Jumping

What a Rolex Grand Prix, what a finale for the CHIO Aachen 2024! André Thieme hadn’t actually qualified to compete in the highlight of the weekend. But on Saturday evening he found out that he had moved up onto the starter list. Then, on Sunday afternoon he fulfilled a lifetime dream with his exceptional horse, Chakaria.

It was a stony road. Thieme had explained that the Mercedes-Benz Nations’ Cup had been disappointing for him. His horse had been in top form, but unfortunately she picked up four faults in both rounds. In one fell swoop two dreams shattered: taking part in the Rolex Grand Prix, because he didn’t qualify and participating at the Olympic Games in Paris. He has meanwhile accepted the fact that he is number five for the Olympics. Regarding the other dream – Thieme was able to participate in the highlight of the week after two riders withdrew. And since the pressure was off for the Olympics selection, he felt much more relaxed again, Thieme added – “the odd beer or two had also helped” – and he also quoted his wife: She had said: “So, go out and earn us money!‘“ As a good husband, who “loves Chakaria as much as his wife, but not more than her”, that is exactly what he did.

After two rounds, only four contenders for the 500,000 euro prize money and victory in the Rolex Grand Prix remained. McLain Ward from the USA was the first to go in the jump-off. Ward had reported on the day before that he hasn’t had Ilex for very long, but that he is a “big Jumper”. The eleven-year- old KWPN gelding by Baltic VDL demonstrated that impressively and produced a further clear round. The time did however seem beatable: 41.02 seconds.

Martin Fuchs and Leone Jei were faster, but they collected four faults, which ultimately meant fourth place for him. Then, Thieme and Chakaria entered the ring. The mare hadn’t looked like she was going to knock a rail in the first two rounds. And she also jumped immaculately in the jump-off: Clear in 39.77 seconds, faster than Ward, the new leaders. It obviously hadn’t felt like it: “After the combination I thought I am behind McLain and I only have these two last jumps left, so I’ll have to go for it. So I turned short before the oxer really aggressively and it worked out perfect. I don’t know how many strides I took to the last, I thought I’d never get there, but somehow I did. It was the last two jumps and her action that clinched the victory.“  Steve Guerdat evidently had contributed to Thieme’s strategy: “I must say thanks to Steve Guerdat. He told me your horse is jumping so fantastic today you can go for it. But ultimately Thieme had not dared to risk putting one less stride in between the two distances.

The winners of the Rolex Grand Prix in Geneva, Richard Vogel and United Touch S, were last to go in the jump-off. The spectators chanted Vogel’s name, he had won over the hearts of the crowd this week with his many victories. United Touch spread his wings and flew through the Soers. As quick as lightning and clear up until the last fence. He was half way over the green and yellow Rolex vertical and then he brushed the pole slightly with his back hoof and it fell. Vogel had already raised his fist in triumph before he registered what had happened. His end result was third place with the victory going to André Thieme with Chakaria, ahead of McLain Ward and Ilex.

Thieme: “I have had so many emotional moments with Chakaria before. But it is definitely different here in Aachen – two years ago for example I was part of the team that won the Nations Cup here and I had to go clear. But, of course, the Grand Prix in Aachen is every rider’s lifetime dream, most riders never even get close to it. If I was two years older, I’d say I’m done now.“ But luckily he is not and after this victory his personal Rolex journey gets underway. Because he is now the next contender for the Rolex Grand Slam.

Mclain Ward joked: “This morning I thought if I was ahead of Richie it would be good enough and now I have come second again.” He knew where he had lost the time: “In hindsight I could have easily done eight strides to the last instead of nine.” He was nevertheless happy with his result: “My horse jumped even better in the second round than in the first. Andre took a great risk and it paid off. It was great sport!“

Richard Vogel was the same opinion and he took the opportunity to thank his entire time. “It is more their success than mine. It was the week of my life. I am not sure if I will be able to repeat that here in Aachen again.” Regarding today’s class he commented: “I went through my plan for the jump-off with McLain. Thought I could give a little breather before the last. The time was good enough. Then my horse jumped over the fence at the front but not at the back. I was sure luck was on my side, but it wasn’t.“ Nevertheless, “It has been fantastic this week and I am happy with the horse, who jumped three incredible rounds.” The fact that the crowd were calling his name was the icing on the cake: “Aachen is the best show in the world. To be here and know the crowd is behind you, gives you a fresh wind. It is a fantastic feeling!”

CHIO Aachen Head of Sport, Birgit Rosenberg, first of all thanked the sponsor Rolex for their meanwhile 25-year partnership. Her summary of the CHIO Aachen 2024: “We have experienced amazing, breath-taking sport this week. As I said after the dressage we can only prepare the stage and offer good conditions to compete. But you all paid us back with super performances and great sport all week. It was a great crowd, fantastic atmosphere, packed stadiums, absolute record attendance of 370,000 spectators. The equestrian sport is very alive here in Aachen.“

His father has won the Rolex Grand Prix in Aachen and his uncle. This year is Robert Whitaker’s premiere appearance at the CHIO Aachen. His victory in the Mystic Rose Prize was good preparation for his first Grand Prix in Aachen.

After coming third with Team Great Britain in the Nations’ Cup, Robert Whitaker walked off with the gold rosette today. The British rider jumped clear in the fastest time of 64.97 seconds in the Mystic Rose Prize, a 1.45-metre competition against the clock, with the 15-year-old KWPN gelding, Evert. “It has been a good week for me and my first victory here in Aachen is the highlight,” Whitaker said – and immediately added: “But the week isn’t over yet…“. Because he is competing in the Rolex Grand Prix later today.
Unlike Romain Duguet from Switzerland, who ended his week at Aachen with second place with his Selle Français gelding, Bel Canto du Boguin. Duguet and Bel Canto de Boguin took 65.19 seconds for their clear round. The rider from the USA, McLain Ward, has been in a head-to-head this week with Richard Vogel to see who could collect the most results under the top three. Ward added a further placing to the list today: He finished third with the OS mare, First Lady by Don Diarado, in a time of 65.64 seconds.

First time at the CHIO Aachen, competed in two classes, won two classes – the Dutch aspiring talent, Siebe Leemans, boasts a 100-percent success quota for his debut at the Soers in the scope of the NetAachen-Prize.

Couldn’t go better. After the recently crowned Dutch Champion of the Young Riders, Siebe Leemans, was already able to assert himself in the opening competition of the NetAachen-Prize, he then continued his winning streak in the Final with a jump-off. Exactly half of the 20 participants reached the jump-off. Leemans, who lives near Eindhoven and trains with his father, was the eighth to go with Karamella. The nine-year-old mare knocked 0.73 seconds off the leading time. Two rides later, Siebe Leemans was celebrated as the winner.

Second place went to the double-European Champion of the Children in 2022, the just 16-year-old Tony Stormanns, with the Selle Français gelding, Donjon d’Asschaut. Representing Germany, the son of the former world-class show-jumper, Helena Stormanns, who is a successful trainer today, crossed the finish line in a time of 42.93 seconds. The clock had stopped at 42.20 seconds for Leemans and Karamella. Tom Wachman from Ireland, who came second in the opening competition, finished third with Obora’s Laura (43.61).

Leemans was, of course, overjoyed about his victory. “I was happy even to be allowed to ride here and to go on an win two classes is, of course, something very special.” Whereby he knows that in Karamella he has the right partner at his side: “My horse is a true fighter. She always wants to jump clear.” The U21 European Championships are Leemans’ next goal.

In the late evening on Saturday, the Soers rocked in the MERKUR SPIELBANKEN-Cup, the “Jump & Run” of the special kind.

Six teams à six horses, two riders and a driver are the ingredients that turn the Merkur Spielbanken-Cup into a relay race of the special kind at the Soers. First of all, a shortened version of the cross awaits the participants. As soon as the eventer has reached the finish line, the show-jumper sets off and once he has mastered his course, the cross-country rider, who should have already handed his horse over to a groom, has to leg it over to a carriage as fast as possible, jump on and off they go. The fastest team with the least faults wins.

That was the “green team” this evening, an Australian/Brazilian trio comprising of Kevin McNab with Willunga, Rodrigo Pessoa with Dhalida and Boyd Exell, who was already the fastest in the Prize of schwartz Gruppe earlier today. The green team’s combined score was 126.30 seconds.

On an overall score of 129.32 seconds, the orange team, two thirds of which was made up of Oranje riders, came second: Lars Kersten with Holywood and Bram Chardon with his team. The remaining third was actually British, but he was in disguise, namely cladded in a jacket of the Dutch team: David Doel with Captain Kadou.

In third place: The red team on a score of 131.12 seconds, comprising of Calvin Böckmann with Crunchip M from Germany, the Swiss eventer Romain Duguet with Stawita PS and Jérôme Voutaz, also from Switzerland, whose four Freiberger horses impressed the crowd with their agility and speed.

Unbelievable, but true: Richard Vogel notched up his fourth victory this week here at Aachen in the Final of the Sparkassen-Youngsters-Cup (in addition to four further top placings). He has high hopes for the future for the horse that made it possible.

Richard Vogel had brought the eight-year-old KWPN gelding, Levi Noesar, to Aachen with him for the Sparkassen-Youngsters-Cup, a Zirocco Blue son, bred by Jur Vrieling, the former team World and European Champion from the Netherlands and the rider of Zirocco Blue. They came second in the first of the three competitions in total, fifth in the second class and then today the chestnut gelding, showed his full potential. The pair sped around the jump-off course to cross the finish line in 42.93 seconds. The only rider, who could have stolen the victory from him was Ben Maher (GBR) with the OS gelding, Corlander, who were the last to go in the jump-off. They won the first competition and afterwards Maher had praised the star qualities of the Cornet Colbert son, which he also demonstrated today. Although they weren’t faster than Vogel and Levi Noesar, they were certainly close at their heels (42.93 seconds). Third place went to the just seven-year-old Zangersheide-bred mare, Marieke Z Santa Rosa by Moncler van Overis under the Canadian rider, Erynn Ballard. The pair took 43.78 seconds to complete the course.

Richard Vogel said about Levi Noesar: “He was schooled by Nina Piasecki before he came to me. He is jointly owned by Mario Piasecki and Patrick Mielnik. They then decided that on his way into top sport we would perhaps make a good match. I started riding him in December, but we consciously didn’t take him to America with us, because we wanted to bring him on gently and so I didn’t actually start competing with him until April.” His first international results since then are impressive: Three shows, eight competitions, eight placings and he didn’t pick up a single fault. And the success story has continued in Aachen: “We are, of course, delighted that he has jumped clear on all three days here in Aachen and winning the Final was the icing on the cake.” That is a statement in itself about the quality of the horse. Especially considering the tough competition he was up against. Over half of the participants had qualified for the jump-off, 17 of the 30 horses and 15 of these jumped clear again.

The Sparkasse donates a special prize for the rider with the highest combined score from all three competitions: a promising foal with an excellent jumping pedigree. This year a Rhineland-bred filly that descends from Christian Ahlmann’s aspiring star, Dourkhan Hero Z out of a Canturo dam. The breeder is Peter Chorus from Aachen. And its new owner is Richard Vogel. The plan for his newcomer? “Rear him, then train him!” Perhaps the young lady will return to the Soers in a few years’ time.

For the show-jumpers it is one of the highlights of the entire CHIO Aachen week: the Allianz-Prize. Ben Maher made sure on Saturday that the Union Jack could also be hoisted in the afternoon after the SAP-Cup at midday.

The ten best pairs from the first round go through to the Winning Round of the Allianz-Prize. The riders start in reverse order according to their individual results from the first round, i.e. the best rider from round one is the last to go in round two. And that was Richard Vogel, the meanwhile most feared opponent for all of the show-jumpers.

The rider from the USA, McLain Ward and Callas had secured pole position in a time of 37.01, when Ben Maher entered the ring with Exit Remo. Maher was hungry for success. “The horses have actually jumped well so far, but I had picked up faults in the big classes. My owners are here, so I wanted to do my best to clinch the victory.” With this approach, he succeeded in steering his 15-year-old KWPN gelding (who is incidentally out of the same dam as Judy Reynolds’ (IRL) 2016 Olympic dressage horse, Vancouver K) round the course clear and in a faster time than Ward. The clock stopped at 36.54 seconds. Maher could only wait and hope that it would suffice. And it did.

Richard Vogel had saddled Cydello for the Allianz-Prize, the 10-year-old Hanoverian-bred Cascadello son, which one can meanwhile describe as being Vogel’s third horse after United Touch S and Cepano Baloubet. He has come second twice this week alone. Today, he picked up his third silver rosette after jumping clear in 36.90 seconds. McLain Ward and Callas finished third, whilst Ben Maher was delighted to have achieved his goal.

Whereby it hadn’t been that easy: “Normally Exit Remo has a very big stride. But I already noticed when I approached the first fence that he didn’t really want to go as fast as I wanted him too. So I had to push him. Which to be honest wasn’t a good feeling. But I cut a tight turn in front of the second obstacle, which hadn’t been my plan at all. But sometimes doing the unexpected turns out to your advantage and I think that is where I gained the time compared to the second place.” For Maher it was a special victory: “Every time you ride into the ring in Aachen for a class like this, it just as important as riding into a Grand Prix anywhere else. For me, my owners, my family – they are all here – so it was fantastic!” But the week is not over yet. “I hope the same happens tomorrow,” he commented.

Of course, both Richard Vogel and McLain Ward will do their best to prevent this. Vogel’s plan for tomorrow in the Grand Prix, that he is saddling his nominated Olympic horse, United Touch S, for: “To stay on the podium.” Ward will be riding Ilex, a horse that he hasn’t had for very long, but who is a “big jumper that could match Vogel’s stride in a battle”, he joked referring to the huge stride of United Touch S.

Birgit Rosenberg summed it up in a nutshell: “I wouldn’t be surprised if we see these riders here again tomorrow.”

The speed and handiness competition over ditches and banks is one of the classics at the CHIO Aachen. Richard Vogel announced just after the victory in the Prize of Handwerk with Phenyo van het Keyserbos, that the Feinkost Käfer-Prize is the right competition for his horse. He was right.

The Irish rider Cian O’Connor had saddled Fox Chapel – which sounded like a promising combination for the Feinkost Käfer-Prize, the speed and handiness competition over ditches and banks and the pair actually did originally take the lead. However, the last pair to go, Richard Vogel and Phenyo van het Keyserbos, sped round the course and steamed past the entire field. They knocked nearly three seconds off O’Connor and his Selle Français mare’s time, which is almost an eternity when riding against the clock. Vogel had already raved about the “basic speed” of his nine-year-old gelding after the Prize of Handwerk. This also paid off today. Cian O’Connor had to make do with second place. Philip Rüping with For Dilando PS finished third in a time of 64.29 seconds.

In all the years the Swiss rider, Martin Fuchs, has been competing here in Aachen, he has never succeeded in winning a gold rosette in one of the main classes. Until today, when he jumped to victory in the RWE Prize of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Aachen’s Course Designer, Frank Rothenberger, presented the crème de la crème of the showing jumping sport with some tricky tasks in the RWE Prize of North Rhine-Westphalia. Ten pairs made it through to the jump-off. Martin Fuchs and his Hanoverian-bred gelding, Commissar Pezi (by Lord Pezi) were the second pair to go, after Daniel Deußer and Gangster v.h. Noddevelt had completed a clear round in a time of 45.22 seconds. Fuchs and Commissar Pezi knocked almost two seconds off his time. “It was good that I was able to watch Daniel ride. He did a few leave-outs that I wasn’t quite sure about. But my horse really went for the fences today.” Result: Clear in 43.06 seconds. A super time, but would it suffice? “I didn’t know if it would be enough with such a strong starter field to go behind me…,” is how Fuchs described his emotions at the moment.

The first time he had to tremble was two pairs later, when the German Champions, Patrick Stühlmeyer and Drako de Maugre, entered the ring. The Kannan son is in top form (that was clear round number four today and the fifth this week in Aachen) and Stühlmeyer steered him smoothly round the jump-off course at a fast pace. But he didn’t top Fuchs’ time, the clock stopped at 44.52 seconds, which meant second place.

Natalie Dean from the partner country, the USA, was the only other rider to stay under 44 seconds. But she and Acota M picked up four faults. Ireland’s Nations’ Cup winner of yesterday, Denis Lynch, didn’t find the right rhythm with Cordial: Four faults and much slower than the winning time.

Then, the bell went for Lorenzo de Luca with Denver de Talma. The Italian rider hasn’t been competing on the top circuit for a while, but with Denver de Talma he has now found a new horse for the bigger tasks. The pair demonstrated that today by crossing the finish line in 44.35 seconds, two tenths of a second faster than Stühlmeyer and Drako de Maugre. The two subsequent pairs, Janika Sprunger with Orelie and Kevin Staut with Dialou Blue PS, both knocked a pole, so they didn’t change the present ranking: Martin Fuchs ahead of Lorenzo de Luca, ahead of Patrick Stühlmeyer. And Daniel Deußer was delighted to finish fourth.

“That was a perfect afternoon,” summed up Martin Fuchs. “It is of course a wonderful feeling to win here at the best show in the world in front of such a fantastic crowd.”
Lorenzo de Luca added. “It is amazing to be here on the podium. I have been chasing an invitation to compete here since last year. Thank you for letting me be here!”
Patrick Stühlmeyer explained: “After the German Championships, coming third here is of course a super achievement for me. Riding here in this sold-out stadium, is phenomenal!” Whereby he already has his eyes set on his next goal: “We are looking forward to Sunday with excitement.”

Daniel Deußer described his horse, Gangster van het Noddevelt, which he has been riding since last December as follows: “He certainly lives up to his name – he’s a bit of a gangster. I am very pleased about how he feels in a big ring like this.” Whether he will follow in Killer Queen’s hoofprints one day and maybe win the Rolex Grand Prix? “I am sure he will perhaps win a Grand Prix like the one on Sunday, one day.”

“It is always nice to win, but to win in Aachen is all the more special” – Belgium’s Koen Vereecke said after he left the ring as winner of the VBR-Prize. It is his third visit to Aachen, but the first time he has claimed the gold rosette.

His partner in success was the ten-year-old BWP mare, Oilily de Muze by Vigo d’Arsouilles. It was her first time in Aachen and she was slightly overwhelmed by the Main Stadium in the first few days, Koen Vereecke reported. He thinks a lot of the mare, he brought her on very slowly and also gave her plenty of time to settle and get used to Aachen. “She was rather surprised on the first day and knocked a pole at the first fence. In the second class she picked up four faults towards the end of the course, but jumped very well. I wanted to ride her in a further competition, so that she can get used to the atmosphere.” The result was first place in the VBR-Prize, a 1.50-metre two-phase jumping competition.

Oilily was one of eight horses to jump clear and she reached the finish line just under a second faster than her fellow four-legged friends. Philipp Weishaupt finished second with the ten-year-old Hanoverian-bred Mescorial PS by Messenger (28.39). The Swiss rider Romain Duguet came third with the OS mare, Stawita PS by Stakkatol, who like Mescorial was bred at the Lewitz Stud, hence the appendix to the name “PS” for Paul Schockemöhle.

It is the third time Koen Vereecke is competing at the CHIO Aachen, this was his first victory. “I always wanted to ride here one day and now we are here for the third time in a row,” he said proudly. What is so different about Aachen compared to other shows? Koen Vereecke explained that it is the crowd. “That is the most impressive thing. Everyone here comes to see the horses, the riders and the horsey people. They even applaud when one has a fence down. They feel with the riders. That is what impresses me most about Aachen.”

Philippaerts, Merschformann, Haunhorst, Morssinkhof, Wachman – there certainly wasn’t a lack of famous names in the Young Riders Tour in the battle for the NetAachen-Prize 2024. In the end, it was an 18-year-old aspiring Dutch rider, who perhaps not that many people of heard of, who won, but this probably won’t be the case for long.

“I simply wanted to put in a nice round. But my horse is simply fast and loves galloping. And of course, that is definitely possible here,” the 18-year-old Siebe Leemans said about his commanding victory after his debut appearance at der Aachener Soers. Shortly before he had been crowned as Dutch Champion of the Young Riders. He nevertheless commented humbly: “The fact that I am here now is to an extent due to luck and a lot of support.” Leemans comes from not far from Eindhoven and trains with his father. The horse that carried him to victory today, is the nine-year-old KWPN mare, Karamella, whose sire, Plot Blue, jumped many a sensational round at the CHIO under Marcus Ehning in the past. Reaching the finish line in a time of 68.17 seconds she and Leemans left their 19 fellow competitors trailing behind them.

Second place went to the Irish rider, Tom Wachman, who had the pleasure of watching his trainer, Cian O’Connor, jump to victory in the Mercedes-Benz Nations’ Cup yesterday. He had saddled the Luidam daughter, Obora’s Laura, and they took 69.57 seconds to master the course. Skye Morssinkhof, who also comes from the Netherlands, came third with Oui d’Emma (70.53).

Tom Wachman has already won team European Championship titles in the Pony and Junior classifications. He additionally claimed silver at the U18 European Championships in Gorla Minore, Italy, last year. Skye Morssinkhof won bronze at the European Championships of the Young Riders in 2023, also in Gorla Minore. Siebe Leemans is looking forward to competing at his first Young Riders European Championships this year.