Preview: Longines EEF Series Final

LONGINES EEF NATIONS CUP 2022: ELEVEN TEAMS COMPETING FOR THE TITLE

Everything is ready in Poland for the Longines EEF Series Final, the conclusion of the series launched by the European Equestrian Federation (EEF), in order to provide young talented riders, as well as up-and-coming horse and rider combinations and emerging European nations with a chance to gain experience and improve technically at top level shows.

After eight qualifying shows and two semi-finals that have brought back and confirmed exceptional locations in the international Nations Cup series, eleven teams will now compete in the Warsaw CSIO 3* Jumping at the Sluzewiec racetrack from September 8th to September 11th.

The teams competing in the Nations Cup that will decide the winner of the 2022 Longines EEF Series are Austria, Belgium, Spain, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, The Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, the host country Poland and Italy, the nation replacing Switzerland following its withdrawal.

Austria, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Hungary will not only be battling to win but also fighting for promotion to the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ 2023 - Europe Division 1.

Scheduled for Sunday September 11th (starting at 11 am) the two-round Nations Cup will be held over a course with jumps measuring 1.50m built by Italy’s Andrea Colombo.

The Longines EEF Series Final will be broadcast live by ClipMyHorse. The start list for the eleven teams also announcing the names of riders and horses competing in this much awaited final will be available after the draw, to be held on Saturday September 10th.
 
 
THE 2022 SEASON
Before the final hosted by Poland there have been eight CSIO3* in the 2022 Longines EEF Series that hosted as many qualifying Nations Cups and the two semi-finals.

This year the series started in May in Mannheim, Germany, which therefore hosted Germany's second CSIO alongside the one held in Aachen. After a barrage with the German hosts, it was Switzerland who took home the first win at the MVV- Reitstadion. Second and third place in the Longines EEF Series Mannheim Nations Cup qualifier for the Central Region went to Germany and Sweden.  

The series then moved to Denmark (Region North) and Slovakia (Region Central) with two Nations Cups held on the same weekend and both won following a jump-off. France beat Japan and Denmark winning at the modern facilities of the Helgstrand Event in Aalborg, while in Bratislava, at Tyršovo on the Danube, one of the most beautiful and famous locations in the Slovakian capital, it was Germany that won with Ireland finishing second and Switzerland in third place.

The fourth event on the calendar was Lisbon (Region West), where the 100th edition of Portugal’s CSIO saw Ireland lead the ranking ahead of France and Spain.
 
These shows were followed by two Nations Cups held on the same weekend in Madrid (Region West) and in Athens (Region South). At Madrid’s Club de Campo the home team won the day beating Belgium and Ireland. In Greece, at the Olympic Equestrian Centre in Markopoulo, Italy took the top spot ahead of Greece and Romania.

Norway and Italy instead hosted the seventh and eighth legs of the series, the last qualifiers for the Region North and Region South semi-finals.
In Drammen, Norway, it was Brazil that won beating Ireland and Belgium, while at Italy’s Equieffe Equestrian Centre a young team from Great Britain won the Longines EEF Series Gorla Nations Cup with France finishing second and Switzerland third.

After the eight qualifying CSIOs, the teams competing at the semi-final held in Deauville (Region North and Region West) were Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden, while the Budapest semi-final (Region South and Region Central) hosted Austria, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands and Switzerland.

Following a three-team jump-off, in Deauville, France, Belgium finished first beating Spain, Ireland, Sweden and Portugal who therefore qualified for the Warsaw final.

In Budapest, Hungary, first place went to Germany, followed by Switzerland, Austria, The Netherlands and Hungary, also all qualified for the LES Final in September. With Switzerland withdrawing, Italy, sixth in Budapest, has replaced the Swiss joining the finalists in Warsaw as has Poland as the host nation.
 
NATIONS & NUMBERS
A total of 31 nations (98 starts) competed with a team in the preliminary legs (eight qualifiers and two semi-finals) of the 2022 Longines EEF Series.

These nations were the European nations Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, France, Great Britain, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Slovenia, Slovakia, Switzerland, Sweden, The Czech Republic, The Netherlands and Turkey with guest teams from Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Japan, Mexico and the USA.

The nations that competed the most were Belgium, which presented a team at nine Nations Cups (including the semi-final), Ireland and Italy (6), France, Spain and Sweden (5). Austria, Denmark, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and Switzerland all competed in four Nations Cups. As far as wins were concerned, Germany was the only nation to win twice (Bratislava and the semi-final in Budapest). 

The number of riders who competed in at least one qualifier and one semi-final of the 2022 EEF Nations Cup Series amounted instead to 242 with 254 horses. The nations that fielded the highest number of riders were Belgium (22 in 9 Nations Cup), France (16 in 5 Nations Cup) and Italy (14 in 6 Nations Cup). While competed in 4 Nations Cups, there were Switzerland (13), the Netherlands and Denmark (12). Sweden instead fielded 10 different riders in 5 Nations Cups.