Phillip Dutton and Atlas. Photo by Samantha Clark.
With the final leg of the FEI Nations Cup Eventing Series slated for this weekend at the Boekelo CCIO3*, it’s time to take a look back on the inaugural season of the FEI’s first-ever team eventing series. The Nations Cup took place on a trial basis this year and is set to play a major role in the future of eventing, particularly in giving valuable team experience to horses and riders who may one day represent their countries at the Olympics and World Equestrian Games. Boekelo marks the first leg of the Nations Cup in which the U.S. is fielding a team: Jennie Brannigan and Cambalda, Phillip Dutton and Atlas, Jon Holling and Downtown Harrison, and Clark Montgomery and Loughan Glen.
About the Nations Cup: The Nations Cup runs under FEI eventing rules at the CICO3* and CCIO3* levels and is open to all nations fielding one team of three or four riders at each leg. Riders accumulate points under a special system created for the series. This year saw the six-leg Nations Cup series travel to Fontainebleau, France, March 22-25; Houghton Hall, Great Britain, May 24-27; Strzegom, Poland, June 1-3; Aachen, Germany, July 3-8; and Montelibretti, Italy, Sept. 21-23. The series will conclude with the sixth leg this weekend in Boekelo, Netherlands, Oct. 11-14.
Jennie Brannigan and Cambalda at Richland. Photo by Samantha Clark.
Fontainebleau: Michael Jung led Germany to victory in the first leg of the Nations Cup series at the Fontainebleau CICO3* in March. Riding three horses — all of which finished inside the top four in the individual results — Fontainebleau proved to be strong foreshadowing for Michael’s dominant performance at the Olympics just a few short months later. Michael won on a 39.4 with Leopin, placed 2nd on a 41.2 with his Olympic partner La Biosthetique-Sam and finished his stellar performance with a 50 on Weidezaunprofi’s River Of Joy. Clayton Fredericks placed third individually on Bendigo and Elaine Pen rounded out the top five on Vira. After the first leg of the Nations Cup, Germany led the series, with the Netherlands in second and France in third.
Houghton Hall: Great Britain also set the stage for a spectacular performance before its home crowd in London with a win in the second leg of the Nations Cup at the Houghton Hall CICO3* in May. After Great Britain placed last at Fontainebleau, the Brits came back with a vengeance, led by Piggy French and Jakarta’s dominant first-place performance. Sarah Cohen and Treason placed third individually, with Francis Whittington and Sir Percival III finishing in seventh. Great Britain’s impressive performance catapulted the team from last place to equal third with Spain in the Nations Cup standings. Germany maintained its lead in the series, with France moving up once spot to second place.
Clark Montgomery and Loughan Glen at Barbury. Photo by Samantha Clark.
Strzegom: Germany dominated once again in the third leg of the Nations Cup, with Sandra Auffarth winning the individual competition at the Strzegom CICO3* in June to lead her team to victory. She led from the start on Opgun Louvo — with whom she won individual Olympic bronze in London — finishing on her stellar 36.7 dressage score. Felix Vogg and Maverick McNamara were the only other pair to break the sub-40 mark in dressage, finishing in second overall on a 38.1. Andreas Dibowski of Germany picked up .8 time penalties on cross country to finish in third place with FRH Butts Avedon. Switzerland took second as a team at Strzegom, with Sweden finishing in third. After Strzegom, Germany maintained the lead in the Nations Cup standings, with Spain sitting in second and the Netherlands holding third place.
Aachen: Germany, Germany, Germany. We get it. The German team once again brought their A-game mere weeks before the Olympics in the fourth leg of the Nations Cup Series at the Aachen CICO3* in July. While Christopher Burton and Under Discussion won individually, the rest of the Australian team struggled, leaving room for Germany to slip by. Sandra Auffarth and Opgun Louvo finished fourth, with Dirk Schrade and Hop and Skip in seventh and Michael Jung and Leopin in eighth. Great Britain finished second as a team, with Sweden finishing third. After four legs of the Nations Cup series, Germany maintained a large lead over second-place Netherlands in the standings, with Great Britain and France in equal place for third.
Jon Holling and Downtown Harrison at the Fork. Photo by Samantha Clark.
Montelibretti: After Germany took the previous two legs of the Nations Cup, the leaderboard saw a new face on top when Spain clinched a win at the Montelibretti CICO3* in September. The Spanish riders took second, fifth, sixth and eighth in the individual standings, led by Maria Pinedo and Windsor H in second. Stefano Brecciaroli and Apollo V finished an impressive 31 penalties ahead of Pinedo to win the competition, boosting Italy to a second-place finish as a team. Switzerland rounded out the top three in the team standings at Montelibretti. After the fifth and most recent leg of the Nations Cup, Germany maintained its place at the top of the series standings, with Spain moving into second and the Netherlands dropping to third place.
Boekelo: That brings us to Boekelo, the sixth and final leg of the inaugural Nations Cup series, and the first leg in which the U.S. will get in on the action. While Germany has already soundly secured first place in the Nations Cup standings with 41 points, the next seven nations on the leaderboard — Spain, 28; Netherlands, 23; France, 20; Great Britain, 20; Sweden, 16; Australia, 15; New Zealand, 14 — all have the potential to finish on the podium. This hotly contested race to the wire will make for a very exciting finish in the first-ever FEI Nations Cup Eventing Series. While our U.S. team won’t be battling for a spot on the leaderboard, this is an excellent opportunity for Team USA. Go Phillip, Jennie, Clark and Jon!
