The Premier Jumping League (PJL), a new global team-based showjumping competition bringing together the world’s leading riders and horses, today announced that Germany will host competition during its inaugural 2027 season.
The League will bring its new three-day competition format to Hamburg from 3-5 September 2027 at the historic Hamburg Derby Park, placing Germany on an international calendar spanning North America, Europe and the Middle East.
The PJL announcement follows a dominant display by the German national team on the 2026 international showjumping circuit, claiming team gold at the World Equestrian Games in Aachen, and, most recently, at the League of Nations Final in Barcelona. Germany’s Richard Vogel currently sits at world number one in the individual Longines Rankings, while PJL Ambassador Sophie Hinners has recently risen to the world number 12, making her the second-highest-ranked female rider in the sport.
Backed by McCourt Global, the PJL has been created to unlock the global potential of one of the world’s most established Olympic sports through a modern competition structure built on sporting merit, compelling team rivalries and season-long narratives.
As a League anchored in meritocracy, only riders ranked within the world’s top 250 are eligible for team selection, ensuring the best compete against the best.
Sixteen teams comprising 80 elite riders will compete throughout the inaugural season, with $300 million in guaranteed prize money committed across the League’s first three seasons. This unprecedented investment is designed to ensure the sport’s top athletes, including riders such as Sophie Hinners, the leading German female rider and PJL Ambassador, are meaningfully compensated for competing at the highest level, supporting greater professional viability in a sport where many riders have traditionally supplemented their competitive careers through teaching and training.
Hinners said, “I’m incredibly excited that the PJL is coming to Hamburg in 2027. We’ve enjoyed significant success as a national team this year, so it feels fitting that a new, progressive league is bringing competition to our home soil here in Germany.
“My hope is that the PJL will attract new audiences to jumping, making our sport easier to understand, follow and engage with. Too often, the sport is misunderstood, and the PJL presents an opportunity to change that by showcasing what it truly takes to compete at the highest level: the athleticism, dedication, sacrifice, and blood, sweat and tears behind every performance.
“I’m excited for German audiences to experience our sport in a new way when the PJL arrives in Hamburg in September 2027.”
At the centre of the PJL proposition is a belief that the future growth of jumping should not come at the expense of the values and heritage that have defined the sport for generations.
The League’s competition format has been designed to create greater consequence between rounds and across events, giving audiences a reason to remain emotionally invested throughout the season. In the PJL, every round counts, building momentum and intensity towards the decisive post-season events.
You can view the PJL’s format explainer video here. Strong consideration has also been given to the duration and presentation of competition, recognising the changing consumption habits of modern sports audiences. The format is designed to deliver high-intensity sporting action within a structure that is easier to follow, while maintaining the technical complexity and sporting integrity that define elite showjumping.
The League has also invested significantly in how jumping is presented and distributed to audiences globally. The PJL will adopt a free-to-view broadcast model, a strategic decision designed to build a broader global fanbase, while its partnership with Box to Box Films, the production company behind Formula 1: Drive to Survive, will bring the personalities and stories surrounding the sport to audiences beyond the traditional equestrian community.
For Germany, home to one of the world’s most established equestrian cultures and a nation with a rich history in international jumping success, the arrival of the PJL will provide a new global stage for the sport.
The PJL 2027 calendar has been carefully curated to follow the natural movement of the international competition circuit, helping to minimise unnecessary travel and protect equine welfare. Particular consideration has been given to venues offering optimal footing, stabling, and wider equestrian facilities.
While the calendar features fresh, modern, and progressive destinations designed to attract new audiences to the sport, these are complemented by historic venues steeped in tradition, reinforcing the PJL’s commitment to preserving the integrity and core values of jumping.
Hamburg Derby Park embodies this commitment. Located in Klein Flottbek, it is one of Germany’s most historic equestrian venues, renowned for its unique atmosphere, iconic natural obstacles, and rich sporting heritage. Having welcomed generations of the world’s leading riders and equestrian fans, Derby Park provides a fitting setting for the PJL’s inaugural season, combining the traditions of elite jumping with a new era of international competition.
The Hamburg event will be organised by Schafhof Connects in collaboration with the Norddeutscher und Flottbeker Reiterverein (NFR), the club behind the historic Derby. Reflecting on the significance of bringing the PJL to Hamburg, Schafhof Connects CEO Matthias A. Rath said:
“Having the PJL come to Hamburg feels like a natural fit. The PJL, the NFR and Schafhof Connects are working together to bring the event to Derby Park. The park has deep roots in German equestrian tradition. It is shaped by the memories generations of riders and fans have made here. We want to build on that history and welcome both long-time Derby fans and people discovering showjumping for the first time.”
Register early interest in the PJL’s 2027 Hamburg event here. About the Premier Jumping League (PJL)
The PJL is a groundbreaking global 16-team competition defining a new era for showjumping.
Backed by McCourt Global and its Executive Chairman Frank McCourt, and shaped by leaders from equestrian sport, international competition, and entertainment, the PJL brings together the world’s top riders and horses to compete for the biggest prize pot in the discipline’s history ($300 million in guaranteed prize money across the first three seasons), across nine iconic venues in North America, Europe, and the Middle East.
Designed to open the sport to new audiences whilst respecting its heritage, the PJL combines extraordinary athletic performance with premium entertainment, strengthened by the League’s partnership with Box to Box Films (the production company behind F1’s ‘Drive to Survive’), and supported by a free-to-view broadcasting model.
Cutting-edge technology, radical transparency, and modern team formats enhance the drama, intensity, and rivalry that define elite sport – unlocking the full potential of jumping, demanded by today’s global sports and entertainment marketplace, without compromising its core values.
