Blog #6 – June 2022
FEI World Cup™ Finals Present a Different Kind of Challenge for Course Designers
As one of the sport’s few multi-day championships, the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final presents one of the sport’s ultimate tests, not only for horses and riders, but also for course designers.
Beyond the everyday challenge course designers normally face in setting courses that test competitors in ways that will produce worthy champions, World Cup™ Finals have the added factor of involving four rounds of competition over three separate days, each with a different format.
“It’s over three legs – a speed class, a jump-off and the final day with two big rounds of jumping – and you build the courses with all three classes in mind,” explained Alan Wade of Ireland who was course designer for the 2017 World Cup™ Finals in Omaha. “I like to give them (the riders) a chance, I don’t want to hide any questions. You like the best horse-athlete combination to be on the podium.”
Bernardo Costa Cabral of Portugal, recently named as course designer for next year’s Finals in Omaha, agrees that designing for a World Cup Final is quite different from what he does for a single Grand Prix.
“It’s very different because it’s three classes and riders can bring two horses so it’s like a tournament,” Cabral said. “We have to pick and choose where to go easier and where to go stronger so it’s really a different process. Being selected to design courses for a championship like the World Cup™ Final is truly an honor and I am most grateful for the opportunity”
The LONGINES FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final is one of three Finals that will be held during the FEI World Cup™ Finals 2023, April 4-8, 2023, at the CHI Health Center Omaha, site of the highly acclaimed FEI World Cup™ Finals 2017. Next year’s Finals in Omaha will also feature the FEI Dressage World Cup™ Final and FEI Vaulting World Cup™ Final. It will mark the first time the Vaulting Final will be held in North America.
All-Session tickets for the 2023 FEI World Cup™ Finals in Omaha are on sale now via Ticketmaster.com. Included at the Ticketmaster.com site are options for VIP and hospitality lounge passes and fully catered ringside tables for the duration of the entire event. Don’t wait, order your tickets today!
Go to www.OmahaEquestrian.org to learn more about what will surely be one of the great events you will ever see!