Equestrian sports are an excellent vehicle for luxury sponsorship: this is proven by the agreements signed over the years at major international events.
Starting today, the Snai San Siro Hippodrome in Milan will host the Fei Jumping European Championship, the 37th edition of the European Show Jumping Championship. This is a special event: the equestrian competition returns to Italy for the third time in history and 18 years after the last edition, which was held in San Patrignano in 2005. Italy, well represented by national champion Giampiero Garofalo, is ready to have its say in a four-day competition that will guarantee the Olympic pass to the three teams that score the highest points. The Italian rider, interviewed in today’s edition of “Il Corriere della Sera”, launched an appeal to all fans: “It will be an appointment with history, and to rewrite it we will need everyone’s energy”.
QUALITY SPONSORS. Twenty-four participating nations and fifteen teams will guarantee an important audience and a lot of visibility. The organisation, not surprisingly, will be flanked by sponsors and partners of a certain calibre. The title of the event is Enit – Agenzia Nazionale del Turismo (National Tourism Agency), which accompanies all the enthusiasts inclined to travel to sports events of this kind, and it is no coincidence that the claim of the event is ‘Italy, Open to Wonder’. In addition to ICE – Agenzia per la promozione all’estero e l’internazionalizzazione delle imprese italiane as institutional partner and Frecciarossa as main partner, there are many prestigious companies that have strongly wanted to associate their name with the event: Enel, Intesa Sanpaolo, Fastweb, Kep Italia, Renaissance, Pwc, Vargroup, UnaHotel, Sebac and others, which can be consulted on the homepage of the event’s official website (https://www.milanojumping2023.com/). The Swiss watch brand Longines will also play a leading role during the races, keeping time with the riders who will challenge each other.
RIDING AS A VEHICLE FOR LUXURY SPONSORS. Elegance, class, tradition: these are key qualities inherent to equestrian sports, which have always been attractive to high-end brands, blending perfectly with the image of exclusivity associated with luxury brands. Iconic in this sense is Rolex’s sponsorship of equestrian sports, aimed at consolidating its image in the world of luxury and excellence. The Swiss brand has become a key partner in numerous prestigious equestrian events, such as the Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping and the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event, contributing significantly to their growth and visibility. Another similar case study is the partnership between Aston Martin and the Federazione Italiana Sport Equestri, becoming the ‘Official high-performance partner’. The partnership was celebrated at the 90th edition of the CSIO di Roma Piazza di Siena, a prestigious equestrian event of which the British carmaker has become a sponsor for the next two years. Elite events, as well as the target audience they are aimed at: an ideal address for sponsorship investments by big brands.
