CHIO AACHEN 2024: HIGHLIGHTS & RIDER WATCH

From 28 June - 7 July, the CHIO Aachen will welcome the world's top horse and rider combinations to the iconic Aachen Soers showground for the hundredth time. Since welcoming riders and carriage drivers for the first time in 1924, the CHIO Aachen has been a cornerstone of equestrian sport, and this year’s event promises to be a remarkable tribute to a century of equestrian excellence. The World Equestrian Festival at the CHIO Aachen will showcase five thrilling disciplines: show jumping, dressage, eventing, driving, and vaulting. An electrifying atmosphere is guaranteed as 360,000 spectators will gather over 10 days to witness a new chapter of sporting history unfold.

Following the iconic Opening Ceremony on Tuesday 2 July, Wednesday 3 July will see the start of the 5* show jumping at the CHIO Aachen. The Turkish Airlines-Prize of Europe , held in the evening under floodlights, offers the first opportunity for riders to qualify for the show’s pinnacle class, the Rolex Grand Prix. The excitement will continue the next evening with the Mercedes-Benz Nations’ Cup, where eight teams will compete over two identical rounds, with the best three results per team counting. In this Olympic year, selectors will be closely monitoring performances in this class to finalise their teams for Paris.

The grand finale, the Rolex Grand Prix, will take place on Sunday afternoon in front of 40,000 of show jumping’s most passionate and knowledgeable fans. Much like The Championships, Wimbledon, this is the competition that every rider aspires to win. The CHIO Aachen is one of four Majors that make up the prestigious Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping, which rewards any rider who consecutively wins the Rolex Grand Prix at three of the four Majors. Following his success at The Dutch Masters, Dutchman Willem Greve is the current live contender for this extraordinary achievement, a feat previously accomplished only by Rolex Testimonee Scott Brash.

In dressage, the ultimate display of harmony and precision will be showcased in the Lindt-Prize, the Dressage Grand Prix of Aachen Freestyle to Music, taking place on Sunday, 7 July. The home crowd will be thrilled to see their very own Isabell Werth take centre stage. The Rolex Testimonee aims to etch her name on the CHIO Aachen winners' board for the fifteenth time, as she prepares to pursue her thirteenth Olympic medal in July. Her top competition will likely come from compatriot Frederic Wandres, Sweden’s Patrik Kittel, and reigning FEI individual World Champion Charlotte Fry, to ensure an exhilarating atmosphere in the Deutsche Bank Stadium.

On the final Friday and Saturday of the World Equestrian Festival, the SAP-Cup will feature the world’s best eventers. The competition begins with dressage and show jumping tests on Friday, followed by the thrilling cross-country phase on Saturday, 6 July. Once the cross-country concludes, attention will then turn to carriage driving with the world’s top four-in-hand drivers will set off in the Prize of Schwartz Group Marathon driving competition, often likened to the 'Formula One’ of carriage driving.

Beyond the thrilling action supplied by the world-class equestrian disciplines, visitors can also indulge in a range of attractions including diverse displays, shopping, and exquisite dining. The two 'Horse & Symphony' concerts, a breathtaking prelude to the CHIO Aachen, will this year also celebrate the show's one-hundredth anniversary, adding a touch of musical grandeur to this historic milestone.

RIDER WATCH

Dutch rider Willem Greve goes to the CHIO Aachen as the live contender of the Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping. Greve made history in March when he became not only the first Dutch rider to win the Rolex Grand Prix [during the Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping era] at The Dutch Masters, but also the first Dutch rider to win a Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping Major. Partnered by the sensational stallion Highway T.N. N.O.P, Greve set the home crowd alight as last to go in the jump-off. The duo have continued their impressive form since, winning the Loro Piana Trophy at the CSIO Roma Piazza di Siena – part of the newly formed Rolex Series – last month.

Another rider who is expected to be at the sharp end of the three rounds of competition that make up the Rolex Grand Prix is Switzerland’s Martin Fuchs. The World No. 6 recently won back-to-back Rolex Grands Prix at Royal Windsor Horse Show, and once again showcased why he is considered to be the amongst the best in the world. 

He will be joined by the reigning FEI individual European Champion Steve Guerdat – both riders have won some of the sport’s most coveted titles, including multiple Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping Majors, but have never claimed the prestigious trophy on the final day of the World Equestrian Festival at the CHIO Aachen.

Great Britian will be represented by a strong contingent of riders including the World No.2 Ben Maher. Maher, who will be looking to defend his individual Olympic title later in the summer in Paris, will bring four of his best horses including his top mare Dallas Vegas Batilly, with whom he won the Rolex Grand Prix at the Brussels Stephex Masters last year. Maher will be joined Robert Whitaker who will be looking to follow in the footsteps of his father [John] and uncle [Michael] who won the class in 1997 and 2012 respectively. 

Rolex Testimonees Harry Charles and Scott Brash will also represent Great Britian – Charles will be looking to claim his first Rolex Grand Slam Major, meanwhile Brash, the only rider to have ever won the coveted Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping title, will be hoping to restart his quest for a second title.

The home nation will be hoping to retain the prestigious prize that was won last year by Marcus Ehning, who this year brings Coolio 42 and DPS Revere for the 5* classes. German riders have claimed the Rolex Grand Prix title for the past three years and for this one-hundredth edition have 16 entries in the CSIO competition. Daniel Deusser returns with Killer Queen VDM with whom he won the title in 2021, and was second last year, and will no doubt be one of the favourites on the final Sunday of the World Equestrian Festival. Other notable German riders include the CHI Geneva Rolex Grand Prix winner, Richard Vogel, as well as the consistent senior level rider, Jana Wargers, who will be hoping to become the first woman to win the class.

Brazil’s Rodrigo Pessoa is one of the sport’s finest talents and has won each of the four Majors [in the pre-Grand Slam era]. Pessoa will be riding Major Tom, the 11-year-old chestnut gelding who was fifth in this class last year, and will be hoping to repeat his victory from 30-years-old ago, when he won the title in 1994 at the age of 21.

One not to be discounted is World No.1 Henrik von Eckermann. The Swedish rider has continued to dominate the FEI World Rankings over the past two years and this year claimed back-to-back victories in the FEI Jumping World CupTM Final. Rounding off the this year’s entries, which includes 6 of the world’s top 10 riders, is two-time Major winner McLain Ward who will be making the trip across the Atlantic Ocean from the United States of America, and Ireland’s in-form rider Shane Sweetnam.

Source: rolexgrandslam.com