One of the highlights of the Jumping International de La Baule – Officiel de France took centre stage on Friday afternoon as 40 horse-and-rider combinations representing 10 nations gathered in the iconic Stade François André for the prestigious Barrière Nations Cup.

Contested over two rounds at 1.60m, the course designed with 12 obstacles and 15 jumping efforts immediately proved demanding, testing both the technical skills and precision of the world's best riders.

Germany was the first nation to enter the arena and quickly set the tone for the competition. André Thieme and DSP Chakaria delivered a superb clear round, becoming the first combination of the day to leave all the fences intact. Great Britain's Jessica Mendoza and Summerhouse followed suit, as did France's Nina Mallevaey with Dynastie de Beaufour and Switzerland's Martin Fuchs aboard Fortjump du Beaumenil.

As the first round progressed, faults began to appear across the field, with the course proving challenging both technically and against the clock. Saudi Arabia's Khaled Almobty and Diana du Plevau Z stood out with another clear round, while Germany continued to impress by seeing its first three riders complete the course without penalty.

At the end of the opening round, Germany and Great Britain shared the lead on a perfect score of zero penalties. France sat in third place with just one penalty point, ahead of Sweden on four faults. Saudi Arabia and Belgium were tied on eight penalties. Italy and the United States failed to qualify for the second round.

The second round opened with a clear round from Ireland's Darragh Kenny, immediately putting pressure on the leading nations. Switzerland's Martin Fuchs then collected four penalties, while Belgium's Nicola Philippaerts also added four faults to his team's score.

The atmosphere reached another level when Nina Mallevaey entered the arena. Roared on by the home crowd, the French rider unfortunately touched the planks and finished with four penalties. Jessica Mendoza also incurred four faults for Great Britain.

Germany, however, remained flawless thanks to another exceptional performance from André Thieme, who became the first rider to produce a double clear round and keep his nation on a score of zero.

Ireland steadily climbed the leaderboard thanks to faultless rounds from Bertram Allen and Cian O'Connor, while Belgium stayed in contention through Pieter Devos' clear round. France responded through Olivier Perreau, who delivered a superb clear to keep the hosts firmly in the battle.
Sophie Hinners then maintained Germany's perfect score, but the competition took a dramatic turn when Daniel Deusser lowered the final fence of the course. The four penalties suddenly reopened the door for France.

The pressure intensified as the final riders prepared to enter the arena. Antoine Ermann rose to the occasion with a magnificent clear round, leaving France on just one penalty point overall.
Everything would now come down to the performances of Julien Epaillard and Richard Vogel.
In front of an electric home crowd, Julien Epaillard delivered exactly what France needed: a brilliant clear round that kept the French total unchanged.

The title was now in Richard Vogel's hands. If the reigning European champion could jump clear, Germany would secure victory. But under immense pressure, the German rider clipped the planks and added four penalties to Germany's score.

The mistake handed France a historic victory. Nine years after their last success in La Baule, the French team finally returned to the top step of the podium in the prestigious Barrière Nations Cup, much to the delight of the home crowd.
The Stade François André erupted.
France had won the Barrière Nations Cup.
Final Classification

🥇 France – 1 penalty point
🥈 Germany – 4 penalty points
🥉 Ireland – 9 penalty points

After a thrilling contest that remained undecided until the very last rider, France claimed one of the most prestigious team titles in international show jumping in front of an ecstatic home crowd in La Baule.