Longines FEI World Cup Jumping North American League launched in Miami

Beezie Madden, Jessica Springsteen, and Hannah Selleck are already gearing up for the new league which kicks off in August 2015.

Madden is the most decorated US female equestrian athlete of all time and currently the only woman in the top 10 of the Longines world rider rankings. Springsteen is the American Gold Cup winner and an FEI Solidarity Ambassador, whilst Selleck is a team and individual gold medallist at young rider level and one of the sport’s up-and-coming stars.

The North American League will be competed across seven East and seven West Coast venues in the United States, Mexico and Canada. It boasts a minimum of US $2.4 million prize money across the series, and offers the best Jumping athletes from North America and around the world the chance to qualify for the jackpot of more than US $1.4 million (€1.3 million) on offer annually at the Longines FEI World Cup Jumping final.

A total of 14 athletes from the new North American league will qualify for next year’s prestigious Longines FEI World Cup Jumping final, which will take place in Gothenburg, Sweden on 23 to 28 March 2016.

The top seven athletes from the East Coast USA, top three from West Coast USA, and the two best-placed athletes from Canada and Mexico, will qualify alongside winners of 15 leagues around the world.

The 14 events that will host legs of the North American League were selected after a rigorous screening process from a long list of 25 applicants, with 11 of the events featured in the recently published North American top 25 rankings.

Longines, the FEI’s official top partner, timekeeper and watch of the FEI, is a major supporter of the Olympic sport of jumping around the world, and is already title partner of the Longines FEI World Cup Jumping Western European League and Longines FEI World Cup Jumping China League.

In addition, Longines will also provide a dedicated timekeeping team and data handling service for each of the 14 legs in the North American League.

Speaking at the launch, FEI 1st vice president and chair of the FEI Jumping Committee John Madden said, “The Longines FEI World Cup Jumping North American League is a massive boost to our sport and will dominate the headlines in 2015.

“The new league is a huge opportunity for our athletes to shine on a North American stage and showcase top-level equestrian sport to fans across North America and the world.

“This league is also ideally suited to wide-ranging global brands that want to reach out to North American and international audiences, drawing very clear affinities with their own visions and values alongside Longines.”

August 2015

International Bromont, Bromont, Canada

September 2015

New York, North Salem, USA

October 2015

Washington International Horse Show, Washington DC, USA

National Horse Show, Lexington, USA

November 2015

Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, Toronto, Canada

February 2016

Wellington, USA

Live Oak International, Ocala, USA

August 2015

Thunderbird, Langley, Canada

September 2015

Sacramento International Horse Show, Rancho Murieta, USA

October 2015

Del Mar International, Del Mar, USA

Calgary, Canada

November 2015

Las Vegas National, Las Vegas, USA

February 2016

Valle de Bravo, Mexico

HITS Thermal, Thermal, USA