Newsletter N°1 : Spring is in the air
We don’t know about you, but we always feel a frisson of excitement when we get to send you our first newsletter of the year. After all, it means the days are getting longer, the sun is out again, the horses are grazing on grass that has a little more juice in it, and the competition arenas are opening their doors once more.
The indoor season is still not over, however, with the start of the 2025 Dutch Masters just a few hours away. The high point of the event is the first leg of this year’s Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping: the Rolex Grand Prix on Sunday. Incidentally – and not insignificantly – this is the first time since the creation of this prestigious four-event venture that Steve Guerdat will not be lining up at one of its major tournaments. As you all no doubt know, the 42-year-old Swiss rider has had surgery on a herniated disk and recently took to social media for the first time in quite a while to announce how disappointed he was to be missing the ‘s-Hertogenbosch event and the FEI World Cup Finals in Basel. Sad as the news was, Steve’s health comes first and we wish him a speedy recovery and our very best wishes at this testing time.
Back to the horses. With spring just a nose away and a new season about to begin, it’s the perfect time for us to draw some (positive) conclusions from the 63rd CHI Geneva and start preparing the ground for you for the 2025 event. So, before we begin dedicating all our energies to the task of welcoming you with open arms on 10-14 December (yes, we know it’s a long way away, but please make sure you save the date – there’s no such thing as being too well-prepared), we’d like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for being there in 2024. We know from the atmosphere and your energy and positive feedback that the 63rd CHIG was a huge success, but the stats don’t lie either, as the infographic opposite shows. That success is down to you! So, as we eagerly look forward to CHIG no. 64, we sincerely hope you enjoy reading this first newsletter of 2025.
Legendary event to make its return at 2025 Dutch Masters
There’s a new look to the programme at this year’s Dutch Masters (Indoor Brabant Horse Show) in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, with tomorrow evening’s card featuring an event format that has not been seen on the international stage since the 2014 World Equestrian Games in Caen. Making its return in a competition dubbed the “Best of Champions” is the horse rotation, which will see four of the world’s leading riders go head-to-head on each other’s mounts.
Lining up to tackle a 1.45m-1.50m course are Mikael van der Vleuten, an individual jumping bronze medallist at last year’s Olympic Games in Paris; former Olympic team and world team and individual champion Henrik von Eckermann; former European individual silver medallist Philipp Weishaupt; and Dutch champion Willem Greve.
A Change in the Saddle (1/7): Smits clan building a dynasty
Every year, the CHI Geneva newsletter picks a theme and runs with it for the duration of the season. The theme for 2025 is the new generation of riders, the talented sons and daughters of, who are making their way solely on merit. First up in our “Dynasty of Riders” series are none other than the Smits.
Our destination is Chevenez, in the Swiss canton of Jura. It is here that Dehlia Oeuvray-Smits, who hails from a family of riders, and husband Edwin Smits have been running a multi-faceted operation since 2003.
Devillard and the CHI Geneva: 28 years and counting
Devillard has stood side by side with the CHI Geneva for no fewer than 28 years now, forming a partnership founded on trust, passion and the shared values of excellence and precision.
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