FEI Eventing Nations Cup: How It Works as France Heads to Boekelo

France wins at Lignières as the FEI Eventing Nations Cup heads to Boekelo

The FEI Eventing Nations Cup is the international team series for eventing, where countries send small squads to a run of four-star events and the best-performing nations meet in a final. On September 27, 2026, host nation France won the last qualifier at Lignières on 106.70 penalties, leading after dressage, cross-country and show jumping.

The winning French team was:

• Benjamin Massie and Figaro Fonroy
• Karim Florent Laghouag and Dream de Vieve
• Stéphane Landois and Hermès du Gévaudan
• Thomas Carlile and Golden de Béliard AA

Great Britain was second on 170.40 with a team of Nations Cup debutants, and Italy was third on 194.40. French chef d'équipe Jean-Luc Force said that leading after dressage set up the weekend and that show jumping let France hold on.

For Britain, it was the country's 59th Nations Cup podium, second only to Germany's 61, according to Horse&Rider UK. Next comes the first-ever Nations Cup Final under the new format, at Boekelo in the Netherlands, October 1–4.

New to the sport? Our guide to eventing explains dressage, cross-country and jumping. This article covers the team side.

How the FEI Eventing Nations Cup works

A Nations Cup is a team competition that runs inside a normal international event. The individual riders still get their own placings, but their scores also feed into a team result.

The basics for 2026:

• Teams of 3 or 4. Each nation names three or four horse-and-rider combinations.
• Best three count. Only the three best individual scores make up the team score. A fourth rider is insurance.
• Five qualifiers at four-star short format (CCI4*-S), then a final at four-star long format (CCI4*-L).
• Pick your legs. Nations can enter as many qualifiers as they like, and their best three results count toward qualifying.

The 2026 calendar:

How a team eventing score works

Eventing is scored in penalties, so lower is better. Each rider's dressage score is carried into cross-country, where jumping faults and time faults are added, and then into show jumping, where knockdowns and time add more.

The team score is simply the three best final scores added together. France's 106.70 at Lignières works out to an average of about 35.6 per counting rider, while Britain's 170.40 averages about 56.8.

That's why the fourth rider matters so much:

• Everyone finishes: the worst score is dropped.
• One rider is eliminated or retires: the other three all count, good or bad.
• Two riders don't finish: the team still gets a score, but each non-finisher is given a large block of penalty points that counts among the best three, which usually sinks the team down the order.

This changes tactics. A chef d'équipe may tell the first rider out on cross-country to take a safer, slower route so the team has a score on the board. Later riders then know what's needed and can decide how fast to go.

The new 2026 final: every score back to zero

Until 2025, the series title was decided by points added up across the season. For 2026 the FEI changed the structure: the qualifiers only decide who gets into the final, and at Boekelo every team starts on zero.

The FEI said the aim was to bring back jeopardy and make the result less predictable. In plain terms, it's winner-takes-all.

What that means in practice:

• France's Lignières win earns a place in the final, not a head start.
• A team that scraped in has exactly the same chance as the season's form team.
• The final is a long-format four-star, with a longer cross-country test than the short-format qualifiers. Fitness and stamina matter more.

Who is going to the Boekelo Nations Cup Final 2026?

This is the one part of the story that isn't settled yet, so we're not going to guess.

• The FEI's first headline on September 27 said 10 nations had secured tickets, and press reports on September 27–28 listed a group that included Italy, Norway, Austria and Poland.
• On September 28 the FEI posted on X that nine nations had qualified: Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and the USA. That matches the Boekelo team entries Eventing Nation reported on September 25.

The official start list at Boekelo on October 1 will settle it. Every version includes France, Great Britain, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, the USA and the host Netherlands.

Eventing Nation's look at the Boekelo entries names Lauren Nicholson and Allie Knowles on the US team and highlights Yasmin Ingham and Tom McEwen among the British riders. Line-ups can still change before the competition starts.

How Boekelo differs from Burghley or Badminton

All three are famous, but they're different kinds of competition.

The event's full name is Military Boekelo ("military" is an old European name for eventing), and it's held at Boekelo, near Enschede. It's a regular stepping stone for horses moving up to five-star, which is part of why so many top riders bring their best young horses.

How to follow the final: what to watch

Boekelo runs Thursday to Sunday, October 1–4. Traditionally dressage is Thursday and Friday, cross-country is Saturday and show jumping is Sunday, followed by the prize-giving. Check the official timetable, because times can change.

Your viewing checklist:

1. Livestream. ClipMyHorse.TV lists a live-stream page for the 2026 Nations Cup at Boekelo. Check it and the Military Boekelo website for viewing options where you live.
2. Time zones. The Netherlands is six hours ahead of US Eastern time, so a 9 a.m. start is 3 a.m. in New York and 1 a.m. in Mexico City.
3. Watch the team order. After dressage, note which teams have three strong scores and which are relying on a fourth.
4. Saturday is decisive. Watch for clear rounds inside the optimum time on cross-country; time faults add up fast across three riders.
5. Sunday's jumping. Tired horses after a long-format cross-country tend to knock more rails, so leads can flip.

Want more team competition? See our explainers on the Longines Global Champions Tour and the Asian Games equestrian events, or brush up on terms in the glossary and disciplines pages.