Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™

LONGINES FEI JUMPING WORLD CUP™ 

 Gothenburg Horse Show and the classic world cup venue Scandinavium is the final of the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ 2019/2020 in the Western European League. After Sunday evenings concluding class, we will have a list of combinations qualified for the Las Vegas final in April 2020.

Between 15th and 19th of April 2020 the LONGINES FEI JUMPING WORLD CUP™ in Las Vegas will crown a new champion.

Douglas Lindelöw and Casque Blue win in Gothenburg

Fast turns and speedy rounds as riders battled it out in the international 1.50m competition against the clock on Friday evening. 34 horse and rider combinations faced a challenging course where the result would decide the starting order of the last leg  in the Western European League of Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ 2019/2020.

Swedish rider Henrik Von Eckermann and 10-year-old Peter Pan showed early on that they could go fast and delivered a fantastic clear round, taking the lead with time 61.23. The combination managed to hold on to their top position for a long time. Daniel Deusser for Germany attempted to steal the lead with a clear and fast round – but ended up being just half a second slower than the Swede.

The fight for the fastest time of the evening was back on when French Olympic rider Kevin Staut entered the arena, turning the tempo right up from the start. He had the crowd support but got an unfortunate knock-down at the very last fence. With just three riders left to go, Douglas Lindelöw, riding 10-year-old Casquo Blue, showed his fighting spirit and the pair cleared the course with a great time of 60.30.   

The competition finished with Daniel Svensson, who ended with a clear round but was not fast enough to challenge the top three.

In the winner interview Lindelöw praised his wonderful horse and promised the crowd would see more attempts to win over the weekend.

Top three in the 1.50m international jumping are:

  1. Douglas Lindelöw, Casque Blue, Sweden
  2. Henrik von Eckermann, Peter Pan, Sweden
  3. Daniel Deusser, Jasmien v. Bisshop, Germany


Douglas Lindelöw & Casque Blue. Photo: Kim C Lundin 

Geir Gulliksen victorious in the last World Cup qualifier of the Western European League          

The last qualifier of the Longines FEI JUMPING WORLD CUP concluded a fantastic weekend in Gothenburg. On the Sunday afternoon 32 riders competed and they all had their eye on one thing – to collect enough World Cup points for a ticket for the final in Las Vegas later this spring. The pressure was on as the top 18 athletes from the Western European League would grab a spot in the World Cup final, joining defending champion Steve Guerdat.

First to clear the challenging course was Swedish legend Rolf-Göran Bengtsson on 14-year-old Cassilano Jmen. He was later on joined by Geir Gulliksen who finished a brilliant clear round on Vdl Groep Quatro.

Henrik von Eckermann, winner the World Cup qualifier here in Gothenburg 2018, entered Scandinavium on lovely chestnut Peter Pan and it looked like he could deliver the third clear round of the evening, but ended on 4 unfortunate faults on the very last fence. The final fence was also unlucky for Peder Fredricson and Marlon Modolo Zantonelli, ending in 10th and 11th place respectively.

For a long time it seemed as if the two Scandinavian combinations would be the only two to battle it out in an exciting jump-off – after 23 riders they were still the only ones to have cleared the demanding course. And then, everything fell into place for Belgian rider Olivier Philippaerts and fantastic H&M Legend Of Love. After a thrilling first round five athletes from five nations were ready for an incredibly exciting jump-off.

Bengtsson commenced the jump-off and ended on 8 faults, enough for a fifth place. Kevin Staut and For Joy van’t Zorgvilet HDC showed that they could be fast – the French combination completed a super fast round with time 44.51 – but with one fence down they ended in third place.

Gulliksen was first to double clear with time 45.75. Philippaerts challenged but ended on 4 faults. Bryan Balsiger had his eyes set on his very first World Cup final. The 22-year-old Belgian rider ended in the runner-up spot after a dramatic finish – 0.7 seconds slower than Gulliksen.

Top three in the LONGINES FEI JUMPING WORLD CUP™ qualifier in Gothenburg are:

  1. Geir Gulliksen, VDL Groep Quatro, Norway
  2. Bryan Balsiger, Twentytwo Des Biches, Belgium
  3. Kevin Staut, For Joy van't Zorgvliet HDC, France



    Geir Gulliksen & VDL Groep Quatro. Photo: Johan Lilja