Few venues are as testing as the Club de Campo’s Madrid arena, and the 2025 Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix arrives with storylines to match its reputation. Kent Farrington will canter through the arch wearing the Longines World #1 armband for the first time; Belgium’s Gilles Thomas fronts the challenge with Ermitage Kalone; and half the field are still auditioning for European-Championship spots. With past editions producing clear-round rates as low as 20 percent, Sunday’s LGCT Grand Prix promises a thrilling climax with some of the sport’s top combinations vying for the win.

The Favourites

Gilles Thomas & Ermitage Kalone

Ermitage Kalone enters the 2025 LGCT Grand Prix of Madrid as the highest-rated horse in the field and, notably, made his 160 Grand Prix debut on this very turf only a year ago. In the intervening 12 months the 11-year-old stallion has recorded an Olympic appearance and podium finishes in both the Rolex Grand Prix of Geneva and the LGCT Super Grand Prix in Riyadh.

While this Belgian combination is almost mouth-watering to watch, with a career clear rate at five-star 160 level currently being maintained at 58%, questions might arise around Ermitage Kalone’s ability to hit the gas pedal in a potential jump-off.

Kent Farrington & Greya

A horse that has repeatedly proven to feel right at home in any speed challenge is Greya, the 11-year-old mare whose trio of five-star Grand Prix wins in the opening five months of the season returned Kent Farrington to the summit of the FEI Longines rankings. When the fences stay up, her jump-off times are routinely unbeatable, so Farrington’s inaugural appearance as World No. 1 therefore carries genuine threat.

As first to go on Sunday, the pressure will be on this pair to give their newly-acquired World #1 band a strong first outing.

The Challengers

The Belgian Brigade

Aside from the favourite in Ermitage Kalone, Belgium’s depth is underlined by the presence of Abdel Said’s Bonne Amie and Pieter Devos’ Casual DV Z, each hovering near the 750 Elo mark. Those three horses rank among the Top 4 rated horses in Belgium currently, where the battle for a spot on the European Team in two months is starting to bloom. A strong performance in Sunday’s Grand Prix can put them one step closer to a ticket to La Coruna.

Three questions to keep in your back pocket

Can Kent turn the armband into a win?
Nobody has ever won Madrid twice, so history says no – but Greya has been rewriting a few stats lately.

Is this finally Ermitage Kalone’s moment?
Eleven clear rounds from 19 at 160 says “absolutely”. His jump-off speed says “maybe not yet”. Sunday will tell.

Which Belgian leaves with the upper hand?
Bonne Amie can light up a jump-off when the mood strikes, Casual DV delivers clinical, mistake-free rounds on repeat, and Ermitage Kalone remains the public darling with sky-high stats to match. With clears on the board on Sunday, we might be looking at out La Coruna team.