Totally happy

Mythical creature, rock star, Queen – for Jessica von Bredow-Werndl words like these spring to mind when she talks about her talented horse. But whichever adjective may describe the Trakehner mare Dalera most accurately, she is definitely the horse that makes her rider’s dreams come true.

The rider, a stylist. A perfectionist. A show-jumper, who has been demonstrating his competence for decades. The horse, an outstanding talent. Intelligent and self-confident. Marcus Ehning and Stargold were the winning pair in the Rolex Grand Prix 2023.

In 2022, Charlotte Fry was crowned as the reigning double World Champion at the age of just 26 and climbed to the top of the world ranking list for the first time in her career. An interview with the young British rider, who has since found a home in the Netherlands.

From legendary landmarks, to historical buildings, through to the well-known telephone boxes: There is all sorts to discover in London. That is exactly what the CHIO Aachen mascot Karli thought too, so he decided to pay the traditional metropolis of this year’s partner country a visit.

The last few months have been a vertical take-off for Dinja van Liere. However, in spite of all her victories she hasn’t lost her down-to-earthness. We visited the amiable dressage rider in the Netherlands.

You definitely won’t have seen the equestrian sport stars like this before. Inspired by this year’s partner country, Great Britain, clad in exceptional outfits created by the design student, Pauline Oetken, they portray part of Britain’s (fashion) history. They were photographed by Diana Wahl.

Jana Wargers has been renowned as a sensitive and talented rider with an affinity for training young horses for a long time. Together with her gelding, Limbridge, the 31-year-old made her breakthrough onto the top international sport scene last year. An interview with the German show-jumper, who has chosen Ashford Farm in Belgium as her professional home.

Brianne Beerbaum was already pushed around the grounds at the CHIO Aachen in her buggy. She was always on board from an early age onwards when her parents competed at the Soers. The 12-year-old will actually be saddling a horse herself at the traditional showgrounds for the first time at the Aachen Jumping Youngstars. We paid the Beerbaums a visit in Thedinghausen.

She picks up gold medals as if it were the most normal thing in the world. The 15-year-old has already been crowned Indoor Champion twice at the Aachen Dressage Youngstars too. We visited Rose Oatley at her home in Lütjensee.

Eventing is considered to be the Queen of sports among the equestrian disciplines, the SAP-Cup as one of the highlights of the CHIO Aachen. After her first victory in 2014, Sandra Auffarth claimed her second triumph in this competition in 2022. We spoke to the 35-year-old and conjured up the right setting for Sandra and her trusted partner, Viamant du Matz.

The jump-off of the Rolex Grand Prix was extremely dramatic, the winner a sensation. We visited Germany’s high-flyer Gerrit Nieberg in Münsterland.

In 2021, she experienced her summer fairytale. Olympic gold medallist. European Champion. Number one in the world ranking list. It is hardly possible to achieve more. And yet Jessica von Bredow-Werndl still comes across as being totally modest. Her love of horses is her recipe for success. An interview with the 35-year-old dressage star.

The first CHIO Aachen Hackathon “smart CHIO” at the showgrounds at the Aachen Soers brought together 60 creative minds from all over Germany at the end of October.

Victory in the Mercedes-Benz Nationsʼ Cup, second place in the Rolex Grand Prix: At the tender age of just 20, the darling of the public, Brian Moggre (USA), expe rienced a week at the Aachen Soers that he will never forget as long as he lives.

At last! Having finished second twice in the past, he finally achieved his goal this year: After riding to victory in the Rolex Grand Prix at the CHIO Aachen 2021, Daniel Deußer’s dream of a lifetime came true. We visited Germany’s cur - rent top show-jumper, who lives and works in Belgium as Head Rider at the Stephex Stables.

The role model entrepreneur Toni Meggle and his wife Marina cherish everything that is close to their hearts. A visit to Georgihof, their picturesque riding facility near Wasserburg on the Inn River.

Making his way into the top ten of the world ranking list was not always easy. Today, Max Kühner is a successful entrepreneur, he has his own yard and a Major victory in the Rolex Grand Slam up his sleeve – and he has a horse-loving family that stands behind him.

Germany’s most famous equestrian sport sponsor is celebrating her 80th birthday on June 28th. When we visited Madeleine Winter-Schulze at her yard in Wedemark, not far from Hanover, she revealed to us why she still isn’t thinking about retiring yet and intends to continue travelling the world with her horses.

While visiting her yard in Rheinberg on the Lower Rhine, Isabell Werth revealed to us what still motivates her day after day after meanwhile 35 international gold medals, the important role her oldie Satchmo still plays in her life and why the eye specialist had to be called after their joint World Championship victory in 2006 in Aachen.

“He is my absolute best horse,” said Olympic gold medallist, Michael Jung, about La Biosthetique Sam, his beloved horse, with whom he also won in Aachen in 2011. Sam and Jung’s second top horse, fischerRocana, have one thing in common: They both grew up at the Marbach Main and State Stud in Baden-Württemberg. That is reason enough in itself to take a look behind the scenes of the oldest and largest state-run stud in Germany.

Mental strength can improve one’s sporting performance – and this can be trained. The expert, Antje Heimsoeth, explained how we can succeed in training more efficiently with a clear head and deliver a stable performance at competitions.

Her first visit to the CHIO Aachen? Stefanie Peters was still in her mother’s womb. Today, 48 years later, the entrepreneur is the first female President of the Aachen-Laurensberger Rennverein (ALRV) and will thus significantly shape the future of the traditional show.

She is an athlete, entrepreneur and soon she will also be a show organiser. We visited Janne Friederike Meyer-Zimmermann at her yard in Pinneberg, near Hamburg.

Beam yourselves into the Main Stadium, onto the cross-country course or into the Deutsche Bank Stadium during video meetings

Rewards play an important role when training horses. Also gladly in the form of treats. Here are three recipes for you to bake yourselves.

A smile appears on her face, when she talks about the CHIO Aachen. About the many emotional moments that she has experienced at the Soers. Helen Langehanenberg has already succeeded in having her name eternalised as winner of the Deutsche Bank Prize twice. The dressage rider will be closely linked with the World Equestrian Festival for ever.

– Recurrent lameness is a huge problem for both the horse and rider, especially in equestrian sport. A good two months after its first launch, it can be reported at the “World Equestrian Festival”, CHIO Aachen, Germany, that the first stem cell-based product in horses approved in the EU is now on the market in many European countries.

It all began with coloured notes. The digital experts from the global company SAP and the CHIO Aachen team met up in the “AppHaus” in Heidelberg a few years ago to discuss how one could jointly lead Germany’s biggest sporting event into the digital age. The outcome has been an exciting and equally successful partnership.

She – Germany’s most famous equestrian sport influencer. He – Aachen’s best chef. Both of them – wonderful entertainers. So, it was somehow obvious that Annica Hansen and Christof Lang would get on like a house on fire from the very first moment. We brought the two of them together, actually to cook, but indeed they spent most of the time chatting and laughing.

Louis XIV would definitely have liked the CHIO Aachen. He was a passionate rider and horse lover, he adored huge pageants, the pomp, the show. He used to set off for hunts and hacks from Versailles Palace, which stands for France more than any other castle.

Soon. Very soon. That is when Germany’s largest sports event, which many people claim is the best of all, begins: The CHIO Aachen. We visited the Soers to take a look behind the scenes.

It is doubtful whether the visitors will notice that they are walking on art(ificial) grass. When tens of thousands of people traipse through the meadows of the Soers on Saturday, July 12th, during the SAP Cup, the eventing cross-country competition, they will be marching over Aachen’s biggest piece of art. Spanning 50 x 50 metres, Martin Stockberg created this masterpiece with a lawnmower.