First woman in ten years to compete for the millions

The competition is open to the ten show jumpers who are the highest ranked in the world at the end of October, and among the ten is 26-year-old Nina Mallevaey.

In January, the French star shot into the top ten in the ranking for the first time.

A big moment for her.

- When the ranking was presented, I was on a plane to Miami. So it wasn't until we landed and I saw that I had like 50 messages that I realized something had happened. It felt amazing. I was the last one to get off the plane because I wanted to read all the messages, she told the horsenetwork site.

Since that January day, she has stayed in the top ten and now she is rewarded with a ticket to the finals.

She thus becomes the first woman in ten years to be ready for the final. The last time it happened, in 2016, it was also a French rider who managed to take a place, Pénélope Leprévost.

The highest ranked rider also belongs to the stars of the new generation. 29-year-old Richard Vogel from Germany was part of the German gold team in this summer's WC, and last year won EC gold individually.

During the year, he has also lined up a large number of prestigious Grand Prix victories.

But he also suffered a major setback during the year. A few weeks ago the news came that his championship horse United Touch is not doing well. The horse had suffered an infection.

"He is receiving the best possible care and attention, and in close cooperation with our veterinary team, we are doing everything we can for his recovery," Vogel wrote on Instagram in late October.

Vogel will therefore most likely not ride United Touch in the top 10 final. However, the world number one has several other horses of the highest class, this weekend, for example, he won the World Cup in Verona with Gangster Montdesir, and seems to be able to fight for the victory.

Other riders who have qualified for the final include reigning world champion Steve Guerdat from Switzerland.

The total prize pool for the top 10 finals, which will be decided on December 11, is almost six million. The winner gets 1.9 million of them.

The world ranking is based on the rider's results, which means they can count points with all the horses they compete with.

Four years ago, for the first time - and so far the only time in the competition's 25-year history - a Swedish rider won the top 10 final. After finishing second in 2021, Henrik von Eckermann and the super horse King Edward won the final the following year.

von Eckermann was also joined on the podium after Peder Fredricson and Catch Me Not finished third.

This year, no Swede is close to a place in the final. The highest ranked is currently Henrik von Eckermann in 32nd place, but after recent successes he is said to have advanced when November's list is published.