Excitement builds as teams announced for Longines League of Nations™ penultimate leg in Rotterdam

The series sees teams of four athletes from 10 nations - the nine highest ranked nations in the world (as per the Longines League of Nations™ Ranking list) and the reigning Longines League of Nations™ Champions - compete across four qualifying legs, with the top eight teams qualifying for the prestigious Longines League of Nations™ Final in Barcelona in October.

The Longines League of Nations™ 2025 got underway in Abu Dhabi (UAE) in February and it was Ireland that took victory and the maximum haul of 100 points with a flawless performance across the two rounds. Ocala (USA) took centre stage for leg two of the Longines League of Nations™ 2025 and it was the quartet from the host nation who soared to an emphatic victory in front of an elated home crowd and take home the lion’s share of the much-coveted points. Two of the athletes from that victorious team will represent USA once again in Rotterdam.

After two legs of the 2025 Longines FEI League of Nations™, Ireland and Germany sit at the top of the standings each on 170 points. France lies in third on 150 points just ahead of USA on 140 points in fourth and Belgium on 130 points in fifth. Italy holds sixth position with 120 points just ahead of Great Britain on 115. The Netherlands sits in eighth, clinging onto what will be the final qualifying position for the Longines League of Nations™ Final following the culmination of all four qualifying legs. The host nation and powerhouses of the sport will be looking to put in a strong performance to secure more points to guarantee their place in Barcelona in October.

Sweden and Switzerland currently lie at the bottom of the table in ninth and tenth place respectively with 80 and 55 points. Both multi- medalled nations require a strong performance to elevate themselves into a top eight position required for qualification for the 2025 Longines League of Nations™ Final in Barcelona.

Team Germany 🇩🇪

Team Germany wrote themselves into the history books in October as they became the first winners of the Longines League of Nations™ Final and in doing so guaranteed their place in the series for 2025. Olympic Champion Christian Kukuk was on that winning team and lines up once again for Germany alongside Jörne Sprehe, Janne Friederike Meyer- Zimmermann and Sophie Hinners. Hinners makes her third Longines League of Nations™ appearance of the series and is yet to pick up a fault having produced sensational double clears in both Abu Dhabi and Ocala.

Team Ireland 🇮🇪

sends out two members of their fourth-placed Ocala team in Cian O’Connor and Tom Wachman who are joined by Bertram Allen and Longines League of Nations™ debutant, Seamus Hughes Kennedy.

Team France 🇫🇷

France returns to defend their titles as reigning Champions of the Rotterdam leg of the Longines League of Nations™ having taken an emphatic win here twelve months ago. Team stalwart Kevin Staut delivered two flawless performances to lead his team to victory on that occasion and lines up for France once again in Rotterdam alongside Marc Dilasser, Nina Mallevaey and Jeanne Sadran.

Team USA 🇺🇸

Fresh from their victory in Ocala in March, Laura Kraut and Aaron Vale line up once again for Team USA, joined on this occasion by Karl Cook and Alessandra Volpi.

Team Belgium 🇧🇪

Belgium once again calls upon young star Thibeau Spits who makes his third Longines League of Nations™ appearance of the season alongside Emilie Conter, Jos Verlooy and Gregory Wathelet.

Team Italy 🇮🇹

Italy, competing in the Longines League of Nations™ for the first time in 2025 send out three of the same athletes that represented them in Abu Dhabi and Ocala. Piergiorgio Bucci, Giulia Martinengo Marquet and Giacomo Casadei are joined in Rotterdam by Longines League of Nations™ debutant Paolo Paini.

Team Great Britain 🇬🇧

Third here last year, Great Britain will be looking to bolster their points once again in Rotterdam and have called upon triple Olympic Gold medallist Ben Maher to do so. Two Longines League of Nations™ debutants Matthew Sampson and Sienna Charles have been selected to represent Great Britain alongside Maher and Donald Whitaker.

TeamNL 🇳🇱

Host nation The Netherlands finished in second place in the inaugural Longines 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 and will be hungry for victory.

Team Sweden 🇸🇪

An all-female quartet will represent Sweden and be vying for a strong point haul to lift their nation out of the danger zone and into the top eight to keep Sweden in contention for a place at the 2025 Longines League of Nations™ Final. Sweden’s hopes lie with Petronella Andersson, Wilma Hellström, Amanda Landeblad and Erika Lickhammer- van Helmond.

Team Switzerland 🇨🇭

Switzerland sends out Romain Duguet, Adrian Schmid, Edouard Schmitz and Géraldine Straumann with the hopes of qualification for the Longines League of Nations™ Final in Barcelona this year strongly reliant on a podium finish in Rotterdam.

Leg three of the series will be held in Rotterdam on Friday 20 June 2025 where a host of the world’s leading athletes representing the top ten jumping nations will battle for victory and to claim their coveted place at the most prestigious team Jumping Final of the year.