We look ahead to the highlights of the coming year…
2024 promises to be a busy year for our elite equestrian talents with a full year of big competitions, including Paris 2024 and the inaugural Longines League of Nations series.
The year begins with a bang as the FEI Vaulting World Cup™ Final takes place in Basel from January 11-14. Defending champions Jannik Heiland and Kathrin Meyer will be looking for more medals in Switzerland, with the Pas De Deux title also up for grabs.
In February, we’ll see the world’s best drivers compete for the FEI Driving World Cup™ title in Bordeaux. Defending champion Boyd Exell is looking to claim an incredible 11th victory, but he’s sure to be pushed all the way by two-time winner Bram Chardon among others. The action runs from February 2-4.
Of course, the FEI World Cup competitions also continue in Dressage and Jumping leading up to this year’s final in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in April. Both Jumping and Dressage return in Europe at Basel, while Jumping’s North American League resumes in Puebla in late January. Defending champions Henrik von Eckermann and Jessica von Bredow-Werndl will certainly be among the favourites should they make the trip to Riyadh from April 16-20.
Longines League of Nations
The new Longines League of Nations begins early in the year and runs until the final in Barcelona in October. The League – backed by FEI top partner Longines – gets under way in Abu Dhabi from February 8-11 and then Ocala, Florida from March 19-23. Next up is St Gallen, Switzerland in May and then Rotterdam, The Netherlands in June. The winners will be decided in the eight-team final in Barcelona from October 3-6.
We also see the return of the FEI Dressage Nations Cup™ and FEI Eventing Nations Cup™. The Eventing competition runs from the opener in Montelibretti in mid-March until the series finale in Boekelo in October. The Dressage series begins in Wellington in late February, with the first leg in Europe to take place in Compiegne in early May. The FEI Dressage Nations Cup™ concludes in Falsterbo on July 14.
Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games
Just a couple of weeks later and the eyes of the world will be focussed on France for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Eventing gets the equestrian campaign under way on July 27, with Team and Individual medals to be awarded two days later. Dressage runs from July 30 to the Team and Individual finals on August 3 and 4 respectively. Jumping begins on August 1, with the Individual final completing the equestrian schedule on August 6. Will Ben Maher be celebrating again, or perhaps World champion Henrik von Eckermann?
The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games begins on September 3, running until September 7. During four days of competition we’ll see individual and freestyle medals won across five grades as well as the Team competition.
FEI World Championships
Driving, Endurance and Vaulting are not Olympic disciplines, but will be crowning their own champions during a busy summer period.
Vaulting’s finest will be on show in the Swiss capital city of Bern in July. PostFinance Arena will welcome competitors across the Male, Female, Pas De Deux and Squad categories from July 15-21. Manon Moutinho became the Female champion in 2022 in Herning with this stunning performance.
The FEI Driving World Championship will take place in Szilvasvarad, Hungary from September 4-8. Two years ago, Boyd Exell won Individual gold with the Netherlands taking the Team prize.
A new Endurance champion will be crowned in Monpazier, France in September. The FEI Endurance World Championship takes place over 160km on September 7. Last time out, Sheik Nasser bin Hamad of Bahrain on Darco La Marjorie won Individual gold, while France won the Team gold.
Eventing’s 5* Shows
The biggest talents in Eventing will be focusing on Olympic glory this year, while also chasing the biggest 5* prizes. Ros Canter won in both Badminton and Pau in 2023, and those shows take place from May 8-12 and October 24-27 this year.
The 5* season begins in Adelaide from April 18-21 before Kentucky from April 24-28. Luhmühlen runs from June 13-16, with Burghley from September 4-8, and Maryland from October 16-20.
As published by FEI.
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