Bordeaux hosts penultimate World Cup Jumping qualifier this weekend

Indeed, Bordeaux, a UNESCO World Heritage site known as the Port of the Moon after a bend in the local Garonne river, is the second last stop on the Western European qualifying circuit before Gothenburg, Sweden towards the end of February. And 49 athletes and 123 horses from 16 nations are set to face off in the Aquitaine region of France in the Show Jumping component of this year’s event.

Among them will be 18 riders from the host nation, including World No.4 Kevin Staut, who leads the continental standings with 77 points and is easily qualified for Paris. Staut is joined by compatriots such as Pénélope Leprevost (pictured above at a previous edition of the competition) and other riders aiming to either solidify or gain their spot in the Final among the 18 places allocated to the region (plus extras like Australia’s Edwina Tops-Alexander, also on hand in Bordeaux this year).

Great Britain’s Scott Brash makes his return to the circuit this weekend, accompanied in France by Hello Shelby and Ursula XII. And the British team is rounded out by Michael and Robert Whitaker, with Michael currently sitting in 10th place in the League. For Ireland, Bertram Allen, Cameron Hanley and Mark McAuley are all entered at the elite 5* level as well.

The British and Irish will be joined by world class European counterparts such as Daniel Deusser of Germany, Harrie Smolders of the Netherlands and Lorenzo de Luca of Italy, to name just a few. In short, all the riders have their work cut out for them as they target Sunday’s City of Bordeaux trophy in the Land Rover CSI5*-W Grand Prix, in addition to the other classes.

This weekend’s competition also features the well-known Indoor Derby of Bordeaux – which will see Germany’s versatile World Champion Michael Jung out on the course – and Driving, with Boyd Exell of Australia taking on rivals from Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Switzerland. The full entries list for all disciplines and levels is here.