King Edward is a team gold medalist at the Olympic Games (2021) and World Championships (2022) where he was also crowned the individual World Champion. In the following years he added two World Cup Final victories to his CV. He surpassed Explosion W, the individual Olympic Champion in 2021, as the highest-rated horse in the sport since EquiRatings data analytics began in 2010. The opening chapters in the story of Paris 2024 were all about this hero being able to add an individual Olympic medal to his legacy. In all likelihood, that was his final shot.

How that story ended couldn’t have been more dramatic. The parting of company between the World Number One, Henrik Von Eckermann, and potentially the greatest horse of all-time, King Edward, wasn’t the twist anyone saw coming. The eventual champion, Germany’s Christian Kukuk, already a dual five-star winner this season with his mount Checker, was only a minor character in the first half of the story. But the question of whether or not Paris had a good ending or not is actually quite irrelevant.

A story can have an incredible ending, but if only a small handful of people were really immersed in the story to begin with, the other few million that tune in to watch the ending won’t really feel anything. The spectacle of Henrik and King Edward parting ways will be dramatic of course. The commentator will do their best to communicate the significance, but no matter how well you narrate the climax, it will fall on deaf ears if you didn’t write the first half of the narrative. 

EquiRatings

We make the sport matter.

At EquiRatings, we write the script and tell the first half of the story so that the audience is engaged and connected to the characters. The final chapter is the competition itself where no one knows the final outcome, but the world is now watching with understanding, connection and emotion. 

We work with world renowned equestrian shows to make their sport matter. Shows are not just competing with other sports and their Netflix narratives which create highly engaged and loyal fans, but equestrian shows are also locked in competition with each other. Different series on the same weekends can confuse the audience, split their attention and ultimately lead to disengaged fans switching off, even when they are attending a live show. The hospitality, shopping and social aspect becomes the pinnacle of the show, and the sport is simply a quiet underlying sub plot for only a handful of passionate and loyal fans. 

We help shows to market and message their sport through Fan Guides, graphics, media support and briefings, podcasts, games and many more bespoke solutions. Our team is available to discuss your show, your sport and your journey to a more engaging experience and a broader fan base.