In 2021, Casinos Austria founded a new show jumping series. The Casinos Austria Future Cup supports young talents in equestrian sports and aims to pave the way for them to compete in next year's major sporting event: the 2024 Olympics in Paris. Equestrians between 18 and 25 years of age are eligible to participate in the Cup, which is being held in cooperation with the Austrian Equestrian Sports Association (Österreichischer Pferdesportverband – OEPS).
The regulations take the aspect of the Olympics into account. International equestrian athletes of corresponding age groups are also admitted in the four preliminary rounds, which are held between April and August. By expanding the field of participants, the tournament series will be raised to the performance level of larger competitions. In the Casinos Austria Future Cup Final, only Austrian nationals – the top eight riders from the preliminary rounds – are eligible to compete.
An attractive prize pool awaits the participants in the final round. 6,000 euros will be paid out to the eight finalists, and 2,000 euros will go to the winner of the final round. The appeal of participating in the finals is additionally enhanced by the fact that points from preliminary rounds are not carried over – which means that all the finalists have the same chance of winning.
Key dates of the OEPS Spring Tour powered by EPP in 2023:
1. Preliminary round: April 6 to 17: St. Margarethen, Carinthia
2. Preliminary round: May 26 to 29: Lassee, Lower Austria
3. Preliminary round: July 20 to 23: Zeltweg-Farrach, Styria
4.Preliminary round: August 6 to 8: Kammer-Schörfling, Upper Austria
Final round: August 6, 2023: Kammer-Schörfling, Upper Austria
Casinos Austria's General Director Erwin van Lambaart explains the reasons for Casinos Austria's commitment to equestrian sports: "Taking on socio-political responsibility in Austria is part of our corporate DNA, and that's exactly what the Casinos Austria Future Cup is all about. We foster young Austrian show jumping talent and support them on their way to the 2024 Olympics.
The rules are quite demanding due to the participation of international competitors in the preliminary rounds, which makes the competition particularly exciting for young athletes as well as for the audience. Last year's competition was an impressive demonstration of the fact that we have riders and horses in Austria who can jump at the highest competitive levels. We can look forward to exciting tournaments in 2023 and hopefully an Austrian medal winner in Paris next year!"
Casinos Austria has always stood for fascination, excitement and truly unique experiences. Young athletes have all this to look forward to when they visit our Casinos Austria Future Cup course.