For the first time in nearly 10 years, two women appear in the top 10 of the Longines FEI Jumping Rankings. Laura Kraut (USA, seventh) and Nina Mallevaey (France, eighth) open 2026 side-by-side among the sport’s elite.

The breakthrough of the young French rider—who becomes only the seventh woman to enter the world’s top 10—and the loss of six places by Harrie Smolders (Netherlands) are the most notable movements at the top of the table this month. Kent Farrington (USA) remains firmly in first place. McLain Ward (USA) moves up two spots from last month and re-enters the top 10 in ninth place.

With three riders now ranked among the top 10, the United States becomes the most represented nation at the very top of the Longines standings.

A Breakthrough Moment For Nina Mallevaey

The year 2025 was undeniably a breakthrough one for Nina Mallevaey. Just outside the top 10 in December, the rider—who continues to dominate the under-25 rankings—has now entered this exclusive circle for the first time. In doing so, she becomes only the seventh female rider to break into the world top 10 since mid-2010, when the world rankings became available online.

Only one woman has ever reached the world No. 1 position: Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum (USA), who topped the rankings in 2004, more than 20 years ago.

Now ranked eighth in the world, Mallevaey is close behind Laura Kraut, the world’s highest-ranked female show jumper since October. Kraut, who celebrated her 60th birthday in November, ended a four-year absence of women in the Top 10 last autumn. However, to find two women simultaneously ranked in the Top 10 of this monthly list, one must go back to May 2016, when Pénélope Leprevost (France) stood fifth and Beezie Madden (USA) 10th. Two months earlier, in March, they were joined by Luciana Diniz (Portugal), making that period particularly exceptional.

That context underlines the magnitude of the achievement by Laura Kraut, ranked seventh this month, and Nina Mallevaey, newly installed in eighth.

Behind them, Sophie Hinners (Germany) is the next-ranked woman at 21st place. Lillie Keenan (USA), Jessica Mendoza (Great Britain), Erynn Ballard (Canada), Kristen Vanderveen (USA), Kim Emmen (Netherlands), and Janne Friederike Meyer-Zimmermann (Germany) are the only other women to appear in the top 50—representing just 18 percent of that segment of the rankings.

Kent Farrington Continues His Reign

While Nina Mallevaey’s rise has brought fresh movement near the summit, she remains one of the few notable exceptions. For the ninth consecutive month, Kent Farrington continues to lead the world rankings and retains the No. 1 armband.

In December, the Chicago native reinforced his dominance by winning the Rolex Grand Prix in Geneva (Switzerland), capping off an already outstanding season. Unlike Mallevaey and others, Farrington traveled to Europe specifically for that event—a decision that paid off. Although he was beaten by Scott Brash (Great Britain) in the Rolex IJRC Top Ten Final—which does not award ranking points—Farrington remains ahead in the overall standings, where Brash holds second place. The Scottish rider, however, has shown no intention of easing the pressure. After returning to top form in 2025, he began 2026 in similar fashion, finishing second in the first four-star grand prix of the year in Doha (Qatar) on Sunday, Jan. 4.

Behind them, the upper reaches of the rankings remain unchanged from December. Olympic champion Christian Kukuk (Germany), who recently left the Beerbaum stables to establish his own operation, sits third. He is followed by triple Olympic champion Ben Maher (Great Britain)—including individual gold in 2021 with the recently retired Explosion W—and Gilles Thomas (Belgium) in fourth and fifth place. Richard Vogel (Germany) holds steady in sixth.

The entry of Nina Mallevaey and McLain Ward into the top 10 has pushed Daniel Coyle (Ireland) and, more significantly, Harrie Smolders out of the elite group. Coyle now sits 11th, while Smolders—who lost the points earned from his 2024 Geneva victory—drops from eighth to 14th.

Julien Epaillard And Donatello d’Auge Lead The Combinations Rankings

January also brings the FEI’s annual rankings for combinations in jumping. Julien Epaillard (France) and Donatello d’Auge, winners of the most recent Longines FEI Jumping World Cup Final, have been awarded the honorary title of best combination of 2025, based on results recorded between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31.

Homebred and produced, jointly owned by Julien Epaillard and Hello Holdings 31 SLU, the French Saddle Horse’s performances also earned Susana Garcia Cereceda Epaillard—Julien’s wife—the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses award 2025 for best breeder.

Nina Mallevaey and Dynastie de Beaufour rank second in the combinations standings, ahead of Kristen Vanderveen and Uno 56, Gilles Thomas and Qalista DN, and Kent Farrington and Greya.

Find the Longines rankings for show jumping here.
See the combinations in jumping standings here.