Bloomberg, Jobs, Springsteen and Gates Face Off in Show Jumping Competition

Miami Beach played host for the second time to the first stop on the prestigious Longines Global Champions Tour. The event set up on the sand behind the W Hotel and 1 Hotel & Homes creating a unique backdrop of sand and surf for the riders who are used to all kinds of exotic landscapes.

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and recent presidential hopeful Senator​ Marco Rubio put politics aside during a friendly exchange in the show’s VIP area to watch the riders soar over the jumps as high as 6 feet.

Last names like Jobs, Gates, Springsteen and Bloomberg were the norm amongst the riders and VIPs there to take in the competition, which ended on Saturday with the best riders competing for $500,000 in prize money. Aussi Edwina Tops-Alexander riding Lintea Tequila came in first int the Grand Prix class, winning 165,000 euros with a time of 34.59 seconds, a full second faster than the number two spot, McLain Ward from the US.

Jessica Springsteen cheered on fellow riders a few tables away and just a day after dad Bruce Springsteen laid down the law cancelling a concert in protest of the controversial ‘bathroom law’ in North Carolina.

Other high profile spectators included supermodel Elle Macpherson, dressed in all white and a chic straw hat, Ariana Rockefeller, Sir Michael Caine and rapper Iggy Azalea, who departed before a fellow Aussie, Edwina Tops-Alexander, claimed the weekend’s top honors in the prestigious Grand Prix class.

Along with other top ranked and Olympic medal winning riders, beautiful billionaire heiresses like Eve Jobs (who has back to back first in her class finishes this weekend), Jennifer Gates and Georgina Bloomberg compete throughout the day for over $1 million in prize money and international bragging rights.

Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine attended on Sunday, taking part in the prize ceremony and press conference for the new addition to the Tour, “Global Champions League” team format competition. The next stop is Mexico City, and if you can’t make it in person, you can take in the live competition here.