CHI5*-W Geneva: first-class live streaming and Rolex Grand Slam.

All eyes are on Geneva this week which is playing host to one of the most famous 5 star events in the world: the CHI5*W Geneva.
Preparations for the 54th edition of the event started on Sunday and will be finished by tomorrow when all the top riders and top horses will arrive.
The equestrian event is also set to host the latest stage of the Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping, with the world’s best riders set to compete for the victory and the lucrative prize money up for grabs. This year’s equestrian event in Switzerland is also offering a very first and in fact an indoor course will be set-up for the eventing trials.
However, let’s focus back now to the Rolex Grand Prix which is set for this Sunday. The latest stage in Switzerland is the third stage of the competition after Aachen and Calgary. Germany’s Christian Ahlmann won the Aachen stage and should he win again this Sunday he would receive 300.000 francs in prize money.
Christian Ahlmann was in reasonably good form in the previous stage in Calgary with Codex One missing out on victory after 4 penalties. His chances of winning in Switzerland depend on many factors such as the condition of Codex One. Another factor is the arena, which despite being indoors, is comparable to an outdoor arena in terms of size and dimensions. With its 5.200 metres in width, the Palexpo in Geneva is the biggest indoors arena in the world. Some pairs are specialised in taking on courses of this size and many horses perform better with more room available; when a horse feels at ease on a specific type of course, its performance level is raised by 20%.
Aachen is one of Codex One’s favourite courses and not by chance did it manage to triumph there. By winning in Geneva Christian Ahlmann would be the first rider to get his hands on the added bonus of 250.000 euros for a second win from the 3 stage tournament. Standing in his way though is some stiff competition which includes Steve Guerdat who last year on this course won the GP with Nino des Buissonnets.
In the meantime, there is good Equestrian World for all show-jumping fans and you can follow the majority of the competitions, including the Rolex GP, via Live Streaming made available by the organisers. (the only competition which will not be streamed is the World Cup trial, but you can follow this in live streaming on FEI TV).
To access live streaming, simply go to the official CHI Geneva website. You can pause, rewind and re-watch as well. http://www.chi-geneve.ch/en/index.html
It isn’t just show-jumping on display though in Geneva and a rich entertainment programme will also be offered to visitors. This year a lot of focus has been given to musical entertainment such as the Basel Top Secret Drums and their 20 different drums as well as The Maison du Roy with riders dressed in Louis XV costumes and representatives from the Swiss Guard and horses from the Swiss National Stud Farm.