Becky Moody and Jagerbomb brought down the house at the Dickies Arena on Saturday night, scoring a personal best 88.33% in the grand prix freestyle to claim, in convincing fashion, the 2026 Zen Elite FEI Dressage World Cup title – retaining the title for Great Britain and completing a remarkable week of firsts in Fort Worth, Texas.
Entering the arena as the final combination, with the title on the line, Becky and her homebred partner performed to their now familiar Beatles-inspired freestyle – featuring All You Need is Love, Here Comes the Sun, and Come Together among others. Designed in Britain by Tony Hobden at Equidance, it drew standing ovations from a crowd that had been on its feet all evening.
The test was a statement of intent from the first stride. Four 9.5s and a 10 for their entrance and opening halt set the tone.
Each extension drew cheers, the curving lines of two-time changes into ones brought the crowd to its feet, and Becky was beaming on her final centreline – and with good reason. The judge at H awarded 90.24%.
Watch Becky Moody and Jagerbomb’s World Cup-winning freestyle in the video below
“Today, right from the get-go, he was just so focused and so with me,” Becky said. “The beauty of the freestyle is that you can showcase your horse’s strengths – he finds the changes on the curved lines very easy, and because he is good in the balance, he can go from one movement to another without a struggle.”
Christian Simonson and Indian Rock finished second on 83.81%, with Sandra Sysojeva and Maxima Bella third on 80.77%. The win was worth €60,500 in prize money – with 2024 champions Patrik Kittel and Touchdown scored 80.26% to finish just off the podium.
The result crowned a debut week that neither Moody nor Jagerbomb will forget – the pair had never flown to a competition before making the trip to Texas, and the grand prix win on Thursday set the tone for what followed.
“I’ve never ridden in an arena like that,” Becky said. “It’s just insane to be part of such a cool competition. The crowd was absolutely something else.”
There was emotion elsewhere in the arena, too. Morgan Barbançon shared after her test that it would be her final competitive ride with Sir Donnerhall II OLD, the 20-year-old who will now retire from sport.
Christian, meanwhile, was riding on the crest of a wave of home support. His Rocky-themed freestyle – complete with Eye of the Tiger and Gonna Fly Now, chosen to reflect what he described as “the hero’s journey” – was perfectly pitched for the Texas crowd, who roared through every stride of it.
“At the end of my test, looking up and seeing this wall of people standing up, applauding Rocky and me was super special,” he said. “It’s something I’ll never forget.”
As for Becky, the celebrations were already being planned. Asked how she intended to mark the occasion, she didn’t hesitate. “I will be going to find a drink later, definitely,” she said. “I think maybe a Jägerbomb.”
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