April 2, 2025 
It’s an event that’s been a full year in the making, and finally, the 2025 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final in Basel, Switzerland, has arrived.
Let’s start with the good news. Europe is making this year a horse race with at least three of the best mounts in the world on tap to compete (we’ll get to those in a minute). Even still, there are a fair number of top names missing from this year’s start list.
The current World no. 2 and top-ranked rider in the North American League, Kent Farrington (USA), for example, will not compete despite a 4th place finish last year. Nor will his teammate, Olympic silver medalist Laura Kraut, whose top horse, Baloutinue, was withdrawn from the Final on Wednesday after sustaining a minor injury.
But never fear, the show must go on, and there are plenty of top seeds, wild cards, and first timers to root for among the year’s field.
Who to Watch
It’s been a minute (and by that we mean a full month) since Martin Fuchs had a major Grand Prix win. Which, for the Swiss rider, might as well be a millennia. Fuchs is on the startlist with two mounts: Conor Jei and Leone Jei, and each jumps clear at 1.60m at 51% and 52% respectively, according to Jumpr.
Though he’s used Leone Jei lightly so far in 2025, you can bet a hometown win is high on Fuchs’s mind, especially with his countryman and rival Steve Guerdat currently benched from injury. If Leone Jei arrives in top form, they could be the ones to beat—though not if Richard Vogel can help it.
Like Fuchs, the German rider finished in the top 10 at the last FEI World Cup™ Finals he competed in 2023 (many top combinations sat out in Riyadh in 2024 on account of the upcoming Olympic Games). And, like Fuchs, Vogel comes with the plenty of horsepower in the form of the otherworldly United Touch S.
Though the pair have a more recent win than Fuchs on their record in the 1.55m VDL Groep Prize at the Dutch Masters last month, their clear rate at 1.60m currently hovers at 44%.
That said, if you’re going by experience and clear rates, alone, you can’t do better than back-to-back Olympic individual bronze medalists Maikel van der Vleuten of the Netherlands and Beauville Z N.O.P.
Despite having never competed at an FEI World Cup Finals before (van der Vleuten previously reserved that job for the legendary Verdi TN), the 15-year-old Zangersheide gelding Beauville has oodles of championship miles and a 60% clear rate in 100+ rounds at 1.60m (he finishes in the top 10 a whopping 66% of the time).
Wild Cards
They may be piloted by three of the best riders in the business, but this year’s FEI World Cup Finals will undoubtedly be a big step up for three talented wildcards at this level. First up: Belgium’s Pieter Devos, who has long known the quality he has in the 10-year-old Belgian mare, Casual DV Z.
The pair finished in the top five in three, 5* 1.60m Grands Prix in the last four months, currently jumping clear at 47% at that height, and landing among the top 10 60% of the time. They also finished 8th last year in Riyadh—meaning Casual has proven herself in the back-to-back rounds required by this championship’s three-day format.
But don’t count out the 2020 Olympic Champion, Ben Maher (GBR), who will saddle the 11-year-old Swedish stallion Point Break in his first major test on the world stage. Though they only have one 1.60m Grand Prix win on their resume so far, they’ve been on a big-time streak of late, earning a 5th place in the Rolex Grand Prix and 3rd in the Rolex IJRC Top 10 Final at CHI Geneva in December. What’s more: The pair boasts a 59% clear rate in 32 rounds at 1.60m.
Last up, who could forget the current World no. 1 and reigning, back-to-back FEI World Cup Finals Champion Henrik von Eckermann? This time, the Swedish rider will bring forward the 12-year-old KWPN mare, Iliana, for her first Finals appearance. In 2023, the pair helped the Swedish Team to a gold medal in the European Championships in Milan, meaning Iliana has a degree of experience at the championship level.
Together, von Eckermann and Iliana jump clear at 42% in 45 rounds at 1.60m, but they finish in the top 10 at a 59% clip. Even more telling: Iliana earned her first and only 5* 1.60m Grand Prix win at this very venue in Basel earlier this year.
Rookies to Watch
The USA will bring forth a veritable fleet of rookies to Switzerland this year, among them the East Coast’s Makayla Langmeier and Alise Oken, and West Coast riders Kaitlin Campbell and Shawn Casady. But the real newbie to watch will be no. 28 in the world, Lillie Keenan.
At age 29, Keenan is no stranger to the big leagues, having long been a staple on Senior Nations Cup teams. Recently, she helped lead Team USA to victory with a double-clear performance in the Longines League of Nations Ocala with Argan de Beliard. In Basel, Keenan will ride the less-experienced 11-year-old stallion, Kick On, her partner of one year. Together, they jump clear at 33% in six rounds at 1.60m, but finish in the top 10 50% of the time.
Not to be forgotten: 30-year-old Kim Emmen of the Netherlands with the 12-year-old KWPN gelding, Imagine. While they’ve never competed an FEI World Cup Finals before, the pair wowed last summer during their first Olympic appearance in Paris, jumping back-to-back clears for their team. That fall, Emmen and Imagine once again proved that pressure is just a state of mind, helping the Dutch to a second place in the Longines League of Nations Finals in Barcelona.
How to Watch
The 2025 FEI World Cup™ Final will begin with warm-up and training sessions on Wednesday, April 2nd and will progress as follows:
- Thursday, April 3– Final I at 8:15 p.m. GMT+2/2:15 p.m. ET
- Friday, April 4 – Final II at at 8:15 p.m. GMT+2/2:15 p.m. ET
- Sunday, April 6 – Final III at 2:00 p.m. GMT+2/8:00 a.m. ET
Tune in live on FEI.TV!
