With all of €15 million on offer at 15 rounds to be run over the next eight months, the 2016 Global Champions Tour begins its 11th season at Miami, Florida, this weekend.

For the first time it not only includes the now familiar Global Grand Prix, which has €300,000 on offer at each of 14 qualifying venues; this time it also inaugurates the controversial new Global Champions League for which some €7.5 million plus a winning bonus has been earmarked.

Twelve teams with names like the Rome Gladiators, Shanghai Swans or Vienna Eagles have been signed up for this new venture. Each side has five riders, one of whom is from the under 25 bracket. Our Bertram Allen has been signed up for the Valkenswaard United side, which also includes John Whitaker, Eduardo Menezes, Alberto Zorzi and U25 Emily Moffitt. Against the best wishes of the FEI, Jan Tops and his US backer Frank H. McCourt have gone ahead with this new concept.

Concession

In the end he got the concession from Lausanne that neither riders nor officials would be suspended for taking part. How successful it will be remains to be seen. In part it depends on whether the audience gives a hoot as to whether the Shanghai Swans or the Valkenswaard United teams win a particular round. Time will tell. And whether it will have any negative effect on the long standing FEI Nations Cup series is also an open question. After Miami, the GCT schedule moves to take in Mexico City for the first time. From there it goes to Antwerp and Shanghai, Hamburg, Madrid, Chantilly, Cannes, Monaco, Paris, Estoril, Valkenswaard, Rome Vienna and the final at Doha in November. There still seems to be a question about a possible repeat of the London round.