Rolex Season is Just Around the Corner

Riders all around the globe are already counting down to the 2010/2011 Rolex FEI World Cup™ Jumping final which will take place in Leipzig, Germany next April. And for competitors in the Rolex-sponsored Western European League, the qualifying season kicks off in four weeks time at Oslo in Norway.

Many of the other leagues are already well underway. There are 14 in total, and the 12-leg Australia-Pacific series, which began in April, runs through to its final in Sydney in December. The first of 13 qualifiers in the Arab League took place in Tripoli, Libya earlier this month and this series concludes in Sharjah, UAE in January. There were just three legs in the Central Asian League which is already completed, while the Caucasian League is also a tidy affair with just four rounds – two in Baku, Azerbaijan, and the remaining two in Tbilisi, Georgia. The Central European League is divided into two sub-leagues embracing 17 events and concluding with a final in Warsaw, Poland next March. There are also finals in the nine-leg Japanese series, and in the New Zealand-Pacific region which stages eight qualifiers and comes to a close at Tauranga (NZL) next February.

Qualifying Opportunities
South African riders have just two legs of their six-round series left to go, and there are the same number of qualifying opportunities for competitors in the South American League which winds up in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in eight weeks time. South East Asia hosts six legs that run through to next February, but riders in North America have 23 qualifying competitions available to them. The action in the 16-leg East-Coast series began at Blainville in Canada in July, while Langley in Canada hosted the West Coast opener in June. Riders from the USA have clinched the Rolex FEI World Cup™ Jumping title on seven occasions over the last 32 years, but it is Germany that holds the record for the biggest number of wins. When Marcus Ehning won the 2009/2010 title in Geneva, Switzerland last April the German tally rose to eight, and if he can do it again this season then he will become the first-ever rider to take the title four times.

He will get his first chance to start the ball rolling when the Rolex FEI World Cup™ Jumping Western European League begins in Oslo on 17 October.

Big Test of Stamina
This opening leg takes place just seven days after a new Jumping World Champion has been crowned at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ in Kentucky, and while it will be a big test of stamina for those returning from the American fixture, it will be the perfect opportunity to pick up those early points which so often smooth the way to the final later in the season. Good results during the initial rounds help to relieve the pressure and ensures horses and riders are fresher coming into the deciding event which, this year, returns to Leipzig. And if previous experience is anything to go by, then German riders should be feeling confident on home soil. When Leipzig last hosted the Rolex FEI World Cup™ Jumping Final in 2002, Germany took the top two places – Otto Becker, who is now German Chef d’Equipe, clinching victory ahead of Ludger Beerbaum while Brazil’s Rodrigo Pessoa finished third.

FEI World Cup™ Jumping celebrates its 33rd season this year as the hugely-popular series, originally conceived by Swiss journalist Max Amman, continues to go from strength to strength. From the 14 leagues, embracing six continents, riders are fighting for a place at the final where the best the best will do battle to decide who is the greatest of them all. The Rolex FEI World Cup™ Jumping title is the ultimate accolade in the sport of indoor international jumping. It’s the one they all want to win, and the first step on the road to glory is just around the corner…… ~ by Louise Parkes

Facts and Figures
– 14 qualifying leagues around the globe lead to the final
– This is the 33rd season of FEI World Cup™ Jumping
– This season’s final will take place at Leipzig, Germany from 27 April to 1 May 2011
– A total of 132 qualifying legs will be staged before the Rolex FEI World Cup™ Jumping Final in Leipzig next April
– The defending champion is Germany’s Marcus Ehning.
– German riders hold the record for the most wins in the series – 8 in total
– Defending champion Marcus Ehning has won the Rolex FEI World Cup™ Jumping series three times during his career – at Las Vegas (USA) in 2003, Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) in 2006 and in Geneva (Switzerland) – – earlier this year. He is one of four riders who have scored a hat-trick of wins. He will set a new standard if he can take his fourth title this season.
– Leipzig previously hosted the Rolex FEI World Cup™ Jumping Final in 2002
– There have been 32 winners of the Rolex FEI World Cup™ Jumping title. The leaderboard of winners, by nation, is as follows:
– Germany 8, USA 7, Austria 4, Canada, Great Britain and Brazil 3, Switzerland 2, France and The Netherlands 1.