The Longines global rankings, recently updated by the International Equestrian Federation (FEI), show German rider Richard Vogel maintaining his dominance in November. Notably, Moroccan equestrian Nina Mallevaey has successfully secured her invitation to the prestigious Rolex IJRC Top Ten final, set to take place next month in Geneva. This month's national hierarchy is also crucial for determining the countries invited to participate in the Longines Nations League, with France ensuring its participation in 2027.
For the third consecutive month, Richard Vogel has proven his prowess by topping the Longines global rankings for riders. Despite his horse, United Touch S, being under veterinary observation due to an infection, Vogel relied on Cloudio to defend part of his points accumulated during last year's Longines Nations League final in Barcelona. Cloudio further elevated his total by clinching second place in the Longines World Cup stage in Lyon just last Sunday. As a result, the former pupil of Ludger Beerbaum now boasts a remarkable total of 3,465 points, significantly widening his lead over American rider Kent Farrington, who trails by 288 points—a substantial increase from the 108-point gap last month. With only 210 points to defend this month, Richard Vogel is almost guaranteed to conclude the year as the leading rider in the global rankings.
Meanwhile, Kent Farrington faces stiff competition from Irish rider Shane Sweetnam, who is only thirteen points behind him in the rankings. Farrington must defend 205 points this month to maintain his second position. In the shifting dynamics behind this unchanged leading trio, Swiss rider Steve Guerdat has moved up one place, while American McLain Ward has advanced by two positions. Conversely, Scott Brash has slipped from fourth to sixth place, now finding himself behind fellow British rider Ben Maher, who previously held that position. Despite losing a mere fifteen points, Nina Mallevaey has firmly retained her eighth place in the world rankings, ensuring her participation in the Top Ten Rolex IJRC final in Geneva, where invitations are based on the November standings. Should they accept their invitations, German Daniel Deusser and Israeli Daniel Bluman are expected to compete against Mallevaey at Palexpo, completing the current top ten. So far, these ten athletes appear to have positively responded to the call from the International Jumping Riders Club (IJRC), confirming their participation in the Geneva final.
Last year, Julien Épaillard was the only French rider to qualify for this prestigious event, but he managed to maintain his thirteenth place this time around. The Augeron rider successfully earned 130 points from his victory in the Longines World Cup stage in Lyon with Le Coultre de Muze last Sunday, although he had previously finished second last year with Fringan de Vesquerie. His other horse, Donatello d’Auge, helped him gather 80 points by finishing second in the Equita Masters presented by Hermès Sellier the day before. This time, he ended up fourth with Fini l'Amour, but this performance does not contribute to his total of 2,700 points. On an upward trajectory, Simon Delestre has climbed four ranks to now sit just outside the Top Twenty at twenty-first place, while Kevin Staut ranks forty-third, being the last French rider in the top fifty. Additionally, Olivier Perreau is ranked fifty-seventh, Antoine Ermann has dropped from forty-sixth to fifty-ninth place after losing points from his third-place finish in Lyon last year, and Mégane Moissonnier is now in sixty-fourth place.
The November edition of the global rankings holds significant importance as it also determines the list of nations invited to participate in the Longines Nations League (LNL) for the following season. The qualifications for this circuit are based on a global hierarchy where the points of the top five riders from a country are combined with those of its best representative under the age of twenty-five. In this competitive landscape, the United States continues to hold the top position, as it did in 2025, with a total of 14,705 points, maintaining only a slim lead of forty-nine points over Germany and a little more than five hundred points ahead of Ireland in third place. Belgium and France round out the top five. Following them are Great Britain, Switzerland, Brazil, Italy, and Israel, which notably improved from eighteenth place last year. Currently experiencing a challenging performance period, the Netherlands has dropped from seventh to eleventh place, thereby missing out on an invitation to the LNL next year.
Thibeau Spits, who finished sixth in the Longines World Cup stage in Lyon with his double world champion Impress-K van’t Kattenheye, continues to dominate both the global rankings for riders under twenty-five and the rankings for pairs alongside his black stallion. French rider Antoine Ermann, previously ranked second among riders born in 2001 or earlier, has slipped down one rank.
As reported by grandprix.info.
