When Eq Marketing’s Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ action returns to Mexico this year, it will be an extended endeavor. Two qualifying legs will grace the nation to conclude the western sub league of the 2018-2019 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ North American League.

Competition kicks off in Guadalajara, Jan. 23-27, at the stunning Guadalajara Country Club. The $100,000 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Guadalajara CSI4*-W will be the feature event, as international riders from across the globe will compete for valuable points toward qualifying for the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final in Gothenburg, Sweden, in April..  

Brazilian course designer Guilherme Jorge will return to the venue to set the tracks throughout the week. Jorge designed the courses at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. The CSI4*-W competition will offer $3,540,000 MXN (~$186,000 U.S.) in total prize money.

“It’s a fantastic venue,” Jorge said. “It’s a very nice arena and has a very nice shape. Mexico always has a high standard of show jumping, and some very good horses, and very good riders.”

A strong Mexican contingent will once again congregate for what event organizer and Central American Games Team Gold Medalist Francisco Pasquel has called, “one of main events of the city and the country.” An accomplished group of American riders also traveled south to compete last year, including Sarah Scheiring, who rides on the East Coast League, and Jamie Barge, who rides on the West Coast League. Both women earned valuable points competing in Mexico and went on to compete at the 2018 World Cup Finals in Paris, France.

“I had no idea what to expect when I came to Mexico,” Scheiring said after traveling to Guadalajara in 2018. “It’s amazing. The hospitality of the horse show is unbelievable. [With] stabling, the stalls are bigger than [at] any horse show I’ve ever been to. The footing is amazing, the courses are beautiful, [and] the camaraderie among the riders is something I hadn’t seen before.”

New this year, Leon will host its first qualifier Feb. 6-10, as Leon’s Equestrian Club opens for show jumping competition for the first time in 15 years. The Ban Bajio Classic CSI4*-W features the $100,000 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Leon. The picturesque facility will not only host a CSI-4* W but also offers a restaurant, clubhouse, 50 VIP tables, a kid’s zone and more. 

Mexico’s own Anderson de Moura Lima will be the course designer, and another $3,540,000 MXN (~$186,000 U.S.) will be awarded throughout the week. The Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Leon will take place Saturday, Feb. 9.

“A goal of the whole equestrian community in Mexico is to bring up the level of show jumping in the country,” Pasquel said. Over the last several years, Eq Marketing and other organizers in Mexico have successfully done that and more.