The event will mark the start of the 40th anniversary of the series, which last came to a conclusion in the French capital in 1987.

Five of the top 10 and 11 of the top 20 riders in the Longines rankings are due to line up at the Telenor Arena in Norway’s capital, where the battle for one of the 18 coveted qualifying spots in the region commences.

Currently ranked world number three, Frenchman Kevin Staut enjoyed another incredibly consistent season when topping the 2017 Western European League table.

He will be hoping to collect some useful early points on his journey to the 2018 final, which is due to take place at the AccorHotels Arena in April. 

Oslo has also attracted several other big names, including Italy’s Lorenzo de Luca, who has enjoyed an extraordinary run of form over the last 12 months.

Sweden’s Peder Fredricson, the newly-crowned European champion, is also set to compete along with London 2012 Olympic gold medallist Steve Guerdat of Switzerland and 2014 FEI World Cup Jumping champion Daniel Deusser of Germany.

Guerdat posted back-to-back World Cup wins in 2015 and 2016.

Last year, Italy’s Alberto Zorzi announced his arrival at the top end of the sport with victory in Oslo.

The 28-year-old was lying 109th in the Longines rankings at the time but managed to condemn Germany’s Marcus Ehning, a three-time World Cup champion, into the runner-up spot.

This was despite a first-to-go draw in both rounds of the competition.

Zorzi returns to Oslo this year having climbed all the way up the rankings to 13th spot.

He will bring his winning ride, Fair Light van’t Heike. 

The United States’ McLain Ward is the reigning FEI World Cup Jumping champion after triumphing in a classic finale on home ground in Omaha in April.

The 2017-2018 Western European League also features stops in Helsinki, Verona, Lyon, Stuttgart, Madrid, La Coruña, London and Mechelen before the end of 2017.

The action resumes in 2018 with the last four legs in Leipzig, Zurich, Bordeaux and then Gothenburg.