For a pair that does an unprecedented amount of winning, 2024 Olympic individual champions Christian Kukuk and Checker 47 were hardly the most buzzed-about combination on the roster in Paris.
Kukuk, a rider for Ludger Beerbaum Stables in Riesenbeck for more than a decade, was not even the heir apparent on the German team.
That title likely went to the super-stallion United Touch S under Richard Vogel. Or the tricky-yet-talented chestnut Zineday (Kukuk’s former ride at Beerbaum Stables) under his colleague Philipp Weishaupt’s saddle.
Ironically, Kukuk’s fairly dated bio on Beerbaum’s website praises the rider’s talent and work ethic, even surmising that a big, international breakthrough is only a matter of time. “Who knows?” the text reads. “Maybe Christian Kukuk will become the talking point on that stage.”
But if Oscar Wilde bemoaned the pitfalls of not being talked about, or at least not to the same extent as his teammates, Kukuk doesn’t seem to have noticed.
“The moment when we go into the ring, [Checker] and me, there’s an extra gear,” Kukuk explained to the FEI. “The communication between him and me is very good, and it’s always based on a very positive fighting spirit.”
Prior to Paris, that “fighting spirit” had already brought the 34-year-old German rider and the progeny of Marcus Ehning’s famous stallion, Comme Il Faut, to the very top of the sport. After quietly asserting their quality at five-star events worldwide for the last two years, the pair entered the Individual Final on August 6 with a bit of a headwind—and the numbers to back it.
As we’ve cited before, according to Jumpr, Kukuk and Checker are one of only a handful of combinations in the world to win multiple 5* grands prix in the last 365 days. These include Martin Fuchs (SUI) and Leone Jei, Daniel Coyle (IRL) and Legacy, and Julien Epaillard (FRA) and Dubai Du Cedre, all of whom won three grands prix a piece.
Kukuk and Checker notched four.
But the pair really separate themselves from the rest of the pack when it comes to their earnings.
With just under $2,479,000 in total career prize money, Checker 47 maintains his position as the highest-earning horse in the last 365 days. The 14-year-old Westphalian also sits at no. 11 on the list of the most money-winning horses of all time. (King Edward has raked in the most at $4.4 million).
Finally, when you compare the pair’s stats against those of, say, their German teammates, there are signs that Kukuk and Checker 47 may have had the edge all along.
At Checker’s well-seasoned 14 years of age, he and Kukuk completed significantly more rounds at 1.60m in the last 365 days—nearly double those of 12-year-old United Touch S or 10-year-old Zineday. Those rounds may speak to Kukuk and Checker’s battle-honed ability to perform successfully in the back-to-back days of competition required by the Olympic format.
Yet further hints exist in Checker’s record at the Individual Final height of 1.65m.
In the last 365 days, at the heights of 1.60m and 1.65m, Kukuk and Checker jump clear at 57% and 50%, respectively. In terms of top 10 finishes at those heights, their numbers improve 67% at 21 rounds at 1.60m, and 75% at four rounds at 1.65m.
By comparison, Vogel and United Touch S jumped half as many rounds at 1.60m and were clear at a 73% clip, finishing in the top 10 an astounding 100% of the time. But they are less successful in three rounds 1.65m, where they are clear at 33% and finish in the top 10 67% of the time.
Ditto for Weishaupt and Zineday, who jump clear in 13 rounds at 1.60m at 69%, and finish in the top 10 at 75%. Though they’ve competed four rounds, as well, at 1.65m, and match Kukuk and Checker 47 for clears at 50%, Weishaupt and Zineday also finish in the top 10 at 50%, compared to the Olympic champions’ 75%.
When asked what his biggest challenge was prior to competing in Paris, Kukuk replied it was actually not changing his program too much in the lead-up to the Games.
“The reason you [are] picked for the Olympics is that you actually did something very good in the past,” Kukuk told the FEI.
“For sure, there are moments when you overthink something. [At] these moments, you always have to remember yourself, and not change too much, because obviously, your system worked quite well to get there.”
No question there. And when it comes to Kukuk and Checker 47’s system, you can be sure that everyone will be talking about them now.