Kendra Claricia Brinkop and Jörne Sprehe in Global Champions League teams for the first time

This year, German riders are most prominently represented in the Global Champions League, especially in the Cannes Stars team, which is backed by Iron Dames boss Deborah Mayer. As in the previous year, Sophie Hinners, Katrin Eckermann and Janne Friederike Meyer-Zimmermann are competing “pretty in pink”. Jörne Sprehe, who has been a safe bet at various Nations Cups in recent years, will be competing for the first time. Sweden’s Angelica Augustsson-Zanotelli and the 19-year-old Monegasque rider Anastasia Nielsen, who caused a minor sensation last year when she won the Global Champions Tour stage in Rabat, will ride alongside the German quartet.

Last year’s winners from Valkenswaard United are relying on a proven team that also includes Marcus Ehning and Hans-Dieter Dreher.

Even though he no longer rides for Beerbaum Stables, Christian Kukuk is still part of Team Riesenbeck International, as are his long-time colleague Philipp Weishaupt, his brother Max and Marco Kutscher. The team is completed by Irish rider Ciaran Nallon, also based in Riesenbeck, as U25 rider and Italy’s Emanuele Camilli.

Two guarantors of success for the Shanghai Swans in recent years have been Christian Ahlmann and Daniel Deußer. They will continue to enrich the team in the coming season, as will Max Kühner, who rides for Austria although he is at home in Bavaria. Giacomo Casadei, Ben Maher and Jane Richard complete the strong line-up.

In the Mexico Amigos team, Kendra Claricia Brinkop rides alongside her long-time colleague at Stephex Stables, Zoe Conter – or Zoe Hank Conter, as she has been known since her marriage to Carlos Hank Guerreiro. He will be riding alongside her this summer for the Mexico Amigos, as will Niamh Mcevoy (IRL) and Eduardo Menezes (BRA).

The Global Champions League teams 2026 at a glance

• Valkenswaard United: Thibault Philippaerts, Gilles Thomas, Marcus Ehning, Hans-Dieter Dreher, Lorenzo De Luca, Edwina Tops-Alexander
  
  


• New York Empire: Georgina Bloomberg, Bertram Allen, Scott Brash, Max Wachman, Denis Lynch, Michael Pender
  
  


• Cannes Stars powered by Iron Dames: Sophie Hinners, Katrin Eckermann, Janne Friederike Meyer-Zimmermann, Jörne Sprehe, Angelica Augustsson Zanotelli, Anastasia Nielsen
  
  


• Basel Cosmopolitans: Géraldine Straumann, Marlon Modolo Zanotelli, Zascha Nygaard, Nicola Philippaerts, Olivier Philippaerts, Andreas Schou
  
  


• Riesenbeck International powered by Horse Gym: Ciaran Nallon, Philipp Weishaupt, Max Weishaupt, Christian Kukuk, Marco Kutscher, Emanuele Camilli
  
  


• Prague Lions powered by Czech Equestrian Team: Anna Kellnerovà, Thibeau Spits, Niels Bryunseels, Pieter Devos, Derin Demirsoy, Fernando Martinez Sommer
  
  


• Scandinavian Vikings: Sara Vingralkova, Jur Vrieling, Jorge Matte Capdevila, Lara Tryba, Deirdre Reilly, Susan Fitzpatrick
  
  


• Monaco Aces: Iñigo Lopez de La Osa Franco, Gregory Cottard, Peder Fredricson, Yuri Mansur, Duarte Seabra, Mariano Martinez Bastida
  
  


• Rome Gladiators: Yali Kass, Guido Grimaldi, Jennifer Hochstaedter, Luiz Felipe Neto De Azevedo, Clara Pezzoli, Ioli Mytilineou
  
  


• Shanghai Swans: Giacomo Casadei, Max Kühner, Christian Ahlmann, Daniel Deusser, Ben Maher, Jane Richard
  
  


• St. Tropez Pirates: Jeanne Sadran, Antoine Ermann, Nadja Peter Steiner, Jérôme Guery, Piergiorgio Bucci, Kaitlin Campbell
  
  


• Istanbul Warriors powered by Carpe Diem Equestrian Team: Oliver Fletcher, Hasan Şentürk, Efe Siyahi, Henrik Von Eckermann, Simon Delestre, Abdel Saïd
  
  


• Madrid In Motion: Jack Whitaker, Kim Emmen, Victor Bettendorf, Eduardo Alvarez Aznar, Maikel Van der Vleuten, Sergio Alvarez Moya
  
  


• NEW: Cairo Pharaohs: Ismail Osama El Borai, Nayel Nassar, Inès Joly, Annelies Vorsselmans, Dalma Malhas, Pim Mulder
  
  


• Doha Falcons: Caroline Rehoff Pedersen, Jessica Mendoza, Oliver Lazarus, Sheik Ali Bin Khalid Al-Thani, Sanne Thijssen, Nathan Budd
  
  


• Mexico Amigos: Niamh Mcevoy, Carlos Hank Guerreiro, Eduardo Menezes, Zoe Hank Conter, Kendra Claricia Brinkop, Koen Vereecke
  
  


• Riyadh Knights: Tom Wachman, Cian O’Connor, Olivier Perreau, Rodrigo Gesteira Almeida, Emanuele Gaudiano, Mathijs Van Asten

The mode

The individual Global Champions League stages in 2026 will still be held over two rounds on one day, in which every ride counts, meaning there is no scratch result, but this time only the top ten teams from round one over 1.60 meters will qualify for the second round over 1.55 meters. The faults are carried over.

The Global Champions League stage is also about qualifying for the Grand Prix, the Global Champions Tour. The results from the first round count for this. The best 30 riders qualify for Sunday. In a further 1.60 meter jumping competition on the first day, ten individual riders can recommend themselves for the Global Champions Tour stage, meaning that 40 pairs will be at the start here.

Each team consists of six riders, including a mandatory U25 rider. The team managers have the option of swapping riders and horses halfway through the season.