For you, why is the CHIO Aachen such a special show?

The CHIO Aachen is the biggest equestrian show in the world and the Rolex Grand Prix there is one of the toughest Grands Prix to exist in show jumping. I always feel a lot of pressure when designing the CHIO Aachen courses as they have to be designed with exact and precise margins to get the right results.

Once again the top horse and rider combinations are here this year. Some of the horses have pre-qualified for the Rolex Grand Prix, and will solely jump in this class on Sunday. Other pre-qualified horses may jump in one class before, and many will have to qualify for the class by jumping in the Mercedes-Benz Nations Cup or the Turkish Airlines-Prize of Europe class.

Myself and my team of course designers always plan the course for the Rolex Grand Prix weeks before and carefully watch the classes leading up to it to consider how the horses are performing and whether we need to change little things on the course. This year I think the riders are all really well prepared, and can use the classes earlier in the week to give their horses confidence for the Rolex Grand Prix on Sunday.

Can you tell us a little bit about the course that you have designed for Sunday’s Rolex Grand Prix?

It is a 1.60m course, so we build it to the maximum height, and there will be oxers with a width of 1.80m. There will be a double of ditches alongside the lake – which is tradition for the Rolex Grand Prix here at the CHIO Aachen, as well as a water jump. In total there will be 40 horses in the first round, 18 in the second and then hopefully five or six clear rounds to come to the jump-off.  

What are the main things to consider when you are designing a course, and what do you hope to achieve?

First of all, safety, to make sure nothing happens to any of the horses. It is really tough jumping, so we have to be careful with the distance between the fences and the material of them. Many of the jumps are kept a plain colour, like a solid white or rustic for example, so there aren’t so many poles with contrasting colours. The Rolex Grand Prix at the CHIO Aachen is always a bit bigger than the other Grands Prix around the world, it is a big arena and I think the riders enjoy jumping around it.

If you could ride one horse in the Rolex Grand Prix on Sunday, who would you chose?

In years before, there used to be perhaps 10 or 12 potential winners out of the 40 riders in the Rolex Grand Prix. Nowadays, I think that 25 to 30, or even 40 riders could win the Rolex Grand Prix, so it is difficult to select one specific horse – there are many top horses.

How important is the team around you in a successful course?

I have three assistant course designers who work with me, along with one team member who produces the course drawings, three people who organise the storage of the fences. It’s a big group – overall, we have 50 people in the team, which is a good thing because we have to build the courses overnight under floodlights to prepare for the next day.

Which course are you most proud of? 

One of the courses I am most proud of is the one I designed at the FEI World Championships in 2006. On that course, a pole from every jump fell down at least once, so I think that was one of my best course designs. The course I designed for the FEI World Cup™ Final in Riyadh earlier this year was also very good.

What advice would you give to someone starting out in a career in course designing?

It is helpful if you have been a rider yourself before, as you then have a feeling for lines and placing jumps in the right positions. I think that aspiring designers should start at the local shows, and then pick one or two course designers who they can assist. To get to the top level in course designing takes between 15 and 20 years, so someone starting out in the industry should start when they are in their twenties if they want to design 5* classes one day. Like my daughter, she assists me but also many other course designers to help learn from different experiences.

The Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping is the top of the sport but are there any other sports that you are passionate about? Do you take any inspiration from these other sports?

I go sailing, which is very different to horse riding! I sail all around the world – in the Mediterranean, the Seychelles, Thailand, everywhere! I stopped riding when I was 21 years of age to start my company when I was 22-years-old in course designing and that’s what I am still doing now.

The Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping was formed in 2013, and the first Major was held here at the CHIO Aachen. In your opinion, how big an impact has the concept had on the sport?

Every rider tries to win the Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping. I remember in 2015 when Scott Brash won three Majors in a row. He won the Rolex Grand Prix at the CHI Geneva in December 2014, and luckily again at the CHIO Aachen, and then again at the CSIO Spruce Meadows ‘Masters’ Tournament in Calgary. Scott won a lot of money by winning the Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping, and all of the riders are still looking to repeat this achievement.  

Source: Press Release from Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping

Photo: © Rolex Grand Slam  / Ashley Neuhof

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