Daniel Deußer, Richard Vogel, Patrick Stühlmeyer, Philipp Schulze Topphoff and René Dittmer at the 2026 World Cup Final

38 riders will try to win the World Cup Jumping Final in Texas. Three competitions are scheduled in the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth. The competition starts on Thursday, April 9 at 2 p.m. local time (8 p.m. in Germany). A total of 550,00 euros will be paid out in the three competitions. In the final, there will be 300,000 euros, of which the winner will receive 69,000 euros. 42 horses have been entered.

Five hopefuls from Germany

From a German perspective, hopes are pinned on Daniel Deußer, Richard Vogel, Patrick Stühlmeyer, Philipp Schulze Topphoff and René Dittmer at the 2026 World Cup Final. For two of the quintet, it will be the first time they have ridden in a final.

Daniel Deußer and Otello de Guldenboom

Daniel Deußer, World Cup winner in Lyon 2014, will travel to Texas with the Belgian stallion Otello de Guldenboom. The son of Deußer’s Tobago Z out of a Holsteiner Caretino daughter was victorious in Verona in 2025, came second in the World Cup qualifier in Bordeaux in February and sixth in Gothenburg. Sire Tobago Z also competed twice in World Cup finals, in Gothenburg in 2019 (4th) and in Omaha in 2023. This will be Daniel Deußer’s eighth start. He qualified for the first time 19 years ago. Back then, he came second with Air Jordan.

Richard Vogel and Gangster Montdesir

This is the third World Cup final for Richard Vogel, the triumphant rider from Hertogenbosch, who has already been “in the money” again in Florida. With his high-flyer United Touch S, he was eighth in Omaha in 2023 and sixth in Basel in 2025.

He plans to ride Gangster Montdesir in Fort Worth. Richard Vogel took over the ten-year-old Selle Français stallion from Angelica Augustsson Zanotelli in the summer of 2025. Jana Wargers had brought the Kannan son into international sport. Vogel and the chestnut have achieved six victories together, including in the 5* Grand Prix in Wellington in February, plus five further top 10 placings in the last 16 starts since September 2025.

Philipp Schulze Topphoff and Carla NRW

Philipp Schulze Topphoff also knows what World Cup finals feel like. In Leipzig in 2022, he and Concordess NRW made it through to the second, decisive round of the final on Sunday (17th). The Comme il faut daughter Carla NRW can look back on a consistent indoor season. The Westphalian mare was placed several times in World Cup qualifiers. After flying back from Texas, the 27-year-old former European Young Rider Champion will be moving to a new location. He will be riding for Beerbaum Stables in Riesenbeck in the future.

Patrick Stühlmeyer and Baloutaire PS

Patrick Stühlmeyer will fly from Mühlen to the USA for his employer Paul Schockemöhle. Schockemöhle, as the PS in his name reveals, is also the breeder of the black stallion Baloutaire PS, who Stühlmeyer will be riding. The pair, runners-up in the Frankfurt 2025 Grand Prix, finished third in Mechelen and fourth in Amsterdam.

Interesting for breeding enthusiasts: The stallion goes directly back to the dam line of Pomone B by Furioso xx; the horse on which the French rider Pierre Jonquères d’Oriola became World Champion in Buenos Aires in 1966. For “Stühli”, this is his first time at a World Cup final.

René Dittmer and Cody

Thanks to the points that René Dittmer galloped up in the USA, he has also qualified for Fort Worth. It is also a debut for Dittmer, who runs a stable near Stade near Hamburg. The 32-year-old has decided to ride the Casall son Cody in the Dickies Arena. The Holsteiner was bred by the 1994 team world champion, Sören von Rönne. Cody has achieved several top 5 placings in top-class show jumping competitions in recent months.

Seven of the top 20 in the world rankings

Seven riders from the current world rankings will be trying their luck in Fort Worth who are currently in the top 20 of the rankings: Kent Farrington (USA), Richard Vogel, McLain Ward (USA), Laura Kraut (USA), Daniel Coyle (IRL), Gregory Wathelet (BEL), Steve Guerdat (SUI), course designer Anderson de Moura Lima from Mexico will have a high-caliber field to “sort through”. Kent Farrington (USA), currently ranked second in the world, has “only” made it into the top 10 once in seven appearances and has never finished on the podium. He will be traveling with his mares Greya and Toulayna.

Here you can find the list of all riders and horses.