After the initial cancellation of the 2021 European Championship due to the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics, the showjumping community received good news on Thursday. After months of discussions, the FEI decided to allocate next year’s Europeans in jumping to Ludger Beerbaum’s Riesenbeck International – pending on a final approval from the organisers’ side.  

Several chef d’equipes and riders asked the FEI to re-consider their decision to cancel the Europeans. They were joined in their appeal by the European Equestrian Federation, that by the FEI was given a mandate to present a realistic proposal as to host, venue and dates that also would address all the concerns that originally led to the cancellation. 

“We then threw our application into the ring,” commented four-time Olympic champion Ludger Beerbaum.  

On Thursday evening, Beerbaum – who opened the doors to Riesenbeck International six years ago – received the exciting news about the allocation. “We are all super happy. In response to this confirmation, we first allowed ourselves a small beer,” Beerbaum stated on Riesenbeck International’s homepage.  

With a huge grass ring, sand rings and two indoors, Riesenbeck International looks to be an ideal venue for the championships that now have been scheduled in the FEI calendar from August 30 to September 4 2021. "Of course, there are still things that can be improved," Beerbaum said about his facilities which he intends to perfect towards the championships. 

However, there are still challenges ahead for the German legend and his team – in large caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. “Nobody knows how the corona pandemic will develop up to 2021,” Beerbaum commented. “Such a big event needs to be thoroughly thought-through and executed. A big budget needs to be raised. We now have until the end of January 2021 to go into detail. I am confident that after the three months of planning we can give the final okay to let the European Championships take place here.”