The 43 participants in the RWE Prize of North Rhine-Westphalia certainly had a demanding task ahead of them mastering the course Frank Rothenberger had built for them. In fact, it was actually two very thin planks that caused the most problems. In the end, it was a newcomer to Aachen newcomer and an old hand, who took part in the final show down.

A slightly uphill triple combination, followed by two individual fences with a water ditch in the middle and a double combination at the end comprising of two verticals with thin planks – these were the most difficult questions in the RWE Prize of North Rhine-Westphalia 2025. Particularly the latter were tricky. “When I walked the course, I thought, wow!”, Olympic champion Christian Kukuk summarized his impression and suspected that it would be challenging. He was the first to go with the ten-year-old OS stallion, Chageorge, who jumped for the first time on grass here in Aachen. After their ride everyone was still optimistic. They only had one fence down, but otherwise mastered the course well.

However, as the competition progressed the horse and rider pairs encountered more and more problems, especially at the planks. For a long time, it looked like there was going to be a jump-off between the riders on four faults. Until the 34th starters, Ioli Mytilineou and La Perla vd Heffinck, proved that it was possible. For the next 14 rides, the Greek rider was able to dream of winning the RWE Prize of North Rhine-Westphalia on her first appearance in Aachen. The bubble burst with Ben Maher and Point Break, who were the last to go, also stayed clear.

In line with a new rule, Maher and Point Break were the first to go in the jump-off and they cruised round the Soers, speedily but taking no risks: A clear round in 46.78 seconds. Ioli Mytilineou and La Perla vd Heffinck unfortunately brushed the second obstacle and also picked up four further faults on the last fence of the double combination, dashing her hopes of victory to the ground. Hence, Ben Maher was the winner of the class, Mytilineou came second and Christian Kukuk’s round with Chageorge ultimately secured third place.

Ben Maher confirmed the fact that the course was difficult. “It didn’t ride comfortably. But Point Break was totally with me and attentive.” Maher was highly satisfied with his horse. The eleven-year-old Swedish stallion out of Action-Breaker is “an incredible athlete“, which he will be able to demonstrate again on Sunday when he is due to compete in the Rolex Grand Prix. “We did the test today, so that he isn’t  too stunned in the Rolex Grand Prix. And now he will rest until Sunday.”

The only clear round and then came Ben – what that was like for Ioli Mytilineou? “There is always Ben,“ she laughed. But she was also happy with second place – although of course she did have “mixed feelings”. “I was very happy with my mare. She has only done a few 1.60 classes, so I thought it might be too much. But she did all she could in the ring as she always does.“ That’s why she took it easy after collecting four faults to give her some confidence.

What Aachen is like the first time? “I have been watching the show since I was a kid. When I arrived, you’d have thought I’d never been to a show before. I didn’t know where I was going. It is like being at a championship.”

Christian Kukuk was very satisfied at coming third, especially since Chageorge competed on grass for the first time here in Aachen. How realistically the Olympic gold medallist sees his chances of winning the Grand Prix of Aachen and at the same time crossing another item off his bucket list? “As realistic as the gold medal in Paris.“ In other words: Everything is possible. Whereby he did affirm that “Checker (his Olympic horse) is in good form. “I jumped him yesterday. If everything goes right on the day, I have a chance. But of the 40 riders there are between 25 and 30, who could win the class.”

CHIO Aachen Head of Sport, Birgit Rosenberg was happy too. “We saw fantastic sport today, we would have wished for more riders in the jump-off, but it is great to see more new faces. I was so pleased to receive Ioli’s answer to my e-mail inviting her to take part at the CHIO Aachen. She wrote back that she would do her utmost to perform well and she certainly prove that today.“

The Course Designer, Frank Rothenberger, also came to a decision after the competition: “We are going to burn the planks.”