Monday, 15 April 2024
It’s that time of year again when some of the biggest names in dressage and jumping come together for the FEI World Cup Finals. This year, the competition heads to the Middle East for the first time, taking place in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, from 16–20 April.
With Great Britain fielding four combinations at the Finals, we’ve rounded up everything you need to know about the competition and how you can catch all the action.
The venue for the FEI World Cup Finals is the Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Centre. The venue held a test event in February 2023, and includes temporary stables, expansive walkways, two 60x30m warm-up areas and a 85x40m main arena – all with air conditioning.
The FEI World Cup Finals are the culmination of the FEI World Cup Series, which includes leagues from across the globe. British athletes will usually contest the Western European League in both jumping and dressage, unless they are based elsewhere in the world.
Four leagues covering Western and Central Europe, North America and the Pacific offer qualification for the FEI Dressage World Cup Final. The Western European League consists of 11 legs, starting in Herning, Denmark in October and ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands in March. Athletes can compete in as many legs as they choose and achieve ranking points based on their placing in the Grand Prix Freestyle, with their four best scores counting in the overall standings. Across the various leagues, 17 combinations will qualify for the Final. The title defender has an automatic right to compete, but the reigning champions – Germany’s Jessica von Bredow-Werndl and DSF Dalera – are choosing not to travel to Riyadh.
There are a total of 13 leagues that offer qualification for the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup Final. The Western European League consists of 14 legs across Europe, starting in Oslo, Norway in October and ending in Gothenburg, Sweden in February. Athletes can compete in as many legs as they choose and achieve ranking points based on their placing, with their seven best scores counting in the overall standings. Across the various leagues, 34 combinations have qualified for the Final in Riyadh. This includes the title defenders – Sweden’s Henrik von Eckermann and King Edward – who have the automatic right to compete in the Final after their success last year.
Charlotte Fry and Everdale – Lottie finished second in the Western European League on 77 points, just two points behind Germany’s Isabell Werth. She and the Van Olst Horses-owned 15-year-old stallion Everdale have contested four legs this season, finishing second at ‘s-Hertogenbosch and London, and winning in Mechelen and Amsterdam. This is Lottie’s second appearance at an FEI World Cup Final, after qualifying in 2022 with Dark Legend when the competition was held in Leipzig, Germany.
Scott Brash and Hello Valentino – Scott finished 18th in the Western European League on 33 points. He’s contested four legs this season, with three top-10 placings and the best result being second in London with Hello Jefferson. With Hello Valentino – a 10-year-old gelding owned by long-time supporters Lady Pauline Harris and Lady Pauline Kirkham – Scott finished ninth in Stuttgart. This will be Scott’s third time at a Longines FEI World Cup Final, following appearances in 2023 with Hello Jefferson and 2014 with Ursula XII.
Ben Maher and Dallas Vegas Batilly – Ben finished fourth in the Western European League on 72 points. He’s contested four legs this season to huge success, winning in London and Madrid with Enjeu de Grisien and in Verona with Dallas Vegas Batilly, plus a third-place finish in Lyon with Dallas Vegas Batilly. For the Final, he’s chosen to bring Dallas Vegas Batilly, an 11-year-old mare that he owns alongside Charlotte Rossetter and Pamela Wright. Surprisingly, Ben hasn’t contested a Longines FEI World Cup Final since his debut in 2009 with Robin Hood W.
Jessica Mendoza and I-Cap CL Z – USA-based Jessica finished fourth in the North American League on 40 points. She and I-Cap CL Z have contested four legs this season, with three top-10 placings and their best result being second in Toronto. She shares ownership of the 12-year-old gelding with her mother, Sarah Mendoza, and this will be her Longines FEI World Cup Final debut.
Click here for a full list of starters.
Grand Prix – All combinations ride a prescribed series of movements, which are scored out of 10 by seven judges spread around the competition arena. Additional marks are given at the end for the general impression. The final scores are tallied up and divided to form a percentage – the highest percentage wins. To decide the running order, athletes are divided into groups of five and drawn in reverse order of the FEI Dressage World Ranking List for Horses.
Grand Prix Freestyle – The top 15 combinations after the Grand Prix qualify for the Grand Prix Freestyle. For this test, athletes choreograph their own routine, based on a list of required movements, that's set to music of their choice – the aim is to create a floorplan that highlights their horse’s natural movement and showcases his personality. The scoring is the same as in the Grand Prix, with additional marks awarded for artistic merit and the degree of difficulty. In groups of five, athletes compete in reverse order of merit as per the placings from the Grand Prix.
Round one – Combinations tackle a course of fences with a maximum height of 1.60m. Each fence down means three seconds added to the time it takes them to complete the course – the faster the time, the better the placing heading into the second round. Any combinations who are eliminated or retire won’t continue on to the next round.
Round two – Jumping in reverse order of merit, combinations ride against the clock over fences measuring up to 1.60m. Any jumping or time penalties accrued will determine their ranking, while any clear rounds will go through to jump-off to decide the final standings.
Scoring in round one and two – Based on penalties accrued, the winning combination in each of the first two rounds is given one more point than the number of starters at the beginning of the competition. The second-placed combination in that round gets two points less than the winner, the third-placed combination gets three points less, and so on. After the first two rounds, these points are transformed into penalties – the highest placed combination will have zero penalties, while the other competitors will receive penalties based on the difference between their points total and that of the leading combination.
Final – Combinations will jump two rounds over a Grand Prix course with a maximum height of 1.60m. Combinations jump in reverse order of merit, with any accrued penalties added to their total from the previous two rounds. The winner is the combination with the fewest penalties – a jump-off against the clock will be used as a tie-breaker for first place.
All competing start times and results are available via Longines Timing.
All the action will be broadcast live and with English commentary on FEI.TV via ClipMyHorse.TV – you’ll need a subscription to tune in. Some highlights will also be available on the FEI YouTube channel, where you can also watch all the winning rounds from the World Cup Series.
You can also keep up to date with how our British combinations are getting on by following our social media channels, or those of British Dressage and British Showjumping.