With less than five months to go until the start of the 2014 Longines Global Champions Tour series, there isn’t long to wait for the return of one of the world’s richest and most prestigious show jumping leagues. Opening the 2014 season is a sparkling new event hosted by the Belgian city of Antwerp, as the Tour adds yet another jewel to it’s crown of historic, city venues. On the 24th April, the very best riders from around the globe will come together once again in the pursuit of elite level sport and unprecedented prizes, as well as the coveted overall Championship title. Home to show jumping heroes such as Francois Mathy, Jos Lansink, Philippe Le Jeune and Ludo Philippaerts, as well as up-and-coming young stars like Jos Verlooy and Constant van Paesschen, Belgium is the perfect place from which to launch the stellar 2014 season. A city that embraces the beautiful things in life, Antwerp is famous for its Academy for Fine Arts, the painters Rubens and van Dijck, the bustling port and the legendary Diamond District - around 80% of the world’s rough diamonds go through Antwerp! Longines Global Champions Tour of Antwerp will be held dockside by the River Scheldt in a unique and spectacluar location, with a backdrop of impressive dock cranes symbolising Antwerp’s rich international trading heritage. Belgium’s highest placed rider during the 2013 LGCT season was Gregory Wathelet (pictured below), winner of the Antwerp Masters 2012, who will certainly be one to watch during the coming season. Constant van Paesschen, at just 19 years old, exploded onto the Tour in Doha last November when he finished 5th in the final Grand Prix of the series - the first LGCT Grand Prix of his career. The wealth of young and established riding talent in Belgium is sure to provide the home crowd with some real contenders to cheer on in the first Tour of Antwerp Grand Prix. The Longines Global Champions Tour attracts the best riders in the world to its events. Alongside the incredible sportsmen and women who battle for supremacy in the arena, are the show jumping enthusiasts and supporters who enjoy the unique and exciting atmosphere - Princess Benedikte of Denmark, Guillaume Canet, Bruce Springsteen, Charlotte Casiraghi, Marion Cotillard and Sir Roger Moore, to name but a few. But it is the show jumping stars and their talented mounts that draw thousands of spectators to the events each year. The Tour remains a firm favourite among the top FEI World Ranked riders. Longines Global Champions Tour 2013 Champion and World Number One Scott Brash will undoubtedly be fighting to retain his crown in 2014. “To be part of (the Tour) is great and the series is great for show jumping,” says Brash. “What Jan Tops has done in putting it together is remarkable, and the locations are fantastic - it’s really what the sport was needing. It’s really raised the sport’s profile, it’s fantastic to be a part of it.” The 2014 season looks sure to be another intensely fought affair as once again the best of the best battle to become the Longines Global Champions Tour Champion. © GCT
