Twenty-one of the world's top thirty athletes will be competing in the seven CSI 5* classes on 17, 18 and 19 March. The three days of competition are perfectly timed in the show-jumping calendar, taking place a week before the World Cup Jumping Final to be held in Omaha, USA, on 2 April 2017.

Under the glass roof of the Grand Palais, the four French gold medal winners in the team event at the Rio Olympics in Brazil – Kevin Staut, Pénélope Leprévost, Roger-Yves Bost and Philippe Rozier – will compete for the Grand Prix Hermès. This trial is the highlight of the weekend in Paris and has hitherto eluded the host nation. 

With twelve riders competing, the French delegation is the largest and also includes the French number one and Hermès partner rider Simon Delestre, the world silver medallist Patrice Delaveau, and Julien Epaillard, recent winner of the World Cup Jumping Grand Prix in Bordeaux

With five of the last six winners of the Grand Prix Hermès competing, the Parisian public is guaranteed a great show, beginning with the German riders, who took home the title for the first five years. Marcus Ehning, winner in 2010 (Sabrina) and 2014 (Cornado NRW), Christian Ahlmann, in 2011 (Taloubet Z), and Ludger Beerbaum, in 2013 (Chaman), will be joined at the start by the world number one Daniel Deusser, who will be vying to add his name to the prestigious list of Saut Hermès at the Grand Palais winners.

The Swiss Romain Duguet (Quorida de Trého), Hermès partner rider and winner in 2015, will be hoping to take the Parisian saddler’s colours to the top step of the podium once again, while the Moroccan Abdelkebir Ouaddar (Quickly de Kreisker) will return to defend the title he won in 2016.

This year’s event will welcome other great champions, such as the British riders John Whitaker and Scott Brash, who finished second in the Grand Prix Hermès last year. The Belgians Gregory Whatelet, Jérôme Guéry and Olivier Philippaerts will compete again this year, as will the Australian Edwina Tops-Alexander, along with Steve Guerdat and Pius Schwizer from Switzerland, Denis Lynch and Bertram Allen from Ireland, and Hermès partner riders Pedro Veniss (Brazil) and Pilar Lucrecia Córdon (Spain). In total, eighteen nationalities will be represented.

Throughout the weekend, twenty young riders aged under 25, rising stars in the equestrian world, will compete in parallel in the three Talents Hermès classes. Laetitia du Couëdic (Switzerland) and Joanna Parkinson (France), aged 20 and 23 respectively, will be representing their countries.