Cannes, France – May 05, 2022 – The Hespérides stadium will be welcoming the biggest names in show-jumping from the 2nd to the 4th of June for the 39th edition of the Jumping International de Cannes, a prestigious stage of the Longines Global Champions Tour. Following a two year interruption due to the health crisis, it’s an exciting return full of promises.
Some stars can hide others. Just a few days after the Cannes Film Festival draws to a close, the Jumping International will in turn welcome its’ stars. There will be no steps to climb, but instead obstacles to jump in order for them to win their Golden Palms. “We’re delighted to be returning to the Hesperides stadium after the health crisis forced us to cancel the competition two years running” said François Bourey, chairman of the Jumping de Cannes since 1982. “The entire team have been working hard over the last few weeks to offer riders and spectators an exceptional event within a completely renovated space. The World’s show jumping elite have always remained loyal to our event and we’re looking forward to seeing them again here in Cannes.”
On the Longines Global Champions Tour calendar since the circuit was created in 2006, the Cannes show was held for the very first time in 1982, over the years it has seen some of the greatest names in show-jumping triumph. Because a meeting in Cannes holds a Worldwide attraction, riders from all over the globe have distinguished themselves on the Mediterranean coast.
Austria’s Thomas Frühmann was the first, riding his talented The Sixth Sense. The British John Whitaker on the fantastic Milton (1989), Belgium’s Gregory Wathelet (BEL) with Lantinus 3 (2007), Germany’s Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum (GER) and her formidable Shutterfly (2008), Australia’s Edwina Tops-Alexander (AUS) and her champion selle-français, the small in size but immensely talented Itot du Château (2010 and 2011), Germany’s Marcus Ehning (GER) with Plot Blue (2013), Great Britain’s Scott Brash (GBR) with Hello Sanctos (2014) and then with Hello Forever (2016), the current Swedish World number 1 Peder Fredricson (SWE) in 2018, then on Hansson WL, and Belgium’s Niels Bruynseels (BEL) on Gancia de Muze in 2019, have all won in the Hesperides stadium. All of them are among the greatest talents of the discipline and between them have gathered the most prestigious titles and medals of the last two decades.
The Marseillaise has also rang out on several occasions with two members of the 2016 Olympic Gold medal winning team in Rio standing on the top step of the podium, Roger-Yves Bost in 2009 with his stunning Ideal de la Loge, and Pénélope Leprévost in 2015 with Ratina d’la Rousserie.
There is no doubt that the World’s best will be keen to offer great sport on the Riviera. After Doha, Miami, Mexico City, Madrid, Saint-Tropez and Hamburg, on the evening of Saturday the 4th of June they will compete in the Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of Cannes, the seventh of the sixteen stages of the Longines Global Champions Tour, the benchmark of show-jumping circuits. Over courses designed and built by the renowned Italian, Uliano Vezzani, their quests for a prestigious win in a Grand Prix endowed with 300,000 euros of prize money (for the CSI 5* classes there is a total prize purse of 557,000 euros), promise thrilling sport. The only competition that pits teams of riders of different nationalities against each other, the Global Champions League, will also see an encounter between the best starting on Thursday the 2nd of June.
Less experienced riders or seasoned amateurs will also have the opportunity to take part in the CSI 1*. The privilege of sharing the same arena with those who are writing the history of their sport, and of enjoying a unique atmosphere that for almost 40 years has made the Jumping de Cannes one of the unmissable events of the season.
Source: Press Release by Juliette Gorin / Anchor Equitation for Longines Global Champions Tour / GCL
Photo: © Longines Global Champions Tour of Cannes
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