The Longines FEI Jumping World Cup at the London International Horse Show saw 38 starters from 14 different nations go head-to-head as they vied for FEI World Cup points to qualify for the Final in Omaha in April 2023.

Renowned Portuguese course designer Bernardo Costa Cabral described the highly challenging 13 fence track as the “perfect recipe”, complete with twists, tight turns, and a testing but achievable first round time allowed of 68 seconds. With faults accumulated throughout the course, just seven combinations made it through to the second round to be in with a chance of claiming the prestigious title.

First to go clear in the jump-off was Maikel van der Vleuten from The Netherlands. As the 2013 winner, he had the experience to keep his round tight, but sensible, producing a tactically flawless performance and the first double clear in a time of 41.21 seconds riding Elwikke. Great Britain’s Scott Brash – the 2016 winner – kept his cool, matching van der Vleuten’s accuracy, but taking out a stride to the final Longines oxer to take his place at the top of the leaderboard with Hello Jefferson. The Longines FEI Jumping World Cup Final winner from 2014, Daniel Deusser, put in a quicker first section with Killer Queen VDM, however the pair lost time down the final line to finish 0.05 seconds behind Brash.

Advertisement