Foto: Die Teilnehmer des ROLEX IJRC TOP 10 FINAL 2025 - Fotograf: IJRC
The countdown is set. The Rolex IJRC Top 10 Final 2025 will take place in ten days' time: as always on Friday evening
(12 December, at 9 p.m.) at the CHI in Geneva, and as always with sold-out stands.
Excitement is mounting for what is widely regarded as the ATP Finals of show jumping, which is celebrating its 24th
edition this year. There are light shows, the atmosphere of the best sporting events and the magic of the partnership
between man and horse. These alone would make for a memorable competition. Yet the Rolex IJRC Top 10 Final in
Geneva is even more than that.
It is a prestigious event in terms of both competitive context and technical importance, with the world's top ten pairs
competing. It is a challenge that only the best can enter, and one that everyone aspires to participate in. Competing
in the Rolex IJRC Top 10 Final means having had an extraordinary season, and taking on the challenge of determining
who is the best of the best.
At the beginning of November, the International Jumping Riders Club made the list of participants official when the
FEI released the updated Jumping Ranking List. This includes the names of the ten riders (in reverse order): Steve
Guerdat (SUI), Julien Epaillard (FRA), Daniel Coyle (IRL), Harrie Smolders (NED), Richard Vogel (GER), Gilles Thomas
(BEL), Christian Kukuk (GER), Ben Maher (GBR), Scott Brash (GBR) and Kent Farrington (USA).
The rider who completes the two courses, with obstacles up to 1.60 metres high, with the fewest penalties and the
best time, will lift the large silver cup, on the base of which the names of the winning pairs are engraved.
«The competition format is the same as it was in the inaugural edition twenty-four years ago - explains Eleonora
Ottaviani, director of the IJRC, who launched the event in 2001 with Cayetano Martinez de Irujo, then president of
the club. - Ludo Philippaerts and Franke Sloothaak took second and third place respectively behind the winner, Ludger
Beerbaum. What strikes me is that this contest, conceived two decades ago with a pioneering and, more than anything,
TV-friendly format, remains up-to-date today. This is proved by the riders' enthusiasm and the care with which they
choose their horses».
Looking back at the history of the Rolex IJRC Top 10 Final from 2001 to the present day, we find that only one rider
has achieved the ‘triplete’: Steve Guerdat, much to the delight of the home crowd, having won three times (on Venard
de Cerisy in 2023, Jalisca Solier in 2010 and Alamo in 2018).
«2025 was a year that really put me to the test and forced me to view the competitive season in a very different light,'
comments Steve Guerdat, who twice had to interrupt his competition schedule for treatment following surgery for a
herniated disc. After last season, I consider it a real success to be competing in the Rolex IJRC Top Ten again this year.
That makes me really happy».
Four riders topped the Rolex IJRC Top 10 Final twice: Ludger Beerbaum, Rodrigo Pessoa, Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum
and Kent Farrington.
This year, eight nations will be represented by their respective riders: the United States, Great Britain, Germany,
Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland, France and Switzerland.
Germany and Great Britain will each field two riders, creating a duel within the duel.
Are you ready for a new chapter in the history of the Rolex IJRC Top 10 Final? Mark the date and time and enjoy the
live broadcast on the official IJRC Club website.
CLICK HERE for the Roll of Honour of the Rolex IJRC Top 10 Final
All updates and insights to follow the run-up to the Rolex IJRC Top 10 Final 2025 are published on the IJRC's social
media channels and official website, where the competition will be streamed live
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