Lyon takes centre stage for fourth Longines FEI World Cup show jumping competition in Europe

55 CSI 5*-level jumping riders and 103 horses are at the Eurexpo venue in Lyon for the event this week, which also features top-level dressage, driving, and western competitions, as well as a huge trade fair (including start-up village) and artistic performances across several exhibition halls.  

Taking place from October 31–November 4, there has already been plenty of action at this year’s Equita, with big names sharing the spotlight. In dressage, Germany’s 10-time Olympic medallist Isabell Werth and Emilio (a 12-year-old bay gelding) won Friday’s FEI World Cup dressage Grand Prix Freestyle. Later, in the evening, her compatriot show jumper Daniel Deusser (riding Tobago Z) finished on top of the podium in the 1.60 m Longines Grand Prix.

Deusser, ranked sixth in the world in the sport, was already coming off a victory at last weekend’s World Cup qualifier in Verona, Italy, where he triumphed on Calisto Blue. And the 37-year-old is looking to carry that momentum into this weekend’s first French stage of the Western European League World Cup season, with the next being the finale of the circuit in Bordeaux in February. A rider’s seven best results count for qualifying points towards the World Cup Final next spring in Gothenburg, Sweden, with 18 places (plus potential extras for non-European residents) available on the continent.

And one look at the list of athletes entered in Lyon – which includes the second-, third- and fourth-place finishers in Friday’s class (Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat on Bianca, Belgium’s Olivier Philippaerts on H&M Legend of Love, and Ireland’s Mark McAuley on Jasco vd Bisschop respectively) – shows the strength of the field aiming to move up in the overall standings. 

Great Britain’s Scott Brash and Robert Whitaker and other Irish riders like Bertram Allen and Denis Lynch are joined by Belgium’s Gudrun Patteet (currently third in the Western European League standings), France’s Roger Yves Bost, Germany’s Christian Ahlmann, Italy’s Lorenzo de Luca, Switzerland’s Martin Fuchs, the Netherlands’ Maikel van der Vleuten and Sweden’s Henrik von Eckermann – to name just a few. The full entries list is here, with many other champion riders taking part, including in the big French contingent. Total prize money at the CSI5*-W level this week is €575,000, with €300,000 up for grabs in Sunday’s World Cup event.