Jumping Amsterdam

Yet initiator and former international show jumping rider Ben Arts had the greatest difficulty in getting the well-known sports doctor Hans Tetzner as chairman and beer magnate Freddy Heineken as sponsor. The first edition was an immediate success. Nevertheless, there was a financial shortfall and the payment obligation relating to the location could not be met. The RAI thus became the second spon

sor. MOVING TO THE NEW RAI
When the construction of the new RAI was completed in 1961, Jumping Amsterdam immediately moved to the brand new exhibition complex on Europaplein. After that, the quality of the participants and the number of visitors went up quickly. Initially, only the particularly suitable and large Europahal was used for Jumping Amsterdam. TURNAROUND
After successful years of an ever-growing competition, where well-known riders such as Alwin Schockemöhle and David Broom never failed to show up, a change came at the end of the eighties. The public may have been bored with the event, the formula of which had hardly changed since the beginning. In 1992, Jumping barely had 20,000 visitors. INNOVATIVE
The tide turned and a new board took office. Major changes were implemented, such as opening the Noordhal with the loose riding arena to the public (as the first international competition in the Netherlands) and reducing the number of riders per class, which accelerated the program. In addition, in 1994 a second competition track was set up in the Zuidhal, so that the program could be expanded considerably. Riders, audience and sponsors immediately responded enthusiastically and the event picked up again. Jumping Amsterdam now has more than 55,000 visitors, always a very strong field of participants and the reputation of one of the most prominent equestrian events in the world.