All-star line-up will battle for Ranking supremacy in Paris

The very first Longines Global Champions Tour Paris Eiffel Jumping will be an extravaganza of world-class show jumping, with a major CSI5* class featured each of the three days on the historic turf of the Champ de Mars. This exciting new show, a sparkling addition to the Tour this year and the halfway point of the 2014 season, has attracted a stellar line-up of elite international riders and their finest horsepower, ready to battle it out for the big prizes including 40 Championship points for the winner of the Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix.

As well as British World No1 and No2 Scott Brash and Ben Maher, Paris will welcome Tour Ranking leader Edwina Tops Alexander (AUS) with her ever-reliable ride Ego van Orti – the pair are proving that consistency is key if you want to stay at the top of the leaderboard. Sweden’s Rolf-Göran Bengtsson is currently 2nd in the Championship just 20 points behind and will bring his in-form stallion Casall ASK, already a Silver medal winner twice this season in Antwerp and Monaco. Last weekend’s LGCT Monaco Grand Prix winner Bassem Hassan Mohammed, 3rd on the leaderboard and one point behind Bengtsson, will have his winning partner Victoria in Paris.

The USA have a glamorous all-female selection for the 'City of Lights' leg of the Tour. Jessica Springsteen, Georgina Bloomberg, Reed Kessler, Laura Kraut and Katherine Dinan will all be gunning for a top performance in Paris. There has only been one American on the podium so far this season when McLain Ward claimed the opening leg in Antwerp over eight weeks ago. Could this 4th of July weekend, a time for huge Independence Day celebrations in the US, bring these lady riders a little luck?

The home nation, France, are fielding a fabulous team, including Roger-Yves Bost with his European Championship winning partner Castle Forbes Myrtille Paulois, Patrice Delaveau with Orient Express and flamboyant Ornella Mail, Pénélope Leprevost with Nice Stephanie and Kevin Staut, currently fourth in the LGCT Ranking, with Silvana. The German legends are also out in force, bringing with them their very best horses – Ludger Beerbaum is heading up the charge with Chaman and Zinedine, and Marcus Ehning will ride Cornado NRW and Sabrina 327. 2014 German Champion and World Cup Final winner Daniel Deusser will ride his top horse Cornet D’Amour.

Thanks to the City of Paris and new mayor Anne Hidalgo, the streets are filled with the beautifully illustrated official poster for the event. Thousands of tickets for this inaugural show were snapped up within a few hours of becoming available and the buzz surrounding the return of show jumping to the Champ de Mars continues to grow ahead of the first day of this historic competition. This crucial Grand Prix right in the middle of the Tour is looking to be a thrilling battle of the titans with everything still to play for – click here for the full rider list.