Having been given the International Equestrian Federation’s blessing for his new Global Champions League (GCL), show jumping’s unique entrepreneur Jan Tops and his USA backer Frank McCourt have further enhanced their Global Champions Tour and League series for 2017. More prize money, new venues, extra television coverage and a whole new format will be rolled out when the League and Tour get under way at Mexico City on April 6th – 9th.

This year the Global Champions Tour for individual riders will have a total of €11.5 million on offer while the team League has €10.5 million earmarked for it. While home visiting for The Irish Field awards last week, star of the 2016 series, Wexford’s Bertram Allen spelled out for us the changes in format that we can expect this year. At each of 15 venues worldwide, both the team and individual jumping will begin on the Thursday. Instead of being completed on one day as it was in its inaugural running last year, the team event will now be run over two days. It begins with a 1.50/1.55m speed event on the Thursday from which scores will carry forward into Saturday’s second round. This same class will also be jumped for prize money and Longines World Ranking points by individual riders that are not part of the 12 official GCL teams.

Following some non-League or Tour classes on the Friday, top action resumes on the Saturday with the deciding second team round. But this class also acts as a qualifier for the Global Champions Tour Grand Prix that follows later that day. So both team and individual riders take part in this class and only the best 25 out of that go forward to the €300,000 Grand Prix that will be jumped as a one-rounder with jump-off and in which they start on zero score.

Bertram was quite excited about the fact that CNN has been brought on board for coverage of the series. “It will give great worldwide exposure to the sport,” he says.

In addition, the GCT website also says that Eurosport will be covering the series as well. In one other change this year, riders will be gaining Longines Ranking points in the Global Champions League. Last year they got points only in the Global Champions Tour Grand Prix events.

The series gets under way at Mexico City and moves on to Miami, Shanghai, Madrid, Hamburg, Cannes, Monaco, Paris, Estoril, Chantilly, Berlin for the first time, then to a new site in London followed by its home base in Valkenswaard and the last qualifier in Rome. The final will again be held in the big Al Shaqab Stadium at Doha on November 9th – 11th with millions on offer.

Bertram’s Valkenswaard United side won the team championship last year that earned the young Wexford man €500,000. Rolf-Goran Bengtsson of Sweden was the individual 2016 champion with the great Casall ASK.