It was expected... With three weeks to go before the Tokyo Olympics, the Masters of Chantilly is looking to be quite exceptional. From July 8 to 11, no less than seven Olympic champions... Among others!
Among these Olympic Champions, Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat (2012 in individual), Rolex Testimonee and current World No. 2, will headline this first Masters of Chantilly. He will be accompanied by his teammate and fellow Rolex Testimonee Martin Fuchs, the reigning individual European champion and current World No. 3. The two partners are among the favorites for an individual and/or a team Olympic medal.
The four French gold medalists from Rio de Janeiro, Pénélope Leprévost, Kevin Staut other Rolex Testimonee, Philippe Rozier, and Roger-Yves Bost, will be enjoying the last few weeks of this title. Pénélope Leprévost and Roger-Yves Bost will be in full preparation in Chantilly to defend the gold medal three weeks later in Tokyo. They will be joined by Nicolas Delmotte, very pleased with his victory in the Grand Prix of La Baule.
Some U.S. riders will also be fighting their last battle for Olympic selection. Five of the last seven selected for the four places on the American short-list will be in Chantilly: Brian Moggre who has just won the 5* Grand Prix in Sopot, the 2008 Olympic Team Champion; Laura Kraut, and the young Lucy Deslauriers, aged 21. Lucy recently finished second in the 5* Grand Prix in Sopot and won a Grand Prix in Palm Beach last winter, defeating... her father. The last is none other than Mario Deslauriers who had been the youngest winner of the World Cup, at 19 years of age, in 1984, the year when he finished 4th individual at the Los Angeles Olympic Games. At 56 years of age, Mario still has a good eye as he is one of the favorites to represent Canada individually in Tokyo. For the Masters of Chantilly, he will be accompanied by the excellent Tiffany Foster and probably by the 2008 Olympic Champion and 2016 bronze medalist, Eric Lamaze.
The two-time winner of the Spruce Meadows and Aachen Majors, Philipp Weishaupt, is also in the German short-list for Tokyo; there are still eight candidates. He will be in Chantilly alongside Hans-Dieter Dreher who knows the Great Stables arena well, having won a 5* Grand Prix there. This is also the case for Olivier Philippaerts and the winner of the Rolex Grand Prix 5* of Knokke, Jérôme Guery, who will be happy to return to this arena alongside Gudrun Patteet and Wilm Vermeir for Belgium. Jérôme Guery is officially one of the four Belgians selected riders for Tokyo, this will be his second participation in the Olympic Games.
These are only a few examples of a list that is far from being exhaustive and definitive. Fourteen nations and four continents will be represented at the Masters of Chantilly. Many riders will have Tokyo in their sights, such as Ireland with Rolex Testimonee Bertram Allen, member of the Irish Olympic selection, Israel with Daniel Bluman, and Spain with Eduardo Alvarez Aznar.
The list of participants is not yet complete, but these names alone are enough to confirm that this first edition of the Masters of Chantilly promises to be outstanding from a sporting point of view. The Rolex Grand Prix on Sunday at 3:00 pm will be a memorable apotheosis after four days of competition and 24 classes of all levels, in the most beautiful historical setting in the world for show jumping.
Masters of Chantilly - from July 8 to 11, 2021
Chantilly Racecourse - Avenue de la Plaine des Aigles, 60500 Chantilly
There will be a limited number of grandstand seats available.
Access to the Prestige Village and the Standing Places is free and open. Please note that the sanitary pass* will be required upon entry, as required by government regulations.
Grandstand seats: established capacity is for 1128 places per day (this number may change according to the applicable measures on the date of the event):
Thursday: Free
Friday: €15
Saturday: €25
Sunday: €35
3-days pass: €70
Exclusive online sale on: www.weridetheworld.com
There will be no tickets available on site. Nevertheless, it will be possible to acquire an e-ticket directly via smartphone, thanks to a digital ticket will be issued to you for presentation at the entrance to the stands.
*You will be asked to show a sanitary pass as required for any event over 1,000 people.
As of June 9, 2021, the sanitary pass must include one of the three following forms of evidence:
• Vaccination (complete scheme),
• Negative test taken less than 48 hours previously,
• Positive RT-PCR or antigenic test demonstrating recovery of Covid-19, at least 15-days-old and less
than 6-months-old.
Find all the information on the French government website: www.gouvernement.fr/info coronavirus/pass-sanitaire
About EEM
A creator of exceptional events and a key player and pioneer of the equestrian industry, EEM, along with its President and Founder Christophe Ameeuw, has been working for more than 15 years to put our sport in the spotlight and capture new followers around the world. Within 16 years, EEM created seven Audi Masters, three Rolex Top 10 Finals, six Gucci Masters and five fantastic Masters Series seasons in Paris, Hong Kong, New York, Los Angeles and Lausanne. Recognized for its unique know-how and innovative spirit, EEM is also the creator and owner of the concepts of the Speed Challenge®, the Riders Masters Cup® and Asia Horse Week®. EEM also owns the equestrian media site of reference, Studforlife and the We Ride The World community. In 2020, EEM is writing a new page in its history, reinventing itself to create the Masters of Chantilly, a major event on the sporting schedule where the Olympic discipline of show jumping and the capital of the horse world will shine on the international stage.
Rolex and equestrian sports
As a partner of the most prestigious authorities, competitions and riders in the world of equestrian sports, Rolex has a close and long-standing relationship with the sport, helping it to grow internationally. This unwavering commitment is based on a history that began more than 60 years ago, when the brand partnered with British show jumping pioneer and Olympic medalist, Pat Smythe. Rolex is a founding partner of the Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping, the ultimate challenge in show jumping, which rewards any rider that successively wins the Grands Prix of three of the four major events: The Dutch Masters, CHIO Aachen, CSIO Spruce Meadows Masters and CHI Geneva. Having been associated with equestrian icons such as Steve Guerdat, Scott Brash, Kent Farrington, Rodrigo Pessoa and Isabell Werth, Rolex is distinguished by a presence that reaches across generations and around the globe, encouraging the sharing of knowledge and experience. As part of its commitment to continuous growth and progress, the brand supports the Young Riders Academy, which promotes the development of young talent.