Tim Price and Happy Boy, 2022’s Boekelo winners. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Boekelo has never failed to draw a high-calibre of international competitors through the gate, but this year’s FEI Eventing Nations Cup™ entry list offers the cream of Eventing stars from across the world. The line-up includes the Olympic, World and European Champions, as well as five of the top ten riders in the FEI Eventing World Athlete rankings. In addition, the Dutch event has taken on extra significance as the final opportunity for nations to qualify their team for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Boekelo is by many considered the crown jewels of Dutch Eventing, and has played host to the FEI Nations Cup Final for several years. This year it has attracted over 110 riders from 15 nations and it is guaranteed to offer a masterclass of Eventing with leading riders from across the globe.
Tokyo Olympic individual gold medalist Julia Krajewski is competing with her exciting Holsteiner stallion Nickel 21, the horse who helped the German team win the last Nations Cup leg which took place in Arville in August. Julia previously won Boekelo in 2018.
World Champion Yasmin Ingham brings the ever-consistent Rehy DJ to the party, along with Olympic team gold medalist Laura Collett who won the prestigious Boekelo title in 2019.
Then there is European Champion and current leader in the World rankings, Rosalind Canter who has two horses entered. The British team lifted the title last year and whilst the Nations Cup Team has not yet been finalised, Phil Surl, their Chef d’Equipe will have 19 combinations to choose from.
Liz Halliday-Sharp and Miks Master C. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
World #2 Tim Price, and his wife Jonelle Price are regulars and crowd favourites at Boekelo and it has been a happy hunting ground for Tim who won the individual title in 2017 and again last year. Australia is fielding an experienced group of riders including Kevin McNab, Megan Jones and William Levett.
The Americans are flying over a strong contingent of riders, many of whom hope to prove their worth of Olympic selection, with Chef d’Equipe and former Olympic Champion Leslie Law at the helm. The U.S. entries include several rising stars such as Hallie Coon (riding as an individual) and Jennie Brannigan (riding on the Nations Cup team), as well as team stalwart 60-year-old Phillip Dutton (riding on the Nations Cup team), a previous Olympic champion in Atlanta (1996).
James Alliston and Karma. Photo by Shannon Brinkman.
The entry list from France shows the strength and depth that the Olympic host nation offers in the discipline of eventing, with a number of medal winning riders amongst the group, such as Nicolas Touzaint, Maxime Livio and Christopher Six. Dutch National coach Andrew Heffernen has thirteen Dutch combinations entered, who will undoubtedly delight their home crowd at this popular event.
In terms of the Olympic ticket, the highest placed team according to the final team classification of the FEI Eventing Nations Cup™ Series 2023, who have not already qualified, will be allocated a place. Italy is the only team entered here, who have not already qualified, and are currently sitting in second place in the Series behind Belgium.
It was perhaps a surprise not to see Spain on the entries list, as they have not yet qualified a team for Paris and are currently lying fourth in the Series. Belgium are already qualified, after success at the FEI European Championships this year, but they will certainly not be resting on their laurels. They go into the final with 600 points so are almost certain of overall victory.
This is the eighth and final fixture in the popular FEI Eventing Nations Cup™ Series, which saw 16 nations compete for the prestigious title over eight fixtures. There will be one final chance of Olympic qualification later this month for some nations including Brazil and Argentina. This will be at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile which takes place from 26-29 October.
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