# 2008 Global Champions Tour

The 2008 Global Champions Tour was the 3rd edition of the Global Champions Tour (GCT), an important international show jumping competition series. The 2008 Global Champions Tour was the first edition of the Global Champions Tour as official series of the FEI.
The series is held mainly in Europe, one competition and also the final are held outside of Europe. All competitions are endowed with 300000 €. All GCT events were held as CSI 5*.
The competitions was held between April 10, 2008 and September 14, 2008. The final was held in São Paulo, Brazil from October 15, 2008 to October 19, 2008.
The champion of the Global Champions Tour Final of this year is Jessica Kürten of Ireland on Libertina.

## Competitions

All competitions are held as competition over two rounds against the clock with one jump-off against the clock.
The placement of the riders, who are not qualified for the jump-off, results of the number of penalties of both rounds and the time of the first round. Competitors who are not qualified for the second round, placed behind the riders who compete in the second round.

### 1st Competition: Global Champions Tour of Qatar

April 10, 2008 to April 12, 2008 - Doha, Qatar Competition: Saturday, April 12, 2008 - Start: 6:00 pm, prize money: 300000 €
| | Rider | Horse | Penalties | Penalties | Time (s) | Jump-off | Jump-off | scoring points |
| | Rider | Horse | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 1 | Penalties | Time (s) | scoring points |
| 1 | Denis Lynch | Lantinus | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 49.49 | 20 |
| 2 | Alois Pollmann-Schweckhorst | Lord Luis | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 49.95 | 18 |
| 3 | Steve Guerdat | Jalisca Solier | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 50.69 | 16 |
(Top 3 of 39 Competitors)

### 2nd Competition: Global Champions Tour of Germany

April 30, 2008 to May 4, 2008 - Hamburg (German show jumping and dressage derby), Germany Competition: Saturday, May 3, 2008 - Start: 2:00 pm, prize money: 300000 €
| | Rider | Horse | Penalties | Penalties | Time (s) | Jump-off | Jump-off | scoring points |
| | Rider | Horse | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 1 | Penalties | Time (s) | scoring points |
| 1 | Thomas Voss | Leonardo B | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 48.35 | 20 |
| 2 | Albert Zoer | Sam | 0 | 0 | - | 4 | 48.21 | 18 |
| 3 | Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum | Checkmate | 0 | 0 | - | 4 | 75.04 | 16 |
(Top 3 of 48 Competitors)

### 3rd Competition: Global Champions Tour of France

June 12, 2008 to June 14, 2008 - Cannes, France Competition: Saturday, June 14, 2008 - Start: 6:00 pm, prize money: 300000 €
| | Rider | Horse | Penalties | Penalties | Time (s) | Jump-off | Jump-off | scoring points |
| | Rider | Horse | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 1 | Penalties | Time (s) | scoring points |
| 1 | Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum | Shutterfly | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 40.74 | 20 |
| 2 | Edwina Alexander | Itot du Chateau | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 43.74 | 18 |
| 3 | Robert Whitaker | Lacroix | 4 | 0 | 78.83 | | | 16 |
(Top 3 of 49 Competitors)

### 4th Competition: Global Champions Tour of Monaco

June 26, 2008 to June 28, 2008 - shore at the marina „Port Hercule“, Monte Carlo, Monaco Competition: Saturday, June 28, 2008 - Start: 6:00 pm, prize money: 300000 €
| | Rider | Horse | Penalties | Penalties | Time (s) | Jump-off | Jump-off | scoring points |
| | Rider | Horse | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 1 | Penalties | Time (s) | scoring points |
| 1 | Richard Spooner | Cristallo | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 38.99 | 20 |
| 2 | Marcus Ehning | Vulkano FRH | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 39.01 | 18 |
| 3 | Ulrich Kirchhoff | Carino | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 44.23 | 16 |
(Top 3 of 46 Competitors)

### 5th Competition: Global Champions Tour of Portugal

July 10, 2008 to July 12, 2008 - Hipódromo Manuel Possolo, Cascais near Estoril, Portugal Competition: Saturday, July 12, 2008 - Start: 7:30 pm, prize money: 300000 €
| | Rider | Horse | Penalties | Penalties | Time (s) | Jump-off | Jump-off | scoring points |
| | Rider | Horse | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 1 | Penalties | Time (s) | scoring points |
| 1 | Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum | Checkmate | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 41.11 | 20 |
| 2 | Marco Kutscher | Cash | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 41.83 | 18 |
| 3 | Nick Skelton | Arko | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 42.63 | 16 |
(Top 3 of 46 Competitors)

### 6th Competition: Global Champions Tour of the Netherlands

July 31, 2008 - August 3, 2008 - Valkenswaard, Netherlands Competition: Saturday, August 2, 2008 - Start: 1:45 pm, prize money: 300000 €
| | Rider | Horse | Penalties | Penalties | Time (s) | Jump-off | Jump-off | scoring points |
| | Rider | Horse | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 1 | Penalties | Time (s) | scoring points |
| 1 | Daniel Deußer | Air Jordan Z | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 34.50 | 20 |
| 2 | Nick Skelton | Arko | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 34.97 | 18 |
| 3 | Edwina Alexander | Socrates | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 36.69 | 16 |
(Top 3 of 47 Competitors)

### 7th Competition: Global Champions Tour of Italy

September 11, 2008 to September 14, 2008 - Arezzo, Italy Competition: Saturday, September 13, 2008 - Start: 1:00 pm, prize money: 300000 €
| | Rider | Horse | Penalties | Penalties | Time (s) | Jump-off | Jump-off | scoring points |
| | Rider | Horse | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 1 | Penalties | Time (s) | scoring points |
| 1 | Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum | Shutterfly | 0 | 0 | 83.76 | | | 20 |
| 2 | Judy-Ann Melchior | Aktion Pur Z | 0 | 1 | 84.82 | | | 18 |
| 3 | Steve Guerdat | Tresor | 0 | 2 | 87.17 | | | 16 |
(Top 3 of 47 Competitors)

## Global Champions Tour Final
### overall standings (after 7 competitions)

| | Rider | 1st Competition | 2nd Competition | 3rd Competition | 4th Competition | 5th Competition | 6th Competition | 7th Competition | scoring points (Total) |
| 1 | Nick Skelton | - | 11 | 13 | 11 | 16 | 18 | 13 | 82 |
| 2 | Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum | 0 | 16 | 20 | - | 20 | 0 | 20 | 76 |
| 3 | Edwina Alexander | 4 | 0 | 18 | 9 | 9 | 16 | 12 | 68 |
| 4 | Judy-Ann Melchior | 15 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 18 | 59 |
| 5 | Marcus Ehning | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 10 | 10 | 15 | 53 |
(Top 5)

### Final

October 15, 2008 to October 19, 2008 - Hipica Paulista, São Paulo (Athina Onassis International Horse Show), Brazil

#### First round

Competition: Thursday, October 16, 2008 - Start: 3:30 pm, prize money: 50000 €
| | Rider | Horse | Penalties | Time (s) |
| 1 | Ludo Philippaerts | Winningmood | 0 | 78.10 |
| 2 | Jessica Kürten | Libertina | 0 | 78.46 |
| 3 | Tim Gredley | Omelli | 0 | 79.02 |
(Top 3 of 25 Competitors)

#### Final result after second round and jump-off

Competition: Saturday, August 14, 2009 - Start: 8:00 pm, prize money: 900000 €
| | Rider | Horse | | | Jump-off | Jump-off |
| | Rider | Horse | Penalties | Time (s) | Penalties | Time (s) |
| 1 | Jessica Kürten | Libertina | 0 | - | 0 | 34.25 |
| 2 | Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum | Shutterfly | 0 | - | 0 | 35.01 |
| 3 | Ludger Beerbaum | All Inclusive NRW | 0 | - | 0 | 37.06 |
| 4 | Julien Epaillard | Kanthaka de Petra | 0 | - | 8 | 37.81 |
| 5 | Tim Gredley | Omelli | 4 | 72.69 | | |
(Top 5 of 18 Competitors)