Do you know the hottest sport that involves powerful animals and thrilling jumps?
No, not the Westminster Dog Show. We’re talking about the Longines Global Champions Tour (LGCT), the world’s premier league for show jumping. Since 2006, it has been bringing together the top show jumpers on the planet to compete in prestigious locations—in front of some of the wealthiest and most glamorous spectators in the world—for unprecedented sums of money.
Over 15 weekends and across three continents, Olympic and world show jumping champions battle fiercely for the title of overall Champion of Champions and the lion’s share of the bonus prize fund. In fact, just this past weekend in Doha, Qatar, Sweden’s Rolf-Goran Bengtsson—along with his 17-year-old stallion Casall ASK—was declared victor of the 2016 season, narrowly beating out Australia’s Edwina Tops-Alexander (a two-time champ herself) for the top spot and nearly half a million euros in prize money (about $544,400).
But wait, you say. What is show jumping? Good question. It’s what you get when you combine the raw speed of horse racing with the elegance and explosiveness of hurdles. One by one, some 40 riders and their horses attempt to traverse a relatively small course as fast as possible, with hurdles more than five feet high decorating their path. The goal is to jump cleanly over the course’s obstacles within an allotted time. Exceed the allotted time or knock down or avoid any of the hurdles, and time faults are assessed.
But in truth, that’s just one aspect of show jumping’s essence. The other aspect: the scene, the pageantry, the outfits, and the glamour. Each weekend of the Longines Global Champions Tour is like an international version of the Kentucky Derby—with perhaps even greater star power.
Simply put, no sport has a more impressive guest list than the Global Champions Tour. Spectators include literal royalty like Prince Albert II of Monaco, Princess Caroline of Hanover, and her daughter Charlotte Casiraghi.
Bruce Springsteen, daughter Jessica Springsteen, and wife Patti Scialfa attend the 2014 Longines Global Champions Tour party on August 13, 2014, in London (Photo by David M. Benett/Getty Images)
Also in attendance is rock royalty like Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa (primarily because their daughter, Jessica, competes on the tour for the Shanghai Swans); tech tycoon and philanthropist Bill Gates; Academy Award-winning actress Marion Cotillard; business magnate and former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg; and Russian billionaire and Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich.
All have been known to relax in the tour’s ringside VIP section—eating, drinking, and watching elite-level show jumping—as well as taking in the pre- and post-match festivities, where guests get a chance to network, chat, and generally schmooze.
It’s for this reason, along with the top-level equestrian competition on display, that the tour makes stops from April to November at beautiful and exotic locales such as Miami Beach; Antwerp, Belgium; Shanghai, China; Madrid, Spain; Cannes and Paris, France; Monaco; and Doha, Qatar, and continues to add cities each year. (Mexico City debuted in 2016.)
The winners of the 2016 Longines Global Champions Tour pose for a photo: Sweden’s Rolf-Goran Bengtsson and his horse, Casall ASK. (Longines Global Champions Tour)
Of course, if you can’t make it to an event in person, you can always watch it live on GCT TV, Eurosport, or other national networks, as well as on the tour’s own Facebook Live feed. This is how millions of fans took in the tour this season.
Which is probably why Jan Tops, a former Olympic gold medal–winning show jumper for the Netherlands, who founded the tour in 2006 and now serves as league president, sounds so happy about the direction of his league.
“The tour is really established,” said Tops, who happens to be married to champion rider Edwina Tops-Alexander. “It has big, big potential.”
To further immerse yourself in the beauty and excitement of LGCT, watch the promo video of the 2016 season below, and check out more images. —Shawn Donnelly for RealClearLife
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