September 25, 2022 
“It is a long, long way with a lot of bad rounds in between,” said German show jumper Daniel Deusser rather candidly regarding his climb to the top of the sport.
Today, it’s very seldom we see a “bad” round from the Olympic, European and World Championship medalist, so it’s easy to imagine that it’s been all glitz and Longines Global Champions Tour (LGCT) glamour the whole way along. Though Deusser admits you can’t have one without the other.
There are no short cuts, unless you’re riding a jump-off.
On Saturday, Deusser was last to go in the LGCT Grand Prix of New York with veteran partner 14-year-old stallion Scuderia 1918 Tobago Z. The jump-off might be the time to leave it all on out the sand, but for Deusser it’s calculated risk that wins classes like the LGCT Grand Prix.
The pair stopped the clock in 41.07 seconds, shaving just fractions of a second off of Pieter Devos’ (BEL) time of 41.15 with 15-year-old mare Mom’s Toupie de la Roque.
Malin Baryard-Johnsson (SWE) finished on the same second (41.45) for third place with her World Championship and Tokyo Olympic team gold medal partner, 14-year-old mare H&M Indiana. Shane Sweetnam (IRL) followed suit, coming just outside the podium in 41.51 seconds.
Despite the three top riders putting the pressure on, Deusser knew to keep his cool, confident his plan for the Uliano Vezzani (ITA) track would be exactly right for Tobago.
“In the jump-off that’s a little bit [Tobago’s] strength because, for example, you can go very short to the combinations and he doesn’t get hectic or nervous,” said Deusser.
“If it works out like that when you’re last to go in the jump-off and you finish in first place, then it’s always fun. It started very well and I could have done one less stride to fence 13 so I knew it would be close. I was a little bit lucky. That’s the game you play at the end.”
As an athlete, you can only play a game as good as your teammate. Luckily, Deusser and Tobago are a talent match. You could argue Tobago is even one of the best. Accumulating over 2 million euro in prize money over the course of his career, he sports a 60% clear round and 63% top ten finish rate over 65 finished rounds at 1.60m, according to JUMPR App.
“A clever, quality horse makes riding a bit easier,” said Deusser.
Tobago’s stats speak for themselves, but more importantly they represent his dependability, which gives even the most experienced riders the confidence to ride their best.
“If you have to think about your strides and the way you are choosing to take a jump, or if you really have to watch out on every fence to be sure your horse doesn’t get too quick or too flat, or fall out in the turn, it can be very difficult. These are all the points I don’t have to think about when I sit on him,” said Deusser.
Tobago also won the day’s earlier class, the CSI5* Global Champions League, Individual Second Competition. All the more impressive is that he’s just returning from a long break. The LGCT New York is only his fourth show back.
“The first show I did only two 1.40m competitions, then I started him in a 3* in Brussels at our home show [Stephex Masters]. At home, he was already clear and had one down in the jump-off, and here he wins actually both classes today. It is not common that they come back in the shape that quickly,” gushed Deusser of his stallion.
“He is a very cool horse. Relaxed, quiet. If you see him or ride him at home you can never really imagine that he, first of all, jumps a big class like that and that he can also win a jump-off,” laughed Deusser.
Once upon a time, it was difficult for Deusser to picture winning a big class himself. After his keystone win in the CP ‘International’ Grand Prix at Spruce Meadows ‘Masters’ in September, he said that as a child he used to watch VHS recordings of the Grand Prix and dream of simply being there.
Related reading: Deusser Fulfills Childhood Dream
Safe to say Deusser has made it—and he’s not going away anytime soon.
“You just have to have the will and keep on trying all the time. I think about myself, I was really interested in the sport when I was a young kid. I never really imagined that one day I could win Grand Prix like that,” said Deusser.
The secret to making dreams into a reality, he said, is not getting discouraged when things don’t go as expected and continuing to value the experience over everything.
“Whatever percent of classes you win is not enough, and sometimes things like an injury can throw you a couple of steps back. With age, experience and with different horses you learn so much and you get also a lot of experience,” said Deusser.
“You learn what is really important. You learn to think a little bit how your horse thinks. Experience is the biggest key I have to say. With time, patience and experience you can gain a lot.”
Deusser credits Franke Sloothaak for the life lesson and his time in riding at his stable as the foundation for his now flourishing career.
“[The best advice was] to stay quiet and try again. I was a long time with Franke before and he helped me a lot. I learned so much in that stable. Even after bad rounds, I was always surprised, because he was always quiet and he just tried again on Monday. At the end of the day, after weeks and months, he came to the goal,” said Deusser.
“I was a bit overexcited in the beginning when I was young. I didn’t understand that. But now after so many years of experience I do.”
