Olympic champion, Müller horse and World Cup frustration: equestrian star Christian Kukuk and the “breach of trust”

“My opinion on this is no different than it was a few weeks ago,” Kukuk said. At the beginning of July he found out about the World Cup exit from national coach Otto Becker and then spoke of a “breach of trust”. “I stand by what I said,” emphasized Kukuk. “I’m very disappointed with the way things turned out. That won’t change in the near future.”

“I can’t understand it at all,” said the rider, who worked for Olympic champion Ludger Beerbaum for many years and has been self-employed for six months. He was “completely surprised” by the decision. “I didn’t expect that at all.” The national coach said, without going into detail: “It was a difficult and tough decision.”

The strange thing is that Kukuk has now moved up in the World Championship rankings due to André Thieme’s voluntary resignation and is now there as a substitute rider in Aachen. If one of the nominated World Cup quartet fails, Kukuk will even be in the team. “I hope nothing else happens,” said the Olympic champion, who is standing by as a reserve with the gelding Checker until the day before the first test.

Kukuk owes the fact that he can continue riding Checker to a special agreement. Because The golden horse of Paris belongs to the footballer Thomas Müller and the Beerbaum patron Madeleine Winter-Schulze – and he is only allowed to continue riding it because in return he competes for Beerbaum’s team Riesenbeck International in the Global Champions Tour.

“I think we found a really good deal this year so that I could continue riding Checker, which is not a given,” said Kukuk. “In the end, this was an absolute win-win situation for all sides – for Ludger, Madeleine and Thomas on the one hand and for me on the other.”

The Olympic champion is now traveling independently

“In the end, that was actually a kind of goodwill from Ludger,” emphasized the Olympic champion: his former employer “could have just as easily said that the horse stays with me in the stable and now Philipp Weishaupt rides the horse.”

The unusual Checker deal became necessary due to the end of the multi-year commitment to the Beerbaum Stables at the turn of the year. But the biggest change due to self-employment is “that I now have to pay the bills myself, that this is no longer covered,” said Kukuk with a grin.

Not much has changed in day-to-day business, but of course it is a “huge responsibility”. Also because he has three employees. “But I’m totally happy with the decision and also very happy with how the first six months went.”

What is also new in his life since winning the Olympics in Paris is that he has been the father of a daughter since March 2025. He now lives in Münster with his wife Veronica Tracy, who comes from the USA, and Lilah. But he spent most of the year riding in North America, working his second job there: “Trading horses is ultimately the business I need,” explained Kukuk. This is the only way sport can be financed.

“It will be more rather than less,” he said of the US stays. “You always have to seize the opportunities in your life, and in America the sport is booming extremely. There are a lot of tournaments with incredible conditions and great prize money.” Shortly after the World Cup, regardless of the still possible start in the German team, Kukuk wants to fly back to the USA with his small family.