April 6, 2025 
USA’s McLain Ward did it in 2017, followed immediately by Beezie Madden in 2018. Sweden’s Henrik von Eckermann matched them in 2024.
This Sunday, it was Julien Epaillard in pole position from start to finish in the FEI Jumping World Cup Finals to lay claim to the individual championship title.
Epaillard and his homebred gelding Donatello d’Auge were nearly foot perfect in Basel, Switzerland, dropping a single rail over four gruelling rounds of competition to finish on 4 penalties and take the win. Ben Maher (GBR), riding with a broken foot, took second on Point Break on 7 penalties in 60.88 seconds. Kevin Staut (FRA) finished third on the same score in 62.72.
“It was difficult week,” said Epaillard. “My horse was amazing. He jumped every day super.”
Epaillard and Donatello d’Auge won Thursday’s opening speed round and jumped clear in the first round on Friday’s Table A. The Frenchman strategically opted out of the jump off to save his horse for Sunday. According to EquiRatings, he’s the first rider in at least 14 years to skip the Day 2 jump-off at a World Cup Final and, in doing so, sacrificed a 50% chance of giving himself a fence in hand on the final day.
True to his conviction, they didn’t need it.
Epaillard and the 12-year-old Selle Français gelding were foot perfect again in Round A of Final III on Sunday. By the time they returned to the ring, last in the order, for Round B, they did have a rail in hand after Staut and Maher each pulled a pole.
Three fences from home, the Frenchman also lowered a fence, faulting at A of the double combination. It was their only error of the week.
“I lost totally the concentration in the second round before the last line,” said Epaillard. “Because after the water, the red oxer, I thought I’m close, I am close and I [lost concentration] and I came too deep from the double. I think if I helped him a little bit more, I can jump this double clear, but okay, in any case, it [worked out].
“My horse was fantastic.”
Donatello d’Auge is the most successful 12-year-old show jumper in the world at the moment with 14 Grand Prix wins on his record—seven at the 1.60m height. The second winningest horse in his age-cohort is Inturido, ridden by Jaroslaw Skzyczynski, with half as many Grand Prix wins (7) and all at lower heights (Jumpr stats).
It’s a stat that puts Donatello d’Auge on par with Christian Kukuk’s Olympic champion, 15 year old Westphalian gelding Checker 47, and Martin Fuch’s 13-year-old KWPN gelding Leone Jei—each with 7 Grand Prix wins. He’s trending ahead of the great King Edward. At age 12, the Belgian Warmblood gelding had won five Grand Prix titles, all at 1.60m. (He’s now up to 14.)
Said an emotional Epaillard after capturing his first individual championship title:
“It’s a dream for all the staff working with me, for the family—we work every day for this.”
