Hans-Dieter Dreher (GER) and Elysium during the first horse inspection at the Longines FEI Jumping European Championship 2025 © FEI/Łukasz Kowalsk

Team Portugal will lead the way when the Longines FEI Jumping European Championship 2025 begins at Casas Novas in A Coruña, Spain, Thursday afternoon.

This is the 38th edition of the Championship which was first held in Rotterdam (NED) in 1957 when only individual athletes competed and Germany’s Hans Günter Winkler came out on top with Sonnenglanz. The team competition was introduced in Munich (GER) in 1975, and this time it was a complete German whitewash when the home side claimed not just the team, but also all of the individual medals.

Draw

At the draw, conducted by Ground Jury President, Carsten Andre Soerlie from Norway and Foreign Technical Delegate, Italy’s Elio Travagliati, the order-of-go for Thursdays opening competition was decided. And it will be Portugal’s Rodrigo Giesteira Almeida and the 10-year-old grey mare Karonia.L who will be first into the arena in the opening challenge of the week presented by ace Spanish course designer Santiago Varela and his team.

Meanwhile earlier in the day Dutch team horse Imagine N.O.P. did not pass the first Horse Inspection. And there was disappointment also for Austria, bronze medallists at the 2023 Championship, when Christoph Obernauer’s Kleons Renegade was not accepted, and was subsequently withdrawn. 

However, Kim Emmen’s Imagine N.O.P. will return for re-inspection Thursday morning at 09.30.

Into the ring

A total of 18 countries are contesting the team medals and the nations will line out in the following order: 1, Portugal; 2, Netherlands; 3, Spain; 4, France; 5, Hungary; 6, Israel; 7, Germany; 8, Switzerland; 9, Austria; 10, Poland; 11, Denmark; 12, Norway; 13, Great Britain; 14, Sweden; 15, Czech Republic; 16, Italy; 17, Belgium; 18, Ireland. 

The full list of teams is here.

A total of 89 horse/athlete combinations from 23 nations will compete in tomorrow’s opening competition, including individual athletes from five other countries - Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, Liechtenstein and Slovakia. 

The full start-list, including individuals, is here.

The record

Germany holds the record for the greatest number of European Jumping titles, with 15 individual and seven team gold medals. And Chef d’Equipe Otto Becker sends out a formidable squad again this year that includes Hans Dieter Dreher with Elysium, Marcus Ehning and Coolio 42, Sophie Hinners with Iron Dames My Prins, Richard Vogel and United Touch S and Paris 2024 Olympic individual gold medallist Christian Kukuk who will partner Just be Gentle. It’s a mighty show of force. 

Team Great Britain were crowned Olympic champions again last summer, and Di Lampard has two of that side, Scott Brash and Ben Maher, in her strong selection. 

However it is Sweden who will be defending the team title following their historic victory in Milan (ITA) two years ago, while Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat, individual silver medallist at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and currently on flying form, is back to defend his 2023 individual European title, this time with Albfuehren's Iashin Sitte. 

The Irish were silver medallists in Milan, and Michael Blake’s side will be hoping to take full advantage of their last-to-go draw this week. Last man into the ring tomorrow will be Darragh Kenny with Eddy Blue. Meanwhile the Czech Republic has only three horse/athlete combinations, so their first pair, Nikola Bielikova and Carison, will start in 38th place.

Scores

All team and individual athletes will compete in tomorrow’s opening Table C class after which their scores will be converted into penalties. They all compete again in the first round of the second competition on Thursday, but only the top 10 teams and top 50 individuals go through to the second round on Friday when the team medals will be decided. 

The top 25 go through to the first round of the individual final on Sunday, with the top 12 returning for a second round when the new Longines FEI Jumping European individual champion will be crowned.

It’s going to be a fascinating week of super sport, so don’t miss a hoofbeat…

All Startlists and Results here