Christian Kukuk & the "Once-in-a-Lifetime Jump Off" That Won LGCT London

You wouldn’t think a five-star Grand Prix win would be a particularly special milestone for a pair that’s won an Olympic gold medal. But for Christian Kukuk (GER), his performance in the Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of London felt like something he may never duplicate.

Coming in later in the order of an impressive jump-off list, Kukuk’s challenge was to unseat hometown hero Ben Maher, who, with Point Break, had shaved SIX seconds off of any other time yet recorded. The time seemed all-but unbeatable, but Kukuk had faith in his partner.

“This was maybe a once in a lifetime jump-off,” he said of the extreme measures he took to shave .38 seconds off Maher’s time. “My turn to the third last vertical, I was so much on an angle and the way he jumped it I think only Checker is able to do that. That’s where I won the jump-off, no question.”

The whole way around the course, he knew it would take something even more drastic than he’d already given.

“I knew coming to that [third-to-last] we were more or less at the same time,” he continued. “When I got the shot there and cleared it, I thought now I could have it, so I went full speed and I had a feeling I was faster. He’s naturally a quick horse but Ben’s round was so fast.”

Maher and Kukuk left third-place finisher Niels Bruynseels nearly in the dust with Chacco’s Lando OL, over six seconds off of Kukuk’s pace, but still on the podium.

A champion through and through, Kukuk had a more stressful and emotional past few weeks than he was used to, having decided to step away from his role at Beerbaum Stables and chart his own path. London offered him a chance to step away from the stress and take a more relaxed approach.

“It was an emotional few weeks, but it wasn’t an overnight decision,” he shared. “Coming here I had to tell myself there’s so much going on so you have to come down emotionally and focus on the important things here and the work I’m trying to do.

“I told myself, ‘Go to London and try to relax,’” he explained. “I went for a walk, I went to the mall, and I was trying to calm myself down because I know I’m always at my best when I’m relaxed. I know that’s what Checker needs. I always have the best results when I get away from the pressure and excitement, so that’s what I was focusing on.”

With Nations Cups and the European Championships on his plate early in 2025, the remainder of Kukuk’s year will be dedicated to the Longines Global Champions Tour and Global Champions League. With a golden ticket to the Super Grand Prix, he will aim to keep rising in the individual ranks while also hoping for a top-four overall finish for his team, Riesenbeck International.

“The first half of the Global season I wasn’t as present as I was in last year’s,” he remarked. “But now for the second half of the year, the focus should be on the Global Champions League and Tour. I told myself I have to show my best performance now in the second half.”