Madrid hosts latest Longines FEI World Cup qualifier for Western Europe

Madrid, whose name may be derived from the Arabic words mayrit or magerit meaning ‘place of abundant water’ and ‘place of many springs’, is hosting 46 CSI5*-level show jumping riders and 94 horses from 16 nations this year, including Great Britain’s Ben Maher and Laura Renwick. Maher, victorious in both the 2018 Longines Global Champions Tour and Global Champions League, is not bringing his star mount Explosion W (with whom he triumphed in May in the Madrid stage of the Tour and League) to Spain this time, but always has a shot at the podium whichever classes he chooses to take part in.

Four Irish riders are also entered in Madrid – Michael G Duffy, Denis Lynch, Mark McCauley and Michael Pender – with Lynch the highest-ranked of that group in the Western European standings, tied for 27th (10 points). Traditionally, roughly 40 points has been enough to earn one of the 18 qualifying spots available to regional riders for the World Cup Final, whose next edition will take place from April 3–9, 2019 in Gothenburg, Sweden. The 2018 Final was won by the United States’ Beezie Madden on her stallion Breitling LS. With the seven best results counting for riders in the standings, and 13 qualifying possibilities in total, the rankings can be shaken up quite quickly, as first place in a World Cup qualifying stage is worth 20 points, second place 17, third 15 and so on.

Among the other athletes in the city are many of the top riders on the continent, including current standings leader Steve Guerdat of Switzerland and the man just behind him, Pieter Devos of Belgium. They are part of a select group who are already on the verge of securing a ticket to the Final. For its part, host nation Spain will have seven riders on home soil, including Eduardo Alvarez Aznar, while France’s Kevin Staut, Germany’s Daniel Deusser, the Netherlands’ Maikel Van Der Vleuten, Sweden’s Peder Fredricson and the United States’ Jessica Springsteen are just a few of the other riders in the strong field.

The full entries list for Madrid also includes the competitors for CDI5* World Cup dressage, the first time such a competition has been held in Spain according to show organisers. Great Britain’s Richard Davison will be facing off against continental rivals such as the Netherlands’ Hans Peter Minderhoud in the discipline. And following CDI-W competitions are scheduled in upcoming months for Salzburg, London, Mechelen, Neumünster, and ‘s-Hertogenbosch before the 2019 Final, also in Gothenburg.