The Dutch Masters 2021, part of the Rolex Grand Salm of Show Jumping, will host the first equestrian Major of the year, and will be held from 23-25 April in the town of ‘s-Hertogenbosch in the south of the Netherlands. After more than a year of uncertainty, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent Equine Virus (EHV-1), organisers of this year’s show are delighted to welcome many of the world’s best riders and their horses to compete at the legendary Brabanthallen over three days of world-class equestrian competition. 

As with each of the four Majors that comprise the Rolex Grand Slam – The Dutch Masters; CHIO Aachen; CSIO Spruce Meadows ‘Masters’ and CHI Geneva – this year’s edition of The Dutch Masters will peak on the Sunday afternoon with the Rolex Grand Prix, with elite riders – including 15 out of the current world top 20 – battling it out to become the new Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping live contender. 

The Dutch Masters 2021 has attracted no fewer than six Rolex Testimonees, including British show jumper, Scott Brash, who remains the first and only rider to have ever won three consecutive Majors, thereby claiming the Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping title in September 2015. Brash has spent 2021 competing in the Qatari capital, Doha, and in Lier in northern Belgium, and comes to The Dutch Masters hoping to reclaim live contender status. 

Joining Brash is fellow Rolex Testimonee and current world number one-ranked rider, Steve Guerdat. Guerdat has a stellar record at Rolex Majors, having triumphed in the Rolex Grand Prix at CHI Geneva in both 2013 and 2015, and the Swiss show jumper will be aiming to add The Dutch Masters Major crown to his enviable list of titles. 

As a result of winning the Rolex Grand Prix at CHI Geneva in December 2019, current world number three-ranked rider and Rolex Testimonee, Martin Fuchs comes to The Dutch Masters, as the live Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping contender. The Swiss rider has spent the most part of 2021 at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Florida, USA, with his grey geldings, Clooney 51 and Leone Jei, and will do whatever it takes to ensure he remains live contender going into the CSIO Spruce Meadows ‘Masters’ in September. 

2014 FEI World Equestrian Games™ Individual gold medalist and home favourite, Jeroen Dubbeldam travels to The Dutch Masters with Forever SFN, Kennedy Z, and Oak Grove’s Carlyle. While a Major win eludes Dubbeldam, the Dutch Rolex Testimonee will have his sights firmly set on a big result in Sunday’s Rolex Grand Prix. Dubbeldam makes up a string of 11 entries for the Netherlands, including Bart Bles, Kim Emmen, Willem Greve, Marc Houtzager, Kevin Jochems, Johnny Pals, former world number one-ranked rider, Harrie Smolders, Leopold van Asten and Jur Vrieling.

Rolex Testimonee, Kent Farrington and compatriot Laura Kraut are the sole representatives from the USA at this year’s Dutch Masters. A two-time Major winner (CHI Geneva 2017 and CHIO Aachen 2019), Farrington travels to ‘s-Hertogenbosch with his gelding Creedance and mare Austria 2, and the current world number seven-ranked rider has the necessary experience and aptitude to be confident that he will very much be in the mix in the Rolex Grand Prix on Sunday. 

Ahead of the 2021 edition of The Dutch Masters, we spoke to two of the sport’s most acclaimed course designers – The Dutch Masters’ Louis Konickx and CHIO Aachen’s Frank Rothenberger. Konickx has been setting challenges for the world’s most accomplished horse and rider combinations in the indoor, synthetic surface arena at The Brabanthallen in 's-Hertogenbosch since 2008, while Rothenberger has been responsible for creating some formidable tests within CHIO Aachen’s vast outdoor turf arena for many of the same world class partnerships since he joined the World Equestrian Festival’s team many years ago. 

Aside from the footing, what are the fundamental differences when designing indoor and outdoor courses? 

Louis Konickx (LK): The space in an indoor arena is limited, therefore the line of the course often crosses itself and runs over the combinations and lines; it is always a puzzle to think of an interesting and challenging design. An outdoor arena offers more possibilities for variation and there is space for more cantering. 

Frank Rothenberger (FR): The surface in outdoor arenas is sometimes not level, which can give a false impression of the distance between obstacles, whether the course is going uphill or downhill. The light can also cause significant problems, for example, the sun can affect a rider’s and a horse’s sight, while floodlights can create some awkward shadows, so I have to be aware of these elements when I design my courses. One of the obvious and fundamental differences is the size of the arenas – in big outdoor arenas, such as at CHIO Aachen and at the CSIO Spruce Meadows ‘Masters’, a course designer can be much more creative with the tracks, and generally speaking, speed is higher in these types of arena.

A brand-new web app, designed exclusively by the Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping, allowing fans to follow their favourite riders using second screen technology, has been unveiled ahead of The Dutch Masters 2021, the first equestrian Major of the year. 

Through the web app, known as ‘Rolex Grand Slam Live’, passionate equestrian fans from around the world will be able to see a host of real-time data, including live timing, number of faults, and order of go, significantly complementing the Rolex Grand Slam online streaming or television viewer experience. 

The web app will also give fans access to additional stats, such as percentage of obstacles knocked down, and the average speed of horse and rider partnerships, and promises to be the ultimate second screen for equestrian fans wanting to know all about the four Majors that comprise the Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping: The Dutch Masters; CHIO Aachen; CSIO Spruce Meadows ‘Masters’ and CHI Geneva. 

The ‘Rolex Grand Slam Live’ technology has been developed by a team of experts at high-tech Swiss company, Alogo, which creates analytical tools for the equine industry, including a range of cutting-edge products that quantify athletes’ performances. 

The web app will be free and available from the following link: https://rolexgrandslam.alogo.io/

The Rolex Grand Slam is considered by the sport to be the ultimate equestrian challenge, primarily due to the sporting prowess required to achieve this feat. It is a quest taken on by the world’s top riders, vying to secure the legendary status associated with winning the Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping.

The format of the Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping is simple: anyone who wins three Majors in a row receives the Rolex Grand Slam trophy and a €1 million bonus on top of the class’s prize-money. If that same rider then continues their success by winning a fourth Major in succession, they will be rewarded with an additional €1million bonus. If two shows are won in succession, the bonus is €500,000 or if an athlete wins only 2 majors in a period of four successive shows, the bonus is €250,000.