2017, the consolidation of Longines and the FEI’s long-lasting relationship

After an exciting 2016-2017 Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping season marked by incredible sports performances, Title Partner Longines, the FEI and the organizer, Omaha Equestrian Foundation, proudly presented the Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping Final in Omaha (USA). On this occasion, the brand was delighted to welcome Longines Ambassador of Elegance and iconic women’s tennis star, Stefanie Graf, who had the pleasure to meet her fans before the beginning of the final competition. The spectators of this major event also had the opportunity to get a souvenir photograph of their visit by posing in front of the Longines Blue Horse.

In 2017, Longines was associated with the Longines FEI European Championships, which took place in August in Gothenburg (Sweden). During this multisport event, Longines announced the extension of its global agreement as the FEI’s Top Partner. As part of this historic partnership, Longines became the Title Partner of the newly-named Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ series. The 2017 Final in Barcelona marked the beginning of this new common adventure. In addition, Longines chose this prestigious event in the Jumping calendar for the European launch of its Conquest V.H.P. “Very High Precision” model, which represents a new achievement in the field of quartz, combining great performance, high technicality and a sporty look, marked by the brand’s unique elegance. Also in the context of the Final in Barcelona, Longines and the FEI announced the creation of two new awards, the Longines FEI World’s Best Jumping Rider and the Longines FEI World’s Best Jumping Horse, which are granted to the year’s best rider and horse in the discipline of Jumping, according to the Longines Rankings. Those awards – aimed to recognize achievement and outstanding performances in Jumping across the globe – were presented for the first time in April 2018 to the inaugural winners, Kent Farrington and HH Azur during a ceremony held at the Mairie de Paris along with the FEI World Cup™ draws for the disciplines of Jumping and Dressage.

At the end of the year, the winged-hourglass brand took part in the FEI Awards Ceremony in Montevideo (Uruguay) and was proud to grant Irish 16-year-old jumping rider Harry Allen the 2017 Longines Rising Star Award and to announce its support to the “FEI Solidarity Retraining of Racehorses in partnership with Longines” thus concluding a year marked by Longines’ increasing support to the young athletes and to the equestrian sports disciplines in general.