THE 20TH ROLEX IJRC TOP 10 FINAL

After last year’s cancellation, the Geneva CHI5* is awaited with great excitement - from December 9th to December 12th - celebrating its 60th anniversary and the 20th Rolex IJRC Top 10 Final.

The Rolex IJRC Top 10 Final will be held on the Friday evening, with the ten leading riders in early November’s world rankings going head-to-head.

The Rolex IJRC Top Ten Final is one of the most eagerly awaited and prestigious events on the international show jumping scene. A class in which only the world’s top 10 ranked riders are invited to compete for the title of the best among them. So as to compete, riders must have been members of the International Jumping Riders Club for at least two years. In case of defection, the next rider(s) in the rankings will replace the rider(s) who has withdrawn.

The Top Ten was started in 2001 based on an idea presented by Eleonora Ottaviani, director of the International Jumping Riders Club, in cooperation with François Mathy Jr. and Rodrigo Pessoa.

This class’s original format still used today is based on two rounds with a 5/10 min. break between them plus an eventual jump off; the first round is very similar to that of a Grand Prix, while the second round is shorter and faster. The maximum height allowed for jumps is 1.55m with some jumps at 1.60m. At the end of the second round, riders dismount and return on foot to the arena to be interviewed and provide their immediate reactions and feelings. Once they have jumped, the riders can watch their opponents from the Kiss & Cry so as to remain updated on how things are going. The Top Ten is an event followed with great interest not only by spectators filling the stands of Geneva’s Palaexpo, but also watched from all over the world on TV and online.

Watching a competition between the ten best riders in the World Ranking has contributed to making Top Ten one of the most exciting events on the entire international indoor show jumping circuit.

The Rolex Grand Prix

The Rolex Grand Prix, that will take place on Sunday, December 12th , is one of the four events in the Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping together with Aachen, Calgary and s’Hertogenbosch. Daniel Deusser is one of the favourite riders after his win at the Aachen CHIO, together with Steve Guerdat, victorious at the Spruce Meadows Masters’ at the Calgary CSIO, and Max Kühner, the Dutch Masters winner in s’Hertogenbosch.

Under-25s in the spotlight

Show jumping’s next generation will once again take centre stage at Palexpo, thanks to three events for riders under the age of 25. Held on the Saturday afternoon, the Grand Prix Land Rover is the biggest event of the three and will crown the leading rider-and-horse pairing of the U25 competitions.

History is written by the best

Ten riders, ten different styles and ten different personalities, challenge one another over one of the most difficult and technical courses in the world, that of the Rolex IJRC Top Ten Final, one of the most coveted by riders and most loved by spectators.

«The Club is a context in which one can aim for the sky, for example the Top 10; there are riders here who have written and are writing the history of our sport. Great occasions are like that, they leave a mark in our lives». Eleonora Ottaviani

@IJRC