July 19, 2026 
Gibbs Un Prince is not a winner. At least not by conventional standards.
The 10-year-old Selle Français (Number One D’Iso un Prince x Panama Tame) has only won two FEI classes ever. Both at the 1.40m height in 2024 with another rider. He has just 10 career podium finishes on his record. (Kannandillo, also age 10, has 87 at 1.40m+!). And he’s certainly never won a grand prix—at any height.
Until Sunday.
But you’d never guess that watching his jump-off in the Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of Riesenbeck on Sunday. That round? Poetry in high-speed motion.
Six of the 39 starters advanced to the jump off in a course that saw nearly a quarter of the field retire. And it was a stacked start list for the short course.
Henrik von Eckermann and Minute Man. Daniel Deusser with Pepita van T Meulenhof BR. Denis Lynch and Cordial. Olympic champions Christian Kukuk and Checker 47. Reigning LGCT champion Gilles Thomas aboard Ermitage Kalone.
And then Victor Bettendorf—with the only 1.60m non-winner on the list, Gibbs Un Prince.
Thomas elected to withdraw from the jump-off got underway, leaving the remaining five combinations to battle it out. von Eckermann set the benchmark with a polished clear on Minute Man in 41.83 seconds. Deusser and Pepita van T Meulenhof BR immediately raised the intensity, slicing 5.49 seconds off to set the new time to beat at 36.34.
Lynch and Kukuk gave chase but came up short. Only for Bettendorf and Gibbs Un Prince to make short work of it.
Last to return, the pair laid down a foot-perfect path taking “serious” angles, speeding through turns, and smoothly executing to cross the timers in 35.37—nearly a full second faster.
“I knew the horse is a superstar, but honestly I didn’t think he was quite ready yet for a fast jump-off,” said the Luxembourg rider. “After the first round I had such a good feeling that I thought, ‘Let’s give it a go.’ The worst case was still a podium, so I had nothing to lose.”
The victory secures his golden ticket to the LGCT Super Grand Prix in Riyadh. It’s a title Bettendorf won in 2024 on then nine-year-old, five-star winning machine Foxy de la Roque. That’s a telling detail. Because while Gibbs un Prince may have just won his first ever Grand Prix title, Betterdorf has achieved a great deal more on mounts with even less experience. You can bet he’ll be Riyadh ready.
“It’s fantastic to have already secured my place at the Longines Global Champions Tour Super Grand Prix in Riyadh. I won it in 2024, so of course it’s a special event for me. Right now I’m just going to enjoy today’s victory, then we’ll make a plan for the rest of the season and make sure we have a horse ready for Riyadh.”
Abdel Saïd continues to lead the championship standings on 187 points, followed by Max Kühner (159 points) and Edwina Tops-Alexander (138.67 points).
The LGCT next heads to London’s historic Royal Hospital Chelsea from 7–9 August.
