FEI Dressage Nations Cup™ season set for Wellington return

After two abbreviated seasons, the FEI Dressage Nations Cup™ is set for a celebratory return in the heart of winter dressage in Wellington (USA).

The 2022 season will span six nations between March and July, when a series champion will be crowned. The uniquely formatted competition rewards both consistency and strategy, as teams may compete across Big and Small Tour events.

Team medals are decided after the Grand Prix (or Prix St. Georges for Small Tour combinations) and the Grand Prix Special (or Intermediate I) tests.

Back to the beginning

The Global Dressage Festival CDIO3* in Wellington (USA) will put the United States on home soil as Team USA seeks to reclaim the series for the first time since the first official title was awarded in 2016. That year, the country did win the series’ opening leg, setting them in good early standing.

This year’s American squad features a group of rising stars in Bianca Berktold (Imperial), Katie Duerrhammer (Quartett), Susan Dutta (Don Design DC) and Ben Ebeling (Indeed). Both Berktold and Duerrhammer will start in their first respective CDIO competitions, while Susan Dutta and Don Design are fresh off their Grand Prix Freestyle debut, in which they finished second to kick off their 2022 season. This pair has made the podium in their last four international starts.

The team’s youngest rider, Ebeling, 22, might be considered the veteran. Ebeling was the second alternate for Team USA at the Tokyo Olympic Games and made the Nations Cup team at CDIO5* Aachen in September. Those results came aboard the Belgian Warmblood Illuster van de Kampert; this time around, he will partner with the Danish bred Indeed, a newer mount that was developed by his father, Olympian Jan Ebeling (USA).

Duerrhammer, Dutta and Ebeling will compete at the Big Tour level, while Berktold will ride at the Small Tour level. The U.S. squad will be led for the first time by newly appointed Chef d’Equipe George Williams.

Canada and Germany have also fielded teams. The Canadian squad will consist of Beatrice Boucher (Summerwood’s Limei), Pia Fortmuller (Frieda), Megan Lane (Zodiac MW) and Evi Strasser (Déjà vu Tyme). Michael Klimke (Harmony’s Sanrino RHP), Christoph Koschel (Duenensee), Lars Ligus (Soccer City) and Frederic Wandres (Dolciario) will fly the flag for Germany.

Six legs

Wellington’s opening leg will be followed by the CDIO3* in Mariakalnok (HUN) and the CDIO5* in Compiégne (FRA), both in May.

CDIO5* competition will resume in June at Rotterdam (NED) and July at Aachen (GER). The series winner will be decided just a week later at Falsterbo’s (SWE) CDIO4*. Sweden has claimed the series title in three of the last five seasons.

Further details about the FEI Dressage Nations Cup™ series can be found here.