 Logo of Global Champions Tour | |
| Highest governing body | International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI) |
|---|---|
| Nicknames | Show jumping |
| Characteristics | |
| Contact | Global Champions Tour official site |
| Team members | Individual |
| Mixed-sex | yes |
| Type | outdoor/indoor |
| Equipment | horse, horse tack |
| Venue | Generally outdoor arena with dirt or similar footing suitable for the horse |
The Longines Global Champions Tour (LGCT) is an annual pre-eminent individual show jumping series that comprises up to 15 rounds of competition hosted around the world. It brings together the top 30 riders in the FEI Jumping World Rankings.
It was founded in 2006 by the Olympic gold medalist Jan Tops. Member of the Monaco royal family Charlotte Casiraghi is Honorary President of the Jumping International de Monte-Carlo leg of the tour and regular high-profile competitors include Athina Onassis, Georgina Bloomberg (who also owns a team which competes in the Global Champions League), Jessica Springsteen, Sofia Abramovich, Guillaume Canet and Jennifer Gates.
In 2014, overall LGCT Championship winner Scott Brash (see Rules below) received just under €300,000, making it the biggest single prize in any of the three Olympic equestrian disciplines (dressage, eventing, and showjumping). During this season, Brash won over €852,000 in total prize money[1] making the Longines Global Champions Tour one of, if not the, richest equestrian sporting series in the world.
Since 2007, all LGCT events have been held as CSI 5*, which means that under FEI rules they are championship-level events. The LGCT classes are run under FEI rules but the governing body has no part in the organization of the series, aside from ratifying the schedule. The LGCT is not an FEI series like the World Cup or the Nations Cup competitions.
The television broadcaster is Eurosport.[2] Title Partner and Official Timekeeper Longines has been part of the global circuit since 2013.[3] Also, the fashion brand Massimo Dutti is a stylish presence on the Longines Global Champions Tour and GCL.
- ^ "GC Global Champions". www.gcglobalchampions.com.
- ^ "2016 Longines Global Champions Tour! – Total Horse Channel | Equestrian TV". totalhorsechannel.com. Retrieved 2017-06-15.
- ^ "GC Global Champions Partners". www.gcglobalchampions.com. Archived from the original on 2021-07-31. Retrieved 2021-03-26.