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Christian Ahlmann Faultless in His First Rolex Grand Prix Victory at CHIO Aachen

Winner Christian Ahlmann riding Codex One. Photos © Rolex/Kit Houghton.

20 July 2014, Aachen, GER: Germany’s Christian Ahlmann today produced a faultless display of riding to win his first Rolex Grand Prix at CHIO Aachen, and in so doing, became the new live contender for the Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping.

Riding his stallion Codex One, who has only recently returned to top flight competition following a long injury, Ahlmann was one of only five riders who produced double clear rounds on a challenging Frank Rothenberger designed course. The jump-off resembled an international penalty shoot-out, with three riders representing Germany and two from the USA. Going into the ring first Ahlmann rode a deliberately aggressive but clear round setting a tough challenge for his fellow riders.

Knowing that only a clear round would make the grade, the four who followed Ahlmann into the ring, Marcus Ehning, Kent Farrington, Daniel Deusser and Lauren Hough, clearly felt the pressure and each had one fence down. Ahlmann was the only rider to ride three clear rounds to win the Rolex Grand Prix crown and the first equestrian Major of 2014.

Ahlmann, like many of this year’s competitors, had dreamt of winning the Rolex Grand Prix at Aachen from a very young age and felt the pressure going into the stadium for the jump-off. “The pressure was there when I went into the jump-off first, and I therefore tried to not take a major risk but put my colleagues under pressure so that they would be forced to take some big risks. This is a dream come true for me and for sure, I will be at the Spruce Meadows Masters in September!”

Second place Kent Farrington riding Voyeur
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Second place Kent Farrington riding Voyeur

Over 360,000 spectators enjoyed not only top class competition but superb weather during the ten days of competition at CHIO Aachen, with the final week temperatures soaring to the mid 30 degrees centigrade four days in a row. Sunday came with a cooling breeze, making conditions ideal for the highlight of the show, the Rolex Grand Prix.

This year’s CHIO Aachen featured many of Rolex’s equestrian Testimonees, including all the Show Jumping riders Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum, Steve Guerdat, Kevin Staut, Eric Lamaze and Rodrigo Pessoa, as well as Zara Phillips and Isabell Werth. Recently selected to represent Great Britain at the World Equestrian Games, Zara was part of the team who came second in the Nations Cup Eventing at Aachen, her first major contest since the birth of her daughter Mia in January. Isabell enjoyed an excellent few days of competition in the Dressage arena with an individual victory and four Top 5 finishes in the nine competitions.

But the glory goes to Christian Ahlmann with a victory which will etch his name in the record books. As Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum, a former winner of the Rolex Grand Prix at CHIO Aachen, said, “The Rolex Grand Prix on Sunday at CHIO Aachen is, in my opinion, the equivalent to winning a gold medal at the Olympic Games. To win is a highlight of a rider’s career and to potentially become a Grand Slam winner is just a dream come true.”

Rolex is a partner to some of the greatest equestrian shows in the world, including the three Majors: CHIO Aachen, the Spruce Meadows ‘Masters’, and CHI Geneva. These shows form the Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping which is the first global initiative to reward the outstanding rider who wins the Grand Prix at each show in succession.

Rider Quotes:

Kent Farrington:

“This is an amazing show; you know, I’d say this is the best show in the world. There are unbelievable crowds here; you know I think this is by far the pinnacle of our sport.

Rolex has done amazing things for our sport and I think that it’s brought it to a higher level around the world with their support now in the United States in addition to what they’ve always done here and at venues like Aachen and Geneva. You know, it really brings our sport to a new level of professional sport.

For me it was really exciting just to be here. I was thrilled with how my horses performed this week… unfortunately a little bad luck at the last fence here – I was hoping we could pull it all off. If I had to do it again I don’t know if I would have changed anything; I think that was just bad luck.”

Third place Marcus Ehning riding Plot Blue
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Third place Marcus Ehning riding Plot Blue

Marcus Ehning:

“I was really proud of my horse; he’s 17 years old. He’s already jumped amazingly in the Nations Cup and two rounds clear and one fault in the jump off… the time was good, a bit unlucky but I’m really happy with him.

For me this [Aachen] is the best show in the world and for sure as a German it’s always amazing how the crowd is, how the public is… so many spectators, lovely weather this year and I think it was the perfect show this week.

Rolex is an amazing sponsor for us and we are very proud about it and for us it’s a really big goal. Rolex pushed the sport forward in the showjumping and we are really happy about it.”

For further media information, please contact:
Georgie Wells
Tel: +44 207 592 1207
Email: georgina@revolutionsports.co.uk

www.rolex.com
www.rolexgrandslam.com

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