Germany’s Richard Vogel is an athlete not afraid to take chances, as he proved in his winning jump-off performance Sunday in the Rolex Grand Prix at CHI-Geneva (Switzerland).

First to go of the seven riders who made the final cut, Vogel said he took inspiration from last year’s winners, McLain Ward and HH Azur, in attacking the jump-off aboard United Touch S.

“I am very close with McLain Ward, and I watched the whole jump-off from last year last night,” he told the press afterward. “I knew that to win here you would have to be fast, and so even though I was first to go, I decided to really push for it.”

Vogel and United Touch S, an 11-year-old Westphalian stallion (Untouched—Touch Of Class, Lux Z Z) owned by Julius-Peter Sinnack, already had set the tone for their day in the first round of competition. They were the first pair in the initial field of 40 to jump clear inside the time over the course set by Swiss course designer Gérard Lachat.

Problems came throughout the course, with the time proving particularly tight. In total four riders produced a faultless jumping round, but picked up time faults. Furthermore, class favorites in the early portion of the competition, such as individual Olympic champion Ben Maher and World No. 8 Simon Delestre, were able unable to master the tricky course.

As the class went on, riders began to understand the nuisances of the course, with clears coming from a number of riders including Belgium’s Wilm Vermeir,  Germany’s Christian Kukuk,  winner of the 2023 FEI Nations Cup Final, and Tokyo Olympic team silver medalist Jessica Springsteen of the U.S. However, a real shock came as the World No.1 Henrik von Eckermann (Sweden) riding the supremely talented King Edward accrued 8 faults.

In total seven horse and rider combinations returned for the jump-off, with riders entering the main area in the same order as the first round. Vogel, 26, and the huge-striding United Touch S were first to go and wowed the crowd, making tight turns and angling fences to set the pace with a clear in the time of 37.14 seconds.

Springsteen was knocked out of contention when she had two down with her Olympic partner, Don Juan Van De Donkhoeve, and had to settle for sixth. Swiss hopes for a home win were dashed as Steve Guerdat, who was looking fast, got too close to the second-to-last fence, which ultimately fell. Kukuk produced a double clear but was off the pace of Vogel, crossing the finish nearly 5 seconds slower and ultimately taking third as just one of three to jump clear. Mark McAuley (Ireland) was another to jump clear, but could not match the speed set; his time of 39.77 was good enough for second place.

The only rider left that could stop Vogel from winning was France’s Julien Epaillard, who is often referred to as the fastest rider in the sport, however, the second fence fell meaning that Vogel claimed his first Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping Major and closed out the 2023 Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping season in style.

“I feel incredible; to win here at the CHI Geneva and become live contender of the Rolex Grand Slam is a dream come true,” Vogel said. “The atmosphere was amazing, and my horse was just perfect. He has such a big stride, and so especially in the first round some of the lines were very hard for him, but he put in all the effort for me. He gave me everything and jumped his heart out. I have never been to The Dutch Masters [the next competition in the Rolex Grand Slam series], but I am very excited to be there in March. We will make a plan for the next few months and try to win.”

Watch their winning jump-off, courtesy of World Sport Timing:

See complete results here.