London International Horse Show 2026 Schedule: Time, How to Watch

Schedule: what time is the London International Horse Show 2026?

The London International Horse Show 2026 runs Thursday, Dec. 17 to Monday, Dec. 21 at ExCeL London, and its headline class, the CSI5* Turkish Airlines Grand Prix, is on Monday, Dec. 21. The FEI's approved jumping schedule (version 2, dated Oct. 27) lists it for 3:35 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. London time: 10:35 a.m. US Eastern, 9:35 a.m. in Mexico City, 10:35 a.m. in Bogotá and Lima, 12:35 p.m. in Buenos Aires and 4:35 p.m. in Madrid.

That is the published scheduled time, and it can still shift. The organiser's public timetable does not print a clock time for the class: it only says the Grand Prix closes Monday's extended afternoon performance, which runs 11:30 a.m. to 5:20 p.m. London time (6:30 a.m. to 12:20 p.m. US Eastern). No broadcast time has been announced either.

How much room is left for changes? The schedule's own note says the FEI can accept modifications until two weeks before the event, but only while entries are open; once they close on Nov. 25, it may refuse a request. For classes that count toward the Longines world rankings, which include the Grand Prix and the World Cup leg, no change is allowed after the fifth Monday before event week, a cut-off that falls in mid-November. The Puissance and the Six Bar carry no ranking points, so that stricter rule does not cover them.

This is the London International Horse Show 2026 schedule for the five-star jumping classes, in London time with US Eastern in brackets, as listed in the FEI document:

• Thursday, Dec. 17: Welcome Stakes, 11:00 a.m. (6:00 a.m. ET). Speed Stakes, 6:10 p.m. (1:10 p.m. ET). LeMieux Puissance, 8:50 p.m. (3:50 p.m. ET).
• Friday, Dec. 18: Longines Christmas Cracker, 8:20 p.m. (3:20 p.m. ET).
• Saturday, Dec. 19: Six Bar, 12:40 p.m. (7:40 a.m. ET). Champagne Taittinger Mistletoe Stakes, 2:50 p.m. (9:50 a.m. ET). Reindeer Speed Stakes, 8:35 p.m. (3:35 p.m. ET).
• Sunday, Dec. 20: Longines FEI Jumping World Cup leg, 2:35 p.m. (9:35 a.m. ET). Musto Christmas Stakes, 8:30 p.m. (3:30 p.m. ET).
• Monday, Dec. 21: Turkish Airlines Grand Prix, 3:35 p.m. (10:35 a.m. ET).

London is five hours ahead of US Eastern in December. Pacific viewers subtract another three hours, so the Grand Prix's scheduled time is 7:35 a.m. PT. Mexico City is six hours behind London, Bogotá and Lima five, Buenos Aires three, and Madrid is one hour ahead.

On that basis Sunday's World Cup leg (2:35 p.m. London in the FEI schedule) would be 8:35 a.m. in Mexico City, 9:35 a.m. in Bogotá and Lima, 11:35 a.m. in Buenos Aires and 3:35 p.m. in Madrid. Thursday's Puissance (8:50 p.m. London) would be 2:50 p.m. in Mexico City and 5:50 p.m. in Buenos Aires.

Performance times at ExCeL

The organiser's timetable gives start and end times for each ticketed performance in the International Arena, all London time:

• Thursday: afternoon 10:50 a.m. to 4:20 p.m.; evening 6:00 p.m. to 9:55 p.m.
• Friday: afternoon 11:50 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.; evening 5:40 p.m. to 10:05 p.m.
• Saturday: afternoon 12:30 p.m. to 4:35 p.m.; evening 6:00 p.m. to 9:55 p.m.
• Sunday: afternoon 12:10 p.m. to 4:40 p.m.; evening 5:45 p.m. to 9:50 p.m.
• Monday: one extended afternoon performance, 11:30 a.m. to 5:20 p.m.

The second ring, The Thomas Family London Arena, opens at 8:00 a.m. each day and the shopping village at 9:00 a.m. The first International Arena class of the week is the 148cm Mini Stakes at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday.

How to watch the London International Horse Show 2026

The show's own broadcast page names three outlets. What it does not give yet is a channel-by-channel timetable for 2026, prices or regional restrictions, so check each service in show week.

• ClipMyHorse.TV: the page promises full coverage of the three FEI World Cups (jumping, dressage and driving) plus every class and masterclass in the second ring, The Thomas Family London Arena. This is the likeliest option for viewers in the US and Latin America, but check that it is offered in your country.
• BBC (UK): the page says many classes will be shown this year on BBC Two or BBC online. The BBC's services are generally for viewers in the United Kingdom.
• FEI TV: listed as a subscription service for the World Cup classes in all three disciplines.

For reference only: the show's 2025 broadcast announcement had the Jumping World Cup live on BBC Two and the Puissance, the dressage freestyle and the Grand Prix on BBC iPlayer. That was last year's plan, not a confirmed one for 2026.

Results have run through Longines Timing, which the show links from its site.

Who is riding: the field so far

The jumping field is not final yet. Entries for the CSI5*-W close on Nov. 25 and no complete entry list has been published, so treat any list of names you see before then as incomplete.

What the FEI schedule does tell us is how the field is built. There are 38 places, each rider may bring three horses (plus a fourth for the Puissance or the Six Bar), and invitations follow the World Cup rules: the top ten Western European riders on the Longines Rankings, then riders from nations hosting World Cup legs, from larger Western European countries (the schedule sets a threshold of 3.5 million inhabitants) and from the three nations with the most points, plus five extra home riders and five wild cards, one of which belongs to the FEI. The organiser may also invite extra riders for the Puissance and the Six Bar only.

The class with a full published line-up is the new London International Eventing Challenge, on Friday evening, Dec. 18. British Eventing published thirteen confirmed entrants:

• Great Britain: Tom McEwen, Ros Canter, Gemma Stevens, Alex Bragg, Zara Tindall and show jumper Matt Sampson
• Rest of the world: Alex Hua Tian (China), Gaspard Maksud (France), Hallie Coon (USA), Aoife Clark (Ireland), Jesse Campbell (New Zealand), Sofia Sjöborg (Sweden) and Giovanni Ugolotti (Italy)

It is arena eventing: a three-star track mixing show jumps and cross-country fences, designed by Adrian Ditcham and run across the International Arena and part of the collecting ring. If the sport is new to you, start with what eventing is.

What to watch for

Three World Cups in one building

London is the rare show that hosts FEI World Cup competition in jumping, dressage and driving in the same week.

• Dressage: the World Cup Grand Prix is in Thursday's afternoon performance and the Freestyle to Music in Friday's afternoon performance. Our Dressage World Cup guide explains how the series works.
• Jumping: Sunday's World Cup leg is the richest class of the week at €200,000, over fences up to 1.60 m. It counts toward the Western European League; see our Jumping World Cup 2026/27 guide.
• Driving: four-in-hand teams run the opening competition on Sunday evening and the final round on Monday afternoon, just before the Grand Prix.

The Puissance and the Six Bar

Thursday night's Puissance is the high-jump contest. Under FEI rules the first round has four to six single fences, the biggest of them a wall or vertical of up to 1.80 m, the height the FEI schedule lists. Riders tied for first then jump off over just two fences, a spread and the wall or vertical, which go up round by round.

Saturday's Six Bar is its cousin: six verticals in a straight line, raised for each jump-off. The schedule lists it at 1.70 m, and the rules allow as few as four fences in a small arena or after the first jump-off.

Both are easy for a first-time viewer to follow, and there is no clock. Riders tied for the lead come back for another round and the rest drop out. A knockdown usually ends your night, but not always: if nobody jumps clear, those level on faults go again, and the wall or verticals are not raised for that round.

The Grand Prix itself

Monday's Grand Prix carries €110,000 and is jumped at 1.60 m, the standard height for a five-star Grand Prix. Total prize money across the ten five-star jumping classes is €597,900.

The ring is small by five-star standards: 33 by 76 metres on a sand and fibre surface. Tight indoor arenas reward quick, careful horses and riders who can turn inside a fence without losing rhythm. Portugal's Bernardo Costa Cabral is the course designer.

The family acts

The timetable puts the Shetland Pony Grand National, a display and Royal Kennel Club dog agility in every afternoon and evening performance. Sunday afternoon has the 128cm Pony Championship and Monday's performance opens with the Pony Club Mini-Major, which pairs young riders with professionals; The Pony Club has already named its eight qualifiers.

Why people still call it Olympia

For decades this show was held at Olympia London, in west London, and "Olympia" became its everyday name. It moved to ExCeL London, in the Royal Docks, in 2021 and has stayed there.

The official name is the London International Horse Show. If you search for the Olympia Horse Show, this is the event you are looking for.

Going in person: tickets and travel

Tickets are sold by session through See Tickets, linked from londonhorseshow.com. As of Nov. 12, the show's site lists all-day Show Entry from £37.95 and grandstand seats from £41.95 per performance, with prices varying by day.

• Children aged 3 and under are free on a lap; from age 4 every child needs a ticket and a seat.
• Concessions for under-16s, over-65s, students and disabled visitors apply on selected performances.
• The nearest stations are Custom House (Elizabeth line) and Prince Regent (DLR). London City Airport is the closest airport.
• Visitors who do not need a visa may still need a UK Electronic Travel Authorisation; check GOV.UK before you book flights.

What to do next

1. Put Monday, Dec. 21 in your calendar. If you add the FEI schedule's 10:35 a.m. ET, mark it "subject to change."
2. Decide how you will watch and check that the service works in your country before show week.
3. Look again after Nov. 25, when jumping entries close and the full list of names takes shape.
4. Re-check the times in show week, once the organiser publishes class-by-class times and broadcast details.

We will update this page as the entries, the broadcast times and then the results come in. More show guides are in Trends, and the basics of each sport are in Disciplines.