Tag Archives: FEI Jumping Nations Cup

*Featured/Spotlights, Competitions, FEI, Show Jumping

British Are Best on Opening Day

Robert Whitaker and Vermento. (FEI/Liz Gregg)

Team Great Britain got off to a flying start when topping the first round of the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ Final 2023 at the Real Club de Polo in Barcelona, Spain with the only zero scoreline of the afternoon.

Foot-perfect runs from pathfinder Tim Gredley (Medoc de Toxandria), Robert Whitaker (Vermento), and anchorman Harry Charles (Aralyn Blue) meant that the 12 faults collected by Lily Attwood (Cor-Leon VD Vlierbeek Z) would be their discard. They finished a full fence ahead of Brazil, Germany, and Switzerland, who filled second, third, and fourth places with four faults apiece and separated only by their combined times.

The top eight nations have qualified for Sunday’s title-decider in which they will all start again on a clean sheet, and the remaining countries that have made the cut are the defending champions from Belgium and Team USA, who each posted eight-fault results, and Ireland and France who finished with 12.

Team Mexico just missed out when also putting 12 on the board but in a slower time, and on Saturday night they will once again defend the Challenge Cup trophy they won so memorably 12 months ago.

Meanwhile, the battle for the single qualifying spot on offer for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games has been whittled down to a two-way contest between Brazil and the USA, because the other contenders from Mexico, Argentina, Italy, and Australia didn’t make it to Sunday’s second round, which already looks set to be another cracking contest.

Think about

Spanish course designer Santiago Varela gave them lots to think about with a 14-fence track with plenty of height and curving lines that tested power and accuracy. The vertical with a yellow plank on top at fence nine and the penultimate double of verticals were the bogeys of the day.

Harry Charles clinched top spot for the British with a superb clear with the 12-year-old mare Aralyn Blue. Talking about the challenges of the course, he said fence nine, which followed the beefy Longines triple combination, “was on an unusual line and angle; you were coming straight out of the corner. You could see at the start of the class the horses weren’t jumping it well. I just made sure to give myself a bit more room there.

“Coming to the double of verticals (fence 13) it was either five or six (strides) and on the six you take away a bit of the power, slowing down so much to jump it. For me it was a waiting five and my mare was able to have a bit of room and kept the power, so not too many problems there for me,” he explained.

Like all the British, he was delighted with the result. “I’m really proud of us today actually!” he said. “My horse is pretty new at this level; she’s only done one Nations Cup prior to this, and it was a tough enough course, not overly big but delicate with some fun lines in there! The other guys did a good job; there were two clears already (for the British team) so I luckily could go in and do the clear.”

When asked if he felt under pressure, he replied, “Today probably wasn’t the most pressure I’ve ridden under, but we wanted to be in there on Sunday, so there was that to it.” He admitted that the result for his team was a bit of a surprise. “Probably an unexpected result if you told us at the start of the day, but we’ll take it and hopefully we can do something similar on Sunday!

“We will go back to a blank slate unfortunately (in Sunday’s final round), it would be nice if we carried it through, but it’s been really good and hopefully we will be in good enough nick for Sunday,” he added.

Anticipation

There’s a lot of anticipation of a great final day. The Swiss have never won the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ title, but their fourth-place finish gives them another opportunity to clinch it. However, it hasn’t been plain sailing ahead of this year’s event.

“We’ve always been a bit unlucky with this Final, and this year the horse from Edouard is injured and Bryan (Balsiger) lost his horses and the horse of Pius (Schwizer) was injured, so we don’t have our ‘A’ team. But still our horses jumped good today and we’ll see if Elian (Baumann) goes on Sunday. We won’t be the favourites on Sunday, but we’ll try!” said Steve Guerdat who, just a few short weeks ago, added the individual European title to the Olympic gold he won back in 2012.

“We’ve had a very good year and it would be a great way to finish, and for the horses to finish as well. My horse (Venard de Cerisy) didn’t have a rail down in the whole Nations Cup season – St Gallen double-clear, Aachen double-clear, Dublin double-clear, and now clear today, so I hope I can do a clear again! We are here, we will try, the sport is great, and we are looking forward to Sunday now!” said the man who sits third in the current world rankings.

Focus

In contrast, the focus for Brazil is fully on that Olympic qualification and the battle against the USA. Pathfinder Marlon Modolo Zanotell and Grand Slam VDL produced a perfect clear and team veteran, Rodrigo Pessoa, did likewise. Pessoa has won Olympic and World titles and is as hungry as ever to help take his country to Paris next summer. His top ride, the 10-year-old gelding Major Tom, made nothing of the course.

“It’s a freak of a horse – the intelligence, the ability to jump, the whole package. He’s very straightforward and has a lot of blood, a lot of temperament, but at the end he wants to jump clear; that’s all he wants to do,” Pessoa said.

When asked about the recent addition of former Portuguese rider Diniz to the Brazilian side, he said she is a real asset. “Yes, she’s super-experienced and her horse is really good and it’s always good to have one more – the more soldiers the better!”

As for Sunday, “It’s just about us, the USA!” he said. “They are a big nation with a very strong team as well. Today was just a warm-up and we have to go again. I think it went well today; the two mistakes that we had (a fence down each for Stephan de Freitas Barcha and Chevaux Primavera Imperio Egipcio and Luciana Diniz with Vertigo du Desert) were silly mistakes that I think we can get rid of, but better to do those little ones today than on Sunday!”

Results here.

by Louise Parkes

press@fei.org
www.fei.org

Competitions, FEI, Show Jumping

Dutch Deliver Another Magnificent Victory in Barcelona

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The Dutch team in celebration mood after their superb victory. (FEI/Lukasz Kowalski)

For the third time since the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ Final was staged back in 2013, The Netherlands reigned supreme at the Real Club de Polo in Barcelona, Spain. With the stoicism and quiet determination that has long been their trademark, the side of Maikel van Vleuten, Willem Greve, Sanne Thijssen, and Harrie Smolders held firm to take the coveted title that never loses its sparkle.

It was Smolders who clinched it with his anchorman ride, and it was a close-fought affair. Team Ireland finished a very close second when counting just a single time penalty at the end of the day, while the next two nations – Belgium and Sweden – only put four faults on the board.

“Horses generally jumped this course well today and you could see how close the teams were, and that makes our sport exciting,” Smolders said. When asked if he was confident he could clinch it with a faultless run from his 12-year-old gelding Monaco when last to go, he replied, “You have to be confident; that’s why they put you in that position, but then you have to finish the job and when you do, that’s how dreams come true!”

Slipped away

At the halfway stage of the competition, Sweden and The Netherlands were the only two sides without penalties, but when Angelie von Essen (Alcapone des Carmille) hit the middle element of the penultimate triple combination, and Rolf-Goran Bengstsson (Ermindo W) also faulted twice at the same obstacle, then Swedish chances slipped away.

When third-line Dutch team member, Sanne Thijssen, hit the middle element of that influential treble, then the pressure piled onto Smolders’ shoulders. Because the Irish were carrying just the single time fault collected by Eoin McMahon and Chacon 2, clears from pathfinder Denis Lynch (Cristello) and a brilliant last-line performance from Darragh Kenny (VDL Cartello) allowed Michael Duffy’s two mistakes with Zilton SL Z to be their discard.

Smolders didn’t flinch, however, taking the pressure and delivering the winning round when it was really needed. He put the Dutch team ethic into perspective when he said, “We all work hard, we stay patient, and we keep believing.”

The Irish looked really threatening in the closing stages. Kenny knew he needed a clear to keep them in the frame and, once again, he delivered. “On Friday my horse was fantastic and today he just got better and better as the round went on – he was flying! The team really pulled together and the lads rode fantastic. It was a great result, but the Dutch were brilliant!” the Irishman said. No-one could argue with that.

Took nothing

Van der Vleuten and Beauville Z claimed individual bronze at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and the Dutchman said that it took nothing out of the horse. “I was looking forward to this event in Barcelona and our Chef d’Equipe chose me as first rider for the team, so it was important to have a clear round, to give a good feeling to start the day.” Having done that, he then watched team-mate Greve do the same with Carambole. Talking about Greve’s great stallion, Van der Vleuten said, “If he was a person, he’d be a really nice one!”

Greve was over the moon about how his horse performed. “Being part of any winning team is always good, but for me this is very special because I have my horse a very long time, since he was four.

“I wish he could do the press conference because it’s not about me; it’s about the horse. I owe everything to him. I’ve had him since he was four and now he’s 17 years old and still jumping his heart out for me every time. For me, it’s very emotional that he shows in these days that he’s still one of the best horses in the sport, and he deserves a victory like this in the closing days of his career. I’m so proud of him,” he said, filled with emotion.

Delighted

Dutch Chef d’Equipe, Rob Ehrens, was delighted with this result after a sometimes difficult period for his team. “We had a bit of a struggle the whole year. We had good performances but still not everything came out the way we wished. But I must give big compliments to all our riders; we all fight together; we don’t have big names who, when they are winning, go in a completely different direction. It comes down to these five people for the perfect management of their horses, who want to everything for their country and who showed us today a marvelous performance.  That’s one of the strong pillars of the Dutch team,” he said.

“The only thing is we’d like to go back to the old formula, because we want to have it back on the Saturday evening because we want to celebrate, but now we have to go home!” he added with a laugh.

This year’s Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ Final had an extra buzz, because as Ehrens pointed out, everyone is so grateful that at last the sport is back and everyone is enjoying it again.

“Thanks to the organisers and the team in the arena. It’s a very easy thing to say we can’t do it because of the Covid problems, but everyone is very happy here and a big compliment to them all!” he said.

Champony

Before the action began, the crowd also got to meet Champony, the FEI’s new mascot which had the honour of ringing the bell for the first rider into the ring, Belgium’s Nicola Philippaerts. And the children loved it. The Barcelona Final always attracts families to this event that has real festival appeal along with its offering of top sport, and Champony, gender-neutral because it represents a sport in which men and women compete on completely equal terms, really came to life.

Meanwhile, winning team member Willem Greve put this result, and the concept of the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ series and Final, into perspective. “For me as a sportsman, nothing beats winning with your nation in a Nations Cup!”

Result here.

by Louise Parkes

Media contact:

Shannon Gibbons
Manager, Media Relations & Media Operations
shannon.gibbons@fei.org
+41 78 750 61 46

Competitions, FEI, Show Jumping

Brilliant British Young Guns Clinch Challenge Cup

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(L to R) Jack Whitaker, Harry Charles, Emily Moffitt, Chef d’Equipe Di Lampard, John Whitaker, and Holly Smith. (FEI/Lukasz Kowalski)

It was a night for the next generation at the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ Final 2021 at the Real Club de Polo in Barcelona, Spain when a team filled with fresh young faces claimed the Challenge Cup trophy for Great Britain.

Clear rounds from 22-year-old Harry Charles riding Romeo 88 and 23-year-old Emily Moffitt partnering Winning Good anchored the British scoreline. The four faults picked up by team pathfinders, 32-year-old Holly Smith and Denver, was all they had to count when posting a convincing victory without having to call on anchorman and longtime legend John Whitaker and Unick du Francport.

In the first round, things didn’t go Britain’s way, so they found themselves in the five-way battle between Division 1 teams when both Canada and Uzbekistan withdrew. It was a night filled with nervous tension, because one of those five nations would be relegated to the EEF Nations Cup series in 2022 when finishing last.

In a bizarre turnaround, the newly crowned European champions from Switzerland were amongst those battling to stay in the top league, and they were really feeling the pressure when they had to start with just a three-man side after Bryan Balsiger’s TwentyTwo des Bisches was unfit to compete. The electricity in the air in the closing stages was immense, but it was Team Italy who found themselves in the relegation spot when they put 43 faults on the board. Their place in Division 1 will be taken by the Czech Republic when the 2022 season gets underway.

France finished second with a finally tally of 10 faults, Norway finished third with 21, and the Swiss slotted into fourth with an uncharacteristic 25.

Looked set

The French were first to go, and with just single time faults from Penelope Leprevost (GFE Excalibur de la Tour Vidal) and Marc Dilasser (Arioto de Gevres), they looked set to discard the eight collected by Gregory Cottard (Bibici) when Mathieu Billot and Quel Filou set off as their last partnership. But the 15-year-old gelding was clearly not on form when putting in a stop, and when the pair retired then that handed it to the British.

The Swiss had to count all three of their results, with eight from Steve Guerdat (Victorio des Frotards), nine from Edwin Smits (Farezzo) and eight more from Martin Fuchs and Chaplin making up their unusually large scoreline. Fuchs and Guerdat were both on that gold medal winning European team in Reisenbeck, Germany just four weeks ago, but on different horses. Guerdat said that it was “a strange week for us here. I don’t want to say I was very confident, but you don’t expect us all to be that bad two days in a row. It was hard watching at the end,” he admitted.

But if it was a tough day for the reigning European champions, it was an even tougher one for Team Italy for whom nothing seemed to go right, with three fences down for Piergiorgio Bucci (Naiade d’Elsendam Z), 14 faults from Fabio Brotto 9Vanita Delle Roane), 17 from Antonio Garofalo (Conquestador), and retirement for Riccardo Pisani (Chaclot).

The British were at the other end of the spectrum, making it all look pretty easy, and John Whitaker, who at 66 has a lifetime of glory already behind him, joked about not having to compete when the rest of his side did all the hard work and left him on the sidelines.

Unbelievable job

“The three young ones really did an unbelievable job today. Yesterday didn’t really go to plan, but we were still fighting today – or at least they were fighting and they pulled it off in style!” said the man who first competed in Barcelona back in 1984.

His nephew Jack Whitaker, who turns 20 next week, was fifth man for the British side and there is a real sense of Team Great Britain rebuilding itself at last after a long period in the doldrums. As Holly Smith pointed out, “We haven’t been having the best time of it, but I think I speak for everybody: we are all so connected, and things will change and this is the start of it!”

Moffitt confirmed the sense of a new beginning too. “When we came here, we knew it was a case of sink or swim, but we swam so I’m happy with that!”

Talking about her 12-year-old gelding Winning Good, she said she was very disappointed when picking up five faults when Britain finished tenth of the 15 competing nations. “We know we are capable of a double-clear, but we are not robots and things can happen, and I was really happy that we were back to doing what we do best today – and my horse is the love of my life. Everything about him is amazing and he just wants to do it. He loves it so much!” she said.

Harry Charles has been really developing into a top-class rider over the last year, and his faultless rounds earned him a handsome €50,000 bonus which he admitted was very nice indeed. This was a watershed moment in his career for a number of reasons.

“I was under a bit of pressure as third rider today, but John was right behind us ready to go.

“Jack’s been my best friend for many years, so it’s been great to be on a team with him, and to ride with John on a team was one of my bucket list things – it’s such a great team to be part of!” he said.

Prizegiving

His father Peter Charles, former individual European champion and Olympic team gold medallist at London 2012, proudly pinned the Longines sash to his son’s jacket before the prizegiving ceremony. It was a huge moment for them both.

“My dad is my trainer and he’s been brilliant all my life. He kind of stopped his own career to help us, but he says he gets no bigger joy than watching us compete, so he really is the backbone of it all!” Harry said.

“I’ve been at this 5-Star level a couple of years, and I’ve got more consistent and have the horsepower now, so it’s starting to come through more than it previously did, and I’m getting more confident in the ring this summer as well. It’s all coming together really nicely, and I couldn’t be more excited for the future!” he continued.

He said getting the ride on Ann Thompson’s Romeo last year has turned everything around for him. “He’s the best horse I’ve ever had and he’s really taken me to a new level – in terms of experience, building up to a major championship, going to the Olympics as my first Championship, being around the other riders like Scott (Brash) and Ben (Maher). This Final is kind of like a mini-Championship here, coming on the back of Tokyo. I’ve learned a lot and it’s been a helluva year!” he added.

Proud

British Chef d’Equipe Di Lampard said she was really proud of her young side. “When they needed to, they stepped up to the plate in style, all of them, and with John in the wings – he obviously didn’t touch a fence tonight,” she pointed out with a laugh.

“It’s been progression, a new generation coming through; they’ve been consistent all year and it’s been a big learning year for them. Hopefully, we can look forward to big things next year,” she said. She had great praise for the exceptional skill of course designer Santiago Varela, who also built the tracks at this summer’s Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

She said to him, “We appreciate your courses; they’re so educational; they get the riders really thinking and they’re really kind to our horses too. We love meeting up with you Santi; you really do a great job!

“It’s always been on my bucket list to have a win here, so we’ve started with the Challenge Cup and hopefully we can come back and do more next year. On behalf of all the riders I’d like to thank Daniel (Daniel Giro, Show Director) for organising this wonderful event!” she added.

Results here.

by Louise Parkes

Media contact:

Shannon Gibbons
Manager, Media Relations & Media Operations
shannon.gibbons@fei.org
+41 78 750 61 46

*Featured/Spotlights, Competitions, FEI, Show Jumping

Germans Show Their Strength in Thrilling Opening Round

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Daniel Deusser with Killer Queen VDM. (FEI/Łukasz Kowalski)

Team Germany strolled nonchalantly into Sunday’s deciding round of the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ Final 2021, when heading the leaderboard after the first round at the Real Club de Polo in Barcelona, Spain.

But for the newly crowned European champions from Switzerland, it was an entirely different experience when they finished 12th of the 15 competing nations, missing the cut into the top eight who will battle it out for the title on Sunday afternoon.

Instead, they’ll go into the Challenge Cup in which they won’t just be hoping to restore their supremacy. They will also need to ensure they finish ahead of Norway, Great Britain, Italy, and France, because one of those five countries will be relegated to the EEF series in 2022 when finishing last of the Division 1 teams at this year’s Final.

Powerhouse

With two of the greatest combinations in the sport right now in the German side – world number one Daniel Deusser with Killer Queen VDM and Andrew Thieme and DSP Chakaria, who recently claimed the individual European title – they were always a powerhouse, but few would have expected the host nation of Spain to be their closest challengers. Germany collected just two time penalties for the win, but Spain accumulated just three to finish second ahead of The Netherlands in third place with four, while Brazil slotted into fourth place with five faults.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic champions from Sweden racked up nine faults for fifth, while both the defending Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ champions from Ireland and Team USA collected 10 faults each, the Irish combined times giving them the advantage when they were almost four seconds faster. The eighth and last qualifying spot went to Belgium who shared a score of 12 penalties with Norway, but who were considerably quicker.

When the second Final competition kicks off, Germany, Spain, The Netherlands, Brazil, Sweden, Ireland, USA, and Belgium will all begin again on a zero score.

Masterminded

Longtime Barcelona course designer, Spain’s Santiago Varela, who also masterminded the tracks at this summer’s Tokyo Olympic Games, set them a test that Switzerland’s Bryan Balsiger described as “nice at the beginning but more technical at the end and the time is tight,” after posting a four-fault result with TwentyTwo des Bisches. He said the mood in the Swiss camp after their European victory in Riesenbeck, Germany four weeks ago was good. “We are friends and we worked together for the gold medal, but today is another show and another round and we need to fight to the end to get to the Final on Sunday.” However, that didn’t happen when his side racked up 19 faults.

The 80 seconds time-allowed proved difficult to get, and there were only seven clear rounds from 58 starters. The open water at fence five proved influential, as did the final line of fences from the massive triple bar at 11 to the double of verticals at 12 and the final oxer at 13.

Some made it look easy, however, and one of those was German pathfinder Deusser, and when team-mate Thieme collected just a single time fault, they looked very comfortable indeed. But David Will and C Vier 2 picked up nine faults so Christian Ahlmann needed to tidy things up when last to go for the German side with Clintrexo Z, cruising home to add just one more time fault for the winning score.

Impressive

Meanwhile, the Spanish were really impressive in front of their home crowd, Manuel Fernandez Saro providing the discard score when Jarlin de Torres put a foot in the water, but the remaining three – Ismael Garcis Roque (La Costa), Eduardo Alvarez Aznar (Legend), and Sergio Alvarez Moya (Alamo) – all only picked up a single time-fault each. Alvarez Moya’s Alamo is still only 13 but has a remarkable record, winning the FEI Jumping World Cup™ title for Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat in 2019 and always consistent.

Talking about the horse, Moya said, “Everybody loves him; he’s a great horse, a great competitor; he’s easy at home and a beautiful horse. He’s owned by me and Sergio Ramos, the best defender in the history of soccer who used to play for Real Madrid and who now plays with Paris Saint-Germain. He’s the player with the most games for the national team and a great guy too!” the Spanish rider said proudly.

Tokyo 2020 Olympic individual bronze medallists Mikael van der Vlueten and Beauville Z kicked off with a clear round for The Netherlands, and when Sanne Thijssen followed suit with Con Quidam RB, then the Dutch only had to count one of the four-fault results from Willem Greve (Carambole) and Harrie Smolders (Monaco) to qualify comfortably for Sunday.

Thijssen’s star has been rising rapidly this year, with sensational results from the 22-year-old athlete and her 15-year-old stallion. The pair had a successful run at Young Rider level together and she said she was selected for this prestigious Final because “my horse is in unbelievable form and he kept jumping clear and clear! He won the Grand Prix at Rotterdam and then at Oppglabeek and was second in the Grand Prix at Valkenswaard and he improved every time. I think we are a good combination together,” she said modestly.

And she’s an independent young lady. When asked if her father and former Dutch team rider Leon Thijssen is her trainer, she replied, “No, he likes to let me do my own thing and I always did from the beginning. I learn a little bit from everyone, but I don’t have one specific person that trains me and I like it that way!” she said.

Feeling the strain

As defending champions, the Irish were feeling the strain when pathfinder Denis Lynch was eliminated. But Darragh Kenny, the only member of their winning team from 2019 competing again this time around, saved their day with a brilliant anchorman clear from VDL Cartello, when Michael Duffy (Zilton SL Z) and similarly named Michael G Duffy (Lapuccino 2) put five faults each on the board.

Kenny felt the heat going into the ring. “I knew that I had to be clear if we were going to try to be in the next round, but the horse was already jumping fantastic in the warm-up, and I knew I just had to ride him well and he’d go the best he could. I was really happy with the way he jumped. We were a little unlucky with what happened with Denis, and the other two boys were great, and we just have to pray we qualify now,” he said. As it happened, they did.

He described Ireland’s Olympic effort this summer as “disappointing for all of us; we did our best going there and we had the best team we could, but it just didn’t work out and now we’re just trying to put it all back together again,” he explained. That makes this result in Barcelona all the more critical.

“Staying in Division 1 is very important for us. It’s important for our owners and horses and for us as riders, and for younger Irish riders to get the chance to get to bigger Nations Cup shows – it’s all very important for all of us,” he insisted.

That’s part of what makes the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ so appealing to every nation, and the decision about which country is relegated for 2022 will be made during the Challenge Cup.

Results here.

by Louise Parkes

Media contact:

Shannon Gibbons
Manager, Media Relations & Media Operations
shannon.gibbons@fei.org
+41 78 750 61 46

*Featured/Spotlights, FEI, Show Jumping

Bubbling with Excitement ahead of Barcelona Final

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Andre Thieme and DSP Chakaria. (FEI/Christophe Taniere)

The Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ Final 2021 promises to bring an incredible year of team Jumping to a close this week at the Real Club de Polo in Barcelona, Spain.

Against all the odds in these Covid times, there has been spectacular team sport throughout the summer months, beginning with four thrilling legs of the Division 1 series in which Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, and The Netherlands all tasted success.

Then it was on to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games where Sweden pipped Team USA in a nail-biting showdown that went right down to the wire. And that was followed, just four short weeks ago, by the Longines FEI Jumping European Championships in Riesenbeck, German where Switzerland snatched team gold ahead of the hosts.

Barcelona presents the opportunity for some scores to be settled, and the horse/athlete combinations listed in the line-up of the 15 competing nations for the event which kicks off this Friday 1 October, and which runs through to Sunday 3 October, suggests it’s going to be yet another mighty battle at this much-anticipated season-closer.

Once the draw for order-of-go takes place on Thursday (30 September) the stage will be set for this annual clash of the giants of the sport.

Defending champions

Team Ireland arrive as defending champions, but it is two years since they stood on the top step of the podium and also claimed the last remaining qualifying sport for the Tokyo Games.

Darragh Kenny, ranked 12th in the world, is the only member of that 2019 winning side to line out again this year, and he will be joined by Denis Lynch and Michael G Duffy along with his near-namesake Michael Duffy and Eoin McMahon who were in the Irish side at Riesenbeck.

The full list of teams is Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Great Britain, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, USA, and Uzbekistan.

All ten from Division 1 (BEL, FRA, GBR, GER, IRL, ITA, NED, NOR, SWE, SUI) have automatically qualified for the Final this year, but relegation to the EEF series in 2022 is still on the cards for the tenth-placed nation from this group next Sunday, so that piles on extra pressure.

Canada and USA represent North/Central America, and Uzbekistan have earned their slot as clear winners of the 2021 Eurasian League.

Extraordinary form

The Belgian team includes world number 8, Jerome Guery, who has been showing extraordinary form with Quel de Hus this year, and Gregory Wathelet who finished individually ninth in Tokyo with Nevados S.

Harry Charles, Emily Moffitt, Holly Smith, Jack Whitaker, and his uncle, the legendary John Whitaker, will fly the British flag during the week, while Team France are likely to come out with all guns blazing. They had gold in their sights in Tokyo, but it fell apart in the closing stages, so Matthieu Billot, Frederic Cottard, Marc Dilasser, Penelope Leprevost, and Olivier Robert will be on a mission to put that to rights.

Maikel van der Vleuten, who took individual Olympic bronze in August with Beauville Z, will headline the Dutch selection, while America’s Laura Kraut and Baloutinue, who were so impressive in Tokyo, will also be ones to watch.

The Swedes look really strong, with two of their three Olympic gold medallists – Malin Baryard-Johhnsson and Henrik von Eckermann, who also finished fourth individually – in action again alongside Angelica Augustsson Zanotelli, Rolf-Goran Bengtsson, and Angelie von Essen.

Biggest battle

Possibly the biggest battle will be waged between the Germans and Swiss.

The hosts of the FEI Jumping European Championships had plenty to celebrate when Andre Thieme clinched the individual title with the fabulous mare DSP Chakaria on the final day. But Steve Guerdat, Martin Fuchs, Bryan Balsiger, and Elian Baumann pinned Germany into silver medal spot in the team competition and there was some banter going on between the two sides during that week.

Switzerland fields the same four athletes this week along with Edwin Smits, but Germany sends out world number one Daniel Deusser together with Thieme, David Will, Christian Ahlmann, and Kendra Claricia Brinkop and they’ll be keen to turn the tables and lift the coveted Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ 2021 trophy.

All teams, consisting of four horse/athlete combinations, will line out in the first round of the Final on Friday night, and those who place ninth and above will go through to Saturday’s Challenge Cup, while the top eight teams will qualify for Sunday’s title-deciding final competition which will begin at 15.00 local time.

Website here

by Louise Parkes

Media contact:

Shannon Gibbons
Manager, Media Relations & Media Operations
shannon.gibbons@fei.org
+41 78 750 61 46