Rotterdam, the North Sea and the points that sting

One week after La Baule, its stands on fire and its Marseillaise neatly packed away in the memory box, Les Bleus are putting the helmet back on. Destination Rotterdam, its big rectangle of sand, its Kralingse Bos and its Dutch Official, which is no gentle bike ride. This time, the Nations Cup counts towards the Longines League of Nations. Translation: poles are expensive, points even more so.

(©Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images for FEI)

After La Baule, no more champagne

France arrives in the Netherlands with the smile of a team that has just won at home. In La Baule, Édouard Coupérie’s men claimed the Coupe des Nations Barrière, the major highlight of the French Official, and recorded their first victory in the class since 2017. Perfect for confidence, dangerous for comfort. Sport loves resetting the counters just when you start looking at yourself in the mirror.

In Rotterdam, the challenge changes outfit. This is no longer just a major CSIO with standing and the habits of an old European monument. It is the third qualifying leg of the 2026 Longines League of Nations, scheduled for Friday 19 June, in a circuit where the road to Barcelona is already starting to narrow seriously.

Germany in front, France chasing

In the overall standings, Germany leads the way with 190 points, ahead of France, second on 155 points, and Ireland, third on 150. In other words, Les Bleus are sitting nicely, but not yet stretched out on the sofa. Behind them, everyone is pushing. Rotterdam therefore looks less like a transition leg than a motorway toll: you pass cleanly, or you start counting your coins.

For the Dutch, the story is even spicier. The Oranje are playing at home, in a show that still carries that old-school big-occasion scent. Home advantage, yes. Home guarantee, no.

(The Netherlands are the most recent winners)

And for the Belgians, a little madeleine

For the Belgians, Rotterdam is not just a GPS point somewhere between two canals and three polders. It is a Proustian madeleine. In 2019, it was here, at the European Championships, that Pieter Devos, Jos Verlooy, Jérôme Guery and Grégory Wathelet gave Belgium the first European team title in its show jumping history. Gold ahead of Germany and Great Britain. Not exactly a bar-counter anecdote.

Seven years later, the scenery is different, but the memory still sticks to the boots. For the Red Musketeers of jumping, returning to Rotterdam always means putting one foot back in the place where a generation shifted from dangerous team to winning nation. And in a Longines League of Nations where every point weighs like a vertical at the end of a course, that kind of memory can be fuel. Or added pressure. Often both.

Coupérie between ambition and laboratory

On the French side, Édouard Coupérie has set the frame: Rotterdam must serve both to perform and to test certain horses in a 5* format. France won in Abu Dhabi, finished sixth in Ocala, and therefore arrives in the Netherlands with an interesting margin, but also a real need for confirmation. The selector may be moving forward with a cushion of points, but he knows that in this circuit, cushions can quickly turn into doormats.

(Kevin Staut was already part of the team in Rotterdam in 2024 with Scuderia 1918 Viking d’La Rousserie)

The format, meanwhile, forgives very little. Four riders in the first round, three scores counting. Then the best eight teams return for the second round with only three riders, and there, no joker. Every fault becomes a small bomb placed under the table.

Rotterdam, a full-scale test

Two months before the big summer targets, Rotterdam also ticks another box: observation. Selectors watch, horses speak, and courses sort things out.

La Baule offered emotion. Rotterdam demands an answer. Less romantic, more mathematical. But in the Longines League of Nations, that is often where seasons are shaped: not in big speeches, but over a slightly wide plank, a heavy oxer, or a final vertical that decides who goes to Barcelona with certainty, and who boards the plane with a calculator.

The full list of 5* riders at CHIO Rotterdam

🇦🇺 Australia

Thaisa Erwin — Hialita B, Koberlina TN

🇧🇪 Belgium

Chef d’équipe : Peter Weinberg

Pieter Devos — Jarina J, Primo DV
Roy van Beek — Cavoiro – H Old, Charleston – H
Annelies Vorsselmans — C. Kulottie W Z, Trezeguet
Grégory Wathelet — Bond Jamesbond de Hay, Double Jeu d’Honvault

🇧🇷 Brazil

Chef d’équipe : Pedro Lacerda

Yuri Mansur — Elano de Laubry Z, Vitiki
Marlon Modolo Zanotelli — Dorette Old, Ilex
Eduardo Pereira de Menezes — H5 Londontime, H5 Messentus PS
Rodrigo Pessoa — Hard’Rock Af, Major Tom

🇩🇰 Denmark

Laura Baaring Kjaergaard — Guppie VDL, Qarisma van’t Roosakker

🇫🇷 France

Chef d’équipe : Edouard Couperie

Antoine Ermann — Jiamo VDS, Odin van ‘T Hanegoor
Nina Mallevaey — Destine To Be
Jeanne Sadran — Dexter de Kerglenn, Funky Boy Des Reves
Kevin Staut — Feline de Hus HDC, Visconti du Telman

🇬🇧 Great Britain

Chef d’équipe : Di Lampard

Harry Charles — LT Holst Freda, Sherlock
Sienna Charles — Chawton, Stardust
Ben Maher — Catelly, Point Break
Jessica Mendoza — Ascadina PP Z, Summerhouse

🇩🇪 Germany

Chef d’équipe : Otto Becker

Rene Dittmer — Cody 139, Corsica X
Michael Jung — Eclaire Z, Fischerheros Z
Mario Stevens — Carrie 22, Starissa FRH
Richard Vogel — Cloudio, Uppsala JPS

🇮🇪 Ireland

Chef d’équipe : Jessica Kürten

Jordan Coyle — Chaccolino, Cordiamo
Michael Duffy — Mister Qerly Z, Mr. Cornike
Niamh McEvoy — BP Rocket Man, Olympic ‘GL’ ‘FVD’
Shane Sweetnam — Coriaan van Klapscheut Z, Pia Maria H

🇮🇹 Italy

Chef d’équipe : Marco Bergomi

Piergiorgio Bucci — Hantano, Pallieter vd N.Ranch
Emanuele Camilli — Chacareno PS, Chacco’s Girlstar
Emanuele Gaudiano — Chabrello PS, Esteban de Hus
Giulia Martinengo Marquet — Delta del’Isle, Scuderia 1918 Calle Deluxe

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

Ramzy Al Duhami — Addressee, Cayadino
Khaled Almobty — Davenport VDL, Qaparezzo-A

🇲🇽 Mexico

Paola Amilibia — I’M A Star, Quinley
Federico Fernandez — Davidoff, Romeo

🇳🇱 Netherlands

Chef d’équipe : Wout-Jan van der Schans

Willem Greve — Grandorado TN N.O.P., Party In de Hus
Bas Moerings — Ipsthar, Kivinia
Harrie Smolders — Devino vd Weretherbach Z, Mr. Tac
Sanne Thijssen — Cupcake Z, Joviality
Michael Greeve — Denver, Rubens
Hessel Hoekstra — Olimpic van de Sterhoeve, VDL Mindset Es
Suus Kuyten — King Kong d’Avifauna
Lisa Nooren-Garofalo — Lewis PK, Scuderia 1918 Grand Prix
Johnny Pals — Defender VDS Z, Zarkava Hero Z
Mel Thijssen — Chic Fou de la Bastide, Cobalt de Quelennec Z
Leopold van Asten — VDL Groep Kwienbellie, VDL Groep Nino du Roton
Mathijs van Asten — Cassina Dior, Hotspot
Elize van de Mheen — Fides du Mas Garnier, Kes TN
Maikel van der Vleuten — Kentucky TMS Z, Quastor vd Heffinck
Arne van Heel — Keaton HV

🇳🇴 Norway

Oda Charlotte Lyngvaer — Carabella vd Neyen Z, Leonardo Da Vinci J.P.P.

🇳🇿 New Zealand

Luke Dee — Gangster WW

🇵🇸 Palestine

Egor Shchibrik — Crack HV, Emir de Moens Harcour

🇶🇦 Qatar

Faleh Suwead Al Ajami — Wathnan Qapella, Wathnan Quatro
Bassem Mohammed — Wathnan F One Usa, Wathnan Issem

🇿🇦 South Africa

Paige Jacobs — Leonardo van de Kapel, Q-Jewel’s Touch Of Charm

🇨🇭 Switzerland

Chef d’équipe : Peter van der Waaij

Martin Fuchs — Fortjump du Beaumenil, Lorde
Gaëtan Joliat — Chelsea Z, Just Special VK
Alain Jufer — Dante MM, Dominator MM
Jason Smith — Picobello van’t Roosakker

🇸🇪 Sweden

Petronella Andersson — Elegance Bleue VDM Z, Hexode Ste Hermelle
Wilma McMahon — Aj Bachelor Z, Eleven

🇺🇸 United States of America

Chef d’équipe : Robert Ridland

Karl Cook — Caracole de la Roque, Foxy de la Roque
Katherine A. Dinan — Cordani PS, Out Of The Blue SCF
Marilyn Little — Heidi von Imhoff, la Contessa
Callie Schott — Diamond Touch, Garant