World No.10 Brash of Great Britain Up Against Big Field of Stars at €300,000 Longines GCT in Madrid

The Longines Global Champions Tour (GCT) is a worldwide series of CSI5* Show Jumping offering unparalleled prize money to the top athletes in the sport, as well as a shot at the Champion of Champions title awarded after the last event of the circuit, in Doha, Qatar from November 9-11. In between now and then, the Tour will pass through Hamburg, Cannes, Monaco, Paris, Cascais, Portugal, Chantilly, France, Berlin, London, Valkenswaard, the Netherlands, and Rome.

In Spain, almost all the leading riders on the planet are present for the competition at the historic Club de Campo Villa de Madrid. There, they will be taking to the course for the CSI5* GCT Grand Prix of Madrid Saturday evening at 7 p.m. Madrid time.

The 1.60 metre-obstacle Grand Prix course in Madrid will feature one round followed by a decisive ‘jump-off’ tie-breaking round. The pressure and challenges of the format will require both skill and composure, something that the experienced field of riders (Olympic, World and continental champions) possesses. Leading the pack is the current World No.1 Kent Farrington of the United States, followed by third-ranked Daniel Deusser of Germany, Canada’s World No.4 Eric Lamaze, No.5 Christian Ahlmann, also of Germany. Ahlmann’s compatriot and winner last year in Madrid, World No.7 Marcus Ehning, is back to defend his Grand Prix title, while eighth and ninth-ranked French riders Simon Delestre and Kevin Staut are also in town.

World No.6 Lorenzo de Luca of Italy, who has been steadily moving up in the world’s elite this year and currently leads the GCT rankings with €260,020 of prize winnings to date, is aiming to keep the momentum going in Spain. And Scottish native Scott Brash, Olympic gold medalist at the London 2012 Games, will be leading the charge for Great Britain in Madrid, joined by Emily Moffitt and Alexandra Thornton. For Ireland, Bertram Allen, Michael Kearins, Darragh Kenny and Denis Lynch will make up a strong group at the Club de Campo Villa. Only World No.2 and recent Longines World Cup Final winner, American McLain Ward, is not scheduled to take part in the competition. 

At the same time in Madrid, nationalities will be cast aside in the Global Champions League (GCL), where top riders from different countries join together on 18 different teams for an eventual overall Team title. Participation in the League competition at the tournament is one of the routes to qualify for the marquee Madrid GCT Grand Prix, which is open to a maximum of 25 riders. Current leader of the GCL standings is the Valkenswaard United squad of Marcus Ehning, Bertram Allen, Alberto Zorzi, Janika Sprunger and Sanne Thijssen.