France Wins Home Leg Of League Of Nations Series
Team France, directed by Chef d'Equipe Edouard Couperie, won the final qualifying leg of the League of Nations series (run commercially as the Longines League of Nations™) at St. Tropez-Gassin on 20 September 2026, finishing on four faults across two rounds at The Polo Club Saint-Tropez, Haras de Gassin.
France's Simon Delestre sealed the win with a clear round aboard the 10YO Selle Français gelding Gatsby du Tillard as the penultimate rider of the afternoon, finishing ahead of Brazil, who took second on eight penalty points after a rail in the final rotation, and Belgium, who claimed third also on eight points but a slower time — the Belgians edging Brazil by just 1.12 seconds in round-two jump-off timing, 217.44 seconds to 216.32. Germany had arrived at St. Tropez-Gassin leading the overall standings after winning the Ocala leg, with Great Britain second, Ireland third and France fourth, having won the earlier leg at Abu Dhabi.
Round 1, on a course designed by Grégory Bodo, produced few clear rounds, with each team permitted one discard score across the 75-second track and only the top eight nations advancing to Round 2 — a cut that also decided which teams would progress to the season Final. Brazil, under Chef d'Equipe Pedro Paulo Luz Lacerda, led at the interim stage as the only side with three clears for a net score of zero, ahead of France and the United States on four points, Great Britain on five, Ireland and Belgium on eight, and Germany and Italy on 12; the Netherlands and Switzerland, on 16 and 20 points respectively, did not advance.
Round Two Strips Away The Safety Net
With no discard available in the second round, France's Nina Mallevaey produced a clear round on Destine to Be to draw level with Brazil, after Stephan de Freitas Barcha picked up four faults on Chevaux Primavera Imperio Egipcio. Belgium stayed in touch through clear rounds from Niels Bruynseels on Oaky Flandria and Jérôme Guery on Quito de Mariposa — Guery one of two Belgian riders, alongside Abdel Saïd, to go double-clear across both rounds — before France's Antoine Ermann produced a double-clear aboard Floyd des Pres, matched by Brazil's João Victor Castro Aguiar Gomes De Lima on Cashpaid J&f. Italy, Ireland, the United States, Great Britain and Germany were eliminated from podium contention in that order. France's four-rider roster for the leg also included Julien Epaillard, who rode Donatello d'Auge across the two rounds.
"I'm really happy to jump a double clear today for the team, especially here in Gassin in France," Ermann said.
Belgium's anchor rider, Abdel Saïd, then produced a double-clear on Wathnan Bonne Amie to keep the pressure on, before Delestre delivered the clear round on Gatsby du Tillard that secured the win for France. Brazil's Marlon Modolo Zanotelli had a fence down at the second-to-last obstacle aboard Charly Heart, confirming France's victory without the need for a jump-off. "Going last with a chance to win for the team is very difficult, but when you achieve it, it's a fantastic feeling," Delestre said.
League Of Nations Final Awaits In Barcelona
"To win at home is really, really special, and here at Gassin is fantastic," Couperie said.
France now leads the final League of Nations standings on 290 points, ahead of Germany and Great Britain on 275 each, Brazil on 270, Ireland on 265, Belgium on 245, and the United States and Italy on 230, with the top eight nations advancing to the League of Nations Final in Barcelona from 1 to 4 October 2026. Belgium's 245 points, secured with that podium finish in Gassin, confirmed their own passage into the Barcelona line-up in sixth place overall; Switzerland, on 225 points, and the Netherlands, on 195, have been eliminated from the season.
Couperie confirmed France will return for Barcelona, though he has not yet settled on a roster. Delestre, whose 10YO gelding Gatsby du Tillard was contesting his first Nations Cup start, said the French team had known the course would allow no margin for error. "I knew we were strong, but the course was really delicate, and we could not have any mistakes," he said.