LGCT leader Pieter Devos of Belgium will aim to continue his good form in Shanghai ©Getty Images

Longines Global Champions Tour (LGCT) leader Pieter Devos of Belgium will aim to continue his good form on the fourth stop of the season in Shanghai. 

Devos tops the leaderboard with 88.00 points after his victory in Miami Beach last month.

He will be challenged by Belgium's Daniel Deusser, who is second with 83.00.

Harrie Smolders of the Netherlands, third on 72.00, will try to close the gap. 

The fourth stage of the Global Champions League will also be taking place, having been won by the fittingly-named Miami Celtics at Miami Beach.

Around 50 riders and more than 93 horses will compete over the weekend at a temporary venue in front of China Art Museum. 

The fourth stop of the LGCT is taking place at a temporary venue in front of Shanghai's China Art Museum ©LGCT
The fourth stop of the LGCT is taking place at a temporary venue in front of Shanghai's China Art Museum ©LGCT

The designs for the proposed permanent venue, Shanghai Juss International Equestrian Centre, were unveiled at the Sino-Europe equine industry exchange seminar before the LGCT event. 

It would be China's first permanent professional equestrian competition venue. 

"To have a permanent venue is an important step in our goal of making LGCT a permanent event for Shanghai," said LGCT sport director Marco Danese, as reported by Shanghai Daily.

"When the event first came to Shanghai six years ago, China didn't seem that interested in the sport. 

"Now the new venue shows a big change in attitude and we hope to help grow not only the sport, but the equestrian industry in China, too."