Long-time FEI Para Dressage World Individual rankings leader Fiona Howard (USA), pictured here en route to three Paralympic gold medals with Diamond Dunes at Paris 2024, also picked up a hat-trick at Wellington last month on her coach Kate Shoemaker’s mare Vianne to keep USA atop the team rankings. © FEI / Liz Gregg

The FEI oversees around 70 Rankings and Standings across all the disciplines, from World Rankings calculated on a monthly basis for Athletes, Horses and/or Combinations, to league, team and regional based standings for Series such as the Longines League of Nations™, FEI World Cup™ and FEI Nations Cup™. The FEI rankings also include a variety of youth categories, which are featured separately later in the month.

Longines Rankings: Brash stays as world number one

Scott Brash (GBR), who topped the Grand Prix winners’ parade with Hello Chadora Lady in Paris (FRA) last month, has held onto the number one spot in the Longines Rankings, but his advantage over second-placed Kent Farrington has shrunk. Brash’s total of 3,497 has left him 196 points clear of the American, who claimed the end-March US$1,000,000 Wellington feature with Greya to shave off 45 points and creep closer to the Scotsman. There’s a change immediately behind the leading pair, with the 2025 European champion Richard Vogel taking over third from Ben Maher (GBR) after a run of four victories for the German at Ocala and Wellington. Vogel’s 3,187 puts him 70-points ahead of Maher, with Belgium’s Gilles Thomas static in fifth on 2,989. 

Nina Mallevaey (FRA) holds onto her best female crown, up one place to sixth on 2,955, with Ireland’s Shane Sweetnam (2,924) also on the ascendancy after climbing up two and into seventh. Frenchman Julien Epaillard, who will not be defending his 2025 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ title in Fort Worth (USA) this week, remains eighth on 2,901 ahead of Paris 2024 Olympic champion Christian Kukuk, who has dropped from sixth to ninth on 2,890. Rounding out the top-10 is Laura Kraut (USA) on 2,690, at the expense of compatriot McLain Ward, who is now down in 12th on 2,660. Ward will not be challenging for his second Longines title in Texas this week after breaking a small bone in his hand in a mid-March jump-off fall at Wellington and now a back injury is keeping him out of the saddle.

Longines League of Nations™ Ranking: Team USA maintains its lead 

Team USA still has the advantage over all its rivals in the Longines League of Nations™ ranking on 15,258 points. Second-placed Belgium has edged closer to the USA’s lead on 14,624 and now sits 634 points behind, compared to the 769 which separated the top two teams at the end of February. There’s a switch immediately behind the leading pair, with France overtaking Britain to snatch third on 14,062, and Team GBR now down in fourth on 13,942. While the points have changed in the six nations that complete the top-10, the placings remain the same, with Ireland fifth on 13,784, ahead of Germany (13,537), Netherlands (11,787), Switzerland (11,203), Italy (9,902) and Brazil (9,718).

FEI Dressage World Ranking – Athletes

The new world number one athlete and horse in the FEI Dressage World Ranking were covered in our feature on Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour (DEN) and Mount St John Freestyle here.

FEI Eventing World Athlete Ranking: Meade comfortable on top

Britain’s Harry Meade, who has five entries for next month’s MARS Badminton and three of those cross-entered for this month’s Defender Kentucky, remains comfortably out in front of the rankings on 588 points. Boyd Martin (USA), who has three horses listed for the US spring 5*, one of which is also entered for Badminton, holds on in second with 537 points, ahead of reigning European champion Laura Collett on 469. Collett, who is aiming for Badminton with her Burghley 10th-placed ride Bling, is currently recovering from surgery after a cross country training fall last month. In an unchanged top-10, Tim Price (NZL) is fourth on 455, ahead of Ros Canter (GBR), fifth on 453, and Tom McEwen (GBR) in sixth with 427. 

FEI Para Dressage World Individual & Team: Howard keeps USA out in front

No surprise that Paris 2024 Paralympic Games triple gold medallist Fiona Howard (USA) is still the dominant force in the Para Dressage rankings, despite having undergone kidney surgery at the back end of last year resulting in seven weeks hospitalisation. The 27-year-old Grade II athlete boosted her points tally to 1,646 with another clean sweep and new records, this time on home turf in Wellington last month, but with a new temporary partner, the mare Vianne who is normally ridden by Howard’s long-time trainer Kate Shoemaker. Germany’s Heidemarie Dresing (Grade II) holds onto second on an unchanged 1,514, with Shoemaker (Grade IV) also maintaining her end-February 1,496. Biggest mover is French Grade IV athlete Alexia Pittier, who has moved up 70 places to 10th after posting a hat-trick of wins and a second with Sultan 768 at Pompadour (FRA). The USA maintains its grip at the head of the team rankings on 1,344 points, with Great Britain (1,326) and Germany (1,300) unmoved in second and third.

FEI Driving World Rankings - Four-in-Hand / Pairs / Singles: Sandman takes over top spot in Pairs

Just two points cover the top three drivers in the Pairs rankings, with Germany’s Anna Sandmann taking over at number one on a tally of 106 points. Sandmann’s compatriot Lars Schwitte is also up a place in second on 105, with the end-February leader Stan van Eijk now down in third on 104. There is no reshuffling of the order in the four-in-hand, however, with Boyd Exell (AUS) still dominating on 218 to sit 37 clear of closest rival, Bram Chardon (NED). 

French driver Marion Vignaud is still the one to beat in the singles rankings on 77 points, but her biggest rival for that top spot is now Clement Deschamps (FRA), who has moved up from fifth and within four points of the lead. Biggest mover in this category is Eline Houterman of the Netherlands, who is up from 20th to ninth on 44 points, after putting in the best marathon performance on home turf at last month’s Exloo CAI3*-H1 to finish seventh with Fino Uno Toltien.

FEI Endurance Riders &Trainer World Rankings: Theolissat and Singh Khiv Singh Rathore hold firm

Melody Theolissat, who has been competing only at the 1* and 2* levels so far this season and has yet to get back onto the 160-kilometre rides, still reigns at the helm of the Endurance Riders rankings with 1,077 points. Fellow Frenchwoman May Manifacier, who had moved up to second at the end of February, has slid to third in the rolling-12-month classification on 945, behind Argentina’s Yair Manno, who tragically died in January, but whose points are still registered. Saif Ahmed Mohammed Ali Almazrouei (UAE) and Bullio Quasillo, winners of the Al Ula 160k in February, stay top of the combination rankings on 485 points, well ahead of Jana Kupper (AUT) and Talisman El Takko on 368. 

India’s Bhanwar Singh Khiv Singh Rathore, who moved up from eighth to take the lead in the trainers’ ranking at the end of February, remains out in front on 1,209 points. Mohammed Ahmad Ali Al Subosi (UAE) is up one place to take second on 1,034 to sit a slim two points ahead of Finland’s Alina Huovinen, up from sixth on 1,032.

You can check all FEI Rankings here