Paris (FRA) 14 June - 20 June 1953

Competition format

The competition consisted of four parts, as follows:

1^st qualification:

Table A against the clock.

Two athletes per National Federation with two horses each.

2^nd qualification:

Puissance with seven obstacles up to 1m60, water jump 5m.

Three jump offs with the wall going up to 1m90.

Two athletes per National Federation with one horse each

Semi-final:

Two rounds not against the clock

Only one athlete per nation selected by the National Federation. This rule proved rather controversial resulting in Piero d’Inzeo (ITA) being selected instead of his brother Raimondo, who had done better in the qualifying rounds.

Final:

Best four riders after the semi-final change of horses.

In case of a tie, a jump off would have been organised with the second horses.

Magic formula

The immediate success of the FEI Jumping World Championships was largely linked to the unique formula of the final. After three qualifying competitions, the top four athletes rode their own as well as each other’s horses in a change-of-horse final. This distinctive formula was initiated in France where it had been used for the first time in 1949 for the country’s national championships to great success.

This innovative format allowed the Jumping greats at the time, such as Italy’s d’Inzeo brothers, Pierre Jonquères d’Oriola of France, Francisco Goyoaga of Spain, along with German legends Hans Günter Winkler and Fritz Thiedemann, to ride each other’s horses to the cheers of a live audience added to its appeal. The horses themselves were stars in their own right and household names.

Not all nations at the time were in agreement with the final’s formula, however. Great Britain, whose star rider Pat Smythe was prevented for participating in the World Championship for being a woman, was firmly opposed as was Mexico, who refused to send athletes to the first edition.

And the winner is…

Francisco Goyoaga became the first FEI Jumping World Champion having completed the Final on 8 points, a mere 0.25 points ahead of Fritz Thiedemann. Pierre Jonquières d’Oriola and Piero d’Inzeo followed in third and fourth place respectively.

Goyoaga’s Quorum was the event’s best horse having gone clear with all but Thiedemann with whom he had one fence down and a 0.25 time penalty.

Goyoaga – whose full name was Francisco García Goyoaga Caamaño – rode competitively for over a quarter of a century and, at the time of his retirement in 1966, was recognised as Spain’s most successful rider of all time. He participated in three Olympic Games – Helsinki 1952, Rome 1960, and Tokyo 1964 – and in four World Championships winning medals in all of them. He competed in 64 Nations Cups and, by the end of his career, had amassed no less than 750 victories having participated in more than 3’000 competitions.