Weishaupt and Van der Vleuten replace Kukuk and Guerdat

On Thursday evening, 13 March, the HeadFirst Group Prize-Best of Champions will be held. The field of competitors is now definitively known and includes World Champion Henrik von Eckerman, Dutch Champion Willem Greve, European silver medal winner Philipp Weishaupt and Olympic bronze medal winner Maikel van der Vleuten. Philip and Maikel replace Olympic champion Christian Kukuk and European champion Steve Guerdat who are unable to participate due to unforeseen circumstances.

Steve Guerdat has had to undergo emergency surgery on a hernia which means he is out of the running for the time being. He will be replaced by European silver medallist Philipp Weishaupt. The 34-year-old German from Ludger Beerbaum's stable won a gold medal with the team at the Paris Olympics.

Christian Kukuk has to stay on standby as he and his wife Veronica Tracy are expecting their first child soon. . Veronica is in Wellington, FL, USA, so the distance is to big. Christian will be replaced by Maikel van der Vleuten who won his third individual bronze medal in Paris. Steve Guerdat won the silver medal in Paris.

The audience is thus assured of an evening of horsemanship and exciting sport. The evening will be supervised by Harrie Smolders and initiator Jeroen Dubbeldam, sport director of The Dutch Masters. An evening not to be missed! There are still some tickets available.

The full programme can be found here. Order your tickets in time via this link and don't miss anything of this edition of The Dutch Masters!

Photos: TDM/Digishots