A few days before Germany’s biggest sporting event begins, a man with a rake is stood where the best horses in the world leave their traces in the stand during the CHIO Aachen. The man’s name is Martin Stockberg. And the designer and land art artist didn’t need more than his rake to conjure up a magnificent piece of art in the sand in the shadow of the Deutsche Bank Stadium. The fascinating piece of art measures around 70 x 70 metres.

Recognise it from the ground? Impossible! It is necessary to view it from an aerial perspective to recognise the biggest homage to “100 years of equestrian show history”. “The first riding and driving show took place at the Aachen Soers in 1924, Birgit Rosenberg, ALRV Board Member, explained. “And of course we want to celebrate this remarkable anniversary in style.”

Martin Stockberg’s piece of art, which is equally impressive and transient, forms the prelude to these celebrations. Because the impressive motif will become a thing of the past after the next shower or two at the latest. But Stockberg, who regularly creates breath-taking sculptures in sand, in forests or in the snow, explained that precisely this transience is an essential element of his art. Before setting to work on-site, Stockberg makes a drawing, measures a few key points, the rest he carves out in the sand from memory. “It is a question of rhythm and concentration,” reports Stockberg. And then it almost becomes meditative, when he spends an hour or sometimes much longer tracing out specific patterns that are only recorded in his head. Thanks to a huge portion of overview, stamina and precision, but also the necessary joy in his work, extremely precise results ensue, which amaze the onlookers – the same is also true in Aachen.

However, beyond the impressive piece of art the organisers in Aachen have plenty more things planned in commemoration of the anniversary. Just a few days before the start of the CHIO Aachen 2024, the ALRV is already bringing the CHIO atmosphere to the city centre. From June 20^th – July 7^th, the exhibition at the ElisenGalerie is looking back on unique victories and highly emotional incidents from the 100 years of equestrian show history. On top of that posters, programmes and diverse “treasures” from the CHIO Aachen archive will trigger off plenty of CHIO feeling – from nostalgic to present day. And the two “Horse & Symphony” concerts, which traditionally serve as the breath-taking prelude of the biggest and most famous equestrian sport event in the world, will also pay homage to the 100 years of equestrian sport history this year. “The concerts promise to be musical, sporty and of course visually an historical event with many unforgettable moments,” assured Birgit Rosenberg, who in her capacity as Head of Sport at CHIO Aachen is also responsible for the show programme. The journey through the early days of show history in Aachen will thus hold plenty of spectacular highlights in store for the spectators. And on the evening of June 28^th and 29^th at the latest it will be lots of horses, who leave their magical traces in the sand at the CHIO Aachen grounds.

The following video shows exactly how Martin Stockberg’s piece of art arose.