Martin Fuchs and Leone Jei light up the competition on day two of the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final

Martin Fuchs (SUI) and his faithful friend, the 14-year-old gelding Leone Jei, took the honours on day two of the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup^™ Final in Basel (SUI) in front of an electric stadium full of fans after a thrilling jump-off. Max Kühner (AUT) and his long-term partner, the also 14-year-old Elektric Blue P, took second ahead of Alessandra Volpi (USA) with her sensational 11-year-old mare Gypsy Love.  Day two of the competition saw athletes battle for supremacy in a 1.60m Table A Jump-Off class where only six of the 38 athletes came up with all the answers around an imposing first round track.

Thirty- seven athletes took to the St. Jakobshalle arena to face the first round of the second final competition. Starting in reverse order of standings following yesterday’s speed opener, the tension and excitement built throughout the night with pressure intensified for those sitting at the business end of proceedings, knowing how much was at stake, and theirs to lose.

Following his emphatic win in the opening speed leg, Julien Epaillard (FRA) came into tonight’s second final competition in pole position ahead of Ben Maher (GBR), hungry to add the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup^™ trophy to his three Olympic Gold medals. World Cup Final debutant Lillie Keenan (USA) came forward in third position, benefiting from the expert mentorship of her coach McLain Ward (USA), himself a former World Cup champion and following his advice to the letter. Defending Longines FEI Jumping World Cup^™ Champion from 2023 and 2024, Henrik von Eckerman (SWE) kept himself in touch with the leaders in fourth place reliant on the agility of his 2021 European Team Gold medalling partner Iliana.

Swiss course builder Gérard Lachat set a fitting test. His first-round track had athletes snaking around every inch of the technically demanding confines of the St. Jakobshalle arena which he had peppered with strategically placed fences and lines demanding of scope, agility, obedience and care.

Comprised of 14 fences and 17 vast jumping efforts, the course featured a combination with oxers on entry and exit, a curving short five-stride distance between a vertical and oxer, both fences set as Liverpools, coming off a difficult turn, followed by a line of a wide oxer followed by a flat five- strides down to a one- stride double with a delicate white plank on entry and another gaping oxer on exit. The final line was perhaps the most technical of all as a roll-back to an airy wall then left a range of distance options to a line of two oxers set on three strides adjacent to the exit, before an open turn at the top of the arena encouraging loss of straightness and balance which lead them to the final fence, a 1.62m vertical with just 3 short white poles which could again, be negotiated on six, seven or even eight strides.

The subtle technicalities of Lachat’s creative course building demanded total concentration, focus and seamless communication between athletes and their equine counterparts from start to finish.

 

As is customary on day two and three of the Finals, athletes started in reverse order of standings following the previous day’s competition, adding an element of mounting pressure as the class progressed. Eleventh into the arena, Daniel Coyle (IRL) showed the field how to negotiate the track when producing the first clear with the aptly named 12-year-old gelding Incredible. Five horses later a beaming Hans-Dieter Dreher (GER) and equally joyful looking Elysium, joined him and guaranteed a jump-off. At the half way stage they remained the only two athletes to have produced clears.

Max Kühner (AUT) and his faithful partner Elektric Blue P came up with all the answers shortly after the arena maintenance break and was soon joined by Alessandra Volpi (USA) who produced another eye-catching round with the 11-year-old mare Gypsy Love. This impressive combination were the first to have jumped clear on both day one and two.

The roof of the St. Jakobshalle arena was then raised as the partisan crowd got what they came for when their national hero, Martin Fuchs, aboard his Longines FEI European Championship 2021 Team Gold and Individual Silver medallist, Leone Jei, put yesterday’s heart-breaking single fault behind them to deliver the fifth clear of the class. The single fence down had cost them the win yesterday, but their quick time left them in tenth place going into this evening’s competition; the highest placed athlete not to have jumped clear in the opening speed class.

In an unprecedented turn of events, the next eight athletes, lying in second to ninth position in the overall standings after day one, failed to capitalise on their strong starts and deliver a faultless performance this time round. Amongst them were Jumping royalty Kevin Staut (FRA), Henrik Von Eckermann and Ben Maher, themselves all Olympic Gold Medallists amongst reams of other accolades. This left the door open for overnight leader Julien Epaillard (FRA), to tighten his grip on pole position.

Ever the competitor, Epaillard and his short-striding gelding Donatello d’Auge set out on the track that had played into the hands of their greater- gaited counterparts and confidently executed their own plan, adding strides down every one of the distances that had originally walked over five strides. Captaining his own ship, Epaillard and his homebred gelding sailed home without penalty once again to produce the sixth and final clear round.

Lachat’s jump-off track consisted of a series of unbalancing and disorientating turns, sandwiched between two long gallops. A miscommunication at the first fence put pay to Coyle’s chances of victory. Encouraged by an enthusiastic crowd, Dreher, having done the hard work, threw caution to the wind on the long gallop to the last. When the distance God’s weren’t on his side, he was forced to take a pull just before the final fence and paid the price with four faults in a quick time.

Kühner followed and pulled off a series of tight turns with a game Elektric Blue P to post the first double clear in a time of 42.32 seconds, despite not hitting his usual flowing rhythm. With the long game in mind and knowing a clear would propel her up the leaderboard, Volpi produced another classy round without fault in 45.78 to slip herself into second place with just two athletes remaining.

Feeding off the pressure to deliver to the sea of red and white flags adorning the stands of the St. Jakobshalle, Fuchs set sail from the outset, with a daring gallop to fence two enabling him to omit a stride and get ahead on the first split-time. A series of risky turns followed and Fuch’s “unicorn” matched his will to cleanly negotiate obstacles at speed with each breath-taking approach until they cleared the final oxer to rapturous applause and whistles of appreciation. A glance at the clock revealed the lead had changed hands and Fuchs sat in pole position with one athlete remaining.

Meanwhile however in another twist to the plot, backstage, Epaillard had been doing their maths. In a tactical move, pushing his competitive spirit aside temporarily, Epaillard had realised that none of the other five athletes in the jump-off could match his total points even if any one of them were to win tonight and he were to finish sixth.

With the nature of the competition seeing the points converted to faults going forward to day three via the application of a coefficient, he also couldn’t extend his lead any further by winning tonight. On this basis, with the ultimate goal of being crowned Longines FEI Jumping World Cup^™ champion in sight, he made the strategical decision to abstain from participating in the jump-off and keep Donatello d’Auge fresh for Sunday’s two round 1.60m decider. As the news was announced, the arena went wild once more at the realisation tat their own former Longines FEI Jumping World Cup^™ champion, Fuchs, was the winner of the second competition of their home Championship.

“Basel is such a fantastic show. In front of my home crowd, on my fantastic unicorn Leone Jei, it’s a really special victory! Usually, I have my plan set for the jump-off. I had two turns which were erm… quite risky! So, I’m pleased with the result, but not totally happy with myself and how I rode! I have to thank Leone!”

Kühner felt similarly as he explained “actually I feel the same as Martin. I’m happy with the result but not with my riding! It didn’t feel super smooth and I lost my stirrup on the turn to the wall, a little bit the balance and had trouble! I missed a little bit the last distance but thanks to Blue I managed it. It wasn’t as perfect as I wish it was, but it still turned out good! A lot to improve for Sunday and to study!”

Volpi has impressed in both days of competition and is now the only athlete to have contested all three rounds of competition thus far without lowering a fence. “I’m really happy with myself and my horse. I’ve blown my expectations for the week already without it being over” she beamed.

The 30 highest placed athletes after the first two competitions proceed to Sunday’s first round of the third Longines FEI Jumping World Cup^™ Final competition. In the event of athletes not being able or choosing not to start, there will be no passing of places to athletes further down the line. Athletes’ points are now converted to penalties which will be carried forward for the rest of the competition. The overall leading athlete after amalgamation of points from the first two final competitions is awarded zero (0) penalties. All remaining athletes will be allocated penalties calculated by multiplying the difference between their total points and that of the leading athlete, by a coefficient of 0.50.

After the culmination of the second final competition of the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup^™ Final, Julien Epaillard remains at the top of the standings on zero (0) penalties. Fuch’s win tonight has seen his rocket up the leaderboard to sit in equal second with reigning champion Henrik Von Eckermann on two penalties apiece, whilst Kevin Staut, Lillie Keenan and Ben Maher lie in equal fourth on three penalties.

After Sunday’s first round, the 20 highest placed athletes will proceed to the second and final round, where the athlete finishing on the lowest score will be crowned the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup^™ 2025 Champion.

Image: FEI / Ben Clark