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The wait is almost over and the excitement is sizzling….just a week to go to the start of the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final 2023 in which a crack field of horse-and-rider combinations will battle for the supreme title of indoor jumping.
The history behind this series is the stuff of legend, and placing their name on the Roll of Honour is something every top athlete wants to achieve. But the competitions to decide the winner are always hard-fought and often unpredictable, and course designer Bernardo Costa Cabral from Portugal will be sure to test them all the way.
For the second time in its long history the Final will be staged at the CHI Health Center in Omaha (USA) where, with a capacity audience of 18,300, the crowd went wild when home hero and five-time Olympian, McLain Ward, clinched victory in 2017 with his great mare HH Azur.
Currently ranked fourth in the world, Ward returns as part of the nine-strong American contingent and this time will ride the 15-year-old mare Callas when flying the host nation flag.
Title-defender
Title-defender is world number two Martin Fuchs from Switzerland who partnered The Sinner and Chaplin to victory in Leipzig (GER) 12 months ago. This time around the 30-year-old rider brings the grey Leone Jei who carried him to European team gold and individual silver in 2021. However the entry-list of 41 athletes from 19 countries around the globe is filled with plenty of others who are also chasing down their hopes and dreams, and if ever there was a Final that can spring surprises then this is definitely one of them.
One of the intriguing things about equestrian sport is the age-range of competitors and the fact that male and female athletes compete on exactly the same stage. This time around the age difference between the youngest and oldest finalists is a not-inconsiderable 42 years.
America’s Elisa Broz, who is only 18, earned her place through impressive results in the North America West series. She will be armed with the experienced 13-year-old Belgian mare Kardenta Van’t Meerhof who previously competed at top level with Spain’s Sergio Alvarez Moya before joining Broz’s string in 2021.
The most senior rider is 60-year-old double-Olympian Pius Schwizer from Switzerland who, riding Ulysse and Carlina at both World Cup Finals, finished equal-second in 2010 and third in 2012. He brings the popular stallion Vancouver de Lanlore who competed at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games with French rider Penelope Leprevost in the saddle and who finished second at the last leg of the Western European League in Gothenburg (SWE) last month with the Swiss rider onboard.
Record
The record for the youngest rider ever to take the title remains with Canada’s Mario Deslauriers who was only 19 when steering Aramis to victory in Gothenburg (SWE) back in 1984, beating two other legends of the sport, Brazil’s Nelson Pessoa and America’s Norman dello Joio.
And following in that distinctly equestrian tradition Norman’s son, 33-year-old Nicholas dello Joio, is amongst the host nation contenders again this year.
Besides Switzerland’s Fuchs and America’s Ward, there will be two other previous winners in action this time around and both are German - Daniel Deusser who reigned supreme in 2014 and Marcus Ehning who is one of five three-time champions.
Also on the startlist are seven of the top ten athletes on the current Longines rankings including world number one, Henrik von Eckermann, who brings the incredible King Edward, the horse with which he scooped team gold at the Tokyo Games and double-gold at last summer’s ECCO FEI World Championships.
Consistent
The Swedish rider has been very consistent at the Longines Finals, finishing third with Toveks Mary Lou in Omaha in 2017 and again the following year in Paris (FRA). He’s not putting his superstar horse on the flight out of the airport in Liege (BEL) next Friday, which will carry all the European horses and many others to their US destination, without that fabulous World Cup trophy in his sights.
But the competition will be intense. Frenchman Julien Epaillard, currently third in the rankings, is like an unstoppable force right now and his talent for speed riding is second to none. He posted three spectacular wins - in Lyon (FRA), Madrid (ESP) and Amsterdam (NED) - during this qualifying season and he brings the brilliant Donatello d’Auge to the Final.
Meanwhile Dutchman Harrie Smolders is surely so very close to taking the title. He’s been runner-up twice, in 2016 with Emerald and last year with Monaco NOP who will be back in action this time around. Could this be his year to take that coveted top spot and the glory that goes with it?
It’s all to play for with the first Final competition taking place on Wednesday April 5, the second competition on Thursday April 6 and the new champion crowned on Saturday April 8 when the top-30 go into the first round and the top-20 battle it out for the final placings.
It’s going to be another epic conclusion to a great year of indoor sport, so don’t miss a hoofbeat…..
More Facts and Figures:
Omaha 2023 presents the 43rd FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final.
A total of 41 athletes will compete.
19 countries will be represented - Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Israel, Lithuania, New Zealand, Netherlands, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, USA, Uzbekistan.
The first Final was staged in Gothenburg (SWE) in 1979 where Austria’s Hugo Simon posted the first of his three victories.
Gothenburg (SWE) has played host to 15 of the 43 Finals to date.
The Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final previously took place in Omaha (USA) in 2017 where the USA’s McLain Ward and the brilliant mare HH Azur claimed the title.
The country with the greatest number of wins at the Final is the USA with 11 in total. Germany is next in line with 10.
There have been five three-time champions - Austria’s Hugo Simon (1979, 1996 and 1997), Brazil’s Rodrigo Pessoa (1998, 1999 and 2000), Germany’s Marcus Ehning (2003, 2006 and 2010), Germany’s Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum (2005, 2008 and 2009) and Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat (2015, 2016 and 2019).
Pessoa’s three wins are particularly remarkable because he posted them back-to-back with the same brilliant stallion, Baloubet du Rouet.
Reigning champion is Switzerland’s Martin Fuchs who is the second member of his family to win the title. His uncle, Markus Fuchs, came out on top with the brilliant Tinka’s Boy in 2001. Martin partnered two horses, The Sinner and Chaplin, to win last year in Leipzig (GER).
Five female athletes have lifted the trophy and four of those represented the USA - Melanie Smith (1982), Leslie Burr Lenehan (1986), Katharine Burdsall (1987) and Beezie Madden (2013 and 2018). Germany’s Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum posted her three victories in 2005, 2008 and 2009, all with Shutterfly.
Anticipation is building for the FEI Vaulting World Cup™ Final, taking place outside Europe for the first time in Omaha, USA, from the 6th – 8th April. Joining the World’s best in Jumping and Dressage for an epic week of competition, the top ranked Vaulters will aim to ‘go large’ stateside to take home the title of Champion.
Qualifying took place within the 2022 season and the top ranked eight Male and Female individual Vaulters, and five Pas de Deux, who accepted the invitation, will make the journey to the Midwest USA. The individual athletes will perform a Technica l test and those in the Pas de Deux will take part in 2 Free tests over two days of competition aiming for glory. None of last year’s winners have chosen to return, leaving the floor completely open for new title holders. A flight has been chartered for six horses to fly from Europe to Nebraska, whilst the rest of the participants will partner with American horses and lungers.
Kimberly Palmer is one of the front runners for the Female title. She will hope to use her home advantage to improve on last year’s third place finish. We can expect excellent artistry as she performs new technical and freestyle routines aboard Romeo lunged by Christoph Lensing. After stunning judges with her exceptional technical routine in Herning last year, fellow North American, Averill Saunders, will make Canada’s premier performance at the FEI Vaulting World Cup™.
She will compete with a new partnership, Max and Sarah Krauss from Germany. However, Julia Sophie Wagner (GER) vice World Champion will stand in the way and aim to bring the title home to Europe. Compatriot Kathrin Meyer brings her own horse San Classico lunged by her Mum Sonja Meyer. Switzerland also has two representatives: Nadja Büttiker with her years of experience, and World Cup debutant Danielle Bürgi. Completing the line up, Eva Nagiller is Austria’s hope in the individual competition, she has partnered with Mary McCormick and Kilian, and Blanka Nemeth of Hungary who will also work with an American team.
Heading up the Male contenders and searching for the elusive title is Germany’s Jannik Heiland. He will compete with FRH Highlight and Alexandra Knauf and will fight off competition from Lukas Heppler (SUI) who has qualified for the FEI Vaulting World Cup™ Final for the 10th consecutive time, combining with Best Brew and Andrea Selch from the USA for this event. His best World Cup result is second place. In a battle of experience versus youth, Dutch talent Sam dos Santos and Colombian Estiven Palacio Hernandez look to shake things up and have every chance to show they’re worth the title. Julian Wilfling competes for Germany in his second final, while the USA’s hope in the Men’s competition is Daniel Janes who makes his first individual appearance at a final. Davide Zanella (ITA) and Andrin Müller (SUI) round out the competition.
All eyes are on World Champions Chiara Congia and Justin van Gerven (GER) in the Pas de Deux competition. Undoubtable favourites, they will bring their medal-winning team to Omaha to recreate their winning routines from the 2019 European and 2022 World Championships, and present their final performances together as they retire at the end of the event.
Both the Silver and Bronze medal winning pairs from last year’s FEI World Championships (Diana Harwardt and Peter Künne GER), and Rebecca Greggio and Davide Zanella (ITA) will be in attendance aiming for high scores to kick off the season. They need to hold back stiff competition from Austria’s Eva Nagiller and Romana Hintner as well as the Danish duo Maria Thinggaard Sorensen and Freja Linde who are already out in the States training on their horse, Lunar Eclipse.
Many of the athletes have partnered with new equine companions and will show how versatile and talented they are when they take to the arena for what will be an exhilarating and enthralling competition as we crown new FEI Vaulting World Cup™ Champions.
When you have a dream, and you don’t let go of it, then anything can happen…
At the age of 51, and partnering the lovely 10-year-old mare Cassina Dior, Phillip Steiner will be a happy man when representing New Zealand at the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final 2023 in Omaha, USA in two weeks’ time.
His is a story of horsemanship and hard graft, of opportunities grasped and firm friendships made, of family and commitment, and of following a dream.
Talking last week from his temporary base in The Netherlands where he has been for the past few weeks, he said he can hardly believe how things have evolved over the last year.
“It’s been a lifetime goal to get to the top of the sport. There have been times at home with the young horses when I’d look up at the sky and wonder if one day I might make it to Europe to jump a horse or compete in a big class. And now it has all happened!”
Selected
Things began to fall into place when putting himself forward for selection for the New Zealand team that will battle for a spot at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games this summer.
The first goal was to jump a season at home, and then to come to Europe and be ready for the Olympic qualifier in Valkenswaard in July. Omaha was not so much on the radar, but then High Performance mentioned halfway through the FEI season that the winner (of the FEI Jumping World Cup™ New Zealand League) might have the chance to go to the Final. That wasn’t really confirmed until the last day of January when our season finished, so I had about three weeks to put some clothes together and sort the horse out and get myself to Europe - it all happened very quickly!
“It was my plan to do three weeks to a month here and then get on the charter plane (to Omaha) with the big boys. I intended to do Lier (BEL) which I thought was two indoor shows, but when I arrived I found out it is outdoors so straight away my plan was on the floor!”.
But fortunately he is basing himself with Hilary Scott - “she’s an Aussie, a really nice person and she has sorted me out!”.
His link with Hilary began last August when he went to Australia to get some World Cup experience. “One of my Kiwi mates is based at The Oaks in Sydney which is Hilary’s mum’s breeding stud, and I stayed there for two months and we did two World Cups and another big show at Wallinga Park”. So it was a logical progression to ask Hilary if he could stay at her facility near Eindhoven (NED) when travelling to Europe this year.
‘She’s a 5-Star rider so every question I have about how I’m going to get to the plane or where I’m gonna go, or what show I should do, or how much work I should do, she’s just there on the ground and she has been really great”. And, being who he is, Phillip is very happy to give some payback. “I’m helping around the yard and riding a couple of horses for her every now and then, and then ride my one. I help keep the place clean and tidy and what-not”, he explains, as if any world-class rider would do exactly the same thing in the same circumstances.
Work ethic
His strong work ethic is long-established, as is his love of horses. Along with the rest of his family he hunted as a child, and when he saw some children showjumping he decided he wanted to try that, so he bought his own first jumping pony.
“I reared ten calves and sold them at a sale and then bought myself a B-grade pony and from there I did Pony Club and Eventing and then went to work for David Goodin, (legendary New Zealand Eventing and Jumping rider), Bruce Goodin’s dad. When I went to work for David I didn’t know much about striding, I knew that sometimes there was a deep one, sometimes a long one and sometimes it came up perfect! He taught me the mechanics of riding a related line and things like that”.
Phillip seems to have had a knack for learning from the best, because in 1992 at the age of 20 he went to America to work for 1984 Olympic gold medallists Joe Fargis and Conrad Holmfeld - the latter twice-winner of the FEI Jumping World Cup™ title. “I did two summers with them and learned all about style, how to bandage horses and how to groom, and I leased a horse off a girl called Debbie Dolan”, he said, casually referring to the athlete who competed for Team USA at the very top of the sport during the peak of her career.
After returning home to New Zealand for a while, he left for Europe in 1998 to work for legendary Swiss horse-dealer Max Hauri.
“I was in Max’s yard for a good year or two on and off and then I went to work for Lesley McNaught. I did my time, learning in the dealing yard and riding some quite good horses with Lesley. That was when she had Dulf (the horse with which she won team silver for Switzerland at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games)”.
His attraction to Switzerland was no accident as his grandfather emigrated to New Zealand from a little town close to Lucerne at the age of 11. And once again his uncanny knack for associating with the best of the best was triggered. “When I was there I got to know Pius Schwizer who was jumping at national shows, and Steve Guerdat was just starting to jump his first Grand Prix classes - now they are the best in the world!”
He returned home again in 2000 to settle down, buy a property, set up his business, get married and raise a family in Tauranga on the North Island with his wife Sally who, 20 years ago, won the same series that has qualified Phillip for the forthcoming Longines Final. They have an arena, 20 stables and about 80 acres of farmland on which they graze a herd of 100 cattle and exercise their horses.
Home life is fairly hectic with three children, plenty of horses and a small trucking business. “One truck brings Kiwi fruit off the orchards to the factories, and then two trucks go eight months of the year seven days a week from the coldstore at the back end of the factory and take the fruit to the boats”. That business stemmed from frustration with having to sell the good young horses he was producing in order to keep the family afloat.
Never got sold
One that never got sold however is Cassina Dior who he will proudly ride into the ring when the action gets underway in Omaha.
Known at home as Dolly, he bought her from her breeder Pip McCarroll.
“Pip had a horse that was on livery in our place that we were training for Mark Todd (Sir Mark Todd, Eventing superstar, voted Rider of the 20th Century by the FEI). She kept telling me about this three-year-old, so we went and had a look, watched her free-jump and ended up buying her”.
He had to promise that he wouldn’t resell Dolly right away, “and by the time she got to about seven years old I realised we had something quite special. A lot of people wanted to buy her but I always said I want to have a couple of years to take this horse as far as I can. At my age I don’t think I’ll probably see another one this good!”
The passage of time has made his arrival at the top of the sport all the more sweet. “You don’t take things for granted like you would at 25, but going to this World Cup Final is huge really and and I want to keep that in check so it doesn’t affect my ability to do my best when we get there”.
Pip will be ringside in Omaha along with all of Phillip’s family. Eldest son, 15-year-old James, is already well into the sport, recently winning three pony Grand Prix classes in a row, ten-year-old son Oliver “is more interested in motorbikes at the moment but he can ride” and his daughter, Francie, is a horse-crazy five-year-old who broke her collarbone in a fall from her 128cms pony the night before doing this interview. No shortage of drama for Mum to manage while Dad is away….
Support
Asked if, apart from wife Sally, he will have anyone else on the ground to support him in Omaha, Philipp dropped one more phenomenal name.
“Greg Best. I’ve trained a lot with him over the last 15 years. He married a New Zealand girl and they live in Hawkes Bay (NZL) and his kids are the same age as ours so they all play together and are best friends. I know I’m going to be a bit over-awed when I get there, and he’s someone who has ridden all the biggest Championships and he’s pretty amazing!”, he said of the man who won two silver medals for the USA in the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea riding the fabulous Gem Twist.
At home right now his support system includes his wing-man Marcus who is keeping the business going, “and grandma who is looking after the kids while Sally is running around doing the farm”. It’s an all-out effort to make a dream come true for one man and his magical mare who will wear the silver fern with enormous pride….
Don’t miss a hoofbeat
All the information about the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup Final 2023 available here
Caption image: Phillip Steiner rides Cassina Dior
COPYRIGHT image: © KAMPIC / Kerry Marshal
Following extensive consultation, feedback and review, the FEI has released the revised edition of the FEI Sustainability Handbook for Event Organisers.
First produced in 2014, the FEI Sustainability Handbook was created with the aim of aiding and encouraging equestrian event organisers with the implementation of sustainability initiatives that help reduce the negative environmental impact of events, and create a positive social and economic legacy for the host city.
“This second edition of the FEI Sustainability Handbook addresses the evolution in sustainability thinking and international policy since the publication of the first edition,” FEI Sustainability Manager Somesh Dutt explained.
“The main focus of this handbook is on measurement and data management, which are crucial in identifying areas for potential emission reductions in the organisation of FEI events.
“The Handbook is structured to accompany organisers at every stage of the event planning process and contains a list of initiatives that are each linked to one or more UN Sustainable Development Goals.”
A signatory of the United Nations Climate Change – Sport for Climate Action Framework, the FEI works closely with its event hosts to adopt innovative green practices.
“We started our sustainability journey with the intention of having sound environmental practices and decisions become part of the DNA of the equestrian community,” FEI Secretary General Sabrina Ibáñez said.
“Equipping our event organisers with the necessary knowledge to simplify the decision-making process on implementing eco-friendly initiatives was an important part of this process and this handbook has become the guiding text for our community’s sustainable efforts.
“We have seen some incredibly innovative environmental projects come to life over the years. But what has been more encouraging to see is the number of event organisers who now include sustainability thinking from the start of the planning process. Each of their decisions – including those related to contractors and sponsors – is taken to ensure the most efficient and environmentally sound use of resources.
“We are hopeful that this revised edition of the Handbook will inspire further innovation in our community. A sustainable approach to event planning is not only central to good governance and critical to building long term value for our sport, but also for the cities that take on the responsibility of hosting equestrian events.”
Click here to download the FEI Sustainability Handbook for Event Organisers.
Related information
Herning2022: Every green journey begins with a single step
Tree planting demonstrates World Championship commitment to sustainability
Natural Horse Power provides heat and electricity to Helsinki
For the accomplished pair of Andre Thieme (GER) and DSP Chakaria, the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Ocala (USA) title had been elusive.
The 2021 individual European Champions, who base in Ocala each winter, finished second in Ocala in 2020 and third in 2022. Sunday at Live Oak Stud, they secured their long-awaited and much-deserved victory, besting an 11-horse jump-off.
They were comfortable winners, crossing the timers of Olaf Petersen, Jr.’s (GER) shortened track in 38.28 seconds. Maria Gabriela Brugal Gasso (DOM) and J’Adore Flamenco finished second in their World Cup debut (40.14 seconds), with Santiago Lambre (BRA) and Chacco Blue II third (40.86 seconds).
“I said a million times how much I truly am in love with that horse, because that is the horse of my lifetime. There’s no question about that anymore. She’s just different. She’s just better than every other horse I ever had. All of a sudden, riding is easier with her. She does things that the other horses cannot do. She’s special in any and every way."
Andre Thieme (GER)
Thieme’s confidence in his mount was apparent in a jump-off that challenged riders to gallop while also forcing them to respect some technical questions. Theime left a friend at the ingate to watch the jump-off riders before him as he formulated his plan, ultimately deciding not to leave out strides in two places and to make up the time in the turns, as well as the first and final lines. In those places, he did not touch the reins, and his mount answered every call.
“The plan was definitely to try to win,” Thieme said. “I was almost over-careful to the combination; I thought that was maybe one too many [strides], but it worked out, and maybe it helped my horse to turn even shorter to the next jump. I’m extremely happy, and the plan worked perfectly.”
Thieme and DSP Chakaria have been partnered for more than five years and have represented Germany in five championships, earning two medals.
“She jumped her first five-star like she had jumped the two-star and three-star [classes],” Thieme said. “That, in the end makes her special. She jumps the big tracks so lightly, it doesn’t take anything out of her.”
Ocala’s event brought the 2022-2023 North American League season to a close, finalizing the league’s qualifying athletes for the upcoming Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Finals. Lambre’s third-place finish secured his ticket as an Extra Athlete. East U.S. athletes Hunter Holloway, McLain Ward, Kent Farrington, Nicholas dello Joio, Devin Ryan and Brian Moggre secured their places with their Ocala placings, as did Canadian athletes Mario Deslauriers and Tiffany Foster.
Daniel Coyle (IRL) finished the season atop the league standings with 66 points, ahead of fellow Irishman Conor Swail (56 points) and Israel’s Daniel Bluman (54 points).
The Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Finals take place in Omaha (USA), 4-8 April 2023.
Following strictly applied protocols and measures to minimise the risk of transmission in response to the EHV-1 outbreak in Oliva (ESP) in February 2023, it has now been confirmed by the Organising Committee that the last remaining horses at the venue returned negative EHV-1 tests on 15 March, and have since left the premises.
As communicated in the FEI Update on 2 March, MAPA, supported by the FEI Veterinary Department, had decided to extend the initial safety measures, requiring horses to present a first negative sample, followed by a second sample to be taken 14 days later and a third on day 15. All three samples needed to be negative in order for a horse to be released.
This protocol has now been completed for all the concerned horses in Oliva, with the Organising Committee expressing their gratitude to all involved for the good collaboration.
“We are very happy that the last ten horses are able to leave the venue, following the confirmed cases of EHV-1 that occurred during Spring MET II 2023,” Event Director Bettina Pöhls says.
“We would like to thank everyone involved for their efforts: The FEI, the Valencia Veterinary Department, the Veterinarian Department OCA La Safor, the Spanish Equestrian Federation, the University Equine Hospital in Valencia, VISAVET laboratory, the Veterinarians being in Oliva, the various national federations, and of course all the grooms and the riders. They all contributed towards making it possible to keep the situation under control. We wish the last horses, grooms and riders a safe trip back home.”
The OC has also confirmed they will be resuming competition, and are now preparing for Spring MET IV which will take place from 4 to 23 April.
“The FEI would like to take this opportunity to reiterate the words of gratitude and thanks expressed by the Oliva Organising Committee to all concerned individuals, organisations and agencies throughout this process”, commented FEI Veterinary Director Göran Åkerström.
“Preventing and minimising the risk of disease transmission is a collective effort which we must all embrace wholeheartedly. We have very efficient systems to manage an outbreak thanks to competent national authorities but also thorough protocols in place – and this was exemplified in Oliva. We also have very efficient systems to prevent and minimise the spread of disease through the FEI Horse Health Requirements.
“We understand the requirements can be demanding, but we also believe that the inconvenience is a very small price to pay for the safety of our horses, let alone the added insights every groom, rider and owner can gain by monitoring their horses more closely. Taking and registering correct body temperatures is absolutely critical and it really is a win-win situation, this is the message we want everyone to share and encourage within the community. We all have a role to play when it comes to enhancing our biosecurity ecosystem - and by working together and in the same direction, applying the different measures in place, we are stronger and more effective.”
About Horse Health Requirements
In accordance with the FEI Veterinary Regulations 2023 the Horse Health Requirements have been rolled out globally as of 1 January 2022. Derived from the EHV-1 By-Laws, applied in Mainland Europe from 31 May to 31 December 2021, the Horse Health Requirements have been put in place to:
All information in relation to the Horse Health Requirements is available on the dedicated Horse Health Requirements hub including dedicated Q&As for Athletes & Grooms, FEI Veterinarians, and Organising Committees.
Should you have any questions regarding this matter, don’t hesitate to contact the FEI Veterinary Department
The final leg of the Western European League in ’s-Hertogenbosch (NED) last weekend brought the FEI Dressage World Cup™ 2022/2023 qualifying season to a close and, with just three weeks to go before the action gets underway at the FEI Dressage World Cup™ Final 2023 in Omaha (USA), the Definite Entries are confirmed.
It’s been another busy season and already there is plenty to celebrate for League winners around the globe.
Central Europe
Athletes competing in the Central European League have known their fate for some time now, Lithuania’s Justina Vanagaite and Moldova’s Alisa Glinka clinching the two qualifying spots on offer in this region.
There were 13 legs in the series and Vanagaite was clear winner when picking up maximum points at four legs, in Pärnu (EST), Perila (EST), Samorin (SVK) and at the penultimate round in Zakrzow (POL). All were achieved with her ultra-consistent dark bay BWP gelding Nabab whose results are even more impressive for the fact that he is only 10 years old this year.
The 33-year-old athlete from Vilnius (LTU) only moved the horse up to Grand Prix level in 2021, and such has been their meteoric rise in the sport that she made history as the first-ever Lithuanian rider to compete at an FEI European Dressage Championship when lining out in Hagen (GER) that year where they finished 58th.
Last summer the pair competed at the ECCO FEI World Championships in Herning (DEN) where they finished individually 44th, and Vanagaite then set her sights on qualification for the FEI Dressage World Cup™ Final 2023 with a longer-term view to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. So far, so good for the talented and ambitious duo who will be ones to watch in a few weeks’ time.
Glinka, who finished just ahead of Vanagaite when individually 57th at Hagen EC two years ago, was also a history-maker as the first-ever Moldovan rider to compete at an FEI Dressage World Cup™ Final in Leipzig (GER) last year. The 35-year-old, who is also an actress, then headed to the World Championships with her top ride, the 12-year-old Oldenburg called Aachen, and with the maximum points collected in the Central European League legs at Olomouc (CZE), Lipica (SLO) and Samorin (SVK) this season has earned that second-spot ticket to Omaha.
Estonia’s Dina Ellermann finished third in the League ahead of Hungary’s Csaba Szokola in fourth, Lithuania’s Sandra Sysojeva in fifth and Poland’s Zaneta Skowronska-Kozubik in sixth place.
Pacific
There were three legs in the Pacific League including the Final in which just two athletes competed, with 21-year-old Charlotte Phillips pipping fellow-Australian Kerry Mack.
Phillips and CP Dresden finished fifth in the Freestyle at the opening leg at Werribee in Victoria where Mary Hanna came out on top with Syriana ahead of Jayden Browne and Willingapark Sky Diamond and a total of seven contested for the honours.
Mack finished second at the CDIW(A) in Melbourne with Mayfield Limelight behind Lindsey Ware and Aristede in pole position, and only Mack and Philiips battled it out in the Final at Bawley Point in New South Wales last month.
The Ground Jury of Stephen Clarke (GBR), Susan Hoevenaars (AUS), Juan Carlos Campos Escribano (ESP), Susan Hobson (NZL) and Jobina Kennedy (AUS) awarded the winning mark of 74.275 to Phillips and the 15-year-old CP Dresden while Mack and her 15-year-old Australian Warmblood Mayfield Limelight scored 68.140. Both athletes qualified for the FEI Dressage World Cup™ Final 2023 but are unable to travel.
North America
Scores for athletes in the North American series were collected from 10 qualifiers in the USA along with two of the Western European League legs in Madrid (ESP) and London (GBR) and Steffen Peters, veteran of five Olympic Games, five World Championships and five FEI Dressage World Cup™ Finals topped the leaderboard here.
The 58-year-old athlete won three legs, all in Thermal in California, to clinch top spot ahead of fellow-Americans Alice Tarjan in second and Anna Buffini who claimed the third and last spot on offer in this region.
Riding the 15-year-old Suppenkasper with which he helped clinch team silver at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and who also carried him to team silver at the FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2018 in Tryon, USA, Peters produced consistently strong winning scores of 80.020, 81.590 and 80.785. Crowned series champion in Las Vegas, USA back in 2009 with Ravel he is bound to be a crowd favourite in Omaha at this year’s finale.
Tarjan and the 10-year-old mare Serenade MF won the first leg in Devon and the third leg in Tryon, also collecting points for finishing second and fifth in Wellington, Florida. The 43-year-old rider will be competing at her first FEI Dressage World Cup™ Final, but 28-year-old Buffini lined out at last year’s Final in Germany with FRH Davinia La Douce, finishing 12th in the Freestyle. She concluded this season’s League tied on points with Sarah Tubman (First Apple), but higher average scores gave her the edge for that third qualifying spot.
Tubman had to settle for fourth in the final League standings ahead of Claire Darnell in fifth and Charlotte Jorst in sixth place.
Singapore’s Caroline Chew has qualified for the Final as the non-league rider, picking up her final qualifying score in Wellington, Florida with the 19-year-old Tribiani.
Western Europe
Not for the first time, Germany dominated the Western European League table with five-time series champion Isabell Werth leading the way ahead of compatriot Ingrid Klimke in second spot.
The Netherlands’ Dinja van Liere finished third ahead of Denmark’s Nanna Skodborg Merrald in fourth while Germany’s Benjamin Werndl finished fifth. However Benjamin will not join his sister, Olympic individual and team gold medallist and reigning FEI Dressage World Cup™ champion Jessica von Bredow-Werndl, because each National Federation can only send three horse/rider combinations and Jessica and her brilliant mare TSF Dalera BB will defend the title they won 12 months ago.
The partnership that claimed individual double-gold at last year’s World Championship, Great Britain’s Charlotte Fry and Glamourdale, won the last leg of the League in ’s-Hertogenbosch (NED) last Saturday and are comfortably qualified for the 2023 Final, but the stallion won’t be travelling. So since Fry has only competed once with both of her other rides - Everdale and Lars van de Hoenderheide - this season she will not be on the Omaha start-list because the minimum requirement is two starts per horse.
Sweden’s Patrik Kittel lies seventh on the League table ahead of The Netherlands’ Thamar Zweistra in eighth and former series champion Helen Langehanenberg from Germany in ninth. There are nine qualifying places from this League and they have not, as yet, been finalised.
Omaha is a happy hunting ground for the multi-medalled Isabell Werth who reigned supreme with her great mare Weihegold OLD at the same venue back in 2017 before going on to make it three-in-a-row in Paris (FRA) and Gothenburg (SWE) over the following two years.
The FEI Dressage World Cup™ Final 2023 is going to be great….so don’t miss a hoofbeat….
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Photo caption and Copyright: Justina Vanagaite (LTU) and Nabab during the CDI-W Perila (EST) © Anett Jaadla
The road to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games has hit another milestone: There are 500 days before the XXXIII Olympiad, which will host equestrian sports 27 July through 6 August at the iconic Palace of Versailles.
For athletes in the Olympic disciplines of Dressage, Eventing and Jumping, the biggest objective on the road to Paris remains qualification. With 500 days to go, some key nations—including host nation France—have secured their quota places, with these National Federations focused on team appointment. Others, meanwhile, are set on fielding their best teams for remaining events with qualification opportunities.
Dressage
Jessica von Bredow-Werndl and TSF Dalera at Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games © FEI/Christophe Taniére
Including the host nation, seven nations have qualified for Dressage competition in Paris, accounting for 24 of 45 available team quota places (3 athletes per team). This group includes all three medalists from Tokyo 2020 (JPN). Defending champions Germany, the United States and Great Britain all earned their places from their results at the 2022 FEI World Championships in Herning (DEN)—as did Denmark, Sweden, The Netherlands and Australia.
All eyes will be on Germany on the road to Paris, as not only did they top the team competition in the last Olympics, but its athletes Jessica von Bredow-Werndl and Isabell Werth also claimed the individual gold and silver medals, respectively. Bredow-Werndl remains at the top of her game and sits atop the FEI Dressage World Rankings with her partner from Tokyo, TSF Dalera BB.
Twenty-one team quota places (accounting for seven teams) remain, many of which will be decided at the year’s continental and regional championships. Most notable will be the FEI Dressage European Championship 2023, set for Riesenbeck (GER), 4-10 September. Fifteen individual quota places are also available, awarded to athletes from nations that have not already accepted a team quota place. Of course, these athletes will be a mix of males and females, as equestrian sport remains the only Olympic event in which men and women compete as equals.
Eventing
Laura Collet (GBR) with London 52 at the FEI Eventing World Championships 2022 © FEI/Christophe Taniére
Nearly half of the team quotas places have already been secured in the sport of Eventing, among them defending Olympic champions Great Britain, who were victorious in Tokyo led by Rosalind Canter, Oliver Townend, Laura Collett and Tom McEwan. Germany is among the first nations qualified, which should provide some excitement. After all, the nation produced Eventing’s first ever female individual Olympic gold medalist in Julia Krajewski in Tokyo. In addition to the host nation, the United States, New Zealand, Ireland, Sweden and Switzerland have also qualified. These places were all earned at the FEI World Championships in Herning, where the United States secured its first team medal at a World or Olympic Championship since 2004. The United States is the only nation from North, Central or South America to have secured a team quota place.
Most notably, Tokyo’s silver medalists Australia have yet to secure their place. They have remaining opportunities at the Group F and G FEI Designated Olympic Qualification Event at Millstreet (IRL), 01-04 June and the FEI Eventing European Championships 2023 in Haras du Pin (FRA) and via the 2023 FEI Eventing Nations Cup Series.
The competition for ranking points for the Individual slots has started, and will continue through the rest of the year.
Jumping
Fredricson Peder and All In during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games © FEI/Christophe Taniére
Jumping offers the most quota places of all the equestrian disciplines, with 75 up for grabs, including 60 team athletes.
Sweden is undisputedly the team to watch on the road to Paris, having claimed team gold medals at both the Tokyo Olympic Games and the FEI World Championships 2022. Safely qualified, their concern will be trying to replace Peder Fredricson’s incredible All In, who earned a most celebratory retirement in February. “Allan,” as the barefoot bay was affectionately called, won six championship medals in his career. In Tokyo, he became just the second horse in history to jump the entire Olympic Games without having a single rail.
The Netherlands, Great Britain, Ireland and Germany also secured their places in Herning, while Belgium earned its spot at the FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ Final 2022 in Barcelona (ESP). Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates secured team quota places at their Group F Designated Olympic Qualification Event, but 11 team quota places remain.
The United States earned the silver medal in Tokyo, but they will rely on the 2023 Pan American Games to qualify for Paris. Among the powerhouses of the sport, the U.S. won back-to-back team gold medals at the 2004 and 2008 Games and has medalled at seven of the last 10 Olympics, but the pressure will be on in Chile for them to add to that Olympic resume. If they do not qualify at the Pan Ams, they would have one last opportunity at the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ Final 2023 In Barcelona.
The 2023 FEI European Championship in Milano (ITA), 29 August – 03 Sept. will also offer three team quotas for European nations from Group A and/or B. Fifteen additional individual quotas are also available for athletes from nations that have not already accepted a team quota place.
Don’t miss a hoofbeat! Follow equestrian sports’ road to Paris at https://inside.fei.org/fei/games/olympic.
With just one leg left to go in North America next week, the FEI Jumping World Cup™ 2022/2023 series is already celebrating another bumper season of super sport across five continents.
Horse-and-rider combinations from Africa, Asia, Oceania, Europe and the Americas have risen to the challenge, competing in 12 different Leagues around the globe. Not all have had the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final 2023 in their sights, but for every League winner their victory is something to be savoured.
Smallest
A total of 723 athletes competed in total, and the smallest League was in South East Asia where just eight lined out and seven picked up points. All three events were staged in Indonesia and all the competitors were from the host nation, with 27-year-old Marcho Alexandro coming out on top with the 15-year-old mare Chico’s Lady 3 ahead of compatriot Ferry Wahyu Hadiyanto, winner of the first leg in Jakarta partnering Cascadella de Revel G.
There were 17 contestants in the New Zealand League which produced a very special result when 51-year-old Phillip Steiner won through with his 10-year-old mare Cassina Dior to book his spot at the Final for the very first time.
The experienced athlete lined out in all five legs of the series at Hastings, Cambridge, Taupo, Dannevirke and Hawera, amassing 80 points to pin Sophie Scott into runner-up spot and Brooke Edgecombe into third. Phillip’s wife, Sally, won this League more than 20 years ago but didn’t travel to the final. However this time the whole family intend to be there.
Also making the long trip from the southern hemisphere is Samuel Overton with his 15-year-old gelding Oaks Cassanova, winners of the Australian League. The 51-year-old rider competed in all six legs collecting 79 points which left him five points ahead of his nearest rival, Olivia Hamood, and well clear of Aaron Hadlow in third.
Results
Kenki Sato won the Japan League, counting results from four of the seven legs including events in Kakegawa-Tsumagoi, Fuji and Osaka. The 38-year-old who competed at the FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2010 in Kentucky (USA) and who won double-gold at the Asian Games in Guangzhou (CHN) that same year finished four points clear of League runner-up Tatsuya Kusanagi while Yoshinori Suzuki slotted into third. A total of 29 athletes competed in this League.
Nicola Sime topped the South African League this season, pinning Rainer Korber into second place and Lisa Williams into third. Sime, who is based at Sunny Park Stables on the East Rand of Gauteng, was awarded the South African Colours for her coaching skills in 2018 and the 45-year-old athlete is also a successful horse-breeder. Her League victory was clinched by a series of great performances including a win at the second leg in Brits and runner-up placings at the qualifiers at Midrand and Kromdraai partnering the 15-year-old BWP stallion Insaghi DB. From her base at Sunny Park, Sime runs a Development Programme which provides underprivileged riders with the opportunity to compete.
The Eurasian League attracted 47 competitors, and Uzbekistan claimed all of the top-three places. Nurjon Tuyakbaev competed at the first two legs in Tashkent Viloyat (UZB) and Bishkek (KGZ) and with 24 points the 35-year-old athlete won the League and pinned compatriots Umad Kamilov and Bekzod Kurbanov into second and third places. Tuyakbaev produced his leading score with two horses, the 10-year-old Westphalian mare Lancelotta and the 13-year-old Holsteiner mare Camita DKG.
Arab League
The Arab League consists of two Sub-Leagues and it was the UAE’s Moufi Owaida Al Karbi who topped the Middle East Sub-League while Morocco’s Majid Djaidi headed the North African Sub-League.
With top points at both the first and last of the seven legs, in both Abu Dhabi and Sharjah (UAE), Al Karbi was clear winner of the Middle East series, Syria’s Ahmad Saber Hamcho finishing second and UAE’s Abdullah Humaid Al Muhairi in third. Saudi Arabia’s Abdulrahman Alrajhi finished four and Shk. Ali Jmal Nasr Al Nuami from UAE finished fifth, and the latter pair will join Al Karbi to fill the three places from this Sub-League at the Final.
Meanwhile just two points separated Djaidi from his nearest rival and fellow-countryman Abdelkebir Ouaddar at the top of the North African standings, and both are also now confirmed for the Final.
Central Europe is also divided into two Sub-Leagues, North and South, and a total of 130 athletes competed this season ahead of the League Final staged in Krakow (POL) last weekend where Lithuania’s Andrius Petrovas reigned supreme.
Petrovas was thoroughly consistent on his way to winning the Northern Sub-League ahead of Estonia’s Paul-Richard Argus in second and fellow-Lithuanian Nerijus Sipaila.
In the Southern Sub-League it was Romania’s Damian Cojocariu who came out on top while Angelos Touloupis from Greece finished second and Hungary’s Gyulia Szuhai finished third. But the League Final turned into a battle between Petrovas and fellow-countryman Donatas Janciauskas who had finished fourth in the Northern Sub-League, Petrovas winning out by just a single point for the Central European League title.
Petrovas is a veteran of the 2014 and 2022 FEI Jumping World Cup™ Finals, and it was with his top ride, the 16-year-old Latvian-bred gelding Linkolns which he also competed at last summer’s World Championships in Herning (DEN) that he booked his ticket to the 2023 Longines Final in Omaha (USA) where Janciauskas will also compete. Poland’s Jaroslaw Skrzyczynski was in flying form in Krakow where he finished third and also earned a ticket to the Final. However he has opted not to travel.
Largest
The Western European League is by far the largest, and world number one, Sweden’s Henrik von Eckermann, topped the League table at the end of the exciting 14-leg series.
Partnering the extraordinary 13-year-old BWP gelding King Edward who carried him to team gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and double-gold at last summer’s ECCO FEI World Championship in Denmark, the 41-year-old athlete is already signed up for Omaha where he will be joined by 18 others from the Western European series including Brazil’s Yuri Mansur who has earned his place as an extra athlete.
Super-speedy Frenchman, Julien Epaillard, finished second on the League table while 2014 champion Daniel Deusser from Germany finished third, and the confirmed list shows Germany with the highest number of entries from this League with five in total while the three representative from Switzerland include defending champion Martin Fuchs.
There will be no representation from the South American South League which was won by 45-year-old Geronimo Marcello Viana Ciavaglia, a member of last year’s gold-medal-winning Brazilian team at the South American Games in Paraguay. Five-time Olympian Doda de Miranda finished second ahead of Stephan de Freitas Barcha in third, and it was the 15-year-old Brazilian-bred mare GR Garuda who carried Viana Ciavaglia to success throughout the season.
The North American qualifying series comes to a close in Ocala, Florida (USA) on 19 March, and with seven places on offer to East Coast athletes, three for those competing in the West Coast series and two spots up for grabs for both Canadian and Mexican riders there is still some work to be done.
Ireland’s Daniel Coyle and Conor Swail and Israel’s Daniel Bluman look untouchable at the top of the leaderboard and should make the cut as extra athletes along with Brazil’s Rodrigo Pessoa who currently lies sixth. And McLain Ward, who set the arena alight when claiming his first precious Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ victory when the Final last visited Omaha in 2017, also has a qualifying slot clearly in his sights.
But there is still jumping to be done before the line-up for the 43rd Final of the prestigious series is finally decided.
Don’t miss a hoofbeat….
All the information about the FEI Jumping World Cup 2022-2023 available here
PHOTO Caption: Nicola Sime (RSA) riding with Sunny Park Stables Insaghi DB at the President’s Cup / © Hilary O'Leary
Great Britain’s Lottie Fry and her superstar stallion Glamourdale won the eleventh and last leg of the FEI Dressage World Cup™ 2022/2023 Western European League at the Dutch Masters in ’s-Hertogenbosch (NED) today.
On an afternoon that proved challenging for a number of horse-and-rider combinations, the reigning double-individual world champions quickly recovered after a surprising moment of discord during canter half-pass to post the winning score of 86.835. The Netherlands’ Dinja van Liere (Hermes NOP) finished second ahead of Germany’s Isabell Werth (Emilio) and Benjamin Werndl (Famoso OLD) in third and fourth places while the exciting new Dutch combination of Marieke van der Putten and Torveslettens Titanium finished fifth.
There were nine places up for grabs for the 2023 series Final which kicks off in Omaha, USA on 4 April and, finishing sixth on the leaderboard, Fry has made the cut. However the 27-year-old athlete could not confirm if she will take the busy breeding stallion, with which she won individual double-gold at the ECCO FEI World Championships last summer, across the Atlantic in three weeks’ time. “I’m not sure, but we will make plans shortly”, she said this evening.
Excited
There was plenty for the Dutch crowd to get excited about, including a lovely performance from their own Marlies van Baalen and Habibi DVB who took the lead just before the halfway break. The 13-year-old chestnut gelding looked supremely chilled and confident as he strutted his way to a score of 79.360 on only his third Freestyle outing at this level.
Finland’s Emma Kanerva posted a personal-best to overtake the Dutch pair when putting 79.505 on the board with Greek Air when the action resumed and then, fourth-last to go, Germany’s Werndl reset the target with Famoso OLD who swaggered his way to the first over-80% mark of the day, scoring 82.760 which was always going to put them in the frame.
However van Liere and Hermes NOP, double-bronze medallists at last year’s World Championship, bettered that. Starting out with sensational passage/piaffe and the most wonderful rhythm they looked set to really blow the lid off the competition. But the 13-year-old stallion became increasingly tense and they finished on a mark of 83.375 - less than the 87.055 they posted to win on home ground in Amsterdam in January but good enough to temporarily take the lead today.
“Hermes gets more excited when there is a lot of people, but I am still very happy about our progress together and where we are going. He can be very good in piaffe/passage which I think were my best ever today. I need to get him more quiet in the canter now"
Dinja van Liere (NED)
Out in front
Fry and Glamourdale followed them into the ring and it was quickly clear that their score was going to put them out in front, especially after earning 10s across the board for their first extended canter and 9.3 for lovely two-tempi changes. But the stallion suddenly shook his head and spooked during the canter half-pass and although he quickly regained his equilibrium the lost points left the pair with a final tally of 86.835, well below the 90.995 they posted when winning in London last Christmas.
“It was a shame, because he did some of his very best work today!”, Fry said afterwards. “It is a big arena with a lot of atmosphere and he came back and we finished well so I am happy tonight!”, she added.
That big atmosphere also seemed to get to Werth’s 15-year-old gelding Emilio who threw in some high jinks before they entered the arena to score 82.670 which would leave them in third.
“He went on fire when Lottie’s result came up!”, Werth explained. “I was very satisfied with the first part, but I lost him a little in the canter work which is a shame as I there lost the possibility to compete with Lottie. But it was a great atmosphere here today and at the end this is want counts”, pointed out the lady who knows more about atmosphere than most.
She is heading to her 23rd FEI Dressage World Cup™ Final this year, having won five of them since they were first staged back in 1986. She will take the stallion DSP Qantaz with which she claimed top points at both Lyon (FRA) and Basel (SUI) this season when finishing second behind compatriot and defending World Cup champions Jessica von Bredow-Werndl and the mare TSF Dalera on both occasions.
League table
Because she is automatically qualified von-Bredow Werndl didn’t need to pick up points throughout this season, and the final Western European League table shows Werth on top followed by compatriot Ingrid Klimke in second, van Liere in third, Denmark’s Nanna Skodborg Merrald in fourth and Benjamin Werndl - Jessica’s brother - in fifth place. Fry lies sixth ahead of Sweden’s Patrik Kittel in seventh, The Netherlands’ Thamar Zweistra is in eighth place and Germany’s Helen Langehanenberg slotted into ninth spot.
However with only three athletes from any NF permitted to compete at the Final neither Benjamin Werndl nor former double-champion Langehanenberg will travel. French rider Morgan Barbançon and Germany’s Frederic Wandres share tenth place and the Dutch duo of Emmelie Scholtens and Marieke van der Putten holds the next two places. There are still some matters to be settled before the final touches are put to the start-list for the 35th FEI Dressage World Cup™ Final is decided….
Don’t miss a hoofbeat….
For all the latest information about the FEI Dressage World Cup™ season 2022/2023 check out the new Series Hub here
Stay up to date with results, articles, interviews, videos and much more while following the action all the way to Final.
FEI Dressage World Cup WEL Standings
Photo copyright: FEI / Leanjo de Koster
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