Reigning Champions Head to Aachen
Aachen definite entries hold all three of jumping's reigning champions. Henrik von Eckermann holds the World title, won on King Edward at Herning in 2022. Richard Vogel holds the European title, won on United Touch S at A Coruna in 2025 on a score of 0.01. Christian Kukuk holds the Olympic title, won on Checker 47 in Paris in 2024, Germany's first individual jumping gold in 28 years.
Three titles, three different roles in Aachen's World Championship. Vogel and United Touch S are on Germany's team. Kukuk and Checker 47 are reserve. Von Eckermann is on Sweden's team, but with Minute Man rather than King Edward, the horse he won his world title on.
Vogel arrives with the biggest year of the three
Vogel's European title in A Coruna came on the lowest score recorded at the championship in two decades. This year has continued in the same vein. United Touch S won the World Cup Grand Prix in Basel in January, then the Dutch Masters Rolex Grand Prix in March, then the Rolex Grand Prix of Aachen in May. That is two Rolex Grand Slam legs in a row. A win at Spruce Meadows in September would make Vogel only the second rider in the Grand Slam's history, after Scott Brash, to complete it.
His Elo has followed the results up, from 785 to 789 across the Aachen week earlier this year, and sits at 783 now, the highest of the three champions. Across his career 54 classifications at CSI5*/major championship 1.60m, United Touch S has jumped 35 clears from 74 rounds, a 47.3% clear rate against a 29.1% baseline for the courses he has faced.
Kukuk's record is the deepest of the three
Kukuk's Olympic gold in Paris ended a 28 year wait for Germany in the individual event, won in a three way jump-off against Steve Guerdat and Maikel van der Vleuten. Checker 47 has been his partner for all of it. Eighty career classifications at 1.60m CSI5*/major championship level, 93 rounds, 43 clears, 13 wins and 22 podiums.
Germany has named Kukuk and Checker 47 as the reserve rider for this World Championship. The season so far has been quieter than 2025. A climb to 3rd at Riesenbeck in July, Elo up from 758 to 763, is the most recent form line.
Von Eckermann's title travels with a different horse
Von Eckermann's World Championship came at Herning in 2022, riding King Edward to a double gold alongside Sweden's team title, and he held the world number one ranking from that win until May 2025. Minute Man is a newer partnership, and the numbers show it. Sixteen classifications, 21 rounds, 9 clears, a 42.9% clear rate at 1.60m CSI5*/major championship level.
His 2026 season with Minute Man has run through the team ranks so far: 7th for Sweden at La Baule in June, a 7th place finish at Falsterbo in July, 5th individually at Riesenbeck. Sweden has kept faith with the pairing for Aachen. The world title is not in question. What Minute Man can do at this level over time still is.
The three records side by side
| Combination | Title | Clear rate | CAS | Elo | Wins | Podiums |
| Vogel / United Touch S | European Champion | 47.3% | +13.5 | 783 | 12 | 16 |
| Kukuk / Checker 47 | Olympic Champion | 46.2% | +17.7 | 763 | 13 | 22 |
| Von Eckermann / Minute Man | World Champion | 42.9% | +3.3 | 735 | 1 | 2 |
Clear rate, CAS and Elo shown at CSI5*/major championship 1.60m level for the horse named. CAS is Clears Above Standard, the number of clear rounds a combination has produced above what the average competitor managed on the exact same courses. Titles are the rider's, not necessarily won on the horse listed.
Three world titles, three different stories arriving at Aachen. Vogel's is written in this year's results. Kukuk's is written in the record books. Von Eckermann's still belongs to another horse.