Morocco Royal Tour Show Jumping (Rabat leg): Morocco finishes as runner-up in the Nations Cup, behind France

Rabat – The Moroccan national equestrian team secured second place in the 2026 Nations Cup show jumping competition on Sunday evening, during the second leg of the 15th edition of the Morocco Royal Tour, held at the Royal Equestrian Sports and Tbourida Complex Dar Essalam, under the High Patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI.

The Moroccan team finished in second place after a jump-off won by France, following the tie between the two teams, as well as Germany and Belgium, after the first two rounds.

This competition, held over 1.50-meter obstacles, was a four-star event (CSIO4*-W) and counted towards the prize awarded by the French Ministry of National Education, Preschool, and Sports.

The Nations Cup title went to the French team, composed of Olivier Perreau, Alix Ragot, Cyril Bouvard, and Jeanne Sadran, who completed the two rounds with a total of four penalty points. Jeanne Sadran, riding the horse “Dexter de Kerglenn,” then won the jump-off clear with a time of 33.24 hundredths of a second.

For his part, Moroccan rider Abdelkebir Ouaddar, riding “Festival d’Argouges,” completed a clear round in 33.78 seconds, securing second place for the Moroccan team, composed of Ali Al Ahrach, El Ghali Boukaa, Abdelkebir Ouaddar, and Abdeslam Bennani Smires. They had finished the first round with four penalty points before posting a clear round in the second.

The German team, composed of Marie Ligges, Harm Lahde, Tom Schewe, and Maximilian Lill, finished third after accumulating four penalty points over the two rounds, before Tom Schewe completed a clear round in the jump-off in 34.93 seconds.

In a press statement, the coach of the Moroccan national show jumping team, Philippe Rozier, expressed his satisfaction with the Moroccan riders’ ranking in the Nations Cup, emphasizing that this result represents an important step towards achieving the objectives set for the national team.

He specified that the Moroccan team’s ambition for the third and final leg of the Morocco Royal Tour, scheduled for El Jadida, is to win the Grand Prix with one of the four Moroccan riders. He highlighted the difficulty of moving from a four-star to a five-star competition, as well as the transition from an outdoor arena to an indoor one.

He stated that the four horses that participated in the Nations Cup possess exceptional qualities, considering that maintaining their physical condition will be essential to continue competing at the highest level.

For his part, Moroccan rider Ali Al Ahrach expressed his delight at the second-place finish, stating that the national team’s objective was to win the title, but that the runner-up position remained a very satisfying result.

He praised the efforts of all the national team members in achieving this performance, hoping to do even better at the next competition, despite the expected stiff competition.

The French team coach, Olivier Guillon, for his part, commended the performance of Moroccan rider Abdelkebir Ouaddar in the jump-off, emphasizing that his first-place start and very fast time put significant pressure on the four teams vying for the title.

He explained that the French coaching staff had closely monitored Abdelkebir Ouaddar’s round to identify key sections of the arena in order to gain fractions of a second, adding that French rider Jeanne Sadran perfectly executed this strategy, delivering an exceptional performance that secured the title for France.

Moroccan rider Abdelkebir Ouaddar, riding “Larsino,” distinguished himself earlier in the day by securing third place in the Prix de la Société Royale d’Encouragement du Cheval (SOREC), a four-star competition with 1.45-meter obstacles, with a time of 46.89 hundredths of a second and a clear round.

With the Nations Cup competition, the curtain fell on the second leg of the Morocco Royal Show Jumping Tour, which began in Tetouan (October 1-4) and will conclude in El Jadida (October 15-18) as part of the Salon du Cheval (Horse Show).