The competition will be the first official staging of the Nations Cup, which has run for the past three seasons as a pilot series, with Germany triumphing in the 2015 edition.

Under the rules of the Nations Cup there should be at least three horse-and-rider combinations per team, with countries permitted to include athletes from the small and big tours.

Small tour combinations will compete in Prix St. Georges and Intermediate I events, with the higher level big tour riders will take on Grand Prix and Grand Prix Special tests.

The move to allow both tours to compete was taken by the FEI in an effort to encourage participation and to help riders hone their skills and gain more experience.

As hosts, the American team will be expected to be challenging for top honours in Wellington, with their team consisting of Shelly Francis, Laura Graves, Arlène Page and Kasey Perry-Glass.

Graves, riding on Verdades, will hope to lead the team to success with the 28-year-old seeking to replicate the form with saw her win team gold and individual silver at the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games.

The American team will face competition from Canad in the two-day event, which due to finish with the Grand Prix Special test.

Canada’s selection for the opening Nations Cup event includes Jacqueline Brooks, Megan Lane, Karen Pavicic and Belinda Trussell.

Australia, Costa Rica, Denmark and Spain complete the six-team line-up for the competition.

Individual athletes from Argentina, Austria, Chile and Colombia will also feature.

Following the completion of the event, the Nations Cup is then due to head to Odense and Compiegne with the Danish and French locations staging competition in May.

Rotterdam will host the fourth leg in June, while the series will then visit Falsterbo in Sweden and Aachen in Germany in July.

The Nations Cup is scheduled to conclude later that month in Hickstead, Britain.