Future Champions 2026 Nations Cup: Great Britain and Italy Take the Top Spots; Germany's Junior Team Finishes Third in the Junior Series

The pony riders were the first to compete in the Nations Cup on Saturday morning. Great Britain took the win. Amy Capper on Oscar van de Beekerheide, Cora Dowey on Armene du Costilg, and Lucia Nicole Caroline on Holly Blue rode clear rounds in all rounds. The fourth team rider, Raphaela Dawson with Woody Allen van Duyversputten, also crossed the finish line with a clear round in the first round.

Happy Brits

British team manager Clare Whitaker had a nearly perfect day: “The riders have great ponies and the right attitude. They stayed calm and performed their tasks brilliantly. Two of them are still very young, so I’m especially pleased with this performance. Today, everything just came together.”

The Irish team finished second, ahead of Sweden. Things didn’t go so well for the German team: they finished seventh out of eight teams.

Italy Again

The Italian teams clearly feel right at home in Hagen. After the juniors from Bella Italia won yesterday, the Italian team also topped the rankings in the Children’s division today. And not just by any margin, but with the dream result of “zero” penalty points. In eight rounds, only two poles were knocked down. No other team managed that.

In the Children’s Nations Cup, three teams managed to accumulate just four penalty points in total. These included the teams from the Netherlands and Ireland, as well as the German delegation. Mila Osing and Capitaine (4/0), Grace Isabelle Kühner with Rassina-M (0/0), and Mary-Ann Hollenbach and Falitha Sheila (12/0) all remained clear in the second round. As a result, the fourth rider in the group, Joelle Sprehe with Starlinda, did not even have to enter the B course. She had finished the first round without any faults.

Team manager Eberhard Seemann was understandably pleased: “The kids did a great job. In the end, it was an incredibly close call. The level of competition in Europe is extremely high in this age group.”

Series decided, a podium finish for Germany

Future Champions Hagen was the final stop of the “FEI Jumping Nations Cup Youth Series.” Ireland’s second-place finish in Hagen was enough to secure the overall title. Great Britain finished the season in second place in the pony division. The Netherlands finished in third place.

In the children’s category, the Netherlands finished ahead of Poland in the overall series standings. Germany came in third.

Results from the Future Champions, Hagen 2026