The equestrian sport has many faces, it tells exciting stories and can be incredibly emotional. The award ceremony of the “Silver Camera”, which pays tribute to the best equestrian photo of the year, proved this on Saturday evening.

What distinguishes a good photo? The motif? The technical quality? The atmosphere? A star-studded jury have to answer this question every year. Because the organisers of the CHIO Aachen, the Aachen-Laurensberger Rennverein e.V. (ALRV), traditionally confer the “Silver  Camera” for the best international equestrian sport photo of the year. 166 photographs had been submitted, however only could win. This year Gerrit Nieberg, German show-jumper and winner of the Rolex Grand Prix at the CHIO Aachen 2022, last year’s winner Pauline Roy Chowdhury, Andreas Müller (CEO Medienhaus Aachen) and ALRV board member Philip Erbers were responsible for selecting this year’s winners and runners-up. “The quality of the photos is outstanding. The decision wasn’t easy for us jury members,” stated Philip Erbers. The entry from Rebecca Thamm ultimately convinced the star-studded jury. Her photo, that captured an exceptional fair play moment during the CHIO Aachen 2023, particularly stood out against the remaining entries thanks to its perfect interplay between emotion and technique. Second place went to the Dutch photographer, Danielle Smits, who shot an intimate moment on the warm-up area at the CHIO Aachen. Jasmin Metzner won third place with her photo of the 2023 Rolex Grand Prix winner, Marcus Ehning.

The “Silver Camera” is awarded by the Aachen-Laurensberger Rennverein and was initiated by the artist, Wolfgang Lamché. The prize was presented on Saturday evening by the ALRV Supervisory Board member, Peter Weinberg. First place is endowed with prize money to the value of 2,500 Euros, second place wins 1,000 Euros and third place 500 Euros.