Fort Worth, United States – April 09, 2026 – The United States will lead the way in front of a home crowd Thursday as competition kicks off at the FEI World Cup™ Finals in Fort Worth, TX (USA).
All 54 horses—36 slated for the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final and 16 for the Zen Elite FEI Dressage World Cup™ Final—passed inspection at the spectacular Dickies Arena Tuesday, with no one needing to appear for re-inspection.
At Wednesday evening’s draw in downtown Fort Worth, Aaron Vale (USA) and Julio Mendoza Loor (ECU) were selected as the leadoff athletes in their respective jumping and dressage competitions.
Strength in Numbers
The United States is well represented in the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final, with nine athletes in the lineup. Nine could be the magic number, as it’s been nine years since a rider from the nation stood atop the podium in this event. Vale will give his compatriots early feedback on the opening round’s speed test set by Anderson Lima (BRA). Vale, a Texas native now based in Ocala, Florida (USA), will bring his best horse forward in the 13-year-old gelding Carissimo 25 for this homecoming and will be the first athlete through the gates in Fort Worth.
The highest placing American at least year’s Final in Basel (SUI), Katie Dinan (USA) is back for more with Out of the Blue SCF. The pair won the final round of competition in 2025 after producing the only double-clear effort on the day, ultimately finishing eighth overall. They will jump 22nd in the order.
The most eyes, however, are likely to be on World No. 2 Kent Farrington (USA), who is returning to the Final after a one-year hiatus with his powerhouse duo of mares, Toulayna and Greya. Farrington brought the same pair forward when he finished fourth at Riyadh (KSA) in 2024. Since then, he climbed to the World No. 1 spot for nine months between May 2025 and January 2026, recording wins at the highest level of sport with both mares. He will jump 15th Thursday with Toulayna, the speed specialist.
Kaitlin Campbell (USA), Lillie Keenan (USA), and Skylar Wireman (USA) all return with promise following strong outings at the Finals over the course of the last two years, while Mimi Gochman (USA) and Jacob Pope (USA) will make their respective debuts at this event after successful seasons on the North American League. World No. 10 Laura Kraut (USA) will be the final U.S. athlete to jump, as she comes forward 32nd with her winning partner from Washington (USA), Tres Bien Z.
Switzerland may pose the greatest threat to a hometown victory for the U.S., as the country sends forward an incredibly strong pair of previous champions.
Steve Guerdat (SUI) has won these Finals on three previous occasions, all within 10 years of each other. Should he capture a fourth in Fort Worth, he would become the first athlete in history to achieve the feat. He will bring forward Albfuehren’s Iashin Sitte for the task; the 12-year-old gelding carries great form to Texas, having won two qualifiers on the Western European League at Helsinki (FIN) and Leipzig (GER) since January. Guerdat will jump just before the midway point of competition Thursday, in the 18th position.
Directly following him is his Swiss teammate, Martin Fuchs (SUI). Fuchs, who won these Finals in 2022 at Leipzig, will bring forward Lorde for the 11-year-old gelding’s first championship start.
Adding further depth to the jumping field are World No. 3 Richard Vogel and 2014 Champion Daniel Deusser (GER), both from Germany, who will jump 26th and 29th, respectively with Gangster Montdesir and Otello de Guldenboom. Willem Greve (NED), who won three qualifiers on the Western European League with Pretty Woman van’t Paradijs N.O.P., received an early draw and will jump second.
Kevin Staut (FRA) and Visconti du Telman are the highest placing pair from the 2025 Finals to return in 2026. After finishing third at Basel, they will begin their quest for a second straight podium jumping in the fifth position.
Thirteen nations will be represented as competition kicks off at 1pm CST with the opening round, a speed test with a faults converted format.
The FEI World Cup Finals run 8-12 April at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth.
Don’t miss a hoofbeat!
Source: Press Release by Catie Staszak for the FEI – Fédération Équestre Internationale
Photo: © FEI
Discover more from JUMPER NEWS
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Categories: It's On!, Jumper News USA
