Beijing welcomes the best riders in the world
The Longines Equestrian Beijing Masters 2017 is being staged from October 13th-15th, in the Bird’s Nest, the Olympic Stadium in Beijing. The seventh edition of the tournament is also remaining loyal to its exceptional concept: The best Chinese riders compete against top international riders. The highlight of the event is the Longines Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon.
| The Bird’s Nest, the Olympic Stadium in Beijing/China where the Longines Equestrian Beijing Masters 2017 is being staged from October 13th-15th. It can be used free of charge (Picture credits: Longines Equestrian Beijing Masters/Arnd Bronkhorst). |
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“Being able to compete against the best riders in the world at the Beijing Masters in the Olympic stadium is the highlight of the show season for the Chinese show-jumpers,” according to the equestrian sport icon, Ludger Beerbaum, who has been asserting himself in China for over ten years and who together with the organisers of the CHIO Aachen has been acting as the co-organiser of the Longines Equestrian Beijing Masters since its inception. “China has a huge potential for the entire horse industry, however it still hasn’t completely succeeded in finding its way into the league of top international sport yet. Our declared aim is to sustainably promote the development of the jumping sport in this country and ultimately establish a show in Beijing, which corresponds to the highest international standards. The conditions for this improve from year to year and with every Masters we take a further step in this direction.”
The Beijing Masters is currently staged at three-star level, whereby the international riders can’t take part with their own horses due to the Chinese quarantine regulations, instead they compete with Chinese horses borrowed for the purpose. Evidently this is a welcome change for the top international stars, since top sporting names such as the reigning double World Champion Jeroen Dubbeldam from the Netherlands or the French Olympic team gold medallist Roger-Yves Bost have been participating at the event for years.
The media interest in the Beijing Masters is also considerable: As in the past years already, the Chinese TV channels BTV Sports, Guangdong Sports and CCTV will be broadcasting live from the Bird’s Nest, Eurosport is responsible for the TV coverage for Europe in a total of 21 languages. Furthermore, the entire show can be followed per livestream via the internet on ClipMyHorse.tv.
“It is certainly worth switching the TV on when top sport with the best riders in the world is broadcast – and not just for the Grand Prix on Sunday either. Three highlights are already on the agenda of the Beijing Masters on Saturday, namely a Jump&Drive, the Opening Ceremony and the floodlit international team challenge,” promised Michael Mronz, General Manager of the Aachener Reitturnier GmbH, who together with his team is once again this year supporting the Chinese organisers on-site to ensure that the show runs smoothly. “Our goal in Beijing as in Aachen is to stage equestrian sport in a modern-day form, from the live experience on-site, to the classic media, through to the social networks,” added Mronz. “For many Chinese people the Beijing Masters is a unique opportunity to experience the fascination of horses directly. This is why in addition to the sporting competitions we also offer a first-class supporting programme. Along the lines of ‘Horses to touch and feel’, we would like to position the Beijing Masters as an event, which on the one hand homes in on the existing enthusiasm of the Chinese people for the equestrian sport and on the other hand further promotes the sport by conveying the highest international standards.”
