The hoopla that surrounded the 29th FEI World Cup Show Jumping Final in Las Vegas has finally settled down. Now thoughts have turned to planning next year’s finale, to be held once again at the end of April. But it won’t be coming back to Glitter Gulch. Instead it will be staged in the city considered to be the true home of World Cup show jumping: Gothenburg, Sweden. This will be the 12th World Cup jumping final to be held in the famous Scandinavian Arena, which attracts one of the most enthusiastic audiences in the world. Spectators are also famously knowledgeable about show jumping, which adds to the energy in the grandstands.
The city of Gothenburg, or Goteborg as it is known closer to home, was founded in 1621 by King Gustav II Adolf and built by Dutch architects. It was initially dominated by Holland, Germany, Scotland and England which is possibly why it is sometimes called Little London or Swedish Amsterdam. Located on the west coast of Sweden and with a long sea-faring tradition, it is equidistant to its own capital city of Stockholm and the capital cities of Oslo in Norway and Copenhagen in Denmark.
If you’d like to attend next year’s World Cup final—and sightsee around lovely Sweden while you’re there—the Gothia Towers, which is attached to the Scandinavian Arena, will be the host hotel. For further information, check out the website at www.goteborghorseshow.com
Some day I’d like to see the World Cup.