Australia’s Jamie Winning-Kermond is 23rd in the order of go with 11-year-old mare Tulara Wat Colblensky (by Colman out of Tulara Cornetto, by Cornet Obolensky), with the combination fifth to enter the arena following the mid-competition break.
The duo completed their warm-up round on Wednesday and are now looking ahead to the official start of competition.
New Zealand’s Julie Davey is 13th in the order of go with LT Holst Freda. The Ewen McIntosh-bred grey mare, who is by Colman out of Brooke Edgecombe’s very well-performed LT Holst Andrea (by Casall Ask), has been with Julie her whole career.
“Mum always thought no.13 was lucky so that is good for me,” said Julie via ESNZ. “It’s better than going at no.1!”
Like Jamie and Tulara Wat Colblensky, Julie and LT Holst Freda also completed their warm-up round on Wednesday in the Dickies Arena.
“The arena familiarisation went well but there was no atmosphere in there [Wednesday]. It is a beautiful arena – the building itself is massive but not the arena,” noted Julie.
FINAL I – 2pm Thursday CDT (5am Friday AEST)
Format: Table C over a Table A course, 3 Seconds added (Article: 658.1.3.2 / 217.2 and 225)
Jump-off: No
Time limit: 120 or 180 seconds depending on the length of the course
Height of obstacles: max. 160 cm
Watch all the action from Fort Worth live and on-demand with ClipMyHorse.TV.
American combination the first to go
The United States is well represented in the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup Final, with nine athletes in the lineup. Nine could be the magic number, as it’s been nine years since a rider from the nation stood atop the podium in this event. Vale will give his compatriots early feedback on the opening round’s speed test set by Anderson Lima (Mexico). Vale, a Texas native now based in Ocala, Florida, will bring his best horse forward in the 13-year-old gelding Carissimo 25 for this homecoming and will be the first athlete through the gates in Fort Worth.
The highest placing American at least year’s Final in Basel, Katie Dinan is back for more with Out of the Blue SCF. The pair won the final round of competition in 2025 after producing the only double-clear effort on the day, ultimately finishing eighth overall. They will jump 22nd in the order.
The most eyes, however, are likely to be on World No. 2 Kent Farrington, who is returning to the Final after a one-year hiatus with his powerhouse duo of mares, Toulayna and Greya. Farrington brought the same pair forward when he finished fourth at Riyadh in 2024. Since then, he climbed to the World No. 1 spot for nine months between May 2025 and January 2026, recording wins at the highest level of sport with both mares. He will jump 15th Thursday with Toulayna, the speed specialist.
Kaitlin Campbell, Lillie Keenan, and Skylar Wireman all return with promise following strong outings at the Finals over the course of the last two years, while Mimi Gochman and Jacob Pope will make their respective debuts at this event after successful seasons on the North American League. World No. 10 Laura Kraut will be the final U.S. athlete to jump, as she comes forward 32nd with her winning partner from Washington, Tres Bien Z.
Switzerland may pose the greatest threat to a hometown victory for the U.S., as the country sends forward an incredibly strong pair of previous champions. Steve Guerdat has won these Finals on three previous occasions, all within 10 years of each other. Should he capture a fourth in Fort Worth, he would become the first athlete in history to achieve the feat. He will bring forward Albfuehren’s Iashin Sitte for the task; the 12-year-old gelding carries great form to Texas, having won two qualifiers on the Western European League at Helsinki and Leipzig since January. Guerdat will jump just before the midway point of competition Thursday, in the 18th position.
Directly following him is his Swiss teammate, Martin Fuchs. Fuchs, who won these Finals in 2022 at Leipzig, will bring forward Lorde for the 11-year-old gelding’s first championship start.
Adding further depth to the jumping field are World No. 3 Richard Vogel and 2014 Champion Daniel Deusser, both from Germany, who will jump 26th and 29th, respectively with Gangster Montdesir and Otello de Guldenboom. Willem Greve of the Netherlands, who won three qualifiers on the Western European League with Pretty Woman van’t Paradijs N.O.P., received an early draw and will jump second.
Kevin Staut of France and Visconti du Telman are the highest placing pair from the 2025 Finals to return in 2026. After finishing third at Basel, they will begin their quest for a second straight podium jumping in the fifth position.
Thirteen nations will be represented as competition kicks off with the opening round, a speed test with a faults converted format.
Read more about the competition format here.
Source: FEI press release by Catie Staszak/ESNZ press release, edited by EQ Life
