Oct. 16th–Del Mar International World Cup Week is well underway at the Del Mar Fairgrounds and show jumping fans are looking forward to watching their favorite horse-and-rider combinations battle for top places in the prestigious $100,000 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Del Mar on Saturday afternoon.
The World Cup class is part of the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ North American League. The series offers 14 venues, in three different countries, the chance for elite athletes to qualify for the Longines Jumping World Cup™ Final Gothenburg in April 2019. At each of the 14 venues, coveted World Cup points are up for the grabs to a handful of the top-placing riders.
A limited number of athletes from each of the 16 international leagues are invited to attend, based on their qualifications throughout the season at the designated events–14 riders from the NAL league will receive qualifying tickets for the Final. Seven riders from the East Coast sub-league will qualify, three from the West Coast sub-league, and two each from Canada and Mexico.
Athletes use a strategic approach to gather FEI World Cup™ points as the league’s format counts the top four scores out of a possible seven results, allowing the riders to choose the venues and schedules which are best suited to their horses. Riders may bring multiple horses to the shows to try and qualify for each weekend’s prestigious class, though only one horse per athlete is allowed to compete in the actual FEI World Cup™ qualifier class.
The $36,500 1.5m Grand Prix qualifying class for Saturday’s FEI World Cup™ event takes place at on Wednesday at 5:30PM PT. Tune in to watch the live streaming.
Fierce Competition
Several fan favorites will be vying for FEI World Cup™ points this weekend, many of whom already have a few points under their belts from notable results this season.
Eve Jobs currently leads the West Coast sub-league standings with 24 points after picking ups points at both the Langley, Vancouver and Columbus, Ohio qualifiers with her chestnut mare Venue D’Fees Des Hazalles. She’ll be competing in Del Mar this weekend, hoping to retain her lead in the league.
Karie Rufer is in the second-placed position on the Western sub-league leaderboard. She brings both Georgie D’Auvray EC and Mai Tai 2 to try to qualify for this weekend’s pinnacle class.
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Uma O’Neill and and her grey stallion Clockwise of Greenhill Z won the first Western sub-league qualifier in Langley back in August.
Two weeks ago, Wilhelm Genn, of Germany, won the latest California-based qualifier in Sacramento with Bugatti–they’re back this weekend, hoping to continue their winning streak.
Karl Cook, a World Cup™ Final veteran, picked up points in Sacramento with Caillou, his rising star. He also has his long-time partner Tembla at Del Mar as well, so he’ll have two shots at qualifying for the NAL class on Saturday.
French rider and World Equestrian Games gold medalist, Eric Navet, who works closely with Karl at their California home base, will be hoping to pick up some points at this weekend’s qualifier with his talented Hanoverian gelding Catypso.
Richard Spooner, “The Master of Faster,” is in Del Mar this week with three top horses aiming to qualify for the NAL class.
Georgina Bloomberg is flying from her East Coast base with Cessna 24 and Chamber 137, hoping a few more points will give her a needed boost in the Eastern sub-league rankings.
How to Watch
You can watch most events that take place in the Del Mar Arena live streaming via Shownet and YouTube at www.westpalmsevents.com.
Saturday’s World Cup™ will be broadcast live on the subscription-based FEI TV.
Follow along with all the week’s action:
