Swiss watchmaker Longines has enhanced its partnership with the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) by taking on title sponsorship of the revamped World Cup Jumping North American League.
Longines already serves as the official top partner, timekeeper and watch of the FEI. It is a major supporter of the Olympic sport of jumping around the world, and is title partner of the World Cup Jumping Western European League and World Cup Jumping China League.
Longines will now support the further growth of jumping across North America as the official title partner and watch of the North American League. In addition, Longines will also provide a dedicated timekeeping team and data handling service for each of the 14 legs. Terms of the new deal were not disclosed.
Open to jumping athletes from around the world, the new-look series will feature events in 14 venues across the North American East and West Coast in the US, Mexico and Canada. The venues were selected after a screening process from an initial list of 25 applicants.
The inaugural edition of the revamped series will run from August 2015 to February 2016 and offers a minimum prize purse of $2.4m (€2.3m). It will give competitors the chance to qualify for the annual Longines FEI World Cup Jumping Final, which features a jackpot prize of more than $1.4m.
Beezie Madden, the most decorated US female equestrian in history, launched the new series alongside fellow athletes Jessica Springsteen and Hannah Selleck.