BARCELONA, Spain--Italy will be first into team the ring when the FEI Jumping Nations Cup Final 2023 begins Thursday afternoon, 8 am Eastern time, in Barcelona.

Barcelona chefs d'equipe (Photo by Liz Gregg)The order-of-go for the 15 competing nations is:

1, Italy; 2, Argentina; 3, Uzbekistan; 4, Belgium; 5, Germany; 6, USA; 7, Great Britain; 8, Mexico; 9, Brazil; 10, Australia; 11, The Netherlands; 12, Ireland; 13, Switzerland; 14, Spain; 15, France.

CSIO Barcelona is celebrating its 111th edition of international competition this year and the Real Club de Polo, home to Jumping at the Olympic Games in the Spanish city back in 1992, again provides the perfect back-drop to the season-closer that gathers the world’s best teams for one final annual clash.

Winning the coveted trophy is what it is all about, and the Chefs d’Equipe are full of enthusiasm for a great week of sport and filled with praise for the exciting transformation taking place at the Real Club de Polo as it modernises and expands its facilities.

For the teams from Argentina, Brazil, Italy, Mexico, USA and Uzbekistan, there is an extra challenge this week as they are all chasing the single qualification slot for countries not already qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

 

THE DEFENDING champions are Team Belgium.

The team for the U.S. includes Karl Cook, Devin Ryan, Laura Kraut, Jessica Springsteen and McLain Ward with Robert Ridland as chef'e'equipe.

"We are delighted to be back and as everyone has said, it’s just impressive, not just this building but how you have reconfigured the entire arena - it just looks spectacular," said Ridland. "We brought a strong team here because like many we are trying to qualify for the Olympic Games. Most of the riders on our team are the ones that qualified us to get here and we are delighted to be back!”

The competition begins Thursday with the first qualifying round which is open to all 15 nations and begins at 2 pm local time, 8 am Eastern time.

The best eight teams from this round will go through to Sunday’s title decider while the remaining nations will compete in the Challenge Cup which will take place under lights on Saturday night.

The Final is guaranteed to be gripping, with the single qualifying spot on offer for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games giving it an even sharper edge, so don’t miss it.