Europe's highest-paying young horse show with many innovations

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The luxury hotel The Wellem, owned by equestrian enthusiast Uwe Schmitz and located in Düsseldorf’s Old Town, was the venue for a reception on Wednesday evening, where show jumper Holger Hetzel (Goch) and his partners presented the innovations for the fourth edition of the Tiemeyer x Hetzel Young Horse Masters—Europe’s highest-paying competition for top young show jumping horses. Around 100 riders from numerous nations with nearly 300 horses are expected to compete at the event, which will take place from July 24 to 27 at Holger Hetzel’s equestrian centre in Goch on the Lower Rhine.

The most important innovations for both riders and horse owners: the prize money in the final for seven- and eight-year-old horses has been increased to an impressive €100,000. Finalists in the six-year-old division will compete for €50,000, while €25,000 will be awarded in the final for five-year-olds. To give riders of young horses an additional competition opportunity, a new S-level tour for older horses will be added to the existing program. At the same time, the Tiemeyer x Hetzel Young Horse Masters is becoming a partner in a groundbreaking new cooperation project.

A new and highly lucrative special ranking awaits the most successful show jumping horses competing at both the Tiemeyer x Hetzel Young Horse Masters and the Al Shira’aa Bundeschampionate, which will take place from September 2 to 7 in Warendorf, Westphalia. For the first time, thanks to this innovative collaboration between two top-level events, a special ranking titled “Youngster of the Year” will be introduced for five- to seven-year-old show jumping horses bred in Germany. The horse with the highest combined score from both final competitions will be awarded the title “Youngster of the Year” in its respective age category. In the event of a tie, the result from the Al Shira’aa Bundeschampionate will determine the winner.

The owners of the most successful horses will receive cash prizes of €2,500 for the best five-year-old, €5,000 for the best six-year-old, and €7,500 for the best seven-year-old. The official award ceremony for the title winners will take place during the Al Shira’aa Bundeschampionate in Warendorf. Holger Hetzel commented:
“We have never seen the Tiemeyer x Hetzel Young Horse Masters as a competitor to the Al Shira’aa Bundeschampionate in Warendorf. This new special ranking rewards and highlights the horses that show consistent performance. And that is precisely the goal of a correct and professional training of young horses.”

The Tiemeyer x Hetzel Young Horse Masters also offer visitors a highly attractive supporting programme. One of the highlights is the Flanders Foal Auction, where 30 exceptionally promising foals with top international pedigrees will be auctioned. Following the foal presentation on Saturday at 4:00 p.m., the auction will begin at 8:00 p.m. New to the supporting programme is the “Arena Cup” hosted by the Polo Park Heisterfeldshof. Three international polo teams will compete on the main show jumping arena of the equestrian centre, with two matches scheduled on Thursday, Friday, and Sunday respectively.

Also in attendance at the reception at Düsseldorf’s luxury hotel The Wellem were Laura Klaphake and her brother Enno, both of whom will be competing at the Tiemeyer x Hetzel Young Horse Masters and share a special connection with Holger Hetzel. Laura, who won team bronze with the German squad at the 2018 World Equestrian Games in Tryon, USA, placed third in last year’s Masters in Goch in the seven- and eight-year-old category. Her brother Enno claimed victory in the final of the U25 German Cup—a competition for Germany’s top young show jumping talents supported by Holger Hetzel—at the CHIO in Aachen last year. There was also good news from Uwe Schmitz at the reception: the special award for grooms, which he initiated last year for the Tiemeyer x Hetzel Young Horse Masters, will be continued this year.

“Equestrian sport is essentially a team sport, with many people contributing to its success. For me, grooms are one of the most important groups in this sport, yet they far too rarely receive public recognition. With this special award for grooms, I want to highlight the crucial role these individuals play in both the wellbeing of the horses and the success of the riders.”