With stops in Paris, Hong Kong and New York, the Longines Masters Series is bucket list material for any show jumping fan. This year, the Series is upping its FOMO factor by 25%.
A fourth leg of the Longines Masters Series has been introduced for the 2019 season in Lausanne, Switzerland.
From June 20 to 23, the world’s top ranked riders will, according to the press release, “settle on the pristine shores of Lake Leman” and “celebrate the beauty of the sport.” And by “celebrate” they mean fight tooth and nail for the lion’s share of the prize money in the Longines Speed Challenge, the Masters Power, and the Longines Grand Prix. Like we expect them too.
Which is fitting because the city of Lausanne has a rich history in sport, foreigners and fighting.
Some fun facts about the newest stop on the Longines Masters schedule:
- Lausanne is home to the Olympic headquarters and museum.
- It’s also home to some 50 other sports-related organizations, including the Fédération Équestre Internationale (FEI).
- Lausanne was founded as a Roman military camp. (Equestrian sport evolved from military traditions.)
- Of its eight million population count, some 23.3% (1.86 million) are non-nationals (ie, visitors welcome!)
- Poet T.S. Eliot stayed in Lausanne under psychiatric care in 1922 and fashion designer Coco Chanel is buried there. (It’s a hot spot for famous foreigners!)
- Lausanne was the center for witch trials in the Middle Ages—their last burning was in 1669. (They don’t do that anymore.)
- The city been called the Swiss San Francisco. Because of the hills (and all the liberals?)
- In 563 AD, a massive tsunami on Lake Geneva swept away the entire settlement of Lausanne… and that same natural disaster could happen again. But the experts say it’s not likely (at least not in the next 500 years).
And here we thought the show jumping alone would be thrilling!
What Lausanne is best known for though is its mountains, chocolate, cheese and watches—all of which will be on display when the Longines Masters stops there in June. And presumably are the real reason this particular European city made the short list for the Series.
But before we get to that event, we have to stop at the Longines Masters New York, which is April 25–28. (Witches, dead poets and natural disasters not included.)