Fortunes Set to Be Decided at Fort Worth Finale

Fort Worth, Texas – March 21, 2026 – They say fortune favours the bold, and boldness will be in no short supply when the 46th edition of the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final arrives in Fort Worth (USA), where the world’s best horse-and-rider combinations will lock horns in a high-stakes battle for one of Jumping’s most coveted titles.

With definite entries now confirmed, 36 athletes from 19 countries are set to line out as the Final returns to the United States next month.

Dickies Arena, a spectacular 14,000-seat, state-of-the-art venue, will provide the setting for a show of Texas-sized proportions, and with renowned course designer Anderson de Moura Lima (MEX) at the helm, competitors can expect a test worthy of the occasion from the very first round.

Returning Champions 

Defending champion Julien Epaillard (FRA) has chosen not to travel to Fort Worth to defend the title he claimed in Basel (SUI) last year, but the line-up still boasts a formidable cast of former champions. 

Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat (SUI) heads to Texas with history in his sights, as the three-time title holder bids to become the first athlete ever to claim a fourth FEI Jumping World Cup™ crown, having already lifted the trophy in 2015, 2016 and 2019. The Swiss star closed out the Western European League season in emphatic fashion with victory in the Helsinki (FIN) decider, following his earlier win in Leipzig (GER) aboard Albfuehren’s Iashin Sitte, his chosen partner for the Final. If the pair can bring that same form to Fort Worth, 2026 could yet write a fresh chapter in the record books.

Compatriot Martin Fuchs (SUI), who claimed the title in 2022 with both Chaplin and The Sinner, also returns to the spotlight, this time calling up the 11-year-old gelding L&L Lorde. One of the sport’s most consistent championship performers, Fuchs knows exactly what it takes to come out on top at this level and adds further strength to a formidable Swiss contingent in Fort Worth.

Six-time Olympian McLain Ward (USA) is no stranger to home-soil history and remains the last athlete to win an FEI Jumping World Cup™ title on home turf, delivering the memorable victory with HH Azur in Omaha (USA) in 2017. Now, as he contests his 21st Final, he arrives in Texas (USA) aboard the 12-year-old gelding Jordan Molga M with the chance to once again give the American crowds something to cheer about.

The roll call of returning champions does not end there. Germany’s Daniel Deusser (GER) has also stood on the top step having claimed the title in Lyon in 2014 with Cornet d’Amour. Set to line out in Fort Worth aboard Otello de Guldenboom, Deusser arrives after another strong Western European League campaign and, as one of the most established names in the field, may yet help pen a final act worthy of a Shakespearean drama.

With Guerdat, Fuchs, Ward and Deusser all taking their place on the start list, Fort Worth will welcome a cast of former champions capable of turning the battle for the crown into a true Texas showdown.

First-timers

The Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final will not be defined by past experience alone, with a host of first-time finalists arriving on the back of strong seasons around the globe.

Among them is Norway’s Johan-Sebastian Gulliksen (NOR) who, at 29, follows in the footsteps of his father, five-time FEI Jumping World Cup™ finalist Geir Gulliksen, as he prepares to make his Final debut. Fifth overall in the Western European League, with podium placings in both Oslo (NOR) and Basel (SUI) aboard Equine America Harwich VDL, Gulliksen now brings the 14-year-old gelding to Fort Worth. After a season that has firmly marked him out as one to watch, the Norwegian arrives with the momentum to make a serious impact.

Japan’s Eiken Sato brings with him one of the most unconventional backstories in the field. Raised on the grounds of the Myōshō-ji Buddhist temple, with his father a monk, Sato chose a different path, leaving Japan for Europe at 18 without speaking a word of English to pursue Jumping at the highest level. Now riding in the distinctive yellow jacket through his collaboration with fellow finalist Yuri Mansur (BRA), the 40-year-old makes his first Final appearance thanks to a strong Western European League campaign.

Jessica Burke (IRL) travels to the USA following a landmark moment in Bordeaux (FRA) this February, where the former maths teacher became the first female athlete to win the famous qualifier in the show’s 53-year history. Aboard Good Star du Bary, the horse she will ride in her first Final, Burke secured the biggest victory of her career and makes the transatlantic trip with a slice of history already to her name.

New Zealand’s Julie Davey (NZL) also takes a unique route, claiming back-to-back New Zealand League titles, she has this time accepted her invitation and will line out with her long-time partner LT Holst Freda, the sensational 12-year-old mare she has ridden since the age of four. Joining her is Southern Hemisphere first-timer Jamie Winning-Kermond of Australia riding Tulara Wat Colblensky, adding another international dimension to Fort Worth’s newcomers. 

Among the field in Fort Worth are 16 first-time finalists, bringing with them a wave of fresh ambition, form and opportunity.

Home soil 

Nine years have passed since the FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final was last won on home soil, and the hosts will be hoping Fort Worth can deliver another golden chapter. 

History is certainly on the side of the United States, which remains the most successful nation at the Final with 11 titles to its name. When it comes to female success, no country can match the American record either, with four of the five women to lift the trophy having flown the flag for the USA: Melanie Smith (1982), Leslie Burr-Howard (1986), Katharine Burdsall (1987) and Beezie Madden (2013 and 2018).

That depth is reflected again in this year’s home contingent. Team USA stalwart Laura Kraut (USA) brings a wealth of championship experience and one of the most accomplished careers in the sport to Fort Worth, where she is set to contest her 10th FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final.

Current world number two Kent Farrington (USA) adds serious firepower for the host nation, returning with the 12-year-old mare Greya. The pair are in flying form, having delivered seven wins at five-star level in 2025, and after finishing fourth at the 2024 Final in Riyadh, where Farrington also rode Toulayna, the American will now be hoping that the proven partnership can go at least one better and secure a place on the podium.

But it is not only familiar faces who will carry American hopes in Fort Worth. Twenty-one-year-old rising star Mimi Gochman (USA) is set to make her Final debut after booking her place with a breakthrough victory in Ocala (USA) that marked her out as one of the most exciting young names on the start list.

Local interest is also strong, with Aaron Vale, who originally hails from nearby Irving, Texas, set to compete on familiar ground in Fort Worth aboard the 13-year-old gelding Carissimo 25.

Blending proven class with fresh momentum, the American side looks well equipped to mount a serious charge on home soil.

Challengers 

Strength in depth will be one of the defining features of the Fort Worth field, with the fight for the title drawing on a deeply international cast.

Dutchman Willem Greve (NED) arrives after a superb Western European League campaign that yielded three victories, two of them with Pretty Woman van’t Paradijs N.O.P., who will also partner him in the Final. 

France’s Kevin Staut (FRA) returns with Visconti du Telman after the pair claimed third place at last year’s Final in Basel, and they will be aiming to better that performance this time around.

Seasoned international experience runs deep through the field, with Olympic pedigree also brought by Ireland’s Daniel Coyle (IRL), Latvia’s Kristaps Neretnieks (LAT), plus two of Belgium’s representatives in Abdel Saïd (BEL) and Gregory Wathelet (BEL). Together, they reinforce the sense that threats will be mounted from every angle.

With representation stretching across the globe and every route to Fort Worth demanding something different, there will be no shortage of contenders when the battle begins and the lines are drawn.

Dickies Arena opens from 8 to 12 April, with the first Jumping competition taking place on Thursday 9 April, the second on Friday 10 April, and Sunday’s decider on 12 April set to crown the 2026 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ champion.

Source: Press Release by Kirsty Pasto for the FEI – Fédération Équestre Internationale

Photos: © FEI / Mackenzie Clark

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