October 3, 2024 
The first-ever Longines League of Nations™ Final takes place in Barcelona this weekend as the world’s best teams vie for glory at Real Club de Polo.
From the original 10-nation starting list, eight made the cut to advance to the Final. Those are Brazil, France, Germany, Ireland, The Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and the USA. Spain will make a guest appearance, as the host nation.
But all eyes are on Irish as they look to finish the job they started at the season opener in February.
The green coats finished atop the inaugural LLN Standings on 235 points following their second place finish in Abu Dhabi and first place finish in Ocala. (The St Gallen leg was cancelled due to inclement weather).
The end of their season didn’t fare as well, however.
They finished in eighth place at the fourth and final leg of the season in Rotterdam and, despite being favorited to medal at the Paris Olympics, missed the podium there too.
You can bet they’ll be looking for redemption in Barcelona. Because if there’s one mission chef d’equipe Michael Blake is focused on, its winning Nations Cups. And he’s not shy about expressing it.
“For me, Nations Cups are the pinnacle of the sport,” Blake told Brussells Stephex Masters. “I want to build a dynasty in Nations Cups.”
For the LLN Final, Blake has tapped Daniel Coyle (world no. 15), Cian O’Connor (no. 16), Denis Lynch (no. 35), Michael Pender (no. 66) and Mark McAuley (no. 89) to answer the call.
Notably, three of those riders are ranked in the top 10 for 5* Nations Cup podium finishes this year within the LLN season and beyond (Jumpr Stats). O’Connor tops the ranking with five podium finishes in 5* Nations Cups this year. Coyle has jumped to three and Lynch to two.
In other words, they’re nothing if not consistent.
Weighing in Team Ireland’s favor in Barcelona is the absence of the Brits. The reigning Olympic champions did not make the cut for the LLN Final. Nor did Belgium, a nation that has twice won the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup Final since its inception in 2018.
But there’s no shortage of top talent aiming to thwart their mission.
Sweden finished second in the League and is bringing three members of its Olympic team, including world no. 1 Henrik von Eckermann. Team Germany, the 2023 defending champions, have individual Olympic champion Christian Kukuk in the stirrups along with on form Jörne Sprehe, Andre Thieme, and Richard Vogel. The French are sending their bronze medal winning team from Paris while the USA has tapped three riders from their Dublin Nation Cups winning team team last month and The Netherlands and Switzerland both have individual Olympic medalists in their ranks.
Tune in Sunday October 6 (for FREE!) on FEI TV to see which nation prevails.
