On Friday evening, the Palexpo arena was once again transformed into a huge stage for the Rolex IJRC Top 10 Final. The ten protagonists – or twenty, if you count their equine partners – always give their all there. After inspecting the course and preparing, everyone had only one goal: to win the Rolex IJRC Top 10. 

9.30pm: curtain up. Let's get started. The ten best riders in the world competed one after the other in reverse order of the world rankings. Local hero Steve Guerdat, a three-time winner of the Top 10 Final, was first to compete. After taking a three-month break for health reasons, he was making his comeback at the highest level. His performance was met with loud applause from the audience, setting the bar high. Second to start was the Frenchman Julien Épaillard with his fabulous horse, Donatello d'Auge – the reigning winner of the World Cup Final. However, this great pair knocked down a pole in the triple combination. Penalty points were also awarded to Daniel Coyle (IRL) with Incredible, Harrie Smolders (NED) with Monaco, Richard Vogel (GER) with Cloudio, and Ben Maher (GBR) with Dallas Vegas Batilly. 

The second clear round of the first round was achieved by Belgian rider Gilles Thomas on his exceptional Qalista DN. Reigning Olympic champion Christian Kukuk (GER) incurred a time fault with Just Be Gentle. Scott Brash (GBR) followed with the spirited Hello Chadora Lady, delivering the third clear round. He was immediately followed by world number one Kent Farrington (USA) with Toulayna. Then it was time for a well-deserved break for everyone.