Great Britain won the inaugural FEI Eventing Nations Cup™ Final at Boekelo (NED), finishing on 84.4 ahead of Germany on 87.0. With all teams starting the Final on zero series points, the podium places were decided during the closing rounds of the final day’s jumping phase.
The winning team comprised Katie Magee with Cushlas Indigo, Gemma Stevens with Cooley Park Muze, Yasmin Ingham with Kinda Corvette and Kirsty Chabert with Classic VI. Chabert and Classic VI were eliminated during the cross-country phase, leaving Great Britain’s three remaining combinations to provide the counting scores.
Behind Great Britain and Germany, the USA and Ireland contested third place, with the advantage changing hands throughout the afternoon. After a costly final round for the USA, Ireland claimed third place on the podium with a score of 97.5, ahead of the USA’s final team score of 105.4.
“I’m very proud of them all and the three horses here are all nine-year-olds, which is even more special and very exciting for the future,” said Great Britain’s Chef d’Equipe Philip Surl.
“It’s a unique event and now with Boekelo being a final, rather than just another leg of the Nations Cup, it’s changed the dynamic of the competition and the event has a real Championship feel.”
The packed Boekelo crowds had to wait until the final eight combinations in the competition to watch Great Britain and Germany contest the top spot. First into the arena, and needing a clear round to keep the pressure on Germany, were Great Britain’s Stevens and Cooley Park Muze. The pair completed clear and inside the time – a feat that was proving difficult to achieve as the afternoon unfolded – before Arne Bergendahl entered the arena as the first of Germany’s counting combinations.
With a record of nine international clear jumping rounds on Bronco NRW, and having missed out on a place at the FEI Eventing World Championship in Aachen this summer, the Athlete set out with a point to prove. Bergendahl posted a clear round inside the time, allowing Germany to maintain their lead by the narrowest of margins.
Next into the arena was his teammate Christoph Wahler with Gainsbourg de Bedon, a new addition to Wahler’s string in 2026. With just one second in hand over Great Britain, the pair could not afford an error. However, as they landed over the first fence, the rail toppled, swiftly followed by fence 4a, giving Great Britain some breathing room and a larger lead.
Following Wahler into the ring was Great Britain’s Magee, who posted a speedy clear on Cushlas Indigo, giving teammate Ingham a rail in hand over Germany as the last to go for Great Britain. The first part of the combination at fence four also fell for Ingham and Kinda Corvette, leaving them with only seconds in hand over Germany. However, the pair completed the rest of their round clear to finish on the lowest team total in Boekelo FEI Eventing Nations Cup™ history.
This left Germany’s Julia Krajewski to focus on individual glory aboard Ero de Cantraie. She won the individual title for the third time, making Boekelo history as the first Athlete to achieve the feat.
Germany’s final team score of 87.0 penalties would have been enough for victory in any of the previous 13 editions of Boekelo’s FEI Eventing Nations Cup™ competition. Instead, it became the lowest losing score in the history of the event.
“We are very pleased we are second. Of course it could have been a little bit better result, but Great Britain are such a great nation, so we are happy to be second to them,” said Germany’s Chef d’Equipe Dr Annette Wyrwoll.
“Our team was amazing, they all completed and it was a very good weekend for them at Boekelo which is such a special event.”
Ireland climbed the leaderboard throughout the competition, moving from fifth after dressage to fourth after cross-country before finishing third after jumping, overtaking the USA in the closing rounds.
With less than a rail between the two nations, Ireland needed clear jumping rounds to have a chance of reaching the podium. As the first Irish combination with a counting score to enter the arena under the unseasonable Boekelo sunshine, Elizabeth Power did just that. She jumped clear inside the influential time allowed of 84 seconds to finish on her dressage score with Dassett Fortune and put pressure on the USA.
Lauren Nicholson produced a clear jumping round with Landmark’s Jungle Gold for the USA, but stopping the clock two seconds over the time allowed meant that their advantage over Ireland was reduced to just 0.5 penalties.
The pressure was on Padraig McCarthy, but the slightest touch over the final part of the triple combination at fence five by Kilroe Tiger gave the USA a fence in hand to stay on the podium.
Cantering into the arena immediately after McCarthy were Jack Curtis and Luska Candy Clover, with 11 consecutive international clear jumping rounds to their name. They were aiming to cement the USA’s lead, but an unusual knock at fence three and stopping the clock two seconds too late allowed Ireland to move 0.3 penalties ahead.
Alexandra Knowles was the last to go for the USA and knocked fences six and seven aboard Montpellier Scais, ultimately ending the USA’s podium hopes and giving Ireland’s Susannah Berry two rails in hand as she entered the arena.
Berry opted for a steady clear with Strangford, stopping the clock just half a second over the time allowed to incur 0.4 time penalties. That guaranteed Ireland their second podium finish at Boekelo, with their lowest team score on record at the competition.
“We’re absolutely thrilled, we’ve come with a team of very young horses, our entire team are all nine-year-old horses, so that looks really bright for the future for them,” said Ireland’s Chef d’Equipe Sam Griffiths.
“After very nearly getting a podium place at the World Championships [just missing out to the USA] and now getting a podium, we’re absolutely delighted with this result and it’s all going in the right direction for us.”
Behind the USA were Belgium in fifth, followed by hosts the Netherlands in sixth and Switzerland in seventh. France and Sweden, who both had challenging cross-country phases, finished eighth and ninth respectively.
Results here.
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