By Real Riderz
Truly, one of the most well known leagues in the SJ world. It’s competitions all around the world: London, Miami, Shanghai, Doha, Prague, you name it. Some of the best riders comepte in these shows. They form teams within a subdivion called GCL (Global Champions League). There’s practically not a single person in the show jumping world who hasen’t heard of these shows. Many also desire to compete in these show. However, are these competitions truly good for the horse sport or are they just another fad?
We all know that the equine world is…far from cheap. Million dollar horses and multi billion dollar competitors. I’m not even going to get into the details here. LGCT shows live on this concept. People are literally buying seat and thus competition spots to get a place to compete. Lower level riders are also welcome, but the fees are phenomenal (not in a good way).
So, on one hand, we are increasing the publicity of the horse sport by hosting big competition in all types of cities. However, is this a realistic representation of what it is like? No. Am I against it? No. At the end of the day I enjoy watching all the riders in these fancy venues. Of course, it isn’t fair, but LGCT is not the only one appealing to billionaires. However, I do hope that in the future, sponsors and owners will take it upon themselves to see riders for more than just the results they can afford to show.
Equinik 