USA’s Laura Kraut and Cedric have had a very consistent Longines Global Champions Tour season topped by a Grand Prix win in Wiesbaden. Laura leads the Championship Ranking by just two points, closely followed by Germany’s Christian Ahlmann in second and Australia’s Edwina Tops Alexander in third.  

Hotly tipped as one-to-watch is Britain’s Scott Brash, with his Olympic Gold medal-winning ride Hello Sanctos, currently lying in eighth overall. Scott has been on fantastic form recently, winning the FEI Oslo World Cup Qualifier and placing in the top eight of an impressive five Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix this season.     

With horses such as London (Gerco Schroder), Cornet d’Armour (Daniel Deusser) and Plot Blue (Marcus Ehning) also in attendance, the top riders will have to be at their very best to ensure a great result in the final Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of 2013 in order to take the overall Championship win.  

The horses arrived by aeroplane over the weekend and have been acclimatising to the mild Middle Eastern weather conditions in Qatar. The final preparations for tomorrow’s opening class of the show are close to completion and the riders have been taking the opportunity to exercise their horses in the pristine arena or on the beautiful canter tracks of Al Shaqab.  

The incredible Al Shaqab stadium offers a stunning backdrop for what promises to be an electrifying Final. Watch full coverage of the event (21-23 Nov), plus all the build-up, LIVE at www.globalchampionstour.com/gct-live from tomorrow or catch up with the second round of the Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix Final on Eurosport (Saturday 10.30pm CET).