<p>Great Britain’s John Whitaker and the popular gelding Milton claimed championship honors in 1990 in Dortmund, Germany, and in 1991 in Gothenburg.</p>
<p>During 2017’s jumping final in Omaha, Nebraska, McLain Ward won his title with HH Azur after a foot-perfect week.</p>
<p>Dutch Olympian Anky van Grunsven has won the World Cup™ Dressage Final more than any other rider—nine times on two horses, Bonfire and Salinero. After her fifth win with Bonfire in 2000, she retired him in 2002 (pictured) in ‘s-Hertogenbosch.</p>
<p>Austria’s Hugo Simon was the very first World Cup Jumping Final champion in 1979 on Gladstone in Gothenburg. He would later win the title twice with E.T. FRH (pictured) in 1996 in Geneva, Switzerland, and 1997 in Gothenburg.</p>
<p>In 2003 in Gothenburg, Sweden, Debbie McDonald and Brentina were the first U.S. competitors to win the World Cup™ Dressage Final. </p>
<p>Shutterfly wowed the crowds during one of his three wins in 2005 (Las Vegas), 2008 (Gothenburg) and 2009 (Las Vegas) with Germany’s Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum. </p>
<p>Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro were back-to-back winners in 2014 (Lyon, France) and 2015 (Las Vegas). In Las Vegas, they earned 94.196 percent—the highest score ever recorded in the championship event.</p>
<p>Brazil’s Rodrigo Pessoa and Baloubet du Rouet were a force to be reckoned with, winning three straight jumping World Cup titles in 1998 (Helsinki, Finland), 1999 (Gothenburg) and 2000 (Las Vegas), and finishing on the podium for the following three years.</p>
<p>Show-jumping legend Beezie Madden has won the coveted title twice—first with Simon in 2013 in Gothenburg, and most recently aboard Breitling LS (pictured) in 2018 in Paris, France.</p>
<p>Canadian Ian Millar and the 17.3-hand fan-favorite Big Ben were the first pair to win back-to-back World Cup titles—in 1988 (Gothenburg) and 1989 (Tampa, Florida, pictured).</p>
<p>Steffen Peters and Ravel won the coveted trophy at the 2009 World Cup™ Dressage Final in Las Vegas.</p>
<p>Dressage phenom Isabell Werth, of Germany, and Weihegold OLD have been on a World Cup winning streak, claiming the gold medal at the past three finals in Omaha (2017), Paris (2018) and Gothenburg (2019).</p>
The Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final and the FEI Dressage World Cup™ Final were slated to return to Las Vegas, Nevada on April 15–19, 2020, but were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, here's a look back at the championships’ decades-long history with some of our favorite moments and memories.
This column originally appeared in the Winter 2019 issue.
