Richard Vogel and United Touch S bring the house down in Basel
Richard Vogel and his 2025 FEI Jumping European Championship Individual Gold Medal winning partner, the insurmountable United Touch S, gave a masterclass against the clock to claim an emphatic victory in the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ of Basel this afternoon. Their round relegated Kim Emmen (NED) and the much admired Imagine N.O.P into second and Johan-Sebastian Gulliksen (NOR) aboard Equine America Harwich VDL, who produced the only other double clears of the class, to the third and final step of the podium.
Gérard Lechat (SUI) is no stranger to testing the world’s best jumping athletes around the generous but demanding confines of the St. Jakobshalle arena, and once again he delivered a piece of course-building mastery to produce another thrilling afternoon of sport for the packed stadium. Athletes were unanimous in their appraisal of his course as being ‘big and technical with fences coming up very quickly,’ demanding razor-sharp focus from athletes from start to finish.
Poles fell all around his track with the first fence, a 1.57m tall vertical, being the only one of his 17 jumping efforts not to be dislodged by the 40 pre-qualified starters. An innocuous looking oxer at fence two, dashed the hopes of five athletes early on in the course whilst the delicate 1.62m plank at fence 13 hit the pristine surface no fewer than seven times. Each element of the combination claimed a number of victims, all largely due to the short five strides from the 1.58m high oxer set tight against the edge of the arena, that proceeded it. In anticipation of this tight distance, the back bar of fence 11 also fell with surprising regularity.
Despite the technically demanding nature of the track, seven athletes delivered faultless performances to propel themselves into the jump-off and a staggering further 16 combinations were denied their place in round two by way of lowering just a single fence; the mark of exceptional course building.
Donald Whitaker (GBR) and the 13-year-old mare Millfield Colette, fresh from their second place in the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ in London, showed their peers how to master Lechat’s 14 fence track from tenth draw and at the half way stage only Johan-Sebastian Gulliksen and his wonderful partner, the 14-year-old Equine America Harwich VDL, could join them.
The second half was opened by Kim Emmen and Imagine N.O.P.; a combination on scintillating form having won Friday’s Grand Prix. They demonstrated their incredible consistency once again when delivering clear round number three. Four further combinations joined them as Martin Fuchs (SUI), Julien Epaillard (FRA), Richard Vogel and the young Swiss star Gaëtan Joliat all negotiated the track without fault.
Feared by his jump-off rivals for the speed he is capable of performing at with Millfield Colette, Donald Whitaker, as he did in London, once again had the unenviable task of setting the standard in round two. With reigning and former FEI Jumping Individual European Champions as well as reigning and former FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final Champions waiting in the wings behind him, Whitaker had little choice but to go all out and try to set an unbeatable target, but when two fences fell, his chances of victory went with them. Gulliksen came next and sacrificed speed for clean jumping to return clear in 46.85 seconds and set the standard.
Emmen followed and guided Imagine N.O.P. around tighter lines at a faster pace to stop the clock in 41.55 seconds and take a convincing early lead, setting herself up with a chance of pulling off a historic double of victories if she were able to add the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Qualifier to her Basel Grand Prix win.
In their hunger for victory, two of the class favourites – Fuchs and Epaillard – lowered a fence apiece to keep Emmen’s dream alive with just two athletes remaining. Vogel and his global phenomenon, United Touch S, were next to enter the arena and infiltrated the St Jakobshalle arena with a sense of regal presence. The athletic powerhouse looked a picture of serenity and calm in the moments before he set the stadium alight. Vogel showed off all of United Touch’s imperial assets, “his, stride, his scope, his ability and character” in a round that had onlookers gasping in disbelief.
The pair effortlessly went a stride less than their rivals in the first two distances, a curving seven stride line from the oxer at fence ten, to the oxer at fence 11, which they negotiated in six strides and again the formidable partnership omitted a stride from here to parts ‘b’ and ‘c’ of what was the combination at fence twelve. Anyone who didn’t count the strides would likely not have noticed that they had eaten up the ground to such an extent, as the 13-year-old stallion did so with such ease whilst remaining nonchalantly relaxed and composed throughout.
Their turn back from the vertical at fence 13 to the intricate and aesthetically-pleasing Emmental cheese wall at fence 16, was simply breathtaking as they sliced well inside the hoof prints left by their rivals and jumped the fence at an eye-watering angle, to hit the split time over a second up on Emmen. With three fences left to go and knowing that they had already conjured up enough magic, Vogel just had to hit cruise control from here on in and let United Touch S clear the last three fences without pressure.
They broke the beam in 40.12 seconds to rapturous applause from the appreciative occupants of the magnificent St. Jakobshalle arena and Vogel, beaming from ear to ear, pointed down at his mount repeatedly, directing the praise to his horse of a lifetime. When Gaëtan Joliat lowered two fences, the young Swiss athlete had to settle for seventh place, and it was confirmed that victory belonged to an elated Richard Vogel who holds a special place in his heart for not only his horse but also for the wonderful venue in Basel:
“We are always very excited to get to Basel. It’s a wonderful show with the best conditions not just for the horses obviously, but also for our grooms and us riders as well” Richard Vogel.
…he said, before going onto explain what the victory means to him and his team:
“It’s an amazing feeling! We’re delighted with how United is jumping and fighting for us inside this beautiful arena. I’m delighted that it was enough for the win.”
After eight legs of the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Western European League, Richard Vogel now heads the standings on 56 points ahead of Willem Greve (NED) who lies in second place on 52 points. Julien Epaillard moves up to third on 46 points, Max Kühner (AUT) sits in fourth on 45 whilst Johan-Sebastian Gulliksen podium finish today has propelled him into fifth spot with 40 points. Daniel Deusser (GER) rounds out the top six on 38 points.
The Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Western European League moves on to Leipzig with the German city hosting leg nine of the 2025/2026 qualifiers on 18 January. Amsterdam welcomes the series for the tenth leg on 25 January 2026 before it moves on to Bordeaux who stage leg 11 of 13 on 08 February 2026.