This weekend (August 4-6), the world’s finest horses and riders will gather at Royal Hospital Chelsea - home to the Chelsea Pensioners and the annual Chelsea Flower Show - to compete for a one million pound prize fund.
The Longines Global Champions Tour, the world’s premier showjumping circuit, has already enthralled spectators in Miami Beach, Shanghai, Monaco and Paris, with top riders battling it out over courses of fences up to 1.60m.
Taking place on the south grounds against the beautiful backdrop of Sir Christopher Wren's iconic architecture, the London leg will form the 12th event on the 15 event circuit, coming at a key stage in the 2017 season when the ranking battle will be at full throttle.
The star-studded line-up from the current world's top ten will see Kent Farrington (USA), Lorenzo de Luca (ITA), Kevin Staut (FRA), Daniel Deusser (GER), Christian Ahlmann (GER), Eric Lamaze (CAN), Scott Brash (GBR), Maikel van der Vleuten (NED) and Simon Delestre (FRA) go head to head at the Royal Hospital Chelsea.
"The Longines Global Champions Tour is a unique and truly global event that has done so much for the profile of our sport," said Olympic team gold medallist Scott Brash.
"British show jumping is enjoying a renaissance through the success of Team GB, which culminated in Nick Skelton's emotional win at Rio 2016. I am excited that London has been added to the 2017 series, as it provides a new opportunity to excite British audiences about show jumping and inspire new generations. To have your home crowd behind you really spurs you on more. I love it, so I’m delighted it’s back in London. It's going to be a very special event and I can't wait to compete."
Brash will also be competing against fellow Olympians Ben Maher (GBR), John Whitaker (GBR) and Michael Whitaker (GBR).
For more information on the Longines Global Champions Tour and to book tickets to the London leg, please click here
The alternative Season: 20 things you must do this summer
Anna Tyzack recommends the best alternative ways to enjoy the British summer season.
The secret beaches of the West Country where you can escape the crowds
If you're heading to the West Country this summer, here's our pick of the best beaches where you can enjoy
Love Game of Thrones? Visit County Antrim's beautiful Causeway Coast
If you're a self-confessed Game of Thrones geek and watching the show just isn't enough, visit Ballygally Castle - the
-
From Cornish Gilliflower to Rivers Early Peach: An apple a day keeps Britain’s heritage native fruit from dying out81% of traditional apple orchards have vanished from Britain, but ‘heritage’ apples retain a following, says Jack Watkins, who rounds up nine of the most interesting.
-
Goodwood Revival 2025: Pictures from the 'F1 of classic car races'Here's everything you might have missed if you didn't get the chance to make it to West Sussex's most elegant event.
-
Mastiffs: Gentle giants revered by Shakespeare, feared by thieves, adored by familiesThe mastiff is England’s gentle giant.
-
‘People would rather buy 20 synthetic jumpers than a woollen one that would last them a lifetime’: The British wool trade todaySheep shearing was king in the middle ages, writes Lotte Brundle, but the rise of synthetic fibres put the industry in a woolly position. How is it faring now?
-
Bedlington terriers: The rare dog breed that conquered the coal mines and made it to CruftsThe Bedlington terrier originated in the mining towns of Northumberland, and while it might look like a lamb, it’s got the heart of a lion.
-
'A world within a world… a community with an identity, a smoothly turning cog in the wheel of royal life': A look behind the stable doors of the Royal MewsHome to carriages, coachmen and craftspeople, Buckingham Palace’s Royal Mews is a village in the heart of London. It celebrates its 200th anniversary this year.
-
‘We couldn’t go around digging holes in existing graveyards for fear of exhuming a real body’: The man who brought The Thursday Murder Club to the big screenLotte Brundle caught up with James Merifield, the production designer behind the new Netflix film adaptation of the Richard Osman novel, to chat about the murder mystery.
-
What everyone is talking about this week: The great porpoise panicWeek in, week out, Will Hosie rounds up the hottest topics on everyone's lips, in London and beyond.
-
The otterhound — the story behind Britain's rarest breed of dogBred for centuries to hunt otters in icy rivers, these shaggy, web-footed hounds were once favoured by royalty. Today, fewer than 1,000 survive worldwide.
-
One by one: The lone wolves of the animal kingdomMankind may be tribal and sociable by nature, yet the ‘bliss of solitude’ — a state previously reserved for hermits — is the key to achieving inner peace, says Laura Parker
