The British win the 2015 FEI Nations Cup Series
Great Britain, the only nation to contest all seven legs this year, finished fifth at Boekelo after half the team completed the competition, but they easily sealed their place at the head of the FEI Nations Cup™ Eventing final leaderboard by seven points over Germany.
Great Britain has been committed to the FEI Nations Cup™ Eventing since the concept started in 2012, always drawing from a pool of younger riders who have not had senior team experience. This year, they won at Ballindenisk (IRL) and Strzegom (POL) and were disappointed not to triumph on home ground at Houghton Hall (GBR) where they were beaten by Germany. They were also third at Fontainebleau (FRA) and fourth at Waregem and, by contesting all seven legs this season, were able to discard their eighth place at Aachen (GER) in the final scoresheet.
Germany have been Britain’s great rivals in the FEI Nations Cup™ Eventing, topping the leaderboard in 2013 and 2014. They won three times this year, in Houghton Hall, Aachen and Waregem (BEL), but missed Fontainebleau and Ballindenisk and so could not overtake Britain this time.
This is the first year Australia has played such a prominent part in the FEI Nations Cup™ Eventing and they have generally drawn on the same quartet of riders for the six events they contested, with their best results being second places at Fontainebleau and Strzegom.
France has been strong in the FEI Nations Cup™ Eventing from the start, and heroically made the long journey to Ireland for Ballindenisk. Their best result in five starts was their win on home ground at Fontainebleau. The Netherlands, fifth in the final table, competed at six out of seven events, their best result being a third place at Waregem.
“This was a fantastic finale at Boekelo,” said the FEI’s Eventing Director Catrin Norinder. “The FEI Nations Cup™ Eventing continues to be an excellent series, especially now that so many countries are beginning to realise the benefits it offers in terms of giving championship and team experience to young horses and riders.”
FEI Nations Cup™ Eventing Leaderboard 2015
1 Great Britain 52 points
2 Germany 44
3 Australia 40
4 France 39
5 Netherlands 32
6 Ireland 27
7 Belgium 17
8 New Zealand 17
9 USA 17
10 Sweden 11
11 Spain 6
12= Poland 4
12= Canada 4
13 Japan 2
14 Brazil 0
