Nina Mallevaey Crowned French Pro Elite Champ with Nikka

The biggest names in French show-jumping were in the starting line-up for the first round of the French Pro Élite Championship final at Le Printemps Des Sports Équestres in Fontainebleau: the Paris 2024 team bronze medallists Simon Delestre, Olivier Perreau and Julien Épaillard, who also won the FEI World Cup™ final earlier this month, as well as the young generation with Jeanne Sadran, Nina Mallevaey, Inès Joly, Mégane Moissonnier, Eden Leprévost Blin-Lebreton, who has already won French Pro 1 championship, and Antoine Ermann.

Quentin Perney and his team had designed a technical course with 13 obstacles at 1.55m and sixteen difficulties for the 65 starters, who set off in the reverse order of the provisional rankings. Simon Delestre on Acatitla LS rode the first clear round, paving the way for seven other riders, including Nina Mallevaey on Nikka vd Bisschop (owned by Rein Familly LLC and Tara Dow-Rein), who took the lead with 1.72 points. There were joys and sorrows along the way, with the final wall at No. 11 and a double at No. 12 getting the better of several couples who failed to make the top twenty qualified for the final leg.

A new course with eleven obstacles and thirteen difficulties, with a triple jump at No. 10, was put in place for the jump-off. The last rider to set off was Nina Mallevaey and her experienced 12-year-old mare, who took part in last summer’s Games with the Canadian team. The couple, who were recently selected for the French team for the Nations League in Ocala (USA), completed another clear round, thus confirming that they have their place in the top tier by winning the title of “French Pro Elite champions”.

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This was Nina Mallevaey’s second gold medal, following her win in the French Women Riders’ Championship in 2016. It comes as highly deserved recognition for this young rider, who divides her time between Wellington, in Florida, from December to the end of March, and Europe for the rest of the year, where she is based in Valkenswaard, the Netherlands.

“It means so much to me to be able to come back to France,” said the European Children’s and Pony team champion (in 2013 and 2014). Nina Mallevaey has been supported by the French federation for a number of years now and is already a seasoned campaigner at the highest level. Now, as the French Pro Elite champion, she will also benefit from being selected for the CSI 5* competitions. She was called up to the French team three times last year for the Nations Cups and recorded a clear round in each of these events over two legs.

Nicolas Sers and Eleven de Riverland (owned by Léa Bertaud and the Domaine Equestre des Monnières) were the only other pairing to ride a double clear round in the final, and therefore took the silver medal. The couple from Corrèze finished with a total of 2.62 points.

Pénélope Leprevost, the French champion in 2022, finished on the podium yet again, with Bingo Del Tondou (owned by SCEA Happi and the EURL Michel Robert), after picking up a small time penalty in the second round (4.16 points). This marked an excellent comeback for the 14-year-old grey, who got injured just a few days before last year’s Printemps des Sports Équestres, but confirmed his return to form today.

Last year’s bronze medallists, the Eure-et-Loir-based rider Alix Ragot and KS Carat (owned by Era Jump and Artic Partners), finished just off the podium, followed by 23-year-old Léona Mermillod Baron and First To Cash Out (owned by SAS Equipassion), the winners of the Grand National FFE – AC Print in Cluny this season.

“I really want to see young riders competing here, and we had a good mix in the championship this year. It really bears witness to the great pool of riders and horses we have in France, and I’m delighted to see that,” said Sylvie Robert, President of GL events Equestrian Sport.

Mallevaey commented, “This title is particularly special for me because we are in France, and I spend a lot of time abroad, notably in the United States. It’s quite amazing; I haven’t been to Fontainebleau for at least five years and the site has changed a lot in that time, with the work that has been carried out and the perfect organisation put in place by GL events. I have a lot of good memories here, from my days in the Pony, Junior and Young Rider events, the 2018 European Championships…

“It’s all very emotional for me. The French crowd are always incredible and it’s a pleasure to be here. On the finish line, I felt a real rush of emotion, it was special. I’m already thinking about the European Championships in La Coruña in July, so now it’s up to me to do my best to keep getting good results.

“I’m surrounded by great people and I know I can count on the Rein family. They are such lovely owners and they enable me to have some exceptional horses to ride. It’s up to me to rise to the occasion, and I hope to win a few call-ups to the French national team in the future.”

Edouard Coupérie, the French national coach, said, “This championship will make it difficult to make our future selections, which is a good thing! The atmosphere was amazing. I’m very pleased with Nina’s performance. A few weeks ago, she already did very well at the Nations Cup in Ocala. As for Nicolas, he’s fighting hard to get into the French team. He has that desire and has shown he is capable. As for Pénélope’s return with Bingo, well we’re delighted.”

Results of the French Pro Elite Championship here.