Catch up on the action from the 2023 FEI World Cup Finals in Omaha. See a recap from each day of the competition below, and follow links to the full stories.
The final day of the 2023 Omaha FEI World Cup Finals, was full of suspense waiting to see who would take home top honors in both vaulting in the afternoon and show jumping in the evening. In both sports a cumulative score from all days of competition was tallied to determine the overall winners.
In addition to Native American performances which opened each competition session, there was shopping in the trade fair and plenty of fun and educational presentations in the demonstration ring. Lots of activities kept the kids entertained, too. It was all a fitting way to wrap a week of international competition hosted by the welcoming and capable folks in this intriguing and delightful Midwestern city.
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Friday was the day dressage fans eagerly anticipate at every FEI World Cup Finals ― the Grand Prix Freestyle to music. The dressage competition in Omaha is sponsored by Havensafe Farm, Wellington, Florida and Middlefield, Ohio, owned by Betsy Juliano. Juliano is a long-time supporter of the sport and a primary horse owner for US Equestrian Team riders Adrienne Lyle and Jennifer Baumert.
Thirteen competitors rode down centerline Friday evening in front of a very appreciative crowd. Sadly, three of the original 16 dressage starters had to withdraw their horses for veterinary reasons, although all are expected to be OK according to reports from their national federations.
Thursday was day two of competition at the 2023 Omaha FEI World Cup Finals in the CHI Health Center in Omaha. The day was action packed with a full roster of educational presentations and children’s activities in the demonstration arena in the trade fair and FEI World Cup Finals vaulting and show jumping competition in the main arena.
New to the FEI World Cup roster in Omaha was the FEI World Cup Vaulting Finals presented by Burlington Capital Foundation. Individual men and women and pairs (pas-de-deux) will compete over two days (yesterday and Saturday). The men and women performed a technical test Thursday and will do a freestyle test on Saturday, while the pas-de-deux athletes will do a free test each day. The highest combined score from the two days determines the winners.
Competition finally began Wednesday at the 2023 Omaha FEI World Cup Finals! Wednesday’s schedule included the Grand Prix test for the 16 dressage competitors and the first of three days of jumper classes with 40 entries tackling the course. The jumper class was a “speed and handiness” class where rails down were converted into time which was added to the total time the horse and rider took to complete the course. Course designer for jumping is Bernardo Costa Cabral from Portugal.
Day 2 at the Omaha FEI World Cup Finals brought the vaulting and dressage horses to the horse inspection area to face the scrutiny of the ground jury seeking the green light for their chance to compete. In the end all horses in each sport were accepted, but not without a bit of breath holding for dressage rider Dinja van Liere from the Netherlands.
Sixteen dressage horses representing 10 countries took their turn trotting down the inspection track. The four stallions competing were first to go for their once-over, then a mix of the four mares and the 8 geldings in the line-up strutted their stuff for the judges.
The horses have all arrived for the 2023 Omaha (Neb.) FEI World Cup Finals. The European horses arrived last Friday, March 31, so they could complete two required days of quarantine, before all other horses were allowed to arrive Sunday, April 2.
In total there are 44 jumping horses, 16 dressage horses and 10 vaulting horses for the World Cup Finals. They are stabled inside the CHI Health Center complex in Omaha which is located just across the Missouri River from the casinos in Council Bluffs, Iowa. The massive building also houses two warm-up arenas, the main competition arena, a trade fair and dining area, a demonstration ring, educational displays and children’s activities, as well as a media center, show office, rider’s lounge, and storage.
The riders in this year’s Longines FEI World Cup Show Jumping Finals represent 19 countries: Australia; Brazil; Canada; Denmark; France; Germany; Great Britain; Ireland; Israel; the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Lithuania; The Netherlands; Norway; New Zealand; Switzerland; Sweden; the United Arab Emirates; the United States of America, and Uzbekistan.
Move over Florida sunshine and California desert show circuits, the hottest place to be in equestrian sport will be Omaha, Nebraska, April 4-8, 2023, for the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI, the governing body for international equestrian sports) World Cup Finals. The best in the world in dressage, show jumping and vaulting will converge on Nebraska’s biggest city to compete for bragging rights, ribbons and prize money. This will be the second time that Omaha has hosted the prestigious event and one of only a handful of times the Finals have been staged outside of Europe.
The horses will start to arrive in Omaha the end of March. Once obligatory quarantine arrangements and first horse inspections are completed, the horses will begin practicing in the main arena of the CHI Health Center (formerly known as the CenturyLink Center) located near the Missouri River on Tuesday, April 4. Competition kicks off on Wednesday afternoon, April 5, and finishes on Saturday evening, April 8. Find the full schedule here.
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