The CHIO Rotterdam is the most important international equestrian event in the Netherlands. In 70 years the CHIO Rotterdam has developed into one of the most important outdoor competitions in the world.

The CHIO Rotterdam has cooperated closely with the maritime sector from the start of the event in the 1940s. The port and the CHIO Rotterdam are therefore inseparably linked. This is why we took the initiative a few years ago to breathe new life into this historical relationship through the concept ‘The Syndicate of Rotterdam Port Industries’. The objective of this port syndicate was to link the port industries through CHIO Rotterdam.

Meanwhile, equestrian sport is on the up in countries such as Brazil, China, Dubai, India, Russia and the United States, making it an increasingly global sport. Partly due to the export of products, services and knowledge in equestrian sport, the equestrian branch is a huge sector in the Netherlands with a turnover of €1.5 to €2 billion a year. In its mission up to and including 2020, the board and the management of CHIO Rotterdam indicated the desire to join the globalisation of equestrian sport. CHIO Rotterdam intents to do this by, among others, starting up a worldwide equestrian competition.

The CHIO Rotterdam wants to start this competition in countries where equestrian sport is on the rise and in which the city of Rotterdam and the port of Rotterdam have an interest. With this competition the CHIO Rotterdam wants to connect to the marine & offshore branch and the agri & food branch. Two of the six focus branches the city of Rotterdam has designated in December 2015. In addition, through this international competition, the CHIO Rotterdam wants to offer its network the possibility of linking international trade missions (incoming and outgoing) to equestrian sport. CHIO Port Club Rotterdam will determine the objectives with the city of Rotterdam and Rotterdam Port Authority and realise these in one of the focus branches of the city of Rotterdam: Maritime & Offshore and agri & food.

Partly due to this objective, the decision was made to link a new name to the group of port industries affiliated with CHIO Rotterdam. The old name ‘The Syndicate of Rotterdam Port Industries’ will be replaced by a more internationally oriented name, CHIO Port Club Rotterdam (CPCR), which is led by a steering committee managed by Peter Goedvolk, port entrepreneur of the year in 2006.

CPCR will have an important position in the organisation of the international competition the CHIO Rotterdam wants to start up. CHIO Port Club Rotterdam will help by thinking along with the development of this competition and members can soon join the trade missions organised around the international competition. In consultation with Rotterdam Partners, the decision was made to first of all focus on Dubai and China. Two countries in which Rotterdam has major interest and where equestrian sport is on the rise.

Membership:
CHIO Port Club Rotterdam consists of members that meet up over the year determine and realise objectives together that are topical for the marine & offshore branch, with the eventual aim of organising the international equestrian competition. To this end, a 12-month calendar was created with meetings purely focusing on the members of CPCR as well as meetings where members joins other port-related initiatives.

The membership comprises the following subjects: 12-month calendar, hospitality and exposure during CHIO Rotterdam.

For more information send an e-mail to [email protected] or call +31 10 - 452 89 00 (Carla Collewijn).

CHIO Port Club Rotterdam Task Force
With the CPCR Task Force the CHIO Rotterdam explores the possibilities for the Port Club. The members of the Task Force are: