The Longines FEI World Cup Jumping Western European League begins
The Longines FEI World Cup Jumping 2016/2017 season looks set for an explosive start with the top three finishers at last year’s Final all signed up for the opening event in Oslo, Norway, next week. Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat will be chasing his third title in a row, runner-up Harrie Smolders from the Netherlands will be hoping to move up one step on the podium this time around and Germany’s Daniel Deusser, who was third at the thrilling 2015/2016 Final in Gothenburg (SWE), will be one of the biggest threats throughout the entire season. Like Steve Guerdat, the 2014 champion is something of a World Cup specialist and, in flying form right now.
The League includes 13 qualifying rounds, and it’s going to be fast and furious with nine legs taking place before the end of the year. Helsinki (FIN) and Lyon (FRA) swiftly follow Oslo in October, and then it’s on to Verona (ITA), Stuttgart (GER) and Madrid (ESP) in November. A brand new fixture at La Coruna (ESP) gets the action under way in December while the popular Christmas shows at London Olympia (GBR) and Mechelen (BEL) lead into a short break before competition resumes at Leipzig (GER) in January. This will be followed by Zurich (SUI), Bordeaux (FRA) and Gothenburg (SWE), and the last few events are guaranteed to be electrifying.
Rivalry
The selection of the Centurylink Centre in Omaha, Nebraska (USA) for the 2016/2017 Final brings a whole new dimension to the series and racks up the traditional inter-continental rivalry between Europe and the USA. In the early years of the series, the Americans were all but unstoppable, taking seven of the first nine titles. But once the Europeans got a grip they proved difficult to contain and German riders became the ones to beat. That was until Rich Fellers and the incredible stallion, Flexible, hoisted the US flag once again in 2012 only to be immediately followed on to the top step of the Final podium by fellow-American Beezie Madden. This brought the US tally of wins to nine and put them on level pegging with the Germans until Daniel Deusser put Germany back out in front again. It seems very likely, however, that the host nation will be determined to redress that imbalance when the Final returns to US territory next March.
A total of 15 Leagues are taking place across the globe, stretching from Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South East and Central Asia and China, across North and South America, the Middle East and on to Caucasia and Central and Western Europe. In all, 109 qualifying events will have been staged before the 2017 Final begins.
Stunning startlist
The startlist for Oslo includes World No. 2 Simon Delestre from France along with his compatriots Penelope Leprevost and Kevin Staut from the gold-medal-winning team at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Harrie Smolders brings his Olympic ride, the lovely stallion Emerald, while team bronze medallists Daniel Deusser and Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum are in the crack German line-up along with Marcus Ehning. The latter two are among the elite group of riders who have claimed the World Cup title three times.
The first three-time champion was the man who claimed the inaugural honours back in 1979, Austria’s Hugo Simon, but Rodrigo Pessoa holds a particularly special place in the history of the series. The Brazilian is the only rider to record a hat-trick over three successive years, between 1998 and 2000, partnering the same brilliant stallion, Baloubet du Rouet who continues to wield his extraordinary influence across the sport through the performances of his many successful offspring.
The Swedish flag will be flying high too, as individual Olympic silver medallist, Peder Fredricson, brings out the super-exciting H&M All In who was one of the most spectacular horses in Rio. And there will be three members of the same family flying the Norwegian flag ib Oslo: Johan-Sebastian and Victoria Gulliksen with their father Geir.
The defending champion, Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat, brings the horse with which he won his latest title, Corbinian, which suggests he’ll be going out there with all guns blazing as the race to Omaha begins.
