Championship Pressure Rises as World’s Best Riders Head to Longines Global Champions Tour of Vienna
Mdmar – Vienna
The race for the 2026 Longines Global Champions Tour Championship is entering its decisive phase, and an extraordinary line-up of international show jumping stars is heading to Vienna as every point begins to count.
Against the spectacular backdrop of Schönbrunn Palace, the Longines Global Champions Tour of Vienna will bring together the best of the best for four days of five-star sport from 24–27 September.
With just a handful of stages remaining before the season reaches its conclusion, Vienna arrives at a crucial moment in the Championship. The margins are tightening, the pressure is rising and another maximum haul of valuable LGCT Championship points is on offer.
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Among those arriving in the Austrian capital with the Championship firmly in their sights is Abdel Said, who has been a major force in the 2026 title fight. But there will be no shortage of rivals ready to disrupt the standings.
The international firepower is immense.
Former World No.1 Henrik von Eckermann heads to Vienna alongside two-time LGCT Champion Edwina Tops-Alexander, Maikel van der Vleuten and some of the most established names in the sport including Christian Ahlmann, Cian O’Connor, Denis Lynch, Jur Vrieling, Peder Fredricson, Niels Bruynseels and last years LGCT Grand Prix of Vienna winner Philipp Weishaupt.
And then there are the riders who have already made their mark on the 2026 LGCT season.
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Katrin Eckermann, winner of the opening Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of the season in Miami Beach, returns to the LGCT stage looking for another major result. Antoine Ermann, who produced a superb podium finish in Shanghai, is also on the list, while Yuri Mansur arrives in Vienna fresh from an emotional podium performance at the most recent LGCT Grand Prix in Valkenswaard.
They will be joined by a formidable generation of riders capable of shaking up the order, including Sophie Hinners, Sanne Thijssen, Michael Pender, Tom Wachman, Giacomo Casadei, Thibault Philippaerts, Olivier Philippaerts, Emanuele Camilli, Gudrun Patteet, Eduardo Álvarez Aznar and Kim Emmen.
Home hero Max Kühner will have the Austrian crowd behind him as he returns to compete on home soil, while fellow Austrian stars Katharina Rhomberg, Felix Koller, Christoph Obernauer, Bianca Babanitz, Fritz Kogelnig and Wolfgang Ötschmaier add serious home interest to a world-class field.
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For the Championship contenders, the equation is becoming increasingly simple: opportunities are running out.
Every rail, every second and every Championship point in Vienna could have major implications for the road to the 2026 LGCT Championship title. With the season moving into its final stretch, there is less room to recover from mistakes and increasingly more to gain from a big result.
The setting could hardly be more spectacular for the next chapter.
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The Longines Global Champions Tour returns to Vienna with elite show jumping taking centre stage at the iconic Schönbrunn Palace, bringing the world’s best riders into one of the most extraordinary venues on the international sporting calendar.
With Championship ambitions on the line, Austrian favourites chasing glory on home soil and a rider list packed with proven winners, Vienna is ready to turn up the pressure.
The countdown is on. Vienna awaits.
“Mdmar” website for horse racing and equestrian News
The “Mdmar” website which was Founded by Khaled Makhlouf in 2007 for horse and equestrian races is keen to cover and follow all competitions related to horses, from show jumping, Horseracing, speed and endurance races, and purebred Arabian horse beauty shows, which belong to the Arab Gulf countries at home and abroad in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the State of Qatar, the State of Kuwait, the Sultanate of Oman, and the Kingdom of Bahrain.
