The FEI Dressage World Cup™ Final – a highly exciting mix

The excitement is palpable as the lineup for the 37th FEI Dressage World Cup™ Final has been confirmed. Seventeen Dressage athletes from twelve nations are set to compete in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from April 16 to 20 for the coveted FEI Dressage World Cup™ trophy in 2024. What makes this final particularly thrilling is the diverse mix of finalists...

Two nations are sending three rider-horse pairs into the competition: Germany's Isabell Werth, Matthias Rath, and Raphael Netz from the Western European League (WEL), alongside Benjamin Ebeling, Kevin Kohmann, and Anna Marek representing the USA. Additionally, Belgium's Flore de Winne secured a spot in the WEL, while Larissa Pauluis received an extra starting place from the FEI.

The 2024 final field promises intrigue, with almost half of the athletes – eight out of 17 – participating in a FEI Dressage World Cup™ Final for the first time highlighting the influx of new talent.

Moreover, among the finalists are two athletes who, in terms of age, could also compete in the U25 riders' camp this year: six-time U25 European Champion Raphael Netz from Germany, who celebrated his 25th birthday at the end of March, and 24-year-old Benjamin Ebeling, who turns 25 in November. The son of Olympic rider Jan Ebeling is the youngest rider in the 2024 Final. With the 16-year-old Danish mare Indeed, which he took over from his father in 2022, Ebeling has won three stages of the North American League (NAL) and with the highest possible score, 60 points, took the lead in the NAL.

Both 'youngsters', Netz and Ebeling, are among the FEI World Cup™ rookies, as are both of Ebeling's final colleagues from the USA: 34-year-old Marek and 35-year-old Kohmann, the latter competing for the USA only since 2021, having previously ridden for Germany.

Leading the WEL rankings, Isabell Werth will be heading to Riyadh, with three wins and one second place accumulating a remarkable 77 points. This marks Werth's 25th appearance in the Final, but the first for her 18-year-old partner Emilio. Riyadh will serve as Emilio's final major sporting appearance, bidding farewell to the sport and retiring to Werth's riding center in Rheinberg, like all of Isabell Werth's sporting partners. Werth, a seven-time Olympic champion and the most experienced and successful World Cup™ athlete at the 2024 Final, has already clinched the FEI Dressage World Cup™ Final title five times: in 1992 with Fabienne, in 2007 with Warum Nicht FRH, and three times in a row from 2017 to 2019 with Weihegold OLD.

The other World Cup™ finalists from the Western European League include last year’s runner up in the FEI Dressage World Cup™ Final, Nanna Skodborg Merrald (DEN), and World Champion Charlotte 'Lotti' Fry from England. The 28-year-old is bringing the half-brother of her World Champion Glamourdale, Everdale, with her. Patrik Kittel (SWE) has also secured his place for Sweden, boasting eight FEI Dressage World Cup™ Final appearances, second only to Isabell Werth. His partner in Riyadh will be Touchdown, with whom the 47-year-old has already competed at the World and European Championships.

For Melissa Galloway from New Zealand the 2024 FEI Dressage World Cup™ Final will be a première. With the 14-year-old Windermere J'Obei, who was bred in New Zealand, the 31-year-old won the League Final in Cambridge-Takapoto, New Zealand, and secured the only place in the Final of the Pacific League (PAL). In 2022, the pair were already among the World Championships 2022, and in 2023 they dominated the New Zealand Dressage Championships and set the latest New Zealand records in Grand Prix with 73,456 and Freestyle with 80,120 percent.

A sensational dual leadership took Alisa Glinka from Moldova and Justina Vanagaite from Lithuania in the Central European League (CEL). Both collected 80 World Cup™ points with four wins each – that's as good as it gets. For both riders, it will be their second participation in the Final, their horses Abercrombie and Nabab, on the other hand, will be making their FEI World Cup™ Final debuts. In total, twelve of the 17 horses in the Riyadh-Final will be competing for the first time in a FEI Dressage World Cup™ Final – another number that may come as a surprise.

The level of competition is expected to be intense, with seven pairs already achieving impressive scores above the 80 percent mark in their previous World Cup™ appearances. The best qualification result of all the finalists was achieved by Charlotte Fry and Everdale with 88.18 percent, closely followed by Isabell Werth and Emilio with 87.950 percent.

As the event draws closer, the excitement heightens, with a mix of new talents and seasoned riders preparing for what promises to be an electrifying FEI Dressage World Cup™ Final in Saudi’s capital Riyadh.

Western European League

1 Isabell WERTH - Emilio 107 – GER

2 Charlotte FRY - Everdale – GBR

3 Patrik KITTEL - Touchdown – SWE

4 Matthias Alexander RATH - Destacado FRH – GER

5 Nanna SKODBORG MERRALD – Blue Hors Don Olymbrio – DEN

6 Morgan BARBANÇON - Sir Donnerhall II OLD – FRA

7 Raphael NETZ - Great Escape Camelot – GER

8 Borja CARRASCOVA - Sir Hubert NRW – ESP

9 Flore DE WINNE - Flynn FRH – BEL

Central European League (2 slots)

1 Alisa GLINKA - Abercrombie – MDA

2 Justina VANAGAITE - Nabab – LTU

Pacific League (1 slot)

1 Melissa GALLOWAY - Windermere J’Obei W – NZL

North American League (3 slots)

1 Benjamin EBELING - Indeed – USA

2 Kevin KOHMANN - Duenensee – USA

3 Anna MAREK - Fayvel – USA

FEI Extra Starting places (Non-League and Title Defender)

1 Thamar ZWEISTRA - Hexagon’s Ich Weiss – NED

2 Larissa PAULUIS - First-Step Valentin – BEL

Raphael Netz (GER) with Great Escape Camelot  |  Photo: FEI/ Leanjo de Koster