“I’ve known the guy since he was born, pushed his stroller through Aachen, and now he’s winning the Grand Prix of Aachen!” – Commentator and longtime family friend Carsten Sostmeier lets his emotions run free during the jump-off.
The CHIO Aachen – a world festival of equestrian sports
The Grand Prix of Aachen was first held in 1927. Even then, the riding and driving tournament, which was held in conjunction with a horse race, lasted six days and included three equestrian disciplines: show jumping, dressage, and driving. The first main jumping event in the Aachener Soers was won by Major R. Lotz on his stallion Olnad.
95 years later, the CHIO in Aachen has become one of the most famous and important equestrian tournaments worldwide. The event, which spans a Length of 10 days, features international competition in five disciplines. “CHIO is more than just a tournament” – athletes and equestrian enthusiasts agree. For many, the CHIO is one of the annual highlights of summer.
Since 2013, Aachen has been one of the four venues of the ROLEX GRAND SLAM in show jumping.
But what exactly is the Rolex Grand Slam?
The Rolex Grand Slam for show jumpers links the Grand Prix events of four of the world’s most important show jumping tournaments.
- CHIO in Aachen, Germany
- Spruce Meadows Masters in Calgary, Canada
- CHI Geneva in Le Grand-Saconnex, Switzerland
- Dutch Masters in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands
To win the Grand Slam, the four Grand Prix events of these tournaments must be won consecutively.
Only one rider has managed to win the Rolex Grand Slam series so far: Scott Brash became a legend with his victory at Spruce Meadows in 2015.
Gerrit Nieberg wins with a phenomenal jump-off round
Last Sunday, the crowd of around 40,000 spectators fell silent in the Aachener Soers as Gerrit Nieberg and his gelding Ben took on the jump-off course as the last pair to start. Both previous rounds were faultless, turning the pair from underdogs into favorites.
“I asked Steve Guerdat in the warm-up arena if I could take the shortcut. Steve said: You can do it. So I did, and it worked out well,” Gerrit recounted after his sensational victory.
In the tight turn Gerrit chose on the way to the combination, commentator Carsten Sostmeier was impressed: “You really can’t take more risk than that.” On the final line, not only the spectators across Germany lost their composure: “Nieberg or Brash? Nieberg or Brash? NIEBEEERG!” Emotions in the stadium ran high, Carsten Sostmeier was moved to tears, while Gerrit stayed cool as always: “I need to let this sink in first.” said the 29-year-old in an interview.
We congratulate our team rider Gerrit on this phenomenal success and look forward to the future with him as part of our #KAVALIOFAMILY.
Shopping instead of sweating – our KAVALIO booth in the CHIO Village
Our trade fair team also set off with our fully loaded Kavalio-Mobile to the Aachener Soers. Ten days full of sunshine, good vibes, and satisfied customers are behind us: Aachen, it was a celebration! We never expected such a rush of customers; it’s always a great experience to greet our customers personally.
Our team riders and influencers also visited us at the KAVALIO booth. “The deck chairs and the music just create a holiday feeling. I don’t want to leave!” – influencer @alexaloha enjoys the time with the team in Aachen.
We were especially happy about our team riders and influencers who gladly spent their free time with us at the KAVALIO booth. Our motto #ONETEAMONEDREAM is very important to us, which is why we are incredibly proud of our #TEAMKAVALIO.
The positive feedback from our customers was one of the highlights of the CHIO for us. Customer satisfaction is not only a priority in our online shop; especially at events like this, we receive an incredible amount of added value from our #HAPPYCUSTOMERS!
After CHIO is before CHIO – Meet us in Aachen 2023
After the wonderful days in Aachen, we returned to the office, where we are already busy planning the next events and tournaments. We’re looking forward to next year when it’s time again for #MEETUSATCHIO.
