With horses at the heart of it, Jumping Verona 2025 kicks off on Thursday, 6 November, with a spectacular line-up of competitors and a new layout that lifts this edition to a whole new level.
Taking place within the context of the 127th Fieracavalli, the legendary horse fair that stretches across 12 pavilions and five outdoor display areas covering 128,644 square metres brings together over 2,200 horses of 60 different breeds, the Jumping classes are always hugely popular with the public who pour into Pavilion 8, the Pala RAM, to follow the competitions.
This time, around conditions for the world-class equine athletes are better than ever with an additional warm-up and cool-down arena that is generous in size, while the stabling has been moved to an adjoining pavilion that provides a much more restful environment away from the joyful hustle and bustle of the fair.
Even the horse walkway is elegantly adorned with a colourful display of flowers as, in his seventh year as Show Director, Riccardo Boricchi, continues to introduce improvements with the welfare of the horses in mind.
The climax
The climax of the week of course is Sunday’s Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™, this year the third leg of the Western European League.
Verona first staged a leg of the series in 2001, but the Italian link goes way back to Milan in 1984 which was followed by Birago in 1985 and then six events in Bologna between 1985 and 2000.
The record-books show that German riders have been the most consistent winners of the Verona World Cup class with six successes including last year’s historic win by Sophie Hinners.
The 26-year-old rider and the brilliant 12-year-old gelding Iron Dames My Prins pinned British star Ben Maher into runner-up spot with Point Break, while Hinners’ compatriot and three-time World Cup champion Marcus Ehning finished third with Coolio 42. The win was all the more remarkable for the fact that Sophie was the first lady rider to stand on the top step of the podium throughout the 24 editions of the World Cup in Italy.
Strong host-country
A total of 38 riders from 19 countries will take on the strong host-country entry. An Italian rider has never managed to top the World Cup podium on home soil, but amongst those hoping to change that piece of history is Emanuele Camilli, 31st in the current world rankings, who has been in impressive form with Chacco’s Girl when posting a brilliant win in the second Global Champion League competition on home ground in Rome in September.
Representatives from Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and USA will all be in action, and the French look particularly strong. They completely dominated the line-up on home turf in Lyon last Sunday, and both runner-up Julien Epaillard and third-placed Antoine Ermann are back for more this weekend.
No pushover
The German contingent will be no pushover however because they include 2018 Verona winner Daniel Deusser, reigning Olympic champion Christian Kukuk and Richard Vogel who was quickly on the phone to his partner Sophie Hinners after her win 12 months ago. Joining them is an interesting first-timer in Marie Ligges, the 26-year-old grand-daughter of the legendary Fritz Ligges who won both individual and team bronze in Eventing at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 1964 and Olympic team gold in Show Jumping in Munich in 1972.
Maher of course headlines the British contingent, and the world number three who has three Olympic medals in his trophy cabinet will be keenly watching and supporting his wife, Sophie Maher, who will fly the American flag during the week.
Jumping Verona gets underway tomorrow with the first Croceri Farm Horse Inspection and warm-up. Then the action really takes off on Friday with the Radio Monte Carlo Speed competition.
It’s going to be another epic edition…
