Vogel Makes it Two, and the Grand Slam is Live Again
Two years ago, Richard Vogel had the Rolex Grand Prix of Aachen in his hands and dropped the final rail. He has spoken about it since in the way riders talk about things they haven’t finished processing. On Sunday, coming to that last vertical with the clock at 45 seconds and the lead on the line, United Touch S launched at it and left it standing.
The time was 45.57. Only José María Larocca Jr could still beat it, and he came in intending to, riding with high speed and tight lines. But his 16-year-old gelding Finn Lente doesn’t cover ground the way United Touch S does, and 47.36 secured him second place. Sophie Hinners and Iron Dames Singclair completed the podium.
What followed in the warm-up arena told you as much as the result. The German winners of previous Aachen Grands Prix had gathered there, and the noise that came out of it when the clock stopped was not the polite applause of colleagues.
The Field, and What it Wasn’t
This was an unusual Aachen. The 2026 TSCHIO ran across three days from 22–24 May rather than its traditional late-June, ten-day format, and the jumping Nations Cup was cancelled altogether, both consequences of the venue hosting the FEI World Championships in August. Whatever else the week was, it was not a normal one. Unlike the full CHIO, the May TSCHIO focused heavily on top-tier show jumping (including a Rolex Grand Slam Major and the Rolex Grand Prix) rather than hosting all standard disciplines like full dressage and eventing. Locals and organisers lovingly combined a nod to the smaller, condensed event with regional flair, dubbing it "Tschio" as a playful and affectionate tribute to home and tradition.
But despite the one discipline and shortened duration, the competitive depth did not suffer. Forty-nine combinations contested the first Rolex Grand Prix qualifier, including 28 of the world’s top 30. Belgium’s Abdel Saïd set what looked like an untouchable benchmark of 39.59 with Wathnan Bonne Amie in the second qualifier before Lillie Keenan beat it. Henrik von Eckermann took the Prize of the Aachen-Laurensberger Rennverein with Glamour Girl on Sunday, and Janika Sprunger won the Youngster Tour final with Victory Music Z.
What is the Grand Slam?
Vogel arrived at Aachen having already won The Dutch Masters in March. Winning a second consecutive Major triggered a €500,000 bonus on top of the prize money, and, more significantly, made him the live contender for the Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping.
The Grand Slam rewards any rider who wins three consecutive Majors from The Dutch Masters, CHIO Aachen, the CSIO Spruce Meadows ‘Masters’ and CHI Geneva. In thirteen years it has been done once, by Scott Brash. Vogel goes to Spruce Meadows in September with the chance to become the second.
At 29, and with a horse who has now won at both ‘s-Hertogenbosch and Aachen, he is the most credible live contender the Grand Slam has produced since Brash himself. Show organisers understand exactly what that is worth: A live Grand Slam bid is perhaps the single most reliable audience driver the sport has, and Spruce Meadows has one walking into its main ring in September.
The Aachen Question
There is a wider point buried in this week, and it is worth stating plainly. Aachen ran a truncated show, without its Nations Cup, in a year when it also hosts the World Championships. Ticket sales for the 2027 CHIO opened before the 2026 gates had properly closed, and show director Birgit Rosenberg’s verdict on the Sunday was unreservedly positive, and the sport got its Major. But a three-day CHIO is a materially different commercial proposition to a ten-day one, and 2027’s return to the full format from 25 June to 4 July will be watched by other organisers weighing up championship bids.
For now, the headline is simpler. Aachen has a wall of past Grand Prix winners at the entrance to the main arena. Vogel has said he looks at it constantly and never saw his name. He does now.
