Greetings
International in scope
On behalf of the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), it is my great pleasure to welcome you Langley for the second qualifier from the brand new Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping North American League.
The recently reformatted North American League which includes seven East and seven West Coast venues in three countries – the United States, Mexico and Canada – is a fantastic development for the sport in this region and for our worldwide series.
Langley is the second of the 14 carefully selected events on the Longines FEI World Cup™ North American League calendar, and is a brilliant opportunity for some of the world’s best athletes to shine on a North American stage and showcase top-level equestrian sport to fans across North America and the world.
This league is one among 16 taking part in the highly successful and global FEI World Cup™ Jumping series which has been in existence since 1978 and this season includes 115 qualifiers in 43 countries leading to the star studded Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping Final in Gothenburg, Sweden, next March.
Over the past three decades, we have seen many of the greatest athletes hold the FEI World Cup™ trophy proudly aloft, including North American legends such as Ian Millar (CAN) and Big Ben in 1988 and 1989, and more recently Rich Fellers and the amazing Flexible in 2012 followed by Beezie Madden and the sensible Simon in 2013.
All the athletes you will have the pleasure of seeing here are champions in their own right and have spent many hours perfecting their craft, and I wish them every success.
I want to extend my gratitude to our loyal and dedicated top partner Longines for extending their global support of our sport to the North American League as the official Title Partner and Watch of the Longines FEI World Cup™ for each of the 14 events part of this league.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the Organising Committee and their partners for their vision and efforts at enabling this event and acting as a motor for international equestrian sport in the region.
To the volunteer body and sponsors, as well as the athletes, the enthusiastic public and the media representatives, this would not be possible without you, so thank you for your dedication and loyalty.
In whatever capacity you are attending this Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping North American League qualifier, I wish you an enjoyable event, conducted in the best spirit of great horsemanship.
Ingmar De Vos, FEI president