February 8, 2025 
Martin Fuchs rode his 2024 Grand Prix win streak straight into the New Year on Saturday.
The Swiss Olympian topped a 12-horse jump off with Conner Jei, winning the Bordeaux leg of Longines FEI Jumping World Cup and quote of the week with this quip:
“I knew that Julien [Epaillard] and Donatello [D’Auge], they will be faster than me, so I was hoping for a fault, which is obviously not nice to say, but I was definitely happy when the rail fell.”
That’s classic Fuchs right there—refreshingly direct.
Third to return for the short course, the world no. 5 and his veteran partner set the time to beat in a 37.45 seconds. Both Juliens (Anquetin and Epaillard) were faster, but neither managed to match his clear. More than two seconds slower, Pieter Devos (BEL) and Casual DV Z took second in a distant 39.54 and Willem Greve (NED) and Grandorado TN N.O.P., third in 39.74.
“There were many faster riders still coming after me,” continued Fuchs.
“It definitely helped me that it was a difficult jump off with a lot of mistakes and a lot of faults. And my horse Conner Jei, he has so much ability, he’s very careful and has such a big jump, so he’s able to leave the jumps ups also in high speed.”
Watch their winning round:
The 14-year-old Holstein gelding isn’t just able to leave the jumps up at speed, he does.
Conner Jei’s Jumpr stats are on par with Fuch’s top mount Leone Jei. At the maximum height, both horses jump clear more than half the time (Leone Jei, 53%; Conner Jei, 51%) and have 60+% top 10 finish averages (Leone Jei, 68%; Conner Jei, 62%). They also have nearly identical win rates (Leone Jei: 20% over 65 starts; Conner Jei: 21% over 47 starts).
Saturday’s win is Fuchs’ first of 2025 and assures him of a spot at the World Cup Final in Basel this April. The world no. 5 jumped to an unmatched 10 1.60m+ wins last year—three more than his closest rivals: Henrik von Eckermann, Julien Epaillard, Richard Vogel and Christian Kukuk.
The final leg of the Western European League takes place in Gothenburg, February 19–23.
