The Chefs d’Equipe of the 10 highest ranked Jumping nations in the world have named the riders who will compete in leg three of the League of Nations in Rotterdam June 19-22.
Aaron Vale on Carissimo 25 in the 2024 League of Nations Final (Photo by DidiShots)The series has teams of four riders from 10 nations compete in four qualifying legs, with the top eight teams qualifying for the League of Nations Final in Barcelona in October.
The fist leg was in Abu Dhabi in February, and Ireland won, getting the maximum of 100 points.
Ocala held leg two and the U.S. won in front of an elated home crowd.
Two of the riders from that victorious team will represent USA once again in Rotterdam.
After two legs, Ireland and Germany lead, each on 170 points.
France is third on 150 points, just ahead of USA on 140 points in fourth, and Belgium on 130 points is fifth.
Italy is sixth with 120 points just ahead of Great Britain on 115.
The Netherlands is eighth, clinging onto what will be the final qualifying position for the Final following the culmination of all four qualifying legs.
Sweden and Switzerland currently lie at the bottom of the table in ninth and 10th place respectively with 80 and 55 points.
GERMANY was the first winner of the League of Nations Final.
Olympic Champion Christian Kukuk was on that winning team and is on the Germany team for Rotterdam with Jörne Sprehe, Janne Friederike Meyer- Zimmermann and Sophie Hinners.
Hinners is on her third League of Nations appearance of the series and is yet to pick up a fault having produced double clears in both Abu Dhabi and Ocala.
Ireland's team includes two members of its fourth-placed Ocala team in Cian O’Connor and Tom Wachman who are joined by Bertram Allen and League of Nations debutant, Seamus Hughes Kennedy.
France won in Rotterdam last year, and Kevin Staut delivered two clean rounds to lead his team to victory on that occasion and is on France''s team again along with Marc Dilasser, Nina Mallevaey and Jeanne Sadran.
Fresh from their victory in Ocala in March, Laura Kraut and Aaron Vale are on the team again for the USA, joined by Karl Cook and Alessandra Volpi.
Belgium's team again includes young star Thibeau Spits, who makes his third League of Nations appearance of the season along with Emilie Conter, Jos Verlooy and Gregory Wathelet.
Italy, competing in the League of Nations for the first time in 2025 includes three of the same riders that represented them in Abu Dhabi and Ocala.
Piergiorgio Bucci, Giulia Martinengo Marquet and Giacomo Casadei are joined in Rotterdam by League of Nations debutant Paolo Paini.
Third in Rotterdam last year, Great Britain will be trying to add to its points once again in Rotterdam and has called upon triple Olympic Gold medallist Ben Maher.
Two League of Nations debutants Matthew Sampson and Sienna Charles have been selected to represent Great Britain alongside Maher and Donald Whitaker.
Host nation The Netherlands finished in second place in the inaugural League of Nations Final in Barcelona last year.
They have some work to do to guarantee their place in the line-up for this year’s final and have picked a team with a wealth of experience with which to do this.
Harrie Smolders, Willem Greve, Maikel van der Vleuten and Kim Emmen represent the host nation in Rotterdam.
An all-female quartet will represent Sweden and be trying to lift it into the top eight to keep Sweden in contention for a place at the Final.
Sweden’s team is Petronella Andersson, Wilma Hellström, Amanda Landeblad and Erika Lickhammer- van Helmond.
Switzerland;s team is Romain Duguet, Adrian Schmid, Edouard Schmitz and Géraldine Straumann.
Leg three of the series will be held in Rotterdam on Friday, June 20 at 10:30 Eastern.
