The World's Top 30 for the 30th Anniversary!

This year, the number “30” becomes even more significant for the Jumping de Cannes, as the event is celebrating its thirtieth anniversary together with the world’s thirty best riders, amongst which will be Kevin Staut, the young French rider who happens to be 30 years old and who has been holding the world number one position for eight months! Great moments of emotion on the occasion of the sixth edition of the Global Champions Tour, the equivalent to the Formula One World Championship. Nine Grand Prix to be won, the best riders with their best horses will be competing for the title of the best outdoor rider of the season… and the prize money of 1.000.000€ that the best riders will share at the end of the season.

The French audience is particularly spoiled as France is the only nation to host two stages of this prestigious circuit since the integration of Chantilly last year. While waiting for the event in Chantilly (July 22nd-24th), Cannes – having been “Global Tour” ever since its creation in 2006 – is getting ready. The stage in Cannes is completely different from others, as it takes place in the middle of the city, in the Hespérides arena where young Zinedine Zidane made his first steps on the soccer ground. To transform a football arena into an appropriate place for equestrian purposes is not a piece of cake: tons of fibred sand needs to be dispensed, the port nearby has to be transformed into stables for the competition horses, and of course: the air of luxury that’s proper to this event has to be maintained, as well.

The list of participants of such an event is exceptional. The Brazilian Alvaro de Miranda Neto is the current leader of this circuit with forty points. The world number one, Kevin Staut, is currently placed twelfth. Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum, third in Doha and 2008 winner in Cannes will be present as well as Edwina Alexaner with her superb Itot du Château, last year’s winners in Cannes and third in the following Chantilly stage.

Thanks to direct qualifications, five French riders will be present in Cannes. Apart from Kevin Staut, the audience will see Roger-Yves Bost who had won the Cannes stage in 2009, Simon Delestre (world n°10), the always well-performing Julien Epaillard and Pénélope Leprévost, the French number one and runner-up of the GCT stage in Chantilly in 2010. French showjumping is in full bloom and the foreign riders will face serious competition in Cannes!

“This national competition grows with every year. The audience knows how to appreciate the sport and the space is so magical: It’s an important stage of my circuit.” Jan Tops, director and inventor of the Global Champions Tour.