Young Horse Masters: More coveted than ever before

The luxurious The Wellem hotel in Düsseldorf's historic city centre, owned by equestrian enthusiast Uwe Schmitz, hosted an exclusive reception on Tuesday evening where international show jumper Holger Hetzel (GER) and his partners presented the latest innovations for the fourth edition of the Tiemeyer x Hetzel Young Horse Masters – Europe's richest show jumping event for young horses.

"We've never had a field of this quality before," Holger Hetzel proudly announced. More than 350 horses from Germany and abroad have been entered for the Tiemeyer x Hetzel Young Horse Masters, which will take place from 23 to 26 July at Hetzel's equestrian centre in Goch, Germany. "That's almost 100 more horses than last year," Hetzel explained. However, it is not only the number of entries that has increased. The list of competitors features many of the sport's biggest names. Among them is Richard Vogel, who has been selected to represent Germany at the FEI World Championships in Aachen this August. Double European Champion Marco Kutscher, CHIO Aachen Grand Prix winner Gerrit Nieberg, as well as leading riders Katrin Eckermann and Jana Fink have also confirmed their participation.

Jana Fink will once again compete with the state stallion Arcassio NRW, the horse with which she sensationally won the five-year-old championship in Goch last year before going on to claim the German National Championship for five-year-old show jumpers in Warendorf just a few weeks later. The growing international appeal of the event is reflected in the impressive number of nations represented this year. Henrik Dowe, one of Germany's most successful riders of young horses, highlighted the importance of the event: "For many years, the Bundeschampionat in Warendorf was the season's main goal for my young horses. Today, Holger Hetzel's event and the Bundeschampionat are equally important highlights for both my horses and me."

Holger Hetzel sees the relationship between the two events as complementary rather than competitive. "I have never regarded our event as competition for the Bundeschampionat. Instead, I see it as the perfect addition. That's why we will once again present our special combined ranking, where horses can earn the title of 'Youngster of the Year' in their respective age group based on their performances at both events."

The Tiemeyer x Hetzel Young Horse Masters offers a total prize fund of €200,000. The final for five-year-old horses carries prize money of €25,000, while the six-year-old final offers €50,000. The seven- and eight-year-old championship is endowed with €100,000, making it one of the most valuable young horse competitions in Europe. The Grand Tour for older horses continues to grow in prestige as well, with its final now carrying prize money of €25,000 for the first time.

But the event offers much more than world-class sport. Visitors can enjoy a newly expanded 5,000-square-metre exhibition and entertainment area, a huge children's playground, and a wide variety of food trucks and catering options, making the Young Horse Masters an ideal destination for the entire family. One of the weekend's highlights will once again be the Flanders Foal Auction on Saturday evening, featuring outstanding young show jumping prospects. Thanks to the commitment of Uwe Schmitz, the event will also continue to support the RTL charity initiative "Wir helfen Kindern" (We Help Children).

In addition, Manuela and Uwe Schmitz are placing special emphasis on recognising the work of the grooms. This year, the grooms of all medal-winning horses will receive a generous award. Furthermore, Uwe Schmitz's company Frankonia will provide complimentary catering for all grooms throughout the entire event.