December 13, 2024 
There is no safer bet in the Grand Prix ring at the moment than Martin Fuchs.
The 32-year-old Swiss Olympian in riding a 1.60m Grand Prix win streak that has seen him collect six 5* titles in nine months (Jumpr stats). And with three different mounts.
And not just any 1.60m Grands Prix. He’s laying claim to the most prestigious titles on the calendar.
Fuchs’s spectacular season started in March with the CSIO5* Longines Grand Prix at World Equestrian Center in Ocala, FL, the first leg of the Longines League of Nations, on Leonie Jei. The pair went on to win the Rolex Grand Prix of Windsor in May and the $5 Million CPKC International Grand Prix in Calgary in September. Fuchs also claimed the St Gallen Grand Prix on Commissar Pezi in June and the Rolex Grand Prix of Ireland on Conner Jei in August.
If he decided to take a well deserved vacation for the month of December, he still would have been the most winning Grand Prix rider of the year.
But he kept on winning. Friday night at CHI Geneve, Fuchs claimed the title every elite show jumper wants on their record: The Rolex IJRC Top 10 Final.
The class sees the top 10 riders in the world face off over two 1.60m+ rounds. This year’s edition featured world no. 1 Henrik von Eckermann, reigning Olympic team gold medalist Ben Maher and individual gold medalist Christian Kukuk, three-time winner Steve Guerdat and super hot Julien Epaillard and Richard Vogel, plus two-time winner Kent Farrington, five-time Olympic medalist McLain Ward and Austria’s Max Kühner.
The surprise twist: Fuchs nearly didn’t even make the cut.
Conor Swail was originally slated to compete but was forced to pull out at the 11th hour, opening the door for Fuchs. (Swail also qualified for the Final in 2022 but wasn’t up to date on his IJRC dues, which precluded him from competition for two years. Suffice it to say: his Irish luck doesn’t extend to the IJRC).
“I received a call from Conor Swail on Sunday night saying his [horse’s] flight had been cancelled, and that I was therefore in the class and I should try to win it. I carried these words with me for the entire week. I rode my top horse, Leone Jei, for this class because it is one that I really wanted to win. It was a big goal in my career so I am happy that tonight was my night.”
Six of the top 10 found a clear path around the first round. In round two, Maher and Point Break set the time to beat at 48.59, only for Fuchs and his 12-year-old partner (Baltic VDL x Corland) to knock nearly two seconds off in 47.02.
Farrington and Toulyana gave chase but couldn’t catch the time (48.05). A refusal at the second last put paid to von Eckermann and King Edward’s bid and handed the 23rd Rolex IJRC Top 10 Final title to Fuchs.
Friday’s win brings Fuchs prize earnings over €2 million in 2024, according to Jumpr stats. He’s landed on 12 1.60m podiums this year, nine of which he won, and boasts a 77% clear round rate and an 82% top 10 finish average with Leone Jei over 11 starts.
And the year isn’t out yet. Fuchs also won Thursday’s Trophée de Genève on Conner Jei and is the Rolex Grand Slam live contender heading into Sunday’s Rolex Grand Prix of Geneve.
If you were putting money on it, Fuchs is the favorite.
