With just ten days to go, the 2026 Longines Versilia Horse Show, presented by Giorgio Armani, is set to be an exceptional event. The CSI5* will feature riders from 19 different countries, ensuring a high level of competition.
From 7th to 10th May, many of the world’s top athletes are expected in Lido di Camaiore (Italy). They will perform in the Giorgio Armani Arena during this important international equestrian competition, which has achieved the maximum five-star rating this year.
The list of competitors includes many champions and medal winners. These include Germany’s Richard Vogel (world number 3 and gold medallist at the 2025 European Championships in La Coruña), Christian Ahlmann, David Will and Steve Guerdat (European Champion in Milan in 2023 and individual gold medallist at the 2012 London Olympics), as well as Martin Fuchs (individual gold medallist at the 2019 European Championships), all of whom competed in Versilia last year.
France will field champions like Roger-Yves Bost, winner of individual gold at the 2013 European Championships and team gold at the Rio de Janeiro Games alongside Pénélope Leprevost; and Simon Delestre, another athlete with an impressive record, who won team bronze at the Paris 2024 Games.
The Netherlands will once again rely on Harrie Smolders, who won two of the most important competitions in Lido di Camaiore last year. Max Kühner will represent Austria; he is a consistently competitive and successful rider, on a par with Brazilians Luiz Felipe Neto de Azevedo and Yuri Mansur.
Belgium’s top-ranked riders will also compete: Pieter Devos and Nicola Philippaerts, who won team gold at the 2025 European Championships in La Coruña, as well as Jérôme Guery and Abdel Saïd.
Fans are eagerly anticipating the return of one of the pairs that made history in the early 2020s. The starting lineup includes Sweden’s Henrik von Eckermann and King Edward. They won team gold at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, were individual and team world champions in 2022, and won two Longines FEI World Cup finals in 2023 and 2024. King Edward recently returned to competition, and the Longines Versilia Horse Show, presented by Giorgio Armani, will be his first five-star show since his long absence.
Italy will field 22 horse-rider pairs at the starting line, including all of its top riders: Giulia Martinengo Marquet, winner in the GP Giorgio Armani presented by Longines 2025, Piergiorgio Bucci, Emanuele Camilli, the young Giacomo Casadei, Paolo Paini, Lorenzo De Luca, Riccardo Pisani, Emanuele Gaudiano and others as Guido ed Eugenio Grimaldi, Nico Lupino, Antonia Vita Pinardi, Giacomo Bassi and Roberto Previtali.
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ph. Giulia Martinengo Marquet, winner in the GP Giorgio Armani presented by Longines 2025; Harrie Smolders – ph. LVHSGA / S.Grasso