New York Empire Team Announces Lineup for 2023 Global Champions League Season
New York Empire team owner Georgina Bloomberg of New York, New York, announced the team of six riders ready to take on the 2023 Global Champions League (GCL) season during the Longines Global Champions Tour (LGCT). Returning to the roster with Bloomberg will be Scott Brash (GBR), Denis Lynch (IRL), Spencer Smith (USA), and Jodie Hall McAteer (GBR). The five 2022 New York Empire riders will be joined by newcomer to the team Frank Schuttert (NED) for 2023.
New York Empire powered by Lugano Diamonds finished 13th during the 2022 season and qualified for the GCL Playoffs in Prague, Czech Republic. The team had several successful placings including a podium finish in London.
“We are thrilled to welcome Frank to our lineup of accomplished riders for the 2023 season,” said Bloomberg, who debuted the New York Empire team in 2018. “His talent as a rider combined with his superb string of horses will be a great addition to our team. Additionally, I am looking forward to competing alongside Scott, Denis, Spencer, and Jodie again this year. New York Empire had a competitive season in 2022, and I think 2023 will be exciting.”
Schuttert, a member of the 2021 Scandinavian Vikings GCL team, has been a top competitor in the sport since he was a young rider. In 2013, he won the gold medal in the FEI European Young Riders Individual Jumping Championship at Vejer de la Frontera, Spain. In 2018, Schuttert won the LGCT Valkenswaard Grand Prix, which earned him a spot in the LGCT Super Grand Prix during the Global Champions Playoffs in Prague, Czech Republic, where he claimed a third-place finish. The 29-year-old show jumping athlete represented the Netherlands at the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games in Tryon, North Carolina, as well as at the 2019 European Championships in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and again in 2021 in Riesenbeck, Germany. After working for Belgian Olympic athlete Jos Lansink for nine years, Schuttert began developing horses on his own in late 2021.
“I have been building a good team of horses for myself since I started my own business,” commented Schuttert. “I am looking forward to being back on a Global Champions League team and competing at the highest levels of the sport alongside my amazing New York Empire team members.”
Meet the Riders:
The 2023 Global Champions League season will kick off in Doha, Qatar, on March 2-4, and then head to the United States on April 12-15 for the Miami, Florida, event. The Global Champions League and Longines Global Champions Tour travels around the world visiting many of the most iconic cities, including London, Madrid, New York, Paris, Rome, and Stockholm.
The New York Empire team will be on home soil for the New York competition on September 22-24 as the 2023 season nears its climax. The season ends once again with the thrilling Global Champions Playoffs on November 16-19 in Prague, Czech Republic.
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