15 Feb “Ladies’ choice” – two female riders at the top for the final leg of the BEMER Riders Tour
(Neumünster) The VR CLASSICS in Neumünster from 16 – 19 February 2023 are the eighth and last stage of the BEMER Riders Tour and before the series’ finale two women dominate the ranking. Janne Friederike Meyer-Zimmermann from Pinneberg leads after seven stages held in four countries. Sophie Hinners from Pfungstadt follows in second place and the Dane Mathias Norhaeden Johannsen is in third position.
This trio forms the leading group at the BEMER Riders Tour leg in Neumünster’s Holstenhallen. And as with all the previous stages, the rule applies that a qualification class is ridden first and then the rating competition follows. This is where the points are awarded that count towards the ranking.
Two competitions with great relevance
On Saturday, 18 February, the qualifier will take place in the Championat von Neumünster (live on NDR Sportclub). The eighth and last competition of the BEMER Riders Tour is the Grand Prix of the Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken on Sunday (live on NDR Sportclub) with two rounds.
A look at the history of the BEMER Riders Tour reveals it: Although Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum, Luciana Diniz and Janne Friederike Meyer-Zimmermann (2015) have long been women who have won the international show jumping series, never before have two Amazons been in the lead before the final leg. This generally underlines the quality of these two riders.
Nevertheless, nothing has been decided yet, because there are only 14 ranking points between the two leading ladies. Mathias Norhaeden Johannsen is 21 points behind the leader Janne Friederike Meyer-Zimmermann, but only seven points behind Sophie Hinners. And finally, there are the many fellow riders from all over Europe and overseas whose goal it is to be among the front runners in the Grand Prix of the Volksbanken and Raiffeisenbanken. In short, the final of the BEMER Riders Tour 2022/23 will be an exciting affair.
New paths, beautiful stages
The BEMER Riders Tour made stops in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Austria in the 2022 season, breaking new ground. The series started in Hagen a.T.W. at Horses & Dreams meets Canada with the victory of Janne Friederike Meyer-Zimmermann. This was followed by the 2nd leg at the Pferd International Munich, where David Will triumphed in the BEMER Riders Tour competition. The BEMER Riders Tour made its first guest appearance in Ommen, the Netherlands, which provided plenty to talk about in the neighbouring country and for the stage winner, Remco Been. The “Festival of Horses” in Donaueschingen-Immenhöfe catapulted stage winner Sophie Hinners to the top of the ranking for the first time. The 5th leg led to the Tournament of Winners in Münster and there Janne Friederike Meyer-Zimmermann was once again number 1. Lier in Belgium proved to be an excellent host for the first time, saw an overjoyed Matthieu Billot from France as the winner and a very satisfied Janne Meyer-Zimmermann as the runner-up in the classification. The premiere of the CSI Arena Nova – Wiener Neustadt in the BEMER Riders Tour was won by the Austrian Stefan Eder.
BEMER Riders Tour on TV
The NDR Sportclub live will be broadcasting from the VR CLASSICS on Saturday and Sunday:
Saturday, 18th February: 16.00 – 16.45 Sportclub live NDR
Sunday, 19th February: 15.45 – 17.00 Sportclub live, NDR
PHOTO INFORMATION: Winner in Donaueschingen and now to the final stage at the VR CLASSICS: Sophie Hinners was very happy, on the left Mathias Norhaeden Johannsen (DEN), on the right Werner Muff (SUI). (Photo: Frank Heinen)