On Friday 13 November 2015, Longines had the honor to present the Longines Rising Star Award to an outstanding young equestrian athlete. This year, the award was presented to British show jumping rider Jessica Mendoza by Juan-Carlos Capelli, Vice-President of Longines and Head of International Marketing. He also awarded her an elegant Longines watch from the new Longines DolceVita collection, which celebrates contemporary elegance and feminity, and is therefore a perfect match for the talented young female athlete.

The recipient of the 2015 Longines Rising Star Award Jessica Mendoza can already look back on an impressive track record at only nineteen years old. In the last twelve months alone, she has won over 10 major competitions and she recently finished second at the prestigious Longines FEI World Cup^TM Jumping in Helsinki. This summer, she also became the youngest British athlete in forty years to compete at the 2015 European Jumping Championships. Thanks to her determination and hard work, Jessica Mendoza is now competing alongside and against the world’s most successful show jumping athletes.  She is known as being focused, cool under pressure and she is a true role model in the equestrian community. 

FEI Awards 2015 winners from left to right: Longines' Vice President and Head of International Marketing Juan-Carlos Capelli, Hollywood actress Bo Derek, Reem Acra Best Athlete Boyd Exell (AUS), Longines Rising Star Jessica Mendoza (GBR), Against All Odds Oriana Ricca Marmissolle (URU), Best Groom Jose Eduardo (Eddie) Garcia Luna (USA), FEI Solidarity Anne-Rose Schoen Les Chevaux qui pansent les plaies (Horses that heal wounds) (HAI) and FEI President Ingmar de Vos.

The FEI Awards were set up in 2009 and are presented each year to individuals and organizations contributing to progress and excellence in equestrian sports – both indoor and outdoor. The Longines Rising Star Award rewards athletes between the ages of 14 and 21 who demonstrate outstanding sporting talent.  

Longines attaches great importance to supporting young athletes. The Swiss watch brand sponsors athletes through programs linked with sports and the values that the brand upholds, including  the Longines Rising Ski Stars prize offered to the best female athlete under 21 and male athlete under 23 taking part in the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup; the Longines Future Ski Champions competition for athletes under 16;, the Longines Future Tennis Aces tournament organised for children under 13 and which runs in parallel to the Roland-Garros tournament; and the Longines Future Racing Stars, which is open to young jockeys in  the Prix de Diane Longines. 

As FEI’s Top Partner, Longines is the Official Partner, Timekeeper and Watch of three Longines FEI World Cup^TM Jumping leagues: Western European, China and North American; as well as of the Longines FEI World Cup^TM Jumping Final and the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup^TM Jumping series and Final. This year, the Swiss brand was also for the first time associated with the Longines FEI European Eventing Championship as the Official Partner, Timekeeper and Watch. Alongside with the brand’s deep involvement in equestrian sports, Longines’ values of Elegance, Performance and Tradition, further strengthen the close bounds that the brand has been developing with the equestrian world for more than a century.