Casall. Explosion. King Edward. Who Joins Them Next?

Some cities make history. Rome makes legends. And for more than a decade, the Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of Rome has welcomed horses whose names carry extraordinary weight in the sport.

Casall ASK. Explosion W. H&M Indiana. King Edward. Monaco. Together, they form a roll of honour that tells a story of enduring greatness, remarkable partnerships and new stars announcing their arrival. As the Tour returns in 2026, a new venue opens the next chapter of an event where winning means joining exceptional company.

The standard was set from the very beginning. In 2015, Casall ASK and Rolf-Göran Bengtsson became Rome’s first LGCT Grand Prix winners. Few horses could have provided a more fitting opening. An icon in the arena, Casall’s influence reaches far beyond his own competitive achievements, his bloodlines running through generations of modern sport horses. His victory gave Rome an inaugural champion whose legacy continues to shape show jumping today.

A year later, Don VHP Z carried Harrie Smolders to the top of the podium. The towering chestnut’s unmistakable presence brought another celebrated partnership into Rome’s history, reinforcing the calibre of horse required to win here.

Yet even among such established names, there was space for a breakthrough. In 2017, Evelina Tovek and Castello claimed their first LGCT Grand Prix title, making Rome the setting for a career milestone. The city was becoming a place where reputations could be built as well as celebrated.

Then came a horse who would make the stage his own.

With Ben Maher, Explosion W won the LGCT Grand Prix of Rome in 2018. Twelve months later, they returned and did it again. Back-to-back victories demanded brilliance twice over, and this extraordinary partnership delivered. For a horse recognised among the greatest of the modern era, Rome became a recurring demonstration of his exceptional ability.

When the Tour returned in 2021, H&M Indiana and Malin Baryard-Johnsson added their names to the story. A mare whose presence alone commands attention, Indiana brought her competitive fire to the Roman arena and emerged victorious. At the second Rome event that year, Olivier Robert and Vangog du Mas Garnier seized their opportunity, giving the city two winning partnerships to celebrate.

The succession continued in 2022 with Mumbai and Christian Kukuk. The extraordinary grey took centre stage, adding another distinctive name to a list increasingly populated by horses familiar to every follower of the sport.

And then, in 2023, came King Edward.

Some horses need little introduction. With Henrik von Eckermann, the horse who had conquered the world conquered Rome. Their victory brought one of show jumping’s defining partnerships onto its roll of honour, connecting the event with a horse whose place among the greatest of the great was already assured.

Following a name like King Edward might seem an imposing prospect. But Rome’s next winner brought a different kind of excitement: the sense of watching a new star emerge.

In 2024, Foxy de la Roque and Victor Bettendorf delivered an electric victory. Rome became a defining chapter in the mare’s rise—a place where her career at the very top began to take shape. On a stage where so many legends had already triumphed, Foxy gave the sport reason to look ahead.

Last year, the story turned back to a familiar rider and another exceptional horse. Nine years after winning with Don VHP Z, Harrie Smolders returned to the top of the podium with Monaco. For this celebrated partnership, Rome represented a crowning moment: a prestigious victory that gave Monaco his own place among the city’s great champions.

Seen together, these winners reveal what makes the LGCT Grand Prix of Rome so compelling. Casall’s enduring influence. Explosion W’s consecutive triumphs. Indiana’s brilliance. King Edward’s greatness. Foxy’s emergence. Monaco’s moment of glory. Each arrived with a different story, and each left with Rome woven into it.

Now, in 2026, the world’s best return. A new venue brings a fresh setting, but the ambition remains the same: to win where some of the sport’s most extraordinary horses have won before.

The next name is still to be written.

Who will join Rome’s legends? Watch the next chapter unfold live on GCTV.