Julien Epaillard Kicks Off World Cup Final with a Win

Julien Epaillard and his homebred 12-year-old gelding Donatello d’Auge proved unbeatable once again as they stormed to the top of the leaderboard in the opening leg of the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final in Basel (SUI) this evening. The flying Frenchman has evidently mastered the technical requirements of Basel’s St. Jakobshalle arena as he topped the podium here for the second time this year having taken victory of the cities’ Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ qualifying leg in January.

Gérard Lachat (SUI) set a strong but delicate track for the first of the three competitions that comprise the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final. This competition is run as a speed class under Table C rules, where fences down are penalised by time added (three seconds for each fence lowered) rather than faults. Unlike the usual speed classes that athletes are accustomed to, this opening leg, whilst directly against the clock, is run over a Table A course, a full track with technically demanding lines and elements, set at 1.60m to place the emphasis on jumping rather than pure speed.

Lachat made use of light materials such as a delicate plank, short poles and airy fences with shallow cups and little to back horses off to ensure a true Jumping test was set for the stellar line up of athletes. Related distances were prevalent from start to finish of his 13-fence track meaning any lapse of athlete concentration or loss of rhythm proved costly.

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The nature of the first day’s competition provides athletes with somewhat of a conundrum as they must weigh up the risks posed by the various elements of the day’s competition in its own right and as part of the overall championship that is the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final.

Going too fast on day one presents athletes with the risk of their horses getting too quick and jumping flat ahead of the final two days of competition, each run over two rounds of 1.60m tracks where clean jumping is paramount. The winners of the past six Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Finals however, have all lead after day one, highlighting the importance of putting in a strong, and quick, performance in the opening competition. Each athlete therefore must develop a strategy and tactics to fit their horse.

Fourteen combinations returned with clean rounds of Jumping but it was a master tactician who lay down the gauntlet for the rest of the field from fourth draw of the 39 strong field. No stranger to developing a plan and executing it to the letter, defending Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Champion Henrik von Eckermann (SWE), did just that as he guided a spring heeled Iliana around the track without fault to set the standard in a time of 61.26 seconds.

Robert Whitaker (GBR) and his Helsinki winner Vermento sacrificed speed to negotiate all the fences safely without troubling the leader before Edouard Schmitz (SUI) set the St. Jakobshalle arena alight as he produced a foot perfect performance with Gamin van’t Naastveldhof to the delight of his home crowd. His time of 63.47 put him into second place and was good enough to secure an eventual ninth place.

The fourth and final clear round of the first half was produced by Pieter Devos (BEL) and his exciting ten-year-old Casual DV Z. The pair finished eighth in Riyadh (KSA) 12 months ago when the homebred mare was just nine years old. As they flowed around the track without breaking their rhythm and appearing totally at ease, they looked every bit a championship winning combination of the future. A time of 62.64 seconds was recorded which slipped them into second place at the half way stage.

German sensation Sophie Hinners opened the second half of competition with a classy round aboard her Verona winner Iron Dames My Prins. Keeping tight lines and an unfaltering rhythm they never appeared hurried but sliced off corners to clock a time of 62.56 and slot into second place. A costly back bar for Martin Fuchs (SUI) and Leone Jei denied the home crowd a Swiss lead, as their time of 60.54 seconds became 63.54 with the three seconds added and slipped them down the order.

Epaillard followed. Renowned for his speed and precision his intent was clear from the outset as he switched Donatello d’Auge into a formidable pace long before the start beams and hit cruise control. In his customary style, Epaillard stayed light in the saddle and let the agile gelding run and jump without interference, crossing the finish to rapturous applause from an appreciative audience as his time of 60.30 seconds saw him shoot to the top of the leaderboard.

Gregory Wathelet (BEL) and Bond Jamesbond de Hay delivered a strong challenge in 61.38 before Ben Maher (GBR) presented Epaillard with the biggest threat to his lead. Aboard the 11-year-old stallion Point Break, Maher, nursing a recently broken foot, masterfully negotiated the track in typically silky-smooth fashion to stop the clock just 0.13 seconds shy of Epaillard’s time and put himself onto the podium in second place.

Kevin Staut (FRA) put on a display of exemplary horsemanship as he strategically piloted an ever green 16-year-old Visconti du Telman around the course in total harmony to post a time of 61.33 which was good enough for eventual fifth place.

Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final debutant Lillie Keenan (USA) made full use of her late draw as the stars (and stripes!) aligned for her and her relatively inexperienced 11-year-old stallion Kick on. They executed their round exactly as planned to post an impressively quick round in 60.69 seconds to take third place with only four athletes remaining. None of those however could better their performance so Keenan took the final podium position behind Julien Epaillard and Ben Maher.

Keenan was delighted with the performance of Kick on and full of praise for the stallion whom she says “has every quality you could dream of” in a horse.

“To be in the top three is very surreal. My coach McLain Ward is here, we walked a plan to win, but my horse is inexperienced at this level so I expected to have to improvise- but I didn’t need to! My first step now is to enjoy this moment, then reset, take a breath take it day by day and enjoy the ride”

Maher was modestly dismissive of the potential handicap presented by his broken foot, an injury sustained less than a week ago. Although struggling to walk, he is able to ride albeit with his stirrup “in a different position.” He was pleased with the performance and result today.

“Point Break felt confident and relaxed which is really important for him. There’s a long way to go but I’m really proud of him. It’s his first championship test and he feels ready.”

Epaillard was beaming after producing the perfect result on day one but tentatively added “I just hope I didn’t ask too much today, there’s a lot more fences to jump!” before praising the venue and his equine partner.

“I’m so proud, this horse is like family, he is so special to us” he told affectionately. “He loves it here; the ground is very good. He’s barefoot so good ground is very important for him”. When asked of his tactics for the following days of competition, Epaillard replied “try to be clear!” A sentiment shared by his fellow podium position holders!

The second competition of the 2025 Longines FEI World Cup™ Final takes place on Friday 4 April at 20:15 local time.

Full results here.

Livestream here.