The opening event of the 15-leg Longines Global Champions Tour will see a power-packed battle in Mexico City for the first Grand Prix of the season.
The big guns of show jumping are out in force including six out of the world’s Top 10 – Eric Lamaze, Christian Ahlmann, Daniel Deusser, Scott Brash, Simon Delestre and Kevin Staut. Other stars include Bertram Allen who has already been on blazing form with an emphatic win in the opening CSI5* on Quiet Easy 4 with an impressive time. Lamaze on Fine Lady 5 topped the field with a lightning fast win in the CSI5* 1.50/1.55m class on Thursday.
It is set to be a furious fight to put the first ranking points on the new leaderboard for the 2017 season with a combined €23 million at stake for the Longines Global Champions Tour and Global Champions League team competitions which take place at 15 spectacular destinations worldwide.
Leading international course designer Uliano Vezzani will set the track for the 1.60m individual Grand Prix competition. The spectacular event at Campo Marte in the well-known and upscale Polanco neighbourhood, follows last year’s dazzling debut of Mexico City on the LGCT circuit when around 20,000 passionate fans watched top-level show jumping in the beautiful grass arena and witnessed a dramatic win by Frenchman Roger-Yves Bost in the Grand Prix.
The winner of the Grand Prix of Mexico City will scoop 40 valuable ranking points and be in a strong position at the start of the season. Last year several riders dominated the ranking but it was Sweden’s Rolf-Goran Bengtsson who triumphed at the final in Qatar. The Champion of Champions of the LGCT series must be a true all-rounder able to perform at the top level in many different circumstances at the events around the world – excelling on grass and sand arenas, large and small and jumping by day and by night.
Longines Global Champions Tour is set for an electrifying season in its 12th year as the power, speed and precision delivered by the world’s top human and equine athletes in show jumping continues to dazzle.
Yesterday the Longines Global Champions Tour of Mexico City provided another thrilling day of world class action, as riders fought for the Trofeo Banorte in the build up to Saturday’s LGCT Grand Prix and the Global Champions League Final. Italian star Lorenzo de Luca (ITA) rocketed to the win with chestnut stallion Halifax van het Kluizebos after a high speed jump-off provided high octane sport and plenty of drama.
Edited press release courtesy of: Global Champions Tour