Falsterbo Preview: History, Elo and the Favorites
Falsterbo hosts two 1.60m tests, with the Nations Cup on Friday and the Rolex Grand Prix Presented by Agria on Sunday. Here's how the field stacks up based on historical records and current Elo ratings.
With the World Championships in Aachen fast approaching, every Nations Cup and Grand Prix is another chance for combinations to sharpen their form and build confidence on championship-level tracks.
Sweden's hold on the Falsterbo Nations Cup is well established, five wins from 14 runnings since 2010. What gets less attention is that Sweden has won the Grand Prix just as often, five times in the same span, yet not once since Peder Fredricson took it in 2019. Germany, Switzerland, Germany again and the USA have shared the last four runnings between them.
Both features run at 1.60m, Friday's Nations Cup and Sunday's Rolex Grand Prix Presented by Agria.
The win, podium and clear rate figures below are specific to the Falsterbo Nations Cup and Grand Prix since 2010. Elo ratings reflect each horse's current form.
Friday: The Nations Cup by Team Record
Sweden's 35.7% win rate is the best of any nation with more than four starts at Falsterbo, backed by a 75% team clear rate across 28 rounds, the highest of any side with a comparable sample. Germany's win rate is close behind at 33.3%, though from fewer starts, and the Netherlands have matched Sweden's 14 appearances for three wins.
| Nation | Starts | Wins | Win % | Podium % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sweden | 14 | 5 | 35.7% | 78.6% |
| Germany | 9 | 3 | 33.3% | 66.7% |
| Netherlands | 14 | 3 | 21.4% | 50% |
| Switzerland | 12 | 2 | 16.7% | 25% |
| Belgium | 4 | 1 | 25% | 25% |
| Ireland | 8 | 0 | 0% | 50% |
Shown for top six podium placing nations with multiple Falsterbo Nations Cup starts since 2010.
2026 Nations Cup form in the field
This season's Nations Cup rounds have been kind to a handful of combinations now entered at Falsterbo. Richard Vogel has gone clear in every round he's jumped on Cloudio, and Andre Thieme's Dsp Chakaria and Martin Fuchs's Lorde have each turned a 75% clear rate into a win and two podiums apiece. Shane Sweetnam's James Kann Cruz carries the highest current Elo of the group without a win yet this season, two podiums from three rounds.
| Horse | Rider | Nation | Clear Rate | Wins | Podiums |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloudio | Richard Vogel | GER | 100% | 1 | 1 |
| Dsp Chakaria | Andre Thieme | GER | 75% | 1 | 2 |
| Lorde | Martin Fuchs | SUI | 75% | 1 | 2 |
| Picobello Van't Roosakker | Jason Smith | SUI | 60% | 1 | 2 |
| James Kann Cruz | Shane Sweetnam | IRL | 67% | 0 | 2 |
| Iron Dames Combella | Sophie Hinners | GER | 100% | 0 | 1 |
2026 season Nations Cup rounds only, for combinations entered at Falsterbo this week with 2 or more classifications in 2026.
Who to look for on Friday
This year's Swedish team is made up of Henrik von Eckermann, Petronella Andersson, Thomas Ryan, and Wilma McMahon. Von Eckermann brings the deepest Falsterbo Nations Cup record of the four, seven starts for three wins and six podiums, an 85.7% podium rate. Andersson already has a Falsterbo Nations Cup win to her name, though on a different horse in 2025. Cicci BJ N's record with McMahon, a win from three starts, is the strongest of any combination on the team with more than one prior run.
Henrik von Eckermann
Sunday: The Rolex Grand Prix Presented by Agria
The Grand Prix has run harder against the home nation than the Nations Cup ever has. Sweden's five wins came early, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2019, and nothing since. Germany won it twice in the last four years, Switzerland and the USA once each, and the venue's overall clear rate, 20% in round one and 53% in round two across 14 runnings, shows how little margin for error the final round leaves.
Grand Prix winners since 2017
| Year | Rider | Nation | Horse |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Steve Guerdat | SUI | Hannah |
| 2018 | Billy Twomey | IRL | Kimba Flamenco |
| 2019 | Peder Fredricson | SWE | H&M All In |
| 2022 | Andre Thieme | GER | Dsp Chakaria |
| 2023 | Martin Fuchs | SUI | Conner Jei |
| 2024 | Sandra Auffarth | GER | Quirici H |
| 2025 | Karl Cook | USA | Caracole De La Roque |
Who to look for on Sunday
With the Grand Prix start list still to be confirmed, the combinations below represent the strongest form among this week's entries rather than the confirmed Sunday field.
Point Break carries the highest Elo in the field, built on the quality of the opposition Ben Maher has beaten. Among this week's entries are past Falsterbo Grand Prix winners Andre Thieme and Martin Fuchs, who claimed the title with DSP Chakaria and Conner Jei respectively. Steve Guerdat also brings an outstanding record, with one win and two further podiums from nine starts.
| Horse | Rider | Nation | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Point Break | Ben Maher | GBR | 791 |
| Greya | Kent Farrington | USA | 786 |
| James Kann Cruz | Shane Sweetnam | IRL | 781 |
| Eddy Blue | Darragh Kenny | IRL | 774 |
| Dsp Chakaria | Andre Thieme | GER | 770 |
Entered at Falsterbo this week; the confirmed Grand Prix start list is not yet public.
The road to Aachen
Falsterbo comes just five weeks before the FEI World Championships in Aachen, and a striking number of this week's entries are already among their nation's nominated combinations.
Sweden's entire Nations Cup team this week, Henrik von Eckermann, Petronella Andersson, Thomas Ryan and Wilma Hellström, are on Sweden's nominated list for Aachen with the same horses they are riding in Falsterbo. Peder Fredricson is also nominated with Alcapone des Carmille and SV Vroom de la Pomme Z despite sitting out this week's team competition.
Germany's confirmed Aachen squad includes Sophie Hinners, Andre Thieme and Richard Vogel, all of whom are competing in Falsterbo. Three British riders entered this week, Ben Maher, Jack Whitaker and Adrian Whiteway, also feature on Great Britain's nominated list.
Switzerland's four Falsterbo riders, Martin Fuchs, Steve Guerdat, Gaëtan Joliat and Jason Smith, are all nominated for Aachen, as are Ireland's Shane Sweetnam, Jordan Coyle, Darragh Kenny and Trevor Breen. Denmark also fields four nominated riders in Andreas Schou, Laura Baaring Kjaergaard, Zascha Nygaard Lill and Soren Moller Rohde, while Belgium's Falsterbo contingent of Nicola Philippaerts, Abdel Saïd, Pieter Devos and Thibeau Spits all appear on the list as well.
Mexico has three nominated riders competing this week, Patricio Pasquel, Nicolas Pizarro and Luis Alejandro Plascencia O, while France is represented by three nominated combinations in Kevin Staut, Nicolas Sers and Megane Moissonnier. The United States arrives with three riders nominated for Aachen, but unlike Germany, none are part of the team already confirmed for the World Championships.
And that's just the national squads with nominated riders. Beyond those team riders, a host of individual competitors in Falsterbo also feature on their country's nominated lists for Aachen. With the World Championships also set to be contested on grass, this week's competition offers one of the last opportunities to prove form on the same footing before definite entries are confirmed on 27 July.
The form book says Sweden on Friday. The Elo says Point Break on Sunday, the highest rated horse in the field. The history books say it could be anyone's week. Who is on your podium?