Germany tops the first FEI Eventing Nations Cup leg of the season at Marbach. Photo by FEI / Libby Law Photography.
Germany claimed the opening leg of the 2026 FEI Eventing Nations Cup™ Series on home soil while Michael Jung and fischerChipmunk FRH dominated across all three phases.
Gestüt Marbach wrote itself into FEI Eventing Nations Cup™ history this weekend, hosting its first ever leg of the Series and doing so in fitting style. Germany’s team of Michael Jung, Julia Krajewski, Libussa Lübbeke and Ben Leuwer led from the first phase to the last. At the centre of it all was Michael Jung and fischerChipmunk FRH who delivered a dominant performance to finish 4.9 penalties ahead of second place. The win was Jung’s 10th at Marbach’s four-star, going all the way back to his first-ever four-star win in 2005.
Behind the Olympic champions, the weekend produced its share of drama, with both the individual and team leaderboards reshuffling across every phase. It was Belgium who ultimately secured second place ahead of Sweden after producing two clear rounds in the show jumping phase, compared to Sweden’s one. The new Series format sees all six competing teams add points to their tally as the first step towards qualification for the Boekelo Final.
Germany set the pace
Michael Jung and fischerChipmunk FRH. Photo by FEI / Libby Law Photography.
Michael Jung and fischerChipmunk FRH laid down a 21.2 to lead after dressage. It was a personal best for the 18-year-old at this venue, bettering each of his previous five tests here including three winning performances. Germany took the lead on a score of 81.2, which reflected strong performances from all four team members.
Felix Vogg and Colero sat in second for Switzerland while Lara de Liedekerke-Meier and Kiarado d’Arville rounded out the podium after posting a four-star personal best of 26.8. Sweden sat second as a team and Belgium third, with less than 12.7 penalties (roughly 32 seconds cross-country) separating the five teams behind Germany.
Marbach delivers its toughest cross-country course of the last decade.
Saturday’s cross-country proved the most demanding Marbach has produced in a decade. Just 52% of combinations jumped clear, well below the venue’s ten-year average of 72%. Only one combination made the optimum time: France’s Benjamin Massie and Guess Star.
Early rounds from Libussa Lübbeke (GER) and Nadja Minder (SUI) made the course look manageable, laying down quick clear rounds that suggested the competition may be relatively uneventful. However, as the day unfolded, that proved far from the case.
The day’s biggest surprise came when the Luhmühlen CCI5* winners Felix Vogg and Colero had 20 penalties at fence 8C, a corner out of the water, ending their podium hopes.
Jung added 6.8 time penalties with fischerChipmunk FRH which was enough to maintain their individual lead. Germany held onto first place as a team sitting 19.6 penalties ahead of Sweden in second, although Frida Andersen’s non-completion left them with only three counting scores heading into the final phase. Belgium sat close behind on 115.3 after producing four clear cross-country rounds.
Jung seals the win during Sunday’s show jumping
Julia Krajewski (GER) and Tullabeg Platinum. Photo by FEI / Libby Law Photography.
Sunday’s show jumping saw 19% of the field jump clear and inside the time, matching Marbach’s ten-year average. Jung and fischerChipmunk FRH added nothing, their double clear completed a performance of total authority. The win was Jung’s 10th at Marbach’s four-star, going all the way back to his first-ever four-star win in 2005. For fischerChipmunk FRH, it was his fourth victory at this venue and his 12th CCI4*-S win overall, placing him second on the record list since 2008, behind only Virgil’s 13. His 27 international victories across all levels extend his lead as the most decorated horse since records began in 2008.
Julia Krajewski and Tullabeg Platinum jumped their 12th consecutive clear jumping round to finish second individually while Louise Romeike and Caspian 15 jumped clear to climb to third.
Belgium’s growing depth
Belgium took the runner-up spot, and there’s a sense of a team being built rather than just selected. Lara de Liedekerke-Meier remains the spearhead, the Belgian star who broke the record for international wins last season, but Marbach also felt like a breakthrough weekend for Valentine Emsens and the 10-year-old Maplevalleys Concorde.
26-year-old Valentine Emsens arrived with some experience in FEI Eventing Nations Cup™ classes but without a defining result. But at Marbach they looked composed from start to finish and emerged as one of the combinations that really caught the eye. After sitting 38th following dressage, they climbed steadily through the field with a confident clear cross-country round adding just 4.4 time penalties, before finishing with a fault-free show jumping round inside the time. That final phase proved crucial in helping Belgium edge ahead of Sweden for second place.
For a horse in only his second CCI4* start, and a combination still early in their partnership at this level, it felt like a genuine arrival performance. Maplevalleys Concorde had already jumped double clear on his four-star debut, but this was the weekend where the pair looked every bit like future championship team material rather than just a promising prospect.
And there’s more coming: Jarno Verwimp’s Made for Me, yet to jump at four-star but already the second-highest-rated eight-year-old in Belgium, looks like a name for the months and years ahead. Belgium already has a proven leader, but Marbach showed the depth behind her is starting to arrive too.
What it means for the Series
Germany’s wire-to-wire win is a strong start to their season. Their only FEI Eventing Nations Cup™ victories in the past two years have come at Arville in 2023 and 2024, making this home victory an early statement of intent, with their happy hunting ground of Arville still to come later in the season.
Under the new format, qualifier points do not contribute to the Series title. Instead, the priority is to finish among the top 10 nations across the qualifying events to secure a place at the Boekelo final. Germany has added 100 points to their qualification tally, with the remaining nations scoring on a descending 10-point scale based on finishing position.
To view more on the FEI Eventing Nations Cup series, click here. The next leg will take place at Bicton (GBR) May 29-31, where the USA will take its first turn in the series with a team of developing horses and riders set to make the trip over.
Marbach Eventing International CCIO4*-NC-S (GER): [Website] [Scoring] [Live Stream Replays]
