WELLINGTON, Fla.--Nina Mallevaey of France won the $32,000 WEF Challenge Cup Round 1 on Thursday, Jan. 8 at the Winter Equestrian Festival.
Nina Mallevaey on Destine To Be ((Photo by Sportfot)Mallevaey on Destine To Be finished clean in 33.10 in the jump-off to win over 18-year-old Olivia Sweetnam on Epic, clean in 34.58
Mallevaey, 26, in the first release of the FEI rider rankings for 2026, made her debut in the world’s top 10 at no. 8 , and she also leads in the U25 World competition,
Sweetnam just won the Medal Finals Championship last October.
“It’s an amazing achievement and I didn’t expect it," said Mallevaey of her standing in the World Top10. "My team, my horses—I have a lot of people around me who helped me achieve this and I can’t thank The Rein Family enough. They have supported me for almost five years. There’s no better way for me to thank them than results like this."
“This now pushes me to try to stay in the top 10, while also listening to my horses and what they need,” she said. “The ranking is nice, but my horses are more important than the points.”
IN THE WEF Challenge Cup, under the winning round format, the course was set by Nick Granat, with 12 returning for the tie-breaking second phase.
“I wanted to go fast enough but not crazy because he’s going to jump the grand prix on Saturday,” said Mallevaey, whose international victories with Destine To Be is now up to seven. “He’s fast naturally, and that helped me. He’s also quick across the ground, so I was able to turn tight at the end. It was his win and a nice way to start the year.”
U.S. under-25 rider Olivia Sweetnam placed second riding Epic for owner Sweet Oak Farm in 34.58 seconds.
U.S. Olympic team gold medalist Laura Kraut, currently ranked just ahead of Mallevaey at no. 7 in the world, was third riding Dorado 212.
On Friday, Stella Wasserman on Myjorka , trained by Mclain Ward, won the $32,000 CSI3* 1.45m Speed, also a qualifier for Saturday Night’s three-star grand prix.
Wasserman won by a full two seconds over runner-up Canadian Olympian Erynn Ballard.
Earlier in the day, Ballard won in the CSI3* 1.40m Classic on Epsilon de Brenil.
The $140,000 Palm Beach Country Sports Commission CSI3* Grand Prix will be held during Saturday Night Lights at 7 p.m.
