Get set for a battle of the showjumping titans in Aachen
This year’s individual championship is being talked about as one of the greatest showdowns, so who will bring home the medals? H&H’s showjumping editor Jennifer Donald shares her predictions
Excitement levels are soaring as a pantheon of equine and human greats gather at the equestrian Mecca of Aachen for the World Showjumping Championships.
Can Great Britain – so successful at the past four Olympics – brush aside a near-50-year wait for a World Showjumping Championships gold? Will the epic showdown between equine behemoths United Touch S and Point Break materialise?
A vast, truly global field of 30 nations will be lining up for team honours this
year and European countries continue to prove a dominant force in these championships. However, we’ve had a raft of big-name withdrawals from some key nations in the run-up to Aachen, so the team medal decider might be less
clear-cut than we thought.
The Swedes arrive as defending world champions, but they aren’t quite the invincible force of recent years when they reigned concurrently as world, Olympic and European champions.
Reigning European champions Belgium were hit hard by the withdrawal of Gilles Thomas and top stallion Ermitage Kalone but still field a stellar cast, while Paris 2024 Olympic gold medallists Great Britain arrive as one of the favourites fielding the same three riders, although all the British horses are championship first-timers.
The Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Germany and red-hot Ireland, under new chef d’equipe Jessica Kurten, look to be the other key nations in medal contention, with the latter’s riders enjoying a rich vein of form.
Key opposition from outside Europe will likely come from the USA, which fields an enviable mix of experience and exceptionally talented youth. The UAE are proving rising stars on the international stage under William Funnell’s tutelage, while Saudi Arabia and Japan could perform well.
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
Who will top the individual World Showjumping Championships podium?
We’re most looking forward to the tussle for individual honours.
US rider Kent Farrington’s decision to skip these championships put a slight downer on the anticipated showdown between the world’s best, but Aachen could be a career-defining moment for world number two Richard Vogel with his mighty stallion United Touch S. Previous Aachen form will be a key asset in this unique venue and United Touch’s grand prix victory there in May pinpoints the European champions as favourites for gold.
Ben Maher’s Point Break has long been touted as one of the best in the world
and the time has come to prove just how good he is.
Of course, these championships are far from a two-horse race.
Strong opposition could come from USA’s Laura Kraut, who is surely due an individual medal, but has had to perform an 11th-hour swap from her intended horse Bisquetta to the more-experienced 16-year-old Baloutinue. The multi-medal-winning Swiss duo Martin Fuchs (Conner Jei) and Steve Guerdat (Dynamix De Belheme) are two of the greatest championship riders of all time.
But the shrewd money may be on Ireland’s Shane Sweetnam and the hugely-popular James Kann Cruz, who arrive in cracking form.
So the stage is set for one of the greatest battles in equestrian history.
Bring it on!
Find out more about the rest of the field with from our complete showjumping world championships form guide.
World Showjumping Championships medal predictions
Team podium
Gold: Germany
Silver: Ireland
Bronze: Great Britain
Individual podium
Gold: Richard Vogel (GER) United Touch S
Silver: Ben Maher (GBR) Point Break
Bronze: Laur Kraut (USA) Baloutinue
Horse & Hound’s individual medal favourites
Richard Vogel (GER)
The reigning European champions and Aachen grand prix winners, Richard and United Touch S, look to add world gold to their collection, and improve on the European team bronze. The pair are live contenders for the Rolex Grand Slam, having also won the Dutch Masters in March – and the major question has to be can anyone stop them?
Ben Maher (GBR)
Multiple medal-winning rider Ben brings star stallion Point Break, with whom he also jumped double clear to help win the Rotterdam LLN. This will be a championship debut for “Bodhi”, whom Ben has been riding since he was six and with whom he came second in last year’s World Cup Final. He ranks as one of the best horses in the world. Home fans will remember their second place in the Windsor Rolex grand prix. This will be Ben’s second World Championships; he was on the team that won bronze in 2022 and finished fourth individually with Faltic HB.
Steve Guerdat (SUI)
The 2023 European champions and reigning Olympic silver medallists, Steve and Dynamix De Belheme, are on top form, jumping double clear to secure Swiss victory in the Falsterbo Nations Cup. Steve has been blessed by so many fabulous horses, but cites this mare as one of the best.
Laura Kraut (USA)
An individual medal remains one of the few accolades missing from the 60-year-old’s glittering CV. This was due to be a first championship for original partner, Bisquetta, who she had been competing since 2021. However, in the week before Aachen, it was announced that she would be riding the far more experienced 16-year-old Baloutinue, with whom she competed at the Paris 2024 Olympics and last week helped USA win the Aga Khan Trophy at Dublin Horse Show.
Martin Fuchs (SUI)
The 34-year-old and the tricky but talented Conner Jei were not on their usual top form at last year’s Europeans, finishing 55th individually, but have since found their feet, winning a CSI5* grand prix and finishing second in three more. Martin is known for his speed, he’s one to watch from the start.
Shane Sweetnam (IRL)
Shane won his first five-star grand prix in July with James Kann Cruz; they’d already helped Ireland to team European silver, in 2023, and represented their country at the Paris Olympics. Their 2026 form had indicated such a win was coming, as they’d jumped double clear in the LLN, with second and third at CSI5* level and seventh in the Aachen grand prix. James Kann Cruz and Shane now have a great partnership; the big-strider covers the ground but pulls off the tightest turns and leaves the fences up.
Sophie Hinners (GER)
This is a second championship for Sophie, 28, a huge talent who won European team bronze last year and finished sixth individually. She and Iron Dames Singclair, formerly with Peder Fredricson, helped Germany to a string of Nations Cup placings and jumped triple clear for third in June’s Aachen grand prix.
José Maria Larocca (ARG)
Argentina last won a medal at these championships in 1960 but a potential dark horse could be this 57-year-old rider and his Pan-Am medal-winning 16-year-old Finn Lente. Their triple clear and runner-up finish in this year’s Aachen grand prix topped an exceptional run of form and they could spring a surprise.
Nina Mallevaey (FRA)
Another rising star who has earned her place on the team alongside legendary French riders and could be bidding for a medal at her second senior championship. She and Dynastie De Beaufour were fifth in the Aachen grand prix last year, helped France win the recent La Baule Nations Cup and have gained invaluable experience competing in the USA.
Max Kühner (AUT)
Max has formed the backbone of the Austrian team at six Europeans, the 2024 Olympics and two world, earning top-10 individual placings at four. His versatile EIC Cooley Jump The Q has won five-star grands prix and been placed in six-bars and puissance classes.
- To stay up to date with the latest news and reports throughout the Aachen World Championships, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website
Jennifer is passionate at showjumping and her role as H&H’s showjumping editor has taken her around the world reporting from shows and interviewing riders, connections and those involved behind the scenes. Since joining H&H from BBC Sport in 2005, she has written on every subject across the equestrian sphere — from turnout rugs to stable management — and has interviewed gold medallists, world champions and winners galore. She also has first-hand experience of working in the equestrian industry as a riding instructor and yard manager.