LA28 gets equestrian preview

Arcadia (News 4 Us Online) – Santa Anita Park is the designated venue for equestrian events featured in the 2028 Summer Olympics (LA28). For the past two weeks, a preview of what the competition may look like played out at the storied and longtime racetrack.

For 10 days, some of the best show jumping horses and riders in the world converged in Arcadia to showcase what is to come as they did their thing at the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Los Angeles.

Horses and riders from as many as 18 countries were represented in this showcase, which came with a winning purse of $400,000.

Among the notable participants at the event were Jessica Springsteen, a member of the U.S. team which won silver at the Tokyo Olympics and Karl Cook, who won the 2024 Santa Anita $400,000 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Los Angeles competition.   

Springsteen beat out 48 other competitors to win the $40,000 winning purse at 1.5m.

“Elite competition, world-class hospitality, and an energy that is uniquely Southern California combined to set the stage for the future of show jumping excellence at Santa Anita Park and provided a glimpse into the exciting possibilities for the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games,” said Belinda Stronach, Chairman, CEO and President, The Stronach Group and Chairman and CEO, 1/ST.

The event featured big-time competition with Cook (USA), six-time Olympian McLain Ward (USA), world No. 1 Kent Farrington (USA), 2008 Olympic gold medalist Laura Kraut (2020, 2024 silver medalist), and Germany’s Richard Vogel (No. 6 in the world) all participating.

Ward, with his equestrian partner, High Star Hero, would claim the first-place prize with Vogel coming in second place.

“The second running of the Santa Anita CSI5*-W Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Los Angeles was an incredible moment for this venue, capped by a truly thrilling jump-off. I am so thankful to the competitors, spectators, and the entire equestrian community for supporting this event. The team at 1/ST looks forward to continuing to grow and elevate this event even further next year.” said Nicole Walker, Vice President, The Stronach Group and Equestrian.

Outside of the stellar riders, the horses are co-stars in the equestrian world. As many as 500 elite show jumping horses were part of the two-week display of grace, power and skill.

“The event was amazing last night.  We had incredible sport – the course designer and the footing combined to put it at that level, said Derek Braun, owner and founder of Split Rock Jumping Tour.  “What was nice to see in year two of the event was growth all around.  Hospitality and General Admission were full, and four of the top ten riders in the world were in the jump-off, which was pretty incredible.  All around, great growth in year two.”

Cover Photo Credit: Robert Clarke / News 4 Us Online