Photo Gallery. Tashkent hosts FEI World Jumping Challenge Final 2018

All the competing athletes qualified in 2017 when the Challenge was also used by 44 countries as the official qualifier for the 2018 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Buenos Aires (ARG). A total of 23 out of 30 athletes who are on the way to the YOG have made the cut through the Challenge series, and six of those used this weeks fixture as the perfect final run, because, just like at the YOG, the biggest test of all is that they must ride a horse they’ve never sat on before.

The flags of Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Egypt, Guatemala, India, Israel, Iran, Kyrgystan, Paraguay, Senegal, South Africa, Uzbekistan, Zambia and Zimbabwe all flew high as the age range of riders varied from 16 to 55.

Israel’s Nadav Sternbach scooped the title in a nail-biting jump-off as it came down to a head-to-head against Argentina’s Richard Kierkegaard (15), and there was little between the two of them in the end.