that after the three months of planning we can give the final okay to let the EM take place here. “ Now, of course, it is also a matter of representing the local “Muensterland” region internationally with this event – and of winning fellows and supporters so that this European Championship becomes an unforgettable event.