The Rolex Grand Prix in Geneva is one of the highlights of the year for international show jumping. Martin Fuchs won this prestigious event in front of his own crowd, which is something quite different.
Aside from it being your home show, why is CHI Geneva so special to you?
CHI Geneva is not just special for me, all the riders feel really welcome here, but obviously as a Swiss rider, the support of the home crowd and the fans is huge.
For you, what makes a great team?
In show jumping and horse riding in general, you really need a huge team around you, that can help you with everything. So much work, time and passion goes into caring for the horses. I am very lucky with my family, as they are so supportive. I have a lot of good people around me and a good team, who all take great care of the horses at home to ensure they feel their best. This allows me to be able to solely focus on the sport and when I am at the shows – it means I do not worry about anything at home.
What is your plan for this winter?
This winter I will do some of the World Cup shows. We have some really nice World Cup shows coming up and they are very exciting and traditional shows that I like to go to. My goal is to build-up some of my younger horses and prepare them for the bigger classes so that I can develop some new horses for Grand Prix level.
Is there a young horse that you have that you think could be a future Rolex Grand Prix horse?
It is always difficult to say, but I do have a few rally nice five-, six- and seven-year olds. I have big hopes for all of them and I hope one or two will turn out to be Grand Prix horses and compete here at the CHI Geneva in the future.
Just like tennis and golf, show jumping now has its very own Grand Slam. Which other sporting Majors do you love to watch?
I enjoy watching tennis. As a Swiss, Rolex Testimonee Roger Federer is a big sporting idol, so I have followed tennis a lot. All four of the tennis Grand Slams are very exciting and for me Wimbledon is the top one that I love to watch.
What does the Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping mean to you?
For riders, the Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping is the most special and unique competition that there is because it brings together the best four shows in the world into one series, and it is a dream to win one of them. All riders work extremely hard to one day win one of the Rolex Grand Slam Majors.
If you were stranded on a desert island what three items would you take?
A book, water and my mobile phone.