Piazza di Siena celebrates 80 years of World-Class Show Jumping

Rome Piazza di Siena Horse Show Jumping celebrates its 80th birthday in 2012.

Once again the action will take place at the historic site of Piazza di Siena in the glorious Villa Borghese from Thursday 24 to Sunday May 27, and, as always, it will be unforgettable four days, especially with the FEI Nations Cup™, the second leg of 2012 Top League. Two months before the Olympic Games in London, just as it was at the beginning of last century, the final bend on the long road to the Games begins in the heart of the Italy’s much-loved capital city…

The spectacle offered last year by the Grand Prix Loro Piana – City of Rome, won by Eric Lamaze riding Hickstead, was worthy of any Olympic competition: the quantity and quality of the champions taking part, the outcome uncertain until the last jump, the great numbers of enthusiastic spectators and the fabulously sunny weather helped to ensure it would be a day to remember for a very long time. It was the perfect lead-in to this year’s important anniversary for an event that provides the ultimate expression of top sport, tradition, culture and glamour.

80 YEARS OF A GREAT STORY

Eighty years: the first official dating of the CSIO in Rome was in 1926, when the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) decided to assign international status after the first positive experiences of international horse shows in the capital at Tor di Quinto and Piazza di Siena.

The inaugural FEI-approved fixture was held at the Villa Glori racecourse, and the show returned to the same venue again the following year. It then moved to the Parioli racecourse in 1928, before finding its final destination at Piazza di Siena in 1929.

The CSIO was not held in Piazza di Siena during World War II (1941-1946). In 1960 – when Piazza di Siena hosted the individual competitions of the Rome Olympic Games, the CSIO was held in Turin, and in 1998 there was no event at the Piazza di Siena as the World Equestrian Games was staged just across the city at the Stadio Flaminio. In 2000, however, Piazza di Siena hosted two CSIO events, in May and October, including the final of the Samsung Nations Cup circuit.