Text © World of Showjumping

“It is a victory that makes not just me, but the whole team around United, proud,” Germany’s Richard Vogel said after he and the 14-year-old stallion United Touch S (Untouched x Lux Z) had won Sunday’s CSI5* 1.60m Rolex Grand Prix of Aachen.

The iconic Soers showground in Aachen hosted the second Rolex Grand Slam Major of the year, with the Rolex Grand Prix of Aachen taking place in glorious sunshine on Sunday afternoon. After winning the first Major at The Dutch Masters in March, Richard Vogel – the current world number three and the reigning European Champion – arrived in Aachen as the Rolex Grand Slam live contender, vying for the extra bonus of €500,000 on offer for two Major wins in succession. However, with 30 from the 32 top ranked riders in the world in attendance, it was never going to be an easy quest for Vogel and his extraordinary equine partner United Touch S.

For the first round, Frank Rothenberger (GER) had set a track that counted 14 fences and 18 efforts, with a triple combination at 6abc, followed by a challenging line from the Four Majors-vertical down to the open water up towards the Rolex Grand Slam-wall. While the traditional double of waters – this year an oxer-vertical combination as fence no. 11ab – caused a fair share of penalties, so did the Rolex-double at fence 13ab.

The 18 best pairs from the 40 world-class horse-and-rider combinations at start continued to round two, ten of them with a clear score sheet. In the slightly shortened second round – counting 12 obstacles and 15 efforts – the first double clear came from Sophie Hinners and Iron Dames Singclair (Singular LS La Silla x Cardento 933), while Richard Vogel and United Touch S secured a jump-off as the second double clear of the afternoon. Last out in front of the fully packed Soers crowd, José Maria Larocca and Finn Lente (Gaillard de La Pomme x Colandro) made sure the jump-off was not to be a Germans only affair.

First out in the jump-off, Hinners put in a stylish clear, setting the standard when crossing the finish line in 51.62 seconds. Vogel and United Touch S, however, shaved off over six seconds to take over the lead – and set the appreciative Soers-audience ablaze. As the last pair out, Larocca and Finn Lente slotted into second place with their time of 47.36, while Vogel could celebrate his second Rolex Major win of the year.

“It is very, very emotional,” Vogel said afterwards. “It is not often that I cry – and mostly not for good reasons – but today it was a fantastic reason to have tears in my eyes.”

“I think in any other Grand Prix, it would be a very nice and secure feeling to go into the jump-off knowing that in the worst case, you end up being third,” he continued. “But coming here as the Rolex live contender, managed to get into the jump-off, there was only one goal, and that was obviously to secure the win here in Aachen. That has been a childhood dream, to win the Rolex Grand Prix of Aachen, and of course when you then enter the arena as the live contender, you don’t want to go for a second or third place. Having those two great competitors in the jump-off built quite some pressure on us, on United and myself, and we just tried to lay it all down on one card – being good enough to secure the win and just do it a tiny bit better to the last jump than two years ago.”

“For me personally, Aachen is my absolute favourite show in this world,” Vogel said. “For sure Aachen provides best conditions for our horses and for us riders, but what I think makes it so special, are the spectators, the crowd – they are cheering us on, they are so for the sport. They really give us wings when we canter into the Soers. I think they are really a part of why we can deliver these performances here.”

“I just wanted to let a German win,” the second placed Larocca joked. “I could not be happier, and to be beaten by what is arguably the best horse-and-rider combination in the world, is an honour. I could not be more grateful to be here; we can only be grateful for the atmosphere.”

“Sometimes, they cannot all come because there are certain nations that have to come, so they have put together, arguably, the best riders ever – it is very, very special,” Larocca pointed out about the exceptional starter field at this year’s edition.

“I feel very grateful, and first of all, so proud of Iron Dames Singclair, who jumped incredible today,” third placed Sophie Hinners said. “I am super proud of him, and my team of course, and to finish on the podium in the Rolex Grand Prix of Aachen is definitely a dream come true.”

“I knew I did not need to try to fight against Richie,” she shared about her plan for the jump-off. “My plan was to jump clear, go a bit quick and hope that maybe the others would go a little bit more crazy. They all jumped great rounds, so I think we are all happy to jump three clear rounds and to be on the podium.”

“I would really like to say a big thank you to Rolex for our already outstanding co-operation and for your fantastic support to our show and we are very happy to announce today that we have agreed to continue our long-term co-operation,” Birgit Rosenberg, member of the ALRV managing board, shared.

For Richard Vogel, winning the Rolex Grand Prix of Aachen might have been a childhood dream coming true, while his Rolex Grand Slam dream continues. “I think we cannot thank Rolex enough for supporting us on the best shows we have in this world, for putting up these Rolex Majors,” he said when asked if he is already looking forward to the next Major of the year at Spruce Meadows in Calgary in September. “For now, we are just over the moon with our performance today. We really enjoy this victory, and it probably takes days and weeks to slowly realize what happened – and then it will be time to make a good plan and a good strategy towards Spruce Meadows Masters.”