CHIO Aachen
From 24 June – 03 July, CHIO Aachen will welcome the return of the world’s best horse and rider combinations to the spectacular grounds of the Aachen Soers Showground. Providing unmatched atmosphere and competition, including five equestrian disciplines, the World Equestrian Festival will also welcome back a full capacity crowd of 40,000 for the first time since 2019.
The show will officially open on 28 June with an arena extravaganza featuring 200 horses, 500 extras, as well as extraordinary artists and performers including superstar singer Wincent Weiss. A highlight for many will be a special performance from the "Höhner", who have recorded a new song exclusively for the opening of the World Equestrian Festival.
This year’s event will focus on youth and young talent more than ever, including local street art being on display. The first weekend will include numerous young rider show jumping classes as well as Vaulters competing in the Driving Stadium. CHIO Aachen will also host the FEI Youth Equestrian Games for the first time. The Games will include 30 young show jumpers, aged between 14 and 18-years-old, from 30 different nations ranging from Egypt and Guatemala to New Zealand and Uzbekistan. The talented riders will compete in the Main Stadium in both an individual and a cross-continental competition.
Often compared to The Championships, Wimbledon – CHIO Aachen showcases the some of the best show jumping in the world. On the evening of Wednesday 29 June, the Turkish Airlines-Prize of Europe, one of the world's most renowned show jumping competitions will take place. As the first qualifier for the prestigious Rolex Grand Prix on Sunday, it is expected the best athletes will be fighting to claim this respected title. The Mercedes-Benz Nations Cup™ will take place the evening after, with the top eight teams in the world competing. With the FEI World Equestrian Games™ later in the summer, competitors will be looking to impress their Chef d’Equipe to gain a coveted spot in the team. The highlight of the Festival will be the Rolex Grand Prix taking place on Sunday. Last year’s victor and home favourite, Daniel Deusser, will return to the hallowed grounds of Aachen Soers as the Live Contender of the Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping following his win at The Dutch Masters in March and will be looking to retain his title Rolex Grand Prix title.
5* Dressage will also be on show at CHIO Aachen, with the Grand Prix Freestyle CDIO5* taking place on Sunday 03 July. Crowd favourite and last year’s winners Isabell Werth and DSP Quantaz will be looking to add another title to their tally. In addition, organisers of the Show will host a very special retirement ceremony for Isabell Werth’s Bella Rose on the evening of Friday 01 July in the Deutsche Bank Stadium, the venue where the duo won the Deutsche Bank Prize in 2019.
Top level Eventing will take place on from 01 – 02 July with the SAP Cup, with the highlight coming on Saturday morning where the horse and rider combinations will take on the demanding cross-country course which will test the endurance, speed and accuracy of the combinations. Following this, Driving combinations will compete for the prestigious Prize of Schwartz Group title.