The LeMieux National Dressage Championships have been and gone. Sometimes the grand prix field suffers after the major championships, when top contenders are resting their horses. This year, championship team riders filled the first three places, with one on a horse who had been to the worlds.

Alarmingly, we are less than two years from another Olympics, which is five minutes or 19 shoeing cycles in horse terms.

The talent behind the top three impressed. Olivia Oakeley returned to grand prix 10 years after her last horse competed at that level, proving that tenacity wins. That’s a reality check for riders expecting to sail directly on an upward trajectory to stardom after under-25 level.

The best nationals stories happen behind the scenes. Tig Abel secured her broken toe inside a dog poo bag to get her boots on and rode a successful championship, and wrote a hilarious Facebook blog. Sadie Smith’s horse returned a year after a terrible road accident to win the seven-year-old class and the tribute to Stephen Clarke was beautiful.

I agree with Richard Davison that implementing the code of points Stephen worked so hard on as a way of judging dressage would be a fitting legacy. A more transparent sport would truly honour a judge who made riders feel anything was possible – even on the bad days when it wasn’t.

London pleases the grinch in me

Just as British Dressage members start to feel the winter blues, all is not lost as we are in for a Christmas treat. The next major highlight is the London International and spectators are going to get more “bang for their buck” as this new concept will include a pilot class for seven-year-olds and upcoming grand prix horses as well as the World Cup.

Two days of top riders, upcoming star horses, fan zones and an opportunity to be up close with a glass of champagne or a nice cappuccino in the warm sounds like the stuff of dreams. Better than Christmas anyway – as the official “grinch” of our stables, I’ll swap it for a trip to the Excel any day.

Is this my new “secret weapon”?

I have a couple of horses ready for grand prix and eagle-eyed online observers noticed that I’ve been riding with one rein upside down, so the part going to the horse’s mouth comes from the top of the hand rather than the bottom, prompting Facebook experts to debate whether I’m using an advanced technique from the old masters.

I considered claiming it was my new secret weapon but actually, arthritis in my hand means I just can’t hold the rein conventionally. The horses haven’t noticed, which is reassuring but also slightly irritating having worked hard to keep my thumbs on top for 30 years.

A recent article suggested riders spend £5,000 competing on teams abroad. Those of us who have done it muttered, “and the rest”. Britain’s international calendar is therefore welcome and Hickstead’s return with the Nations Cup is a bonus. Let us hope other nations cross the Channel.

Perhaps composite teams could return, whereby if a smaller nation based here couldn’t field a team of four, riders from different nations could band together, which used to be good fun.

Returning to the competition arena

I’ve entered some competitions as it was sarcastically pointed out by our team that my last rosette was won by Barney, my spaniel, for third in waggiest tail at our local dog show. Barney won some warm prosecco and a packet of artichoke seeds.

To be fair, I have returned from internationals with less useful prizes.

An ashtray, a trophy resembling an Ann Summers window display and some socks are among the treasure trove. A fellow international rider told me she won a book that someone had clearly already read. Winning a grand prix in Spain earned me two leg wraps and you had to win the special to complete the set.

Every new grand prix horse feels like starting again, so I’ve polished up my bling, got a new tailcoat and I’m getting out there to have some fun.

● What’s the least useful prize you’ve won? Let us know your thoughts at hhletters@futurenet.com, including your name, nearest town and county, for the chance to have your thoughts published in a future issue of Horse & Hound magazine

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I had a proper debrief after the Europeans last summer with my trainer Anne van Olst. It wasn’t the result we wanted, so we went right back to basics and started again from there. What did we want to change? What could be better in the preparation? It was about becoming more of a team again, really – harmony, seeing what works.

It’s difficult when it doesn’t go to plan, but we never doubted Glamourdale would get back to his best. He always feels like he’s getting stronger and there’s always a little bit more in him – the hard part is getting it all right at the same time.

One thing we worked on was my position – just being quiet, sitting still, taking a breath instead of thinking, “Come on, we have to do it,” the second I’m in the ring.

The other was the basics: taking time off for him so he could hack, gradually building him up, then giving him a weekend to relax before we upped it again.

We kept to a variety all winter and didn’t compete him too much beforehand, so he arrived at the world championships in Aachen happy and fresh rather than campaigned into the ground.

We arrived on the Sunday, with the vet check on the Monday. It isn’t far to travel for us, so there was no need to go early. We were in the new stable block in Aachen, which was amazing even in the heat, with our own section for the British horses.

Things like the wash bays were well set up and big, too, which makes life easier with a stallion. Getting him there can be tricky if there are mares and other horses around, so having that sorted made a big difference.

He’d had a couple of weeks off breeding work before Aachen – not long, because he’s in demand. It’s part of what pays his costs, so that side matters, too. Mentally, he’d happily breed all the time, but we have to balance that against keeping his body fresh. And before Aachen, as a team, we got everything right.

We ride him over to the trot-up rather than leading him in-hand, because it keeps everything separate in his head from the breeding work. As soon as I’m on his back, he knows it’s dressage. It’s a system that works well with the stallions; if they’re led in-hand, they can get confused.

But from the moment we arrived, he was quiet and happy in his stable. We had one familiarisation session on the Monday, then I just sat on him and walked on the Tuesday to give him a leg-stretch before the grand prix the next day. That morning, he felt so good that I thought to myself, if there’s going to be a time, it’s now.

Glamourdale loves the crowds; he’s always been like this. Even at seven, when he won at the young horse World Championships, he loved that crowd. He’ll walk out on a long rein afterwards, just listening to them cheer.

But in the warm-up at Aachen, every time I let him go on a longer rein, he’d look over towards the main stadium and try to go there. I’d have to tell him, “No, we have to wait, it’s not our time yet.”

The whole way in, he was whinnying, ears pricked, trying to go faster. Then as soon as he was actually inside, he’d go quiet, and you could feel how settled he was. He’s done it in London, too – heading off to the main arena on a long rein because he knows that’s where everyone is. It’s an amazing quality for a horse to have.

I thought the grand prix went well. He warmed up beautifully and there was just a small misunderstanding going into the first piaffe. After that, we were completely in tune. At this level, you can’t dwell on a mistake – you’re already onto the next movement. It’s milliseconds, millimetre work – the slightest shift of a seat bone or a wrist – and over time it just becomes instinct through repetition.

But we did what we needed to for the team that day, which was the most important thing.

We had a day off before the special. We did a light training session in the covered arena that day so it wasn’t too warm for him, just working a few exercises in walk to get the feeling I needed without riding him too much – half-passes, walk pirouettes, that kind of thing.

At the end, I picked him up and rode the last line of the canter pirouettes, then I just sat there and said to Anne: “He’s so ready.”

It gives me such extra confidence having Anne there on the ground.

She’s so knowledgeable and she knows us inside out. Having her there also means someone’s making sure you don’t do too much, because you’ve still got two more days of competing ahead.

At that moment we both knew that whatever happened, we couldn’t have prepared any better.

On the day of the special, we had a long break between morning and evening sessions due to the heat. I was competing in the evening. I watched Becky Moody and Jagerbomb’s test in the morning, then went back to the hotel for lunch: simple pasta with tomato. It’s always pasta before a competition, so I know I’ll have the energy. Then I put on a sleep playlist to zone out properly.

A couple of hours before I got on, I switched to more of a high-beat playlist to switch on. It’s always the same songs, Titanium by Sia, Diamonds by Rihanna. Then I watched old videos back and ran through a few exercises to make sure my body felt ready. By the time I got on, I had total focus.

Going into the special, all you see is your pathway in and you just stay in it. I don’t remember much else, I was in such full focus.

I remember the trot extensions, the passage, the half-passes – we just floated through. It gave me a read on how he was feeling, and from there, you know how much to ask of him and how much risk to take.

After the Europeans, that pressure around the first piaffe – where we had made a mistake – was definitely in my head too, but we’d worked hard on my head as much as anything: relax, don’t panic, he can do it. In the special, I believed it and I think that showed in him.

I could hear the crowd. I remember I was in the middle of my one-time changes on the centre line and I just heard gasps. I almost laughed, I was like, “Really? In the middle of my ones? What’s going on?”

But his changes are incredible – so natural and big that sometimes I actually play it safe and don’t allow him too much forward, because he naturally goes into them. I wasn’t going to ask him to wait this time though.

I thought, if you want to do it like this, let’s do it, and show them the best we can. It’s always a risk showing changes that big. They take up the whole diagonal and if you start them even slightly late, you can find yourself in trouble by the end. But I’ve done them enough times now, I know if I get the timing right going in, we’ll be fine.

I hadn’t watched anyone else’s test beforehand or taken note of the scores, although you can’t really avoid hearing them over the loudspeaker while you’re warming up, so I did hear a few before I went in. Coming out of the arena, my legs were shaking. I don’t think I’d ever felt adrenaline like it.

There was one combination after me, Katharina Hemmer and Denoix PCH, who won bronze. I didn’t watch them go. I took Glamourdale back to the stable, gave him a carrot and walked back to the mixed zone because there’s nothing worse than standing there waiting.

But I knew it was the best test we’d ever done. There have been amazing tests before, but for the whole thing to come together like that was incredible. And to win, you’re doing it for the whole team, not just yourself. You don’t want to make a mistake for “Glammy” either, because he deserves the win. It was incredible.

In the freestyle, I don’t think I’ve ever experienced an atmosphere quite like it, but for me it was the complete opposite of the special. It’s strange. I’ve never been so relaxed. We were just chilling in there, enjoying it, going with the music, taking our time. In the special, we both felt we needed to fight for it. In the freestyle, it was purely about enjoying it.

Our freestyle came together in bits. I’d picked out a few songs, and Joost Peters, who puts the music together, noticed they were all to do with flying, so he suggested a flying theme. I’d been playing We’re Going to Ibiza! by Vengaboys while riding him at home and thought, this fits so well – so we wrote in the line where I say, “Welcome aboard Glamourdale Airlines,” like an air hostess before we go into the ring.

The crowd laugh so hard at that bit that they almost miss the second line – “Please fasten your seatbelts, we’re about to take off. Enjoy your flight.” It’s such a fun idea and it suits him perfectly.

I could hear the crowd through the extended canters. Hearing them get excited while you’re riding is such a nice feeling.

When I got off, I said to everyone, “We couldn’t have done any more.” That’s such a good feeling to have – not, “If only I’d done this or that,” just that was everything. Whatever happened next, even a silver or a bronze, that was everything we could have ever dreamed of doing.

There were a few more to go after me in the freestyle, but again, I didn’t watch anyone. I wasn’t able to watch the test back straight away, so while we waited for the last scores to come in, I was just watching clips people were posting on Instagram from the test – just to feel it again.

When Isabell Werth was going, I had Anne in one ear telling me how well she was doing, and I was saying to her, “Can you not? I already know she’s amazing!”

No one had ever successfully defended two individual titles before. To be honest, it’s taken a long time for it to sink in – I had my first proper night’s sleep again only recently. It means more than our wins in 2022, I think, because staying at the top is mentally so much harder than getting there, and to prove we could do it again four years later, with the same horse going better than ever, is a huge testament to the whole team.

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The World Championships on the hallowed grounds of Aachen were a tremendous success for everyone involved.

With 65 nations represented, a live broadcast audience of 12.8 million, half a million spectators attending and an incredible reach of 106.2 million across FEI social and digital channels, the allure of horse sport was proven. It was a glorious feeling for all the disciplines that our sport is alive and well, and as popular as ever with spectators.

The importance of LA Olympic and Paralympic qualification cannot
be underestimated.

The excitement of the cross-country, Harry Charles’ individual showjumping bronze, the amazing freestyles, our para riders’ individual medals and their Paralympic qualification, not to mention the eventers’ team gold, individual silver and bronze – it’s hard to think of a more amazing few weeks for British equestrianism.

I find championships slightly stressful, but although we were a little
way off gold, we were very happy with our team silver. Lottie Fry was, for me and many, the obvious winner and world champion. Lottie’s story is one of resilience and strength of character.

To win double gold four years ago, then after a dip in performance over the last two seasons come back with improved piaffe and pirouettes – and style of riding – goes to show what a great partnership can do to get better. That’s impressive.

The draw still seems to play a big part in the marking. I honestly think if Becky Moody had been in my slot in the freestyle (second-last to go) she should and would have got the bronze.

I knew from the moment I got on Fame that I was in for a hairy ride. Every time he spooked, I could hear the crowd’s oohs and aahs more than my David Bowie music. How I ended up in the right place was a miracle!

Now we’ve qualified for LA some of the older horses will have to be really well managed. Of course, there could be a changing of the guard. But it just shows why the selectors’ job is so important.

Anti-doping education for grooms

The human dynamo that is Lucy Katan was awarded her MBE by The King in July this year to add to her many awards over 20 years of working so hard for grooms as founder of the British Grooms Association and executive director of the International Grooms Association (IGA).

This year Lucy lead the launch of the first dedicated anti-doping education course created specifically for grooms: International Groom Clean. Developed with the support and content approval of the FEI and available in English, French, Spanish and German, the course provides accessible, practical online education to help grooms understand and navigate FEI Clean Sport requirements.

Explaining why the course was developed and why it is so important, Lucy recalled: “Back in 2001, I was a young groom at the European Championships in Germany. In the stables, I saw one of the more experienced grooms applying a liniment to his horse, and I heard a rider ask, ‘Is that safe for doping?’

“I didn’t realise until then how easily I could have made a mistake with serious consequences for my rider, the horse’s owner and the British team I was part of, and that has stayed with me.”

While cheating is quite rare, mistakes are prominent due to a lack of knowledge. As she used to work as a testing officer for UK Anti-Doping and became an educator for the agency, Lucy is ideally placed to have instigated the initiative.

I have advised all my staff to take the course. We place such a huge amount of trust in our amazing grooms and this short course on the IGA website will help all grooms avoid unwitting mistakes. Students, parents, owners and anyone else involved in FEI competition may take the course by joining the IGA. Non-grooms are welcome too and will become associate members.

● What can be done to stop drawn order from influencing dressage marks? Let us know your thoughts at hhletters@futurenet.com, including your name, nearest town and county, for the chance to have your thoughts published in a future issue of Horse & Hound magazine

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Dan Watson has paid tribute to his “one in a million” mare Butterfly IV, the first horse he bred and with whom he went to the top level of dressage.

Dan had to make the call this month in the best interests of the 18-year-old mare, who was owned by the late Barbie Marceau, spent her life with Dan and left him with “so many special memories along the way”.

“She gave everything to me,” Dan told H&H. “We had such a lovely trust between us.”

Dan bred Butterfly, out of Daisy by Breitling W.

“She was the first horse I bred, and she was just phenomenal all the way through,” he said.

“Everything to do with that mare is precious to me. She was owned by my ‘second mum’ Barbie; she bought a horse for me years ago when I was 22, who I trained to inter II level, went internationally at small tour and did very well.

“Barbie bought Butterfly as a foal, and Butterfly stayed with me right the way through, so I was very close to Barbie, as much as I was to Butterfly. Barbie died four years ago from a stroke, so I lost Barbie, then I lost Butterfly. It’s the end of an era in a way.”

Butterfly IV was reserve champion five-year-old nationally with Daniel, then won internationally in France that year.

She won medium and prix st georges (PSG) regionals, was placed internationally at PSG and inter I, won national grands prix and represented Britain on a Nations Cup team.

Butterfly IV: an amazing 18 years

“I had a brilliant 18 years with her, she was amazing, just a lovely, lovely horse,” Dan said. “When she won in France as a five-year-old, that was fabulous as I never expected that, and she did very well internationally at small tour. It was an amazing journey.”

Dan said at home, Butterfly might take exception when, for example, someone tried to groom her.

“But then I went in and she’d be ‘Oh, it’s Dad now’,” he said. “That was just her, we had such an amazing bond between us.”

Dan and Craig Messenger run Aster Horses in Kent. In a separate tribute, they said:

“Thank you for everything, you wonderful, kind mare. You will always hold a very special place in our hearts and will never be forgotten.

“Run free now, Butterfly, and be reunited with your human mum, Barbie, in heaven. Thank you for all the wonderful memories. You truly were one in a million.”

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Sadie Smith and River Rise Onassis (Glamourdale x Amsterdam) have completed a remarkable comeback, winning the KBIS young horse test for seven-year-olds on 81.17% at the 2026 National Dressage Championships – almost exactly a year on from a horsebox accident that very nearly claimed the mare’s life, on the journey home from these very championships.

Sue Garrard, “Sassy’s” owner, was driving her home from these championships last September when her horsebox was hit from behind on the M6 in atrocious weather – driving rain, squally gusts, standing water.

The impact sent the lorry fishtailing before it toppled over, skidding across all three lanes of the motorway. Sue escaped through the passenger window largely unhurt, but Sassy was left trapped inside, surrounded by sharp metal and broken fibreglass, panicking each time a passing car went past. “I thought she was dead,” Sue said at the time.

As no vet reached the scene for three hours, Sue spent that time dangling into the horse area, held by a firefighter, trying to keep the mare calm until she could finally be sedated and cut free.

Sadie remembers the agonising wait for news that night: “I got a call saying there’d been an accident, but nobody knew what had happened. I didn't find out until about 10 o'clock that night that they were okay – I didn’t really know the full extent until the next day. It was really awful, it took a long time for the vets to get there.”

A year on, River Rise Onassis was back at Somerford Park – and on top of the leaderboard.

Sadie added the mare’s remarkable temperament played no small part in the outcome that night: “I think the horse’s temperament saved her – she just stood there and didn’t rush around while Sue was with her.

“If she’d been throwing herself around with no vet there for that long, she’d have really damaged herself. She did herself good just by standing still.”

The road back to competition was a cautious one. “It was amazing that she survived,” Sadie said, “but she came away with quite deep cuts around her fetlock joints, and it took a long time to heal because it kept opening up every time she walked – it was proud flesh, it was horrible. It was quite emotional, to be honest, because it was so traumatising.”

River Rise Onassis had only been back in full work since around January or February this year, and today’s win was just her third competitive outing since the accident. “She’s hardly done any shows – I did one to qualify, at Hartpury, and this is only our third outing since. But she’s been great – he just gets on with it.

“She’s been fine with travelling again too – it’s like nothing had happened to her. She's so good, and she trusts us, and it just means the world to us.”

Now that River Rise Onassis is back in full swing, Sadie is optimistic about her future – and already rates her potential alongside her grand prix mare, Swanmore Dantina (Dia).

“Technically, she moves better than Dia – her natural ability is better, her canter and her hind leg are so strong, she’s just amazing to sit on,” Sadie said.

“But she’s a different type of horse – taller, longer, more angular, whereas Dia’s a lot shorter. She’s taking longer to strengthen, so I’m taking my time with her – I’ll train her over the winter and hopefully bring her out internationally at small tour level next year.”

Sue watched the test from the side, visibly moved. “She had tears in her eyes when I came out,” Sadie said. “I can’t imagine what it's been like for her.”

• To stay up to date with the latest news and reports throughout the LeMieux National Dressage Championships, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website and pick up a copy of Horse & Hound magazine, in shops from Thursday 17 September

Charlotte Dujardin has been crowned the national champion at the 2026 LeMieux National Dressage Championships, scoring 79.4% to win the Kudos freestyle on Brave Heart II – their first kür together.

It’s the third time she’s been crowned national champion after winning in 2015 on Barolo and 2020 on Mount St John Freestyle.

The overall national title is decided on the combined score of the grand prix and the freestyle – and Charlotte’s grand prix score alone, more than five percentage points clear of her nearest rival, had already put it within touching distance.

But perfectionist that she is, Charlotte was never going to play it safe and settle for that lead – she came out to win the freestyle outright too.

“That’s actually Gio’s music, from the Tokyo Olympics,” she explained. “All year I’ve been doing specials, focusing on that and the grand prix, and then I was thinking, ‘Oh no, I'm going to have to do a freestyle – what am I going to do?’

“I thought I’ll have to use one I’ve already got, so I thought this might work. He’d literally never done the floorplan before though – I just had to give it a go and see what happened.”

It was ambitious – with piaffe pirouettes and a curving in-and-out line of one-time changes – but she pulled it off with aplomb. As she entered the LeMieux Arena, a strange hush fell over the grandstands, just as it had yesterday for the grand prix.

The canter pirouettes were the standout technical movement, with one judge awarding as high as a 9 – the only real dip came in the transitions in and out of the piaffe, hardly a blemish on an otherwise exceptional test.

“He got a bit ahead of the music at the start, so I was a touch too far ahead waiting for it,” Charlotte admitted.

“But he gave everything a really good go, and I was so proud of him – it’s a very technical, difficult test, lots coming in and out of it, piaffe pirouettes, changes on the curves.

“The only thing I changed was the end and didn’t do another piaffe pirouette – because I think for him, he’s just done loads of it. But I was thrilled with him – no big mistake. It just felt like a really good experience for him as well.”

For all the technical elements of the test, it was Brave Heart's temperament that seemed to please Charlotte the most. Owned by Ellie McCarthy, the 12-year-old gelding stood unbothered after his lap of honour as vans and traffic dismantling the trade stands rumbled past around him, patiently posing while Charlotte stopped to take pictures with several young fans.

“He’s such a sweet horse, you can’t fault him – he comes out for the prize-giving and just stands there for everyone to pat him, have pictures, see him. The crowd, the spectators coming over for photos – it was very, very nice.

“It was a nice end to the show, and the sun was shining, which is even better – so we didn’t get wet!”

Final national championship standings:

• Charlotte Dujardin – Brave Heart II – grand prix 75.04%, freestyle 79.4% (154.444)
• Fiona Bigwood – Donna Bella – grand prix 70%, freestyle 75.05% (145.05)
• Gareth Hughes – Mowgli-Olympia MC – grand prix 70.46%, freestyle 73.95% (144.407)
• Alexander Harrison-West – Kickback – grand prix 68.17%, freestyle 72.93% (141.099)
• Ruby Hughes – Farrell – grand prix 69.59%, freestyle 67.83% (137.412)
• Kimberley Siddorn – Dutch Class – grand prix 66.44%, freestyle 70.18% (136.61)
• Olivia Oakeley – Full House – grand prix 67.33%, freestyle 68.90% (136.226)
• Darren Hicks – Tramontana Tiger Feet – grand prix 64.8%, freestyle 67.78% (132.579)
• Tom Goode – Furstenrausch PS – grand prix 64.74%, freestyle 67.35% (132.089)
• Anne-Marie Cowan – Woodcroft Royal Charter – grand prix 63.98%, freestyle 66.18% (130.153)

• To stay up to date with the latest news and reports throughout the LeMieux National Dressage Championships, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website and pick up a copy of Horse & Hound magazine, in shops from Thursday 17 September

The chance to watch “the next generation of grand prix prospects” completes a “bumper year for dressage” at the 2026 London International Horse Show (16-21 December).

As well as the FEI dressage World Cup leg, this year’s event will feature new national classes, which will “showcase the rising talent of seven-year-old and nine- to 11-year-old dressage stars”.

The programme for the Thursday and Friday of the show will feature the World Cup grand prix and freestyle, the new classes, dressage sessions in the live zone and the Richard Davison masterclass.

“Further strengthening the show’s commitment to developing future champions, 2026 welcomes the introduction of new national classes in collaboration with British Dressage,” a London International spokesperson said.

“Designed to showcase the next generation of grand prix prospects, the classes will provide a prestigious platform for talented young horses to compete in front of an international audience. Spectators will have the opportunity to witness emerging equine stars perform at a pivotal stage in their careers, offering a fascinating glimpse into the future of top-level sport.”

The four national classes, one on each day for each age group, “promise to be a fascinating insight into up-and-coming talent in the dressage world and will provide the audience with another thrilling competition to enjoy during their visit”.

The World Cup competition starts on the Thursday with the grand prix, followed by the freestyle on the Friday

Show director Simon Brooks-Ward said: “As our British dressage riders continue to go from strength to strength on the world stage it is natural that we would grow the sport on offer at London, where we have a long history of top-flight competition.

“We are particularly excited about the Rising Talent competitions and giving our audiences the chance to see the equine stars of the future. The FEI Dressage World Cup qualifier, the highest level dressage competition in the UK, is always a huge show highlight and we are delighted that so many of the world's top riders choose to compete at London each year.”

The Richard Davison masterclass returns on the Thursday, “giving fans an unparalleled opportunity to gain insight into the training and development of elite dressage horses”.

London International Horse Show dressage classes

Thursday

National dressage seven-year-old horse competition

National dressage grand prix horses of the future

Dressage masterclass

The FEI dressage World Cup grand prix

Friday

National dressage seven-year-old horse competition

National dressage grand prix horses of the future

The FEI dressage World Cup grand prix freestyle

Charlotte Dujardin claimed the LeMieux grand prix in some style at the 2026 National Dressage Championships, riding Ellie McCarthy’s Brave Heart II to a personal best – if pick-your-own tests are excluded – of 75.04%, more than five percentage points clear of the rest of the field.

Gareth Hughes took second on Mowgli-Olympia MC (70.46%), with Fiona Bigwood third on Donna Bella (70%).

“I haven’t had him that long, I think I’ve done about six or seven shows now, so not a great deal,” Charlotte said. “At home, he’s always felt really impressive, really exciting to go, and then I get to a show, and he goes into himself a bit – he goes a little shy on me.

“It’s just been about building his confidence to grow into himself and be a performer. Today, as I went through the test, it got bigger and better, and I feel like he’s getting better and better every show we do."

The LeMieux Arena is notoriously tricky, with stands close on both sides and wind whipping through all the bits not strapped down, but Charlotte said the 12-year-old gelding took it in his stride: “It’s a tricky arena – in the warm-up you’ve got the stands with people sat behind you and you can hear them getting up and down, which makes them a little tense.

“Then when you go in, there’s lots of flapping, everything’s quite close. But he doesn’t look at anything – I didn’t even do the arena walk – he just went in and gave it a good go. I couldn’t be happier with him.”

Heading into this summer’s World Championships, Charlotte and Brave Heart II were locked in a tight race with Fiona and Donna Bella for the fourth and final British team spot for Aachen.

A stunning double at Hartpury in July – personal bests in both the grand prix and special – swung Charlotte’s international grand prix average ahead of Fiona’s, with just a fraction of a percentage point separating them. In the end, though, it was Fiona and Donna Bella who got the selectors’ call, going on to win team silver.

“He was so, so close to selection,” Charlotte said. “I just needed a few more runs, and then I think, for sure, he would’ve been there. But it was what it was – how could I be disappointed? I felt like I’d done everything there was to do. There will always be another time.”

Charlotte Dujardin on her national championships winner’s future

Brave Heart’s future with Charlotte beyond this season isn’t fully settled: “I think potentially he might be one that Ellie either rides herself or sells. I only ever had him for a bit, I never really expected to keep him this long. But he gets better and better each show, and he almost needs to just keep going now.”

The win puts Charlotte in pole position heading into tomorrow’s freestyle, where the overall national champion title will be decided on the combination of grand prix and freestyle scores.

Charlotte, though, was characteristically unfussed about the prospect: “I don’t even think about it. I wouldn’t even know [how many titles I have] – I never really count.”

For the record, she’s been crowned national champion twice before – in 2015 on Barolo, and in 2020 on Mount St John Freestyle.

Asked what fuels her famous competitiveness if not the titles, she said: “I don’t compare myself to anybody – I just do my own thing. My goal is to beat myself – always asking what I did in that competition, what I could have done better, what I need to go away and work on.

“My mindset is to always become better, try and be a better version of myself throughout. I am very, very competitive, though.”

That drive extends beyond her competition rides, too – she lit up just as much talking about her up-and-coming star Secret Agent, and his progress at home: “I literally got 12 ones on him yesterday, so I was super happy.”

Final grand prix results:

1. Charlotte Dujardin – Braveheart II (75.04%)
2. Gareth Hughes – Mowgli-Olympia MC (70.46%)
3. Fiona Bigwood – Donna Bella (70%)
4. Ruby Hughes – Farrell (69.59%)
5. Alexander Harrison-West – Kickback (68.17%)
6. Olivia Oakeley – Full House (67.33%)
7. Spencer Wilton – Woodcroft Django Mon Ami (66.57%)
8. Kimberley Siddorn – Dutch Class (66.44%)
9. Laura Tomlinson – Forest Hill (65.52%)
10. Daniel Bremner – Houston V (64.89%)
11. Daniel Sherriff – I’m Bayford Hall Incognito (64.87%)
12. Darren Hicks – Tramontana Tiger Feet (64.8%)
13. Tom Goode – Furstenrausch PS (64.74%)
14. Anne-Marie Cowan – Woodcroft Royal Charter (63.98%)
15. Laura Tomlinson – Full Moon II (63.5%)
16. Matt Frost – Kerouac (63.37%)
17. Jonny Clarke-West – Goomong Zinfandel (63.02%)
18. Alice Oppenheimer – Headmore Bella Ruby (62.61%)
19. Greg Sims – Waverley Fellini (61.74%)
20. Becky Edwards – Dita Von Teese (60.74%)

• To stay up to date with the latest news and reports throughout the LeMieux National Dressage Championships, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website and pick up a copy of Horse & Hound magazine, in shops from Thursday 17 September

Laura Tomlinson won two titles at the 2026 LeMieux National Dressage Championships this week – the Fairfax Saddles PSG gold and the D&H gold inter I – on her latest star, Ostmarks Digal (Grand Galaxy x De Noir), an eight-year-old gelding who’s arrived on the domestic scene in some style.

Digal has been with Laura since December, coming over from the same German yard as her former top ride, Rose of Bavaria, who retired in 2024. “The first couple of times I rode him at a show, I wasn’t overly impressed – he was quite challenging to get on,” Laura admits.

“He was a bit fidgety here, too. But the more we get to know him, the easier he is – he’s known at home as Smeagol sometimes when he’s being naughty. But he knows his job, and he enjoys it.”

She rates Digal as more talented than her two current grand prix horses, Full Moon and Forest Hill, albeit in different ways: “Full Moon’s got incredible suppleness I haven’t felt on many horses, but he’s got a bit of an ADHD brain that struggles to focus the whole time, whereas Digal and Forest find it easier to focus long enough for a good test.

“Digal’s not as naturally supple as Full Moon, and he’s so tall and leggy that he brings a lot of exuberance – I need to make sure the athleticism is there to match it.”

At home, the foundations for grand prix work are being laid: “He’s got pretty good changes at home, hasn’t done 15 ones yet, but he’s well on his way.

“We’re plugging away at his confidence in the piaffe-passage – the pieces of the puzzle are already there; it’s just starting to put them together now.”

Digal opened his account at Somerford Park with victory in the Fairfax Saddles PSG gold on Thursday, scoring 71.79%. “There was a moment in the first half-pass where he could have gone either way, felt like he could get a little spicy, but he came back very good, made a very grown-up decision and stayed with me,” Laura said. He followed up with the D&H gold inter I on Friday, improving to 71.97%.

“I do have high hopes for him,” Laura added. “I think he’s very talented. The more advanced movements, the more confident he is in the ring with me, the more will come.

“I think he’ll be a horse that takes a moment to feel comfortable doing it all in the ring, but when he does, I think he’ll do everything without a problem.”

Along with Forest Hill and Full Moon II – who was longlisted for the World Championships in Aachen this summer – Laura looks to have a talented up-and-coming string.

But she revealed that former grand prix ride Soegaards Bon Royal – who stood out at the London International Horse Show in 2024 but hasn’t competed since – has retired aged 12 after failing to recover from an old check ligament injury: “He won’t be coming back to competition, really. I was hoping Tyla Schou, who’s based with me, could have a couple of little national shows on him to get a feel for that level, but his scans just don’t hold up to the work, sadly.

“He’s very happy in the stable, very happy in the field, but we’re not going to be able to compete him again. His welfare is absolutely the most important part."

Sven Rothenberger, judging at the nationals for the first time, picked Digal out unprompted when asked which horses had caught his eye this week. “I have to say the horse of Laura Tomlinson seems to be a talent to take the weight and make the difficult movements later,” he said.

“I had the feeling that after every extended movement, she was able to do a very collected movement too – that showed me the horse really took the weight onto the hind legs, with the shoulders coming up, so it always had an uphill tendency.”

• To stay up to date with the latest news and reports throughout the LeMieux National Dressage Championships, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website and pick up a copy of Horse & Hound magazine, in shops from Thursday 17 September

Meet the horse bought for £1 who went from throwing people off to kissing spines surgery to the LeMieux National Dressage Championships – having recovered from a broken leg along the way.

Heather Bennett’s 10-year-old Hawtins Figaro is due to compete at elementary and medium level with Craig Messenger this week (10-13 September), and had also qualified for the para finals with Heather.

The competition comes two years after Heather bought him.

“I got him from another para rider; he’d had her off and injured her quite badly, and he had her trainer off too,” she told H&H. “She told me what had happened and I said it sounded like kissing spines.”

Heather had to wait until her vet Tim Booth was available, and he confirmed her suspicions.

“He said ‘Yes, kissing spines but it’s fixable’,” she said.

“My history has been that I’ve taken everyone’s cast-offs. I’m not a rich person so I’ve got to make good of what I ride. My friend had said he had the nicest temperament and [asked] why was he suddenly exploding. You find horses like this can get pushed from pillar to post and no one actually looks at the horse and asks what’s happening with it.

“I’ve had a few with kissing spines; I rehabbed another one and won the winter championships with him. But with kissing spines, it’s not about the surgery, it’s all about the rehab, and many people don’t have the knowledge or the time or the inclination to do it properly.”

Heather took her time, and after initial box rest for “Fig”, followed by groundwork and a slow build-up with frequent physio treatment, started competing him last summer, and qualified for the 2025 nationals.

“I brought him home and it was a lovely day so I put him out in the field,” she said.

“When I brought him in, he was on three legs.”

Fig had managed to break his splint bone, by “messing about in the field”, as was confirmed when Heather took him straight to the vet.

“Luckily it didn’t need surgery, so it was just time – and rest again,” she said. “He’s quite sharp and likes to keep his brain occupied so box rest is a challenge. He’s such a sweet horse but his brain’s very reactive.”

Heather had also had some health issues so about six months ago, she asked Craig and Dan Watson at Aster Horses to take him on.

Craig told H&H Hawtins Figaro is “very sharp but very lovely”.

“He was strong enough, he’d had enough time, his back was fine, his leg was fine,” Craig said. “He’s always a bit cheeky but within six months,we’ve gone from nothing to medium, and now we’ve qualified for the nationals.”

Fig and Heather also won the grade IV at the Hickstead CDI in May, which Dan and Craig organised.

“He thinks he knows best but he’s a really nice horse with a lovely temperament,” Craig said. “He’s very quick-minded so we can do pirouettes and changes; he’d probably do prix st georges next year. We’re looking forward to the nationals.”

Heather added that she has been unable to travel to Somerford to compete but will be cheering Craig and Fig on.

“I’m not sure I’ll actually be able to watch!” she said. “But at least he’s still going, I’m glad Craig is taking him.

“He’s a character. He loves people, he loves his treats and he’s very vocal when he sees you; he’s a sweetheart and the best pound I’ve spent – plus the interest!”

To stay up to date with the latest news and reports throughout the LeMieux National Dressage Championships, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

An Olympic rider caught on video repeatedly hitting a horse has been suspended for 18 months by the FEI Tribunal.

Heath Ryan, 68, was found to have abused the horse – which he consistently denied – and fined CHF 3,000 (£2,700) as a result of the footage, which emerged last summer.

H&H reported at the time that Heath said he was sad about the “awful” video of the session – which he described as part of a “rescue mission”.

This was his case to the FEI Tribunal; he said he was helping a friend with a horse who had become dangerous, and that the footage covered about 60 seconds of a 45-minute “remedial training session undertaken to re-educate the horse out of a demonstrated pattern of dangerous conflict behaviour”.

Heath represented Australia at the 2008 Olympics in dressage and was eventing at four-star level in 2024. He said he had spent over 50 years training and rehabilitating horses, coaching riders from beginners to the Thai Asian Games eventing team, and the Australian Olympic gold medal-winning team.

“He highlighted the longevity of horses under his care, citing specific competition results at advanced ages, and stated that results of this calibre could not be achieved by abusing horses,” the Tribunal report states.

“The person who recorded the videos had left his training establishment prior to releasing them and, before doing so, had signed over two horses to his ownership because they were too difficult for her to ride. It was widely accepted that the motivation for the video release was vindictive, and that this had been made known to the FEI during investigative interviews which had not been disclosed to the Tribunal.”

Heath said the horse had been sent to three people to back, unsuccessfully. The horse was returned as dangerous, and seriously injured his owner. She approached Heath to train him, adding that if he could not help she would put the horse down.

Heath Ryan said he used equitation science principles

He said he used equitation science principles of negative reinforcement with progressive escalation of aids, that he used the whip carefully, “and he was careful not to cross into a fear state”, and that this horse was a “highly unusual case”.

Character witnesses for Heath included Olympic eventer Boyd Martin, who had known him 30 years, and said he does not abuse horses.

“He had never seen him lose his temper or use anger, force or fear,” the report states. “In his view, the horse in the video was a last-chance rescue of an animal facing destruction after it had attacked its rider, and the respondent succeeded where other trainers had failed.

“He stated that the video was edited and weaponised by someone with a grudge unrelated to horse welfare. The audio appeared exaggerated and likely manipulated.”

Olympic rider Vicki Roycroft agreed, as did vet Belinda Flynn. Former Equestrian Australia chair and Olympian Wayne Roycroft said he was “initially concerned by the video [but] the context was a horse that had seriously injured its owner and faced euthanasia”, and the horse had since been ridden without incident.

“The methodology was successful,” the report states of Heath’s submissions. “The horse responded during the session. It was subsequently re-educated, re-homed and is now ridden successfully. This demonstrated that the use of the whip had not been excessive.”

The FEI case

The FEI said there was no proof the horse had been dangerous.

“On the alleged abuse, the FEI relied on the expert report of Dr Rachel Murray,” the report states.

“Dr Murray concluded that the respondent whipped the horse excessively during the training session… identifying at least 41 whip strikes in approximately 31 seconds in the first video and nine in the second, applied with high force in a forehand technique to a sensitive area of the flank and lumbar region, without release or reward.

“Dr Murray further observed multiple behavioural signs of pain, distress and conflict in the horse, together with signs of left-hindlimb instability and possible lameness or an underlying veterinary issue and concluded that repeatedly whipping a horse that may be in pain is not an acceptable training method and amounts to abuse.

“The FEI submitted that Dr Murray’s report rebutted the respondent’s contention that the use of the whip was justified as the FEI-recognised equitation science methodology, noting that any ethically applied aversive stimulus must be no more than an irritant and that pain should be ruled out before conflict behaviour is addressed through training.”

Ryan Heath did not show anger

The panel found that Heath did not show anger or temper, nor did he escalate beyond hitting the horse on the quarters in response to the evasion and kicking out. The panel agreed that the second video showed that the whip use stopped when the horse went forward, after which the horse was seen trotting around the arena,

“Whatever the horse’s history and the respondent’s undoubted experience, the videos depict aggressive use of the whip to overcome the horse’s resistance,” the report states. “While the respondent may have genuinely believed that his training technique and use of the whip were necessary and appropriate given the context in which the horse came to him and its established resistances, the evidence provided shows that the use of the whip was excessive.”

The panel found abuse was committed, “even if his intentions for rehabilitation were good”, and that the footage brought the FEI and horse sport into disrepute.

In deciding the sanction, the panel considered Heath’s unblemished record over many years, the fact it was one horse on one occasion, “that it appeared to be a measured if misguided attempt to overcome the horse’s kicking resistance”, and the “substantial support expressed by members of the Australian equestrian community”.

It also cited the “gravity of the conduct”, and the fact Heath did not recognise “the harshness of the images depicted in the evidence”.

Heath’s suspension runs from its provisional start last June until this December. He was also ordered to pay the FEI’s 3,000 CHF legal costs.

Fourteen nations secured Olympic or Paralympic dressage qualification for the 2028 Games in LA in the two team finals at the 2026 World Dressage Championships in Aachen.

In the Olympic dressage team final, the top six ranked teams – Germany, Britain, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands and Sweden – all booked their tickets to Los Angeles, alongside the hosts, the US (eighth), who qualified automatically.

For the complete breakdown of scores across all 19 dressage teams, see our full grand prix results.

For Britain’s Carl Hester, qualification mattered more than the colour of the medal. “We’re trying to qualify for the Olympic Games and pave the way for the next few years for new combinations to come along,” he said. “That feeling of relief is huge.”

A seventh nation also secured a dressage berth through a separate route: as the highest-placed team from FEI Group G (covering southeast Asia and Oceania), Australia claimed the one quota reserved for that region, finishing 13th overall. Thailand, the only other Group G nation fielding a full team in Aachen, missed out.

Portugal were the nation left to rue what got away in the main quota pool, finishing seventh on 212.625 – short of Sweden’s sixth-placed 216.552. Along with the other European nations outside the qualifying places, they will get a second chance at the 2027 European Championships in Randbøl, Denmark, where the three highest-ranked teams not already qualified will pick up the remaining places.

Canada finished just 0.062 points behind the USA’s team total in ninth. They will get another shot at Olympic qualification at the 2027 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru, where a top-two finish – with the qualified US excluded from contention – will guarantee a place.

As qualification was not on the line, the US had the freedom to blood inexperienced combinations rather than chase a result. Late call-up Megan Davies (Toronto Lightfoot) had barely a day’s notice before replacing Geñay Vaughn (Gino).

“I got the call Saturday night at 5 o’clock saying we were going,” she said. “We were ready to hit the road at 7.30 in the morning the next day.”

Both she and her horse were newcomers to the big stage – “This is his first big event... everything is sort of a new experience with the two of us, and this is my first big one too” – part of a deliberate strategy from the team. “They put in a couple of green combinations and let us get our footing,” she explained.

Whether that gamble pays off is another matter. For all the high-fives and optimism radiating from the US camp, it would be a surprise to see any of these combinations line up in LA – and you suspect an eighth-place finish there wouldn’t be met with quite the same magnanimity. The hope will be that some of their big-money buys, like Indian Rock and Bohemian, both absent from Aachen, come good and stay sound.

Para dressage: who’s heading to LA28

While the able-bodied US team used the freedom to blood green combinations and settled for eighth, the para dressage team treated it as no excuse to ease off, winning team gold on a record-breaking score under chef d’équipe Michel Assouline. If anything, the pressure felt higher, not lower, he explained:

“It’s an important Games for Team USA because it's a home Games, but we also know that a home Games is even more pressure, because the team at home will expect even more,” he said.

“I’m still very confident we have a system in place that works. We’ve worked hard on putting a strategy together with strong foundations, so I have a solid roadmap.”

Seven tickets for LA28 were up for grabs behind them. Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Great Britain, Italy, France and Sweden all secured their places; Britain’s fifth-placed finish was enough to seal qualification although it missed out on the team podium.

British para performance manager Georgina Sharples was left with mixed emotions. “I’m thrilled that we have qualified – coming here to qualify for LA 2028 was the primary aim, and we’ve achieved that," she said. “But I’m disappointed with the final results... we very much came here with an expectation that we'd medal as a team too. We’ve got some cracking horses, and they delivered some super work, but we also had some incredibly expensive spooks. You can’t get away with that at this level.”

Looking ahead to LA, she was keen to stress the positives: "Our riders are all very much on an upward trajectory. We’re still assessing horsepower... You need competitions like this, where the pressure is high, to give those riders that exposure. I think we’ll take a huge amount of positives from here and build on it.”

Teams who secured dressage Olympic qualification in Aachen

• Germany
• Great Britain
• Denmark
• Belgium
• Netherlands
• Sweden
• Australia (Group G)
  
• USA – already qualified as hosts

Teams who secured para dressage Paralympic qualification in Aachen

• Germany
• Netherlands
• Denmark
• Great Britain
• Italy
• France
• Sweden
  
• USA – already qualified as hosts

• To stay up to date with all the breaking equestrian news throughout the year, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

Discussions are ongoing in the dressage world around how to describe harmony.

H&H reported that among the 2027 FEI rule changes proposed in dressage, British Dressage (BD) – via British Equestrian – had called for a “clear definition of harmony” (news, 6 August).

BD CEO Jason Brautigam told H&H “harmony is fundamental to the object of dressage”.

“The object is the development of the horse as a happy athlete through harmonious education, allowing the horse to be loose and flexible but confident and keen, achieving understanding with the rider,” he said.

“These qualities are revealed by the partnership between horse and rider and measured in performance; through the paces, movements, engagement of the hindquarters, originating from impulsion and without tension or resistance.

“That gives us a clearer basis for describing harmony in practice. The challenge is to ensure this is articulated clearly enough that judges know what they are looking for, and riders and coaches understand what they should be seeking. If we want to encourage harmonious riding, the judging needs to recognise and reward it consistently.”

Mr Brautigam added that BD believes harmony should be assessed in individual movements, rather than a general impression or collective mark, and reflect movement quality and how it is achieved.

“Rather than reintroducing another collective, we believe the aim should be to embed harmony within the assessment of the performance itself,” he said.

“Harmony should not be treated as an additional aesthetic alongside the fundamentals of dressage. It is integral; the harmonious education of the horse in a positive mental and physical state, resulting in a confident and willing athlete.”

Mr Brautigam said the next step is “a clear and usable definition”, then to ensure judging reflects this throughout the test.

“The proposed changes to FEI rules, and review of tests that will follow, provide us with the opportunity to achieve this,” he said.

International dressage judge Isobel Wessels told H&H good judges, riders and trainers know what harmony is.

“Everyone has their own measure of harmony; in countries that don’t have a history of horse sport it might be more difficult to put a heading to it, but I do believe most dressage people recognise harmony when they see it,” she said.

“For me, harmony is when the horse goes seamlessly from one movement to the next with lightness and from small aids. That shows a willingness to work with the rider – but if the rider isn’t asking anything, that’s no good either.

“As judges, we read the horse from the moment it goes around the edge of the arena. If a horse spooks at something, for me that isn’t lack of harmony, it’s a live animal reacting to the environment. But if I see a horse reacting in a negative way because he’s stressed or the rider isn’t very competent, I come down on the mark and comment accordingly.”

Isobel added that judges follow FEI rules and attend annual training and exams.

“If anybody has sat in the judges' box and seen how many seconds you have to give a comment and mark, without falling behind, it’s an enormous task and we’re all very conscious of the influence we have,” she said.

“This word ‘harmony’ has always been in the front of our minds. It’s nothing new, it has always been part of the training scale, that’s not one person’s opinion – it’s part of the manual we follow to be able to ride, train and judge.”

International animal welfare consultant Natalie Waran said a definition of harmony is “only useful if it leads to something that can be seen, described and agreed on”.

“That is why measurement matters. It doesn’t replace the judgement of experienced horse people but it gives that judgement something solid to work from, and several parts of what is termed ‘harmony’ can now be assessed in this way,” said Professor Waran.

Professor Waran said evidence suggests harmony can be “defined well enough to be scored”, if it is “treated as more than aesthetic impression”.

“Describing it as the interaction between communication, the behaviour and affective state of the horse, biomechanical function and longer-term welfare outcomes makes it possible to define, teach and increasingly measure the qualities that sit underneath a successful performance,” she said.

“Seen that way, harmony isn’t an indefinable artistic ideal but an evidence-informed feature of good horsemanship, and one that can be assessed fairly when science is there to support it.”

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Blood rules could be harmonised across the disciplines, as stakeholders continue to debate the issue.

The contentious topic continues to be a talking point and has been addressed in the FEI rules revision process, but no change will be made yet.

Currently rules differ across the Olympic disciplines. This year, a rule was introduced in showjumping, whereby rider-induced blood does not automatically lead to elimination but instead a recorded warning. If a rider has two warnings in 12 months, they are fined and suspended for a month. Since 1 January, 282 warnings have been issued and 13 suspensions. Although the rule generated much discussion ahead of its implementation – including concerns that it was “weakening” protocols – no further changes have been requested.

There is now discussion around harmonising the rules across the disciplines after the FEI established a “horse condition task force” to review protocols. It has not been confirmed what this might look like or if it means implementing the showjumping blood rule across the board.

“The primary objective of the task force is to recommend a more harmonised approach to the FEI’s regulations concerning blood on the horse across all disciplines,” said an FEI spokesperson.

The task force held a meeting in June but “has not achieved consensus” so no rule change will be voted on at the General Assembly. An FEI spokesperson told H&H “discussions are ongoing”.

British Equestrian (BEF) “strongly recommends” that no change is made to the blood rules in dressage, as “it would be a retrograde step from our current zero-tolerance approach”. Currently, any fresh blood on the horse in dressage results in automatic elimination.

“While we are sympathetic to instances where blood is not in the area of influence of the rider or directly caused by the use of tack and equipment, it is often very difficult to determine the exact cause of blood during competition or warm-up. Unless this can be very clearly defined, with appropriate veterinary checks in place before/after competition, we believe the current rule should remain in place,” said the BEF spokesperson.

The Dutch federation is among those in agreement that the existing rule in dressage should continue.

“We understand that the FEI intends to harmonise this rule with the regulations currently applied in jumping. However, for our discipline, we respectfully request that the existing rule remains unchanged,” said a spokesperson.

Elsewhere in the rules revision process, the FEI has put forward additions to the veterinary regulations. Proposals include using body condition scoring to ensure that horses are not “very thin or obese”, compulsory vet exams for horses who have fallen during an event and potential elimination of horses that show “unsafe behaviour” around horses and/or humans.

“The FEI believes that it is not in the horse’s best interests, in terms of welfare, for them to compete if they are very thin or obese and proposes the implementation of the Henneke [body condition scoring] scale to support this,” said an FEI spokesperson.

“Also, with respect to welfare, horses must be excluded from competition where they have an injury or disease that causes pain or discomfort that could be exacerbated by competition.”

Ahead of the LA Olympics, there have been calls for an increase to the 20 penalties incurred in eventing if teams substitute a rider after the cross-country. The US federation proposed 35 penalties, the German federation 40.

“The Olympic Games in Paris demonstrated that it was possible to win a team medal even after a substitution, which was perceived as being contrary to the original and traditional intention of the rule,” said a German federation spokesperson.

“Therefore, we recommend increasing the substitution penalty and would welcome renewed discussion on this matter.”

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Gemma Owen is carving out quite a career for herself in the equestrian world. While millions of TV viewers know her from the 2022 season of Love Island, in which she finished runner-up, horse sport fans know she’s an accomplished dressage rider, who represented Britain at the junior European Championships. And now racing’s getting a look-in.

She’s still competing in dressage, currently at inter II on her Polish-bred gelding King Ron-P (Ron William x Corleone Z), who has won at grand prix with Sarah Rao.

“Ronnie is a grand prix schoolmaster,” Gemma says. “He’s not the easiest ride – he’s quite complicated, but incredibly talented, so amazing for teaching me all the harder movements.

“He’s teaching me a lot, in terms of the grand prix movements and also patience and resilience. He is amazing.”

The latest equestrian string to Gemma’s bow is her recent foray into the racing world. Over the past year, she’s transformed herself from the long stirrups and deep seat of the dressage world, to raising her irons and galloping down the home straight at “Glorious Goodwood” in the Markel Magnolia Cup at the end of July.

The transformation is captured in detail in a new Amazon Prime docuseries, Meet The Owens, a six-episode insight into the Owen family’s daily life, produced by Whisper.

Gemma, the eldest child of England football star Michael Owen (not to be confused with the five-star event rider of the same name), is portrayed as she starts from scratch in her quest to become a jockey. There are thrills and spills, hard work in the gym, hours on the equicizer – and ultimately the charity race goal.

Gemma describes her early gallops as “humbling”, with a stark contrast between the two disciplines.

“I’ve trained dressage for as long as I can remember, and how the dressage horses are and how the thoroughbreds are is completely different,” she says. “My position when I’m riding dressage to going up the gallops is completely different as well.

“It took a while to fully adjust. Your stirrups are so unbelievably short and I remember when I first started riding out and I thought my stirrups were short, I look back and I literally look like I’m a dressage rider that wanted to do a bit of jumping or something. It was humbling.

“But I’m getting there,” she adds. “My legs and lower body I found OK; it was more my upper body strength that I found more challenging and had to develop.”

But however tough the challenge, there’s no question which Gemma deems harder overall.

“Nailing the perfect test is definitely harder [than winning a race],” she says. “There is so much that goes into dressage, and you are dealing with the tiniest, tiniest detail. You’re constantly chasing the perfect picture. Which obviously is subjective to a certain extent.

“Racing, there are loads of different challenges – I have to concentrate in a different way when I’m riding dressage to when I’m going up the gallops.

“It’s just a completely different way of riding. It’s not necessarily when you’re going up the gallops, it’s more the stopping and starting, walking to the stables, from the collecting ring, all of the little bits in between you just have to be so on it.

“These horses are so young and you just can’t switch off, they will spin round and go off with you! Learning to control the pace up the gallops is something I had to learn. If you pull the reins that doesn’t necessarily mean stop, it means they take a hold and we’re going faster. So I’m like, ‘If I can’t pull the reins how do I stop?’ But it’s all learning.”

Dad Michael was known as one of the most competitive strikers of his era. Now he’s running Manor Farm Stables, a Flat racing yard with trainer Hugo Palmer, he’s channelled that ambition to a new sphere.

Gemma admits she’s no match for his intense drive.

“Dad is more competitive,” she says. “I’m extremely competitive and want to do well in everything I do, but Dad is ridiculously competitive. When it comes to card games or a family quiz, whatever it is, everything has to be a competition.

“Mum, on the other hand, when it came to the Magnolia Cup was like, ‘enjoy the experience, enjoy learning a new discipline’. I think I’ve got the best of both of them I’d like to say.

“Dad and I have a lot of similarities. One of the first things Dad says about me on the show is ‘she’s a female version of me’ which is kind of accurate. I do think in a similar way about a lot of things. I’m extremely driven, focused, competitive and determined.

“When I set my mind to something I want to achieve it and put as much in as I can and get the best out of it. In those ways we’re similar.

“But because of my mum’s slightly different approach, I try to enjoy the journey and learning of a new skill as much as it does kill me when I don’t do as well.”

When it comes to the dressage, Michael has been happy to take a back seat. There’s a hilarious (and very relatable to most riders) moment where Michael is prancing around his lawn as if he’s practising a dressage test. But that’s about as far as his involvement goes.

He’s been crazy about racing, however, since he was a child. And there’s a scene in the show where Gemma goes upsides on the gallops when she wasn’t meant to – and goes really fast. Cue frosty exchange between dad and daughter.

“In dressage he’d support from the sidelines but he’d never tell me how to ride, whereas the racing he knows a lot more, he’s more passionate about, he’s more knowledgeable,” Gemma says. “When you’re learning something new there are a million things you need to think about and we had a miscommunication.

“We were meant to be going single file, and I came up upsides, which now I know is a completely different thing and the horses know they’re racing each other, as opposed to just cantering nicely.

“I had to learn that the hard way but I think having Dad here and passionate about the racing stables is incredible and I’ve learnt a lot from him.”

When it came to riding in the big race, it nearly didn’t happen at all. Michael relates how she had a fall on a racecourse gallop at Southwell a few days before – but somehow she was back in the plate in time for Goodwood.

She finished fourth – on a miler called Turbo Trotter for whom the sprint distance was far from ideal. Not good enough, says Gemma, who rued her own bad start.

“I was frustrated with myself – I completely missed the start,” she says. “I made up good ground and finished the race strong. The horse gave me an incredible ride and I’m so happy to have ridden him. But I should have been more on it and ready for the start to go at any point. Yup, I’m competitive.”

As for what the future holds? Will she carry on racing?

“Yeah! And dressage! I’m going to try,” she says. “Racing’s completely different, but I love it so much I don’t want to stop.

“I love the people, I love the horses , I love the routine and the involvement I’ve got here now. So if I can do both, I will. Racing in the morning, dressage in the afternoon.”

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Leading Belgian dressage judge and official Jacques van Daele died on 4 July, aged 71.

Jacques started his career training horses for the Belgian mounted police. He moved into dressage judging in the 1980s and moved up the levels to become a four-star judge, continuing at national and international level until last year.

He officiated at six Olympics, multiple World and European Championships, World Cup Finals and young horse World Championships. He was on ground juries across the world and was chief steward at CHIO Aachen.

Jacques was FEI honorary steward general for dressage and served on the Belgian and Flemish dressage committees, chairing the Belgian committee for four years and serving as general steward for the Belgian equestrian federation.

He was muchrespected by riders, officials and organisers, and his contribution to equestrian sport was recognised in 2022 when he was named sport personality of the year by Horse Sport Flanders.

Jacques van Daele: hugely respected

“Jacques van Daele was a hugely respected figure in international dressage, valued not only for his knowledge and professionalism but also for his passion for our sport and the way he supported those around him,” said FEI dressage director Ronan Murphy.

“He was thoughtful, fair and always willing to listen, share his experience and support the development of others. His commitment to the rules, to the sport and above all to the wellbeing of the horse defined his approach as an official. Jacques’ wisdom, kindness and friendship will be greatly missed by the entire dressage community.”

An FEI spokesperson added: “The FEI extends its condolences to Jacques’ sister, his friends, colleagues and all those across the international equestrian community who knew and worked alongside him.”

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Sophie Wells scored 76.76% to finish just off the podium in the grade V freestyle at the World Para Dressage Championships in Aachen.

It rounded off a week of contrasts for Sophie – an emotional grade V gold on Thursday, a tougher team test on Saturday, and now a fourth-place freestyle finish, agonisingly close to a second medal – just 0.68 percentage points shy of bronze.

Gold went to Lena Malmström and Fabulous Fidelie for Sweden on 79.68%, with Regine Mispelkamp and Highlander Delight’s taking silver for Germany on 78.19% and Britney de Jong and Caramba NOP bronze for the Netherlands on 77.44%.

“It was a bit of a mixed bag”

Sophie entered the arena, gesturing to the sound technicians to turn the music up – a remix of covers by Croatian cellist HAUSER, including Waka Waka, Sway and La Isla Bonita.

“It was so much quieter than the sound check, but a few people had said that earlier in the order, so I was a bit prepared for it,” Sophie explained. “It’s the sort of music that needs to be a little bit louder anyway.”

It was a technical floorplan, and Sophie could count herself unlucky not to have picked up more marks from the judges – the watching crowd had her on 77.93%.

“The extended canter was good – I think that’s a really nice, bold thing she can do,” Sophie said. “But overall it was a bit of a mixed bag – she was fresh coming out, so I didn’t quite know what I was going to get in there. It was nice that she was feeling energetic on day three though, because I didn’t expect that.

“Of course it’s disappointing – it’s four percent off my best. But equally, it wasn’t our best test either – there were mistakes; she dropped me in the two half-circles, and the simple changes weren’t the best she could do. It is what it is, and we just try to get home, regroup, and get better.”

Looking ahead, Sophie confirmed MSJ Gold Standard’s owner, Emma Blundell, plans to sell the 10-year-old mare after these championships, with Sophie’s focus already turning to the horses waiting in the wings for her at home.

“We’ll see what happens – the plan was always that she’d be sold after worlds,” Sophie said. “We’ve got other horses coming up too, like seven-year-old Ontario LC, who did his first international at Hartpury this year.”

Sophie also still has her Paralympic medallist LJT Egebjerggards Samoa, whose talent she rates highly for grand prix work, alongside her para career.

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Nicola Naylor and Humbeto L scored 76.5% in the grade IV freestyle at the World Para Dressage Championship in Aachen to finish fourth.

It capped a memorable World Championships debut for Nicola, who had already claimed individual grade IV bronze earlier in the week. Today’s freestyle was another brave ride from the pair – finishing on a medium trot into a halt before the judge at C – and a marked improvement on yesterday’s team test (22 August), where Humberto had a couple of costly spooks in the canter and walk.

“I thought after yesterday, it was great, because he was so much more with me, so much more settled, willing to listen,” Nicola said. “I took a breath too, and it just felt smoother – he felt like he was in a happier place too, which, given the crowds and the noise, is amazing. But he still kept some of that power. He’s full of beans – I think he could go on for another three days, the way he feels.”

The freestyle itself – set to music from the BBC television series Sherlock – was a deliberately demanding one. “It’s a very busy freestyle – we’ve crammed a huge amount in, literally movement after movement,” Nicola explained.

“We did that deliberately because he likes to be busy. The more he does, the happier he is. If it’s just endless canter along the long sides, he starts to get unsure of what he’s meant to be doing – give him something to do, and he’s really happy.”

Picking out the highlights, she added: “As always, the medium canters were great, and the half-passes too – actually, the whole canter tour flowed really smoothly. I think the timing with the music in the extended walk was a little late, but halfway through he really did extend and take it down, and the trot work was really nice too – I’m very pleased.”

Humberto was also remarkably consistent today, not dropping below an average of seven for any movement. “And that’s lovely,” Nicola said. “Especially after yesterday, when he was a bit all over the place.

“To get him back secure like that is a great note to finish on. He’s never heard crowds like that before, never heard that sort of clapping – so to have given him that experience, and for him to stay with me, I think it’s a great way to finish.”

Reflecting on the week as a whole, Nicola was clear it had been a positive one despite its ups and downs. “It’s been a long week, but it’s been fabulous. There’ve been highs and lows – not really lows, but less-high moments, shall we say – but I always enjoy the training.

“Every test is an experience, and you learn so much from each one. I’ve loved every moment of it, because it’s not often you get this atmosphere to actually ride in and see how your horse handles it.”

She couldn’t resist a fond aside about Humberto’s temperament away from the arena – a horse who, moments earlier, had seemed almost half-asleep during the stewards’ final checks.

“He’s extraordinary – like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde,” she laughed. “He goes into the arena and he’s got so much power, he’s completely on it, test after test. But you take him out, and he goes to see the stewards, drops his head, half-shuts his eyes – like a donkey falling asleep. He just switches off. He’s like, ‘I’ve done that now, and that’s me, I'm finished.’ Then you pick him up next time and he’s full of power again.”

Further glory for Kate Shoemaker and Vianne

Kate Shoemaker and Vianne took the class comfortably for the USA on 83.31%, the 10-year-old grey mare the only one producing artistic marks into the 90s.

It capped a remarkable treble for Kate and Vianne – having already broken the grand prix A world record for the grade with 78.89% on Thursday for individual gold, then anchored the US record 236.135 team total on Saturday with the first 80%-plus score of the championships.

“None of this has sunk in whatsoever,” Kate said. “It feels like maybe I’ll wake up from a dream tomorrow. To be in Aachen, in this amazing arena, on hallowed ground, is an absolutely incredible experience. I’m just incredibly thankful to be here, and to have gold medals is beyond the icing on the cake.

“Once the team was finished, I just wanted to see if we could have a little bit more in the trot and not really hold back – and she stayed relaxed with me the whole time.

“I think we had our best extended trot of the entire competition. We added one on the last centre line just for fun – that wasn’t originally in there, but she felt so good, I thought why not?”

France’s Alexia Pittier and Sultan 768 held off Germany’s Helen Brandt and Vulkan Vegas IB for silver, 78.65% to 78.01%.

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Athene Lindebjerg’s grade I freestyle at the World Para Dressage Championships in Aachen was her last-ever competitive test – Mari Durward-Akhurst confirmed after a tougher-than-usual ride, scoring 67.85% for eighth place, that the 19-year-old mare is retiring.

Athene had two uncharacteristic spooks, in the corners between A and K and between M and C, before downing tools for a spell. Mari had said after the team test how hard it can be for her, with limited leg power, to get Athene going again once she slows – and she needed all of her experience to bring Athene back on track here.

Athene’s retirement brings the curtain down on one of British para dressage’s longest and most decorated careers. She won individual and team gold with Sophie Christiansen at both the 2015 Europeans in Deauville and the Rio Paralympics the following year, then a hat-trick of individual, freestyle and team golds with Julie Payne at the 2017 Europeans in Gothenburg.

After a break from competition that included having two foals, she returned to top-level sport under the care of South Bucks RDA volunteer Romilly Hart, who got her fit again at the request of co-owner Di Redfern.

Mari took on the ride in 2023 and went on to win individual freestyle bronze at the Paris 2024 Paralympics, two individual bronzes at last year’s Europeans in Ermelo and individual silver this week in Aachen, before this freestyle brought her competitive career to a close.

“She’s retiring now – the World Championships is her last competition, and we’d like to have gone out with a different sort of bang,” Mari said, with good humour at first. But as she began to talk about what the mare had meant to her, the emotion of the moment caught up with her.

“I think she’ll be remembered for life regardless. Honestly, everything she’s given me – she got me to my first Paralympics, my first individual medal... She’s just absolutely incredible, and I can’t thank her enough for it all. This has been amazing.

“She’s made my dreams come true, and I don’t think I’d be the athlete I am now without her and everything she’s taught me. I think that test is a sign she wants to retire – so it’s the perfect time, really. She can go and live out in the field and have a wonderful retirement. She doesn’t owe Great Britain anymore.”

The decision had been made a while ago. “We always knew this would be our last competition together, so it’s been an emotional week. I really wanted her to go out on the high of a gold, but she’s been at the highest level for 10 years – and that’s after coming back having had foals, too. She’s just incredible.

“The sport’s changed so much from when Sophie and Julie rode her – she has to go with a slightly longer contact, and her head moves a lot. We’ve tried really hard with it, but some judges just don’t like the head movement. To end with a silver this week, though – you can’t want much more than that, can you?”

Asked what came next for the mare, Mari added: “She’ll be treated like royalty by Romilly – which she already is.”

Gold went to the Marie Vonderheyden and Fan Tastico H of the USA, scoring a personal best 80.54%, with Italy’s Sara Morganti taking silver on Bond Girl 18 (78.77%) and Latvia’s Rihards Snikus completing the podium on Rise And Shine (75.42%) – the gelding making his championship debut at just six years old.

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Fiona Howard and Diamond Dunes (USA) topped the grade II freestyle on 81.87% on the last day of the World Para Dressage Championships in Aachen, but it was Britain’s Jemima Green who produced the story of the class – a huge personal best on Fantabulous, taking silver on 80.93% (up from 78.44%) off the back of a fourth-place finish in the team test two days earlier. Jemima later said she’d gone into the freestyle with no expectation of making the podium.

Germany’s Heidemarie Dresing completed the top three on Poesie 143 with 80.81%, the narrowest of margins – just 0.126 points – separating silver from bronze.

Jemima could barely process the result when it came in. “I just found out it’s a huge PB, which is so, so exciting,” she said, still looking a bit shocked.

“There were mistakes – I was going around thinking, ‘Come on, a little bit more’. He felt a little tired, but relaxed, which meant we didn’t get the spooks, but we did have a trip, and just a couple of transitions where he was a little behind me.

“I came out of the test not really knowing what to expect, so when they said, ‘I think you’ve got silver’ I was like, ‘Pardon?’ I just remember it feeling slightly off – but that clearly doesn’t mean anything, it’s so hard to get that into your brain.”

Picking through the test for its highlights, she singled out the free walk in particular. “It's all a bit of a blur though. My first medium trot wasn’t strong, so I immediately thought, ‘Right, I’ve got to make the next one better’ – and that one was.

“The free walk across the long diagonal – he really let go and stretched for me and he goes so well to our Beatles music with that, which is lovely. When he keeps his rhythm and his balance throughout, it really flows, and it feels soft. He looked relaxed today, but I got a bit more oomph out of him too.”

The result, she explained, was built on a small but significant change made the day before. “We had a slightly longer warm-up – four minutes longer – we’re very precise with him, and we made a saddle adjustment too. Yesterday, I’d felt the left-hand side [of the saddle] had dropped, so we put a shim in to balance it up.

“He’s really sensitive to those tiny adjustments; he won’t hold himself square if the saddle’s not quite right. I think those little tweaks, and the conversations we’ve had as a team, have brought this here today.”

She was quick to credit the wider team behind it. “Without any of them here, I wouldn’t have been able to do this. British Dressage and Agria are supporting us, and we couldn’t be here without UK Sport's full support either.

“There’s no way I could have done this without all the coaches, the trainers, the farriers – everybody. It really is a full team effort, and I so appreciate it, because it's made the difference on him from two days ago to today.”

Reflecting on the week as a whole as she goes home with two medals having also taken bronze in the individual on Wednesday, Jemima admitted it had taken its toll. “Overwhelming and exhausting – I’m not going to lie, I think mentally this has been one of the hardest shows for me. I don’t think I felt the pressure physically, but mentally I did.

“I came in today really prepared – I’ve been watching my music videos and visualising, because I haven’t always had the best luck with music, but it’s got stronger and stronger. I went to bed early last night and really thought about how I wanted to perform. It’s been an incredible experience – but exhausting.”

The grade II field was one of the strongest of the week, and Jemima admitted she hadn’t expected to be anywhere near the podium in it – despite already having an individual bronze to her name.

“It was a really strong field, some big names, so I thought, ‘I’ll probably be fourth again,’” she said. “I would’ve taken that; that’s my comfortable spot! I was expecting some massive scores – I didn’t think I’d necessarily be one of them, so this is truly incredible.”

Elsewhere on the final day, Rixt van der Horst of the Netherlands continued her imperious week, topping the grade III freestyle on Eisma’s Royal Fonq NOP with 83.12%. Denmark’s Tobias Thorning Joergensen took silver on Blue Hors Zackorado (79.94%), with Italy’s Francesca Salvadè completing the podium on Escari (79.59%) – the narrowest of margins, just 0.353 points, separating silver from bronze.

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Pre-competition favourites, the US have won a commanding team gold medal at the World Para Dressage Championships on a total of 236.135 – higher even than their record-breaking 235.567 total at the Paris Paralympics. Germany were second on 229.875, while the Netherlands finished third on 227.639.

Fiona Howard and the 13-year-old stallion Diamond Dunes led a stacked grade II field, posting an unassailable 79.3% to give the US a flying start to the team competition on day one (21 August) – a massive improvement from their 75% in the individual test.

“He felt great today, even from the first trot around the arena, and he really put his whole heart in there,” Fiona said. “I’m just so proud of him and so happy that we could do this for the team.”

With no LA 2028 Paralympic qualification required as hosts, she was clear the pressure hadn’t lifted: “As a team, we’re all competitive, but we also really want each other to succeed. We put so much work into this that we all want to fight for those medals.”

Germany’s Heidemarie Dresing – an individual gold medallist earlier in the week – took second on Poesie 143 with 77.73%, and Denmark’s Katrine Kristensen third on Goerklintgaards Quater with 76.17%. “It was so fluent, and he trusted me totally – his trot was even better than the first test,” Katrine said. “This is a good start to our team score, and now I can cheer my teammates on.”

The US claimed grade I too, Marie Vonderheyden and Fan Tastico H, living up to his name with a personal best of 76.38%. “I’m so happy and proud of him, but I love that I gave a good score for the team — it’s important to be there for your teammates and help each other,” Marie said.

Rixt van der Horst and Eisma’s Royal Fonq NOP topped grade III once again for the Netherlands, scoring 78.47%. “He was on fire today – a really nice, constant and harmonious test,” Rixt said. “There are a lot of nations with a chance of a medal, so I was feeling the responsibility with my score.”

Denmark’s Tobias Thorning Joergensen took second on Blue Hors Zackorado (77.07%) – competing alongside his mother, Line Thorning Joergensen, in grade IV. “It‘s amazing to share a competition like this with my mum – she’s probably my biggest partner in all of this,” he said.

The hosts take silver

Grade V opened day two, with Germany’s Regine Mispelkamp adding 75.74% to the team effort on Highlander Delight’s – Germany looking to secure the runner-up spot behind a US side that already looked out in front after day one.

Britney de Jong and Caramba 74.61% locked in the Netherlands’ total on 227.639. That left grade IV, and two German riders still to come who could leapfrog the Dutch. Either Helen Brandt (Vulkan Vegas IB) or Anna-Lena Niehues (Vive l'Amour) needed at least 74.17% to get Germany’s total above the Netherlands’.

Helen went first but fell short, scoring 73.3% – leaving it to Anna-Lena Niehues, whose Vive l’Amour produced a standout test, her paces shining throughout. Despite a mistake in the medium walk, she scored 76.41%, securing silver for Germany.

“It's great for the team,” Anna-Lena said. “The canter work was very good, the simple changes too. It’s always important to be good – but for the team it's more important.”

The highest score of the championships

Kate Shoemaker on her exceptional mare Vianne needed to score better than 71.96% to guarantee gold – which, having scored a new world record 78.89% to win gold in the individual test earlier in the week, seemed a sure bet.

But a little bit of jeapordy was injected into the situation when, as she was entering the arena, the rider before her, Spain’s Carla Onrubia Roman, fell from her horse Valerio.

"She came off, right where we needed to pass each other,” Kate said. “I’d never had the experience of a loose horse next to me. Vianne looked over there, as if to say ‘Are you both okay?’ and Michel [Assouline, the US chef d'equipe] said, ‘Quick, get in the arena’ and I was like ‘Yes sir!’

“I was so proud of Vianne in that moment — she just went into the ring and got on with it. It meant a lot that she had that much confidence in me, with all that excitement going on, to still put in a really good test.”

They scored 80.46% – the highest score of the championships so far, and just shy of Vianne’s own grand prix B world record of 80.72%.

The 10-year-old mare combines exceptional expression with harmony, flowing from one movement to the next, apparently unbothered by any of it. Even after the final halt, amid the applause, she stopped to scratch her face on her leg for a good few seconds before leaving the arena – utterly unfazed by the occasion.

“I’m just flabbergasted – it’s incredible,” Michel added. “Paris was already historic for us, and to come here and set a record team score on the biggest stage in the world for equestrian sport – it’s just incredible. I’m so honoured to be with them, and very proud to be surrounded by such incredible athletes. It takes a village to get the best finish possible.”

Looking ahead, he was already thinking about the road to LA 2028. “I’m still very confident we have a system in place that works,” he said. “We’ve worked hard on putting a strategy together with strong foundations, so I have a solid roadmap.

“It’s going to be an important Games for us because it’s a home Games – but that brings its own pressure too, because the team at home will expect even more. Horses aren’t machines – but I have full confidence it’ll be okay, and that we can show the world it can be done outside of Europe too.”

Final team results

As hosts, the US had already secured their Los Angeles 2028 Paralympic team quota regardless of result – so it was the next seven placed nations who claimed Paralympic tickets in Aachen: Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Great Britain, Italy, France and Sweden.

1. United States – 236.135
   Fiona Howard (Diamond Dunes) 79.3% · Marie Vonderheyden (Fan Tastico H) 76.38% · Rebecca Hart (Floratina) 73.533 (discard) · Kate Shoemaker (Vianne) 80.46%
   
2. Germany – 229.875
   Heidemarie Dresing (Poesie 143) 77.73% · Regine Mispelkamp (Highlander Delight’s) 75.74% · Helen Brandt (Vulkan Vegas IB) 73.3% (discard) · Anna-Lena Niehues (Vive l’Amour) 76.41%
   
3. Netherlands – 227.639
   Annemarieke Kobel (Doo Schufro) 73.71% (discard) · Tessa Baaijens-Van De Vrie (Happy Grace) 74.57% · Rixt van der Horst (Eisma’s Royal Fonq NOP) 78.47% · Britney de Jong (Caramba N.O.P.) 74.61%
   
4. Denmark – 225.867
   Katrine Kristensen (Goerklintgaards Quater) 76.17% · Sandra Lynge Eriksen (Inzurgenzy Firfod) 72.63% · Tobias Thorning Joergensen (Blue Hors Zackorado) 77.07% · Line Thorning Jorgensen (Suarez) 70.41% (discard)
   
5. Great Britain – 222.379
   Jemima Green (Fantabulous) 74.03% · Mari Durward-Akhurst (Athene Lindebjerg) 74.58% · Sophie Wells (MSJ Gold Standard) 73.76% · Nicola Naylor (Humberto L) 70.16% (discard)
   
6. Italy – 220.808
   Massimiliano Chiantore (Fashion Girl) 71.46% · Sara Morganti (Bond Girl 18) 74.08% · Francesca Salvadé (Escari) 75.27% · Federica Sileoni (Leonardo) 67.67% (discard)
   
7. France – 219.818
   Vincent Brunet (Drazic) 65.46% (discard) · Chiara Zenati (Zeus de Malleret IFCE) 71.47% · Vladimir Vinchon (Pegase Mayenne) 75.22% · Alexia Pittier (Sultan 768) 73.14%
   
8. Sweden – 219.106
   Renee Claesson-Ribring (Zapp VS) 70.6% (discard) · Pam Svane (Raja) 72.7% · Lena Malmström (Fabulous Fidelie) 73.97% · Lotta Wallin (Questionmark) 72.43%
   
9. Norway – 211.878
   Jens Lasse Dokkan (Dockland V) 69.71% · Ine Nyhuus (Aagaardens Lia) 70.93% · Mira Antonsen Hjelle (Atterupgaards Dora) 71.24% · Christina Marcussen (Zorro Hoejris) 69.61% (discard)
   
10. Belgium – 207.883
    Emma Vercammen (Odin) 69.4% · Barbara Minnei (Freiherr von Nymphenburg) 69.67% · Francesca Vanhoeck (Fastlane vant' Beekhof) 64% (discard) · Kevin van Ham (Eros van Ons Heem) 68.82%
    
11. Austria – 206.828
    Julia Sciancalepore (Heinrich IV) 70.96% · Pepo Puch (Royale Choice) 70.17% · Thomas Haller (Haller's Hermine) 65.57% (discard) · Julia Mitterhuemer (Showgirl) 65.7%
    
12. Canada – 205.622
    Roberta Sheffield (Nardando) 67.1% · Jody Schloss (El Colorado) 71.92% · Eleonore Elstone (Szecrecy HP) 66.61% · Laura Hall (Istrano) 64.65% (discard)
    
13. Singapore – 204.292
    Gemma Rose Jen Foo (Mona Lisa) 68.92% · Laurentia Tan (Hickstead) 72.88% · Hui'en Hilary Su (Gambler) 62.5%
    
14. Brazil – 203.891
    Flamarion Pereira Da Silva (Don Furitello) 63.23% (discard) · Cleberson Leopoldino Antunes Palhano (Fronterizzo Da El Comandante) 66.08% · Sergio Froes Ribeiro De Oliva (Novidade VD) 71.33% · Rodolpho Riskalla (Franziskaner 13) 66.47%
    
15. Spain – 203.070
    Felix Gomez González (Merlin) 68.23% · Maria Del Carmen Lopez Garcia (Bribon de Ymas) 62.17% (discard) · Iker Beitia Astondoa (Belizzo) 66.351 · Carla Onrubia Roman (Valerio) 68.49%
    
16. Ireland – 201.811
    Jessica McKenna (D.C.I Cerruti) 66.7% · Katie Reilly (Keystone Dawn Chorus) 69.73% · Rosemary Jean Gaffney (Norabel) 65.38%
    
17. Czech Republic – 199.083
    Marcela Lochovska (Viola) 65% · Anastasja Vistalova (Don Athello 3) 68.54% · Vladimir Votrel (Ruby Beatle) 65.54%
    
18. Poland – 193.990
    Mariusz Woszczek (Zachwyt - Nad Wigrami) 63.37% · Agata Weigt (Discovery 64) 65.97% · Dominika Paczek (Quentino) 62.24% (discard) · Maciej Bigaj (Be My Love) 64.65%
    
19. Japan – 193.933
    Soshi Yoshigoe (Vior) 66.43% · Sho Imaba (Dallas) 66.5% · Junichiro Okawa (RH’s Totally Joker) eliminated · Toshifumi Jo (Elmero) 61%
    
20. Hong Kong – 186.567
    Lok Yee Louie Lam (Jockey Club Felaini S) 63.07% · Fleur Schrader (Jockey Club Todays Special) 59.23% · Tin Chi Timothy Tsang (Jockey Club Cethegus M) 64.27%

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Britain has finished fifth at the 2026 World Para Dressage Championships on a team total of 222.379 – missing out on the podium, but comfortably inside the top seven that secures qualification for the 2028 Los Angeles Paralympics.

The USA won gold on 236.135, Germany took silver on 229.875, the Netherlands bronze on 227.639, and Denmark fourth on 225.867 – just 3.488 points clear of Britain.

The Brits went into grade IV and V on the final day of the team competition (Saturday 22 August), looking to build on a first day that left them a little off the pace for a spot on the podium.

Paralympic qualification was always the goal for the team, but their individual tests had been so strong earlier in the week that hopes were high heading into the team competition.

In a reminder of how strong the individual week has been for the team: had this week’s individual scores (grand prix A) been counted instead of today’s team scores (grand prix B), Britain would have won team silver – narrowly ahead of the Netherlands, comfortably clear of Denmark.

Mari Durward-Akhurst opened Britain’s team campaign yesterday in grade I, finishing runner-up to the USA’s Marie Vonderheyden on 74.58%. Jemima Green and Fantabulous added 74.03% for fourth in grade II, as Fiona Howard’s Diamond Dunes stormed from fourth in her own individual test to top the grand prix B outright on 79.3%. Rixt van der Horst extended her unbeaten run in grade III for the Netherlands.

None of the day-one totals were final – every team still had riders to come in grades IV and V. But a gap was already beginning to open up: Britain sat 13th overnight with only Mari and Jemima’s scores in and two riders still to come. The USA (229.208), Denmark (225.867) and the Netherlands (226.742) each had three of their four riders in already, while Germany, with three riders still to go, had just Heidemarie Dresing’s 77.73% on the board.

In the grade V, Sophie Wells backed up her individual gold with fourth in the team test on MSJ Gold Standard, scoring 73.76% – a drop of 1.19 percentage points from her individual test – behind Germany’s Regine Mispelkamp (75.77%) and the Netherlands’ Britney de Jong (74.61%).

Gold Standard looked a little harder work than two days earlier – still very accurate and relaxed, but a little behind Sophie’s aids at times and not as settled in the contact.

“I thought the feeling she gave me today was better than anything I've felt from her – even better than the individual test,” Sophie said.

“She warmed up really well, nice and energetic, and felt a little lighter, a bit more up for it. It’s a little frustrating going in there and coming out with a score lower than two days ago, but that’s dressage, that’s sport – my biggest goal coming here was for her to be a happy horse in the arena, and I feel like she was.”

Asked where she felt the marks had been lost, she added: “The halts probably weren’t as good. I felt the simple changes were actually better, the downward transitions were better, and I felt like she was a little more uphill in the trot – I don’t know, to be honest. I’ll go and watch the video, read the sheets, take the comments, and we’ll try again [in the freestyle].

“At the end of the day, I’m walking away with a happy pony, and I enjoyed the feeling I got today, so I’m pleased.”

“Nothing to lose”

Grade V’s completion locked in the Netherlands’ total on 227.639 – a real number for the chasing pack now to beat. The USA looked out in front regardless of what was still to come, needing Kate Shoemaker to better just 71.96% in grade IV to top that Dutch mark – a modest ask given her individual gold this week came on 78.89%.

Britain, by contrast, looked out of the running for the podium: Nicola would have needed a score well clear of her personal best – 79.02% – to get her team above the Dutch total.

With Germany still having two riders to go in grade IV, Denmark was the only other realistic target. That meant clearing 77.25%, assuming Denmark landed on their likely floor of 225.867 – the probable outcome, since last-to-go Line Thorning Jørgensen’s individual score of 70.08% was the lowest of the Danish team. It was a tall order: 3.39 points above Nicola’s own individual bronze-medal score of 73.86%.

But full credit to Nicola and Humberto L – they went for it. The pair came in with real purpose, at times almost looking like they’d take off in the canter, but Humberto had a touch too much energy for his own good, throwing in a couple of big spooks. They scored 70.16%, finishing as Britain’s discard for the day.

“We just went for a little bit more expression, a little bit more power today,” Nicola said, “and he got a bit more noise-sensitive and a bit more reactive – he was reacting to everything, so there were a few mistakes here and there where I had to nurse him through it. Some tests are just like that.”

She knew the risk going in: “There were some really lovely moments – I think he really came up in both canters, because we had that extra power. But it can just boil over slightly too much, and that was the risk.

“In some respects we had nothing to lose. He’s a horse I’d like to move up a couple of percent if I can, but he’s not used to being asked for that much more in the arena. I think he got quite excited about it – but it’s great to have an occasion where you can try that.

“It did feel like he was going to take off at times in the canter – that’s why I kept telling myself to dig deep with my seat and just sit tight. But I didn’t want to stop riding the test the way I was, because then what's the point? He did feel up for it – it was just that he was in overdrive with adrenaline.”

It was Nicola’s first World Championships, and despite not getting the team medal she didn’t take the moment lightly. “It’s been wonderful – we’ve had all four of us get medals on the first day, which was a really uplifting moment for everybody,” she said.

“We’ve all worked so hard to get here. It’s an honour wearing the flag – there’s a lot of competition at home, and I’ve been a reserve for many years, so I know what that’s like. When you finally get picked, it’s a dream come true, and it’s all the better because we’re such a strong group of riders.”

“Onwards and upwards”

Performance manager Georgina Sharples was left with mixed emotions reflecting on the two days of team competition.

“I’m thrilled that we have qualified,” she said. “Coming here to qualify for LA 2028 was the primary aim, and we’ve achieved that. But I’m disappointed with the final results. We’ve got some fabulous combinations, and I know what they’re capable of – we showed some of that over the previous two days.

“I think we were the only nation that medalled with all four riders individually in their grade, so we very much came here with an expectation that we'd medal as a team too.

“We’ve got some cracking horses, and they delivered some super work, but we also had some incredibly expensive spooks. You can’t get away with that at this level. It’s incredibly close, and ultimately that’s cost us a podium finish.

“I’m disappointed for the riders, for the team, because we know what we’re capable of. It wasn’t our day for this competition – but we’ve got the freestyle tomorrow (23 August). Onwards and upwards.”

Looking ahead to LA, Georgina was keen to stress the positives.

“We’ve had two days where people have done exceptionally well – a world champion, a silver, two bronzes. Our riders are all very much on an upward trajectory. We're still assessing horsepower – we've got horses at home that are potentially LA combinations, but there aren’t many opportunities to get that experience.

“You need competitions like this, where the pressure is high, and you’ve got the rest of the world there, to give those riders that exposure. I think we’ll take a huge amount of positives from here and build on it.”

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News broke on the morning of the team competition (Friday 21 August) at the 2026 World Para Dressage Championships in Aachen that judges had made an error two days earlier, allowing Ireland’s Clodagh Walsh and Chantal to complete their individual grade I test after the judge at C rang the bell for apparent lameness.

Clodagh correctly stopped but was then allowed to continue, following a discussion between the judges.

“Under normal circumstances, further to the judge at C ringing the bell, the athlete should have been eliminated,” an FEI statement read. “The FEI acknowledges that this decision was not in accordance with the rules.

“The FEI apologises for the understandable upset and confusion caused to Clodagh Walsh, who had acted in accordance with the rules at all times and who bears no fault for this regrettable situation; the FEI recognises the difficult circumstances in which she completed her test.”

Clodagh was not present for the grade I team test on Friday, suggesting the elimination has since been upheld – and therefore the Irish team has been reduced to three riders.

Oddly, though, her grand prix A score (61.83%) is still listed in the official results – a discrepancy that remains unexplained.

A scare for Japan’s Junichiro Okawa

The grade I team test brought further drama when Japan’s Junichiro Okawa, riding RH’s Totally Joker, fell during his test. He was attended to immediately by the emergency medical team and taken to hospital for further evaluation; his horse was unhurt and returned to the stables. Junichiro was later given the all-clear by doctors.

“I’m so sorry to have caused you all so much worry,” he said afterwards, in a statement translated by Hiroko Copley-Mackie of Team Japan Para.

“Thankfully, there doesn’t appear to be anything wrong with the bone, and it seems I’ll be able to go home once the doctor has written up my medical certificate. I’m very relieved. I’m also incredibly grateful to everyone for being so concerned and for being so kind and helpful.”

The combination was eliminated from the grand prix B test as a result. With four riders in the Japanese team, all three remaining scores will have to count.

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Mari Durward-Akhurst backed up her opening-day silver with another strong test in the grand prix B (team test) on Friday, as Britain’s para dressage team began its World Para Dressage Championships campaign in Aachen.

Riding Athene Lindebjerg, she finished runner-up in grade I on 74.58% – a fraction up on her individual score of 74.54% earlier in the week – behind only the USA’s Marie Vonderheyden and Fan Tastico H, who topped the class on 76.38%, itself a shade down on Marie’s individual test 76.71%.

Jemima Green and Fantabulous, meanwhile, fell back slightly from their individual bronze, scoring 74.03% (against 75.24%) for fourth in grade II. It leaves Britain 13th after day one, sitting soley on Mari’s score – with Jemima's presently the lower of the two and set to be discarded. However, this is set against some teams who have multiple counting scores already.

Grade II produced the standout swing of the day elsewhere in the field. Fiona Howard and Paralympic gold medallist Diamond Dunes had finished fourth in Wednesday’s individual test on 75% after an uncharacteristic error; today, they responded with 79.3% to top the grand prix B outright.

Germany’s Heidemarie Dresing (77.73%, up from her individual gold-winning 75.48%) and Denmark’s Katrine Kristensen (76.17%, up from 75.31%) completed the podium places between them – both improving on their grand prix A scores.

Grade III also went, and Rixt van der Horst on Eisma’s Royal Fonq NOP shows no sign of letting up: the Dutch pair went even higher than their individual score two days ago, topping the class on 78.47% (up from 77.53%) to continue their unbeaten run at major championships. Denmark’s Tobias Thorning Joergensen (77.07%, up from 75.1%) and Italy’s Francesca Salvadè (75.27%, up from 74.77%) rounded out the placings behind her – both, like Rixt, improving on their individual-test marks.

With grades IV and V still to come for most nations, the team standings remain provisional – but on what's gone in so far, the USA (155.675), Denmark (153.234) and the Netherlands (153.034) look the most convincing of Britain’s rivals for a medal, each with two strong scores already on the board.

“A score that didn’t come easy”

Mari was last to go in the grade I. The score didn’t come easily, though – she felt Athene lacked the sharpness of her individual test two days earlier, even if the judges didn’t mark her down too much for it.

“It wasn't our best test,” Mari said. “She was hard work, but I managed to keep her going and get her to do what she wanted to do – she just didn’t have as much energy as the first day. I think it’s because she’s already been in there once; she was a bit like, ‘Oh, same thing again.’”

There were compensations, though – she felt the test flowed better in places. “I felt it was a smoother test compared to the first,” she said, picking out the halts again as a highlight, along with the stretch: “I can’t let go of my reins, so I have to try and hold my hands and push one arm as forward as I can, and she stretched nicely.”

Athene dropped behind her leg early on and never quite came fully back. "It's a hard one, because she felt really good in the warm-up, but then when she went in, she just dropped me a bit, and I don't have the leg power to get her to go more forward from behind," Mari said.

“I just try and use as much seat as I’ve got, and the whip for little taps and just keep going. It’s physically quite hard work. She’s not an easy ride. She makes it look easy, but she makes you work for every little bit.”

Mari, who watched none of her rivals’ tests beforehand, said the team was buoyed by Sophie Wells’ gold the day before. “We’re all on a high,” she said. “It’s always an honour to be on the team – I dreamed of it for so long, and to have done it successively for a number of years now is amazing.”

“Oh, where are we going?”

Jemima and Fantabulous were the first to go and their test was not without incident. Despite a fantastic start Fantabulous had a spook at E, jumping away from the boards.

“It was so quick – I was a bit like, ‘Oh, where are we going?’ He pulled the rein right out of my hand, so I’d completely lost it, and I just thought, okay, whistle, which is his cue to come back to me, and then straight back to it,” Jemima said.

“It’s just one of those moments you have to take. I needed to find my line and focus back on the test.”

Jemima did well to re-gather her reins and her composure to get back on track quickly, though she admitted the moment had cost her. "I feel a bit gutted, because it was going to be a stronger score," she said. “But I’m very pleased with what we’ve got – it’s still a strong score.”

Going first in the entire team competition added its own pressure. “I felt really good when I first woke up, and then I got here, and I really felt nervous – I had the shakes; it was a bit of an emotional moment,” Jemima admitted.

“Everything almost hit me at once, which I wasn’t prepared for. But we took some deep breaths, had some chats, and watching the others warm up helped me feel calmer.”

The walk on a long rein stood out for how she rode it straight after the spook. “I thought, ‘Oh God, please don't do anything' – but I was still confident enough to let the reins go and let him stretch. He could have held the tension, but he didn’t.”

Re-approaching the spot where the eight-year-old gelding had spooked, she worked hard to keep his concentration on her. “I was just playing with keeping him in a little left bend, so he wasn't looking to the outside – just trying to keep him with me, and that seemed to do the job,” she added.

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Sophie Wells scored a personal best of 74.95% on MSJ Gold Standard to win grade V gold for Britain at the World Para Dressage Championships.

This win with “Gracie”, a 10-year-old mare owned by Emma Blundell, extends her extraordinary championship medal collection to a new horse within a year of taking on the ride, and Britain’s gold medal haul at these championships to four.

“I’m quite emotional – which is quite rare for me,” said Sophie after hearing she’d won gold, her voice cracking. “I’m over the moon. I think it's just really special – I lost my dad last year... and it's just very special. He would have been thrilled – he’d be down the pub telling everybody.”

Despite Sophie’s record medal haul over her 17-year-long decorated championship career – this was her 41st championship medal by our count – it was her first individual gold since the 2018 worlds in Tryon.

She admitted the battle back to the top has not always felt certain: “I’ve got that perfectionist personality and dressage obviously suits me for that reason,” she said.

“I love the horses, I love riding, I love training them. There’s something in me that loves competing. I didn’t know if I’d get back to the top again, to be honest – I was really dramatic about it. We’ve had a rubbish few years with horses and things happening in life. I get up every morning, and I want to be the best that I can be for my horses.”

If the occasion was massive for Sophie, Gold Standard – “cool as a cucumber” – seemed oblivious to it. Sophie laughed when asked whether the mare had exceeded expectations for a first championship.

“She’s in the stable and looks like she’s been to 20 of them,” she said. “She’s like, ‘What’s the big deal?’ I really don’t understand it, but it’s so nice to have a horse that's so accepting of a new environment.

“She’s a happy soul, which is a bonus in a place like this – it’s not exactly a quiet championship. I took her round the fountain roundabout yesterday, and there were hundreds of people taking pictures of her, and she was just like, ‘Sure, take a picture, but I’m just going to have a snack’.”

Sophie Wells on the World Championships experience

Although Gold Standard has taken her first championships in stride, Sophie admitted – despite her experience – she’s been struggling with nerves, and the waiting in particular.

"I do feel so old, with how many championships I've done, and I still got so nervous today – I was thinking ‘What the hell, it doesn’t get easier’,” she said. “I think it’s because you know what’s coming. I couldn’t go on social media last night, so I was in the gym for about three hours, just stretching and exhausting myself this morning, because I couldn’t do anything else.”

During the test, Gold Standard’s temperament proved to be exactly the asset Sophie needed. The mare was unfazed even when, just before her first medium trot, a massive cheer echoed across from Aachen’s main arena where Germany’s Sophie Hinners and Iron Dames Singclair had just gone clear for Germany in the showjumping.

“I think she’d be quite happy if the cheer was for us!” Sophie said. “She’s a really nice type of horse to have. I wasn’t particularly worried about the atmosphere coming here, which is a nice change – the past couple of horses I’ve had have been a bit more on edge, a bit more tense.

“Gracie is the opposite. I have to do less schooling and keep her fresh and willing – at home she hacks and jumps and does all of that, and she’s done none of that here. I’m just trying to keep it as fun and light-hearted as possible for her.

“I've literally schooled her twice – we’ve been here since Sunday, and it’s Thursday now. I put the jumping saddle on and had a bit of a canter session around the arena familiarisation, but the less you do with her, the better. She’s probably good for about half an hour of schooling – if you drill her, she just switches off. She doesn’t need to be drilled. She finds the work easy; it’s just about keeping her happy.”

On the test itself, Sophie picked out her halt and half-passes as highlights, along with a walk-to-canter transition she felt particularly pleased with: “I felt like in my second [canter] extension I was able to go for a bit more – I didn’t want to ramp it up too much today, because you don’t know if they’re going to get a bit tight going in there, and I didn’t want tight mistakes rather than exciting ones.

“But there weren't really any mistakes at all – my simple changes could have been smoother in the downward transition, but the upward ones were good." Asked whether there was more to come from the pair, she was unequivocal: “Oh, 100% – there's loads more in there for her.”

European podium

Britney de Jong and Caramba NOP of the Netherlands took silver on 73.15%. Germany’s Regine Mispelkamp and Highlander Delight’s completed the podium in bronze on 72.97% – a margin of just 0.18 points separated silver from bronze.

Sophie’s gold completes a clean sweep of individual medals for the British team: Mari Durward-Akhurst (Athene Lindebjerg) won silver and Jemima Green (Fantabulous) and Nicola Naylor (Humberto L) took bronze in their respective grades. So all four British riders have now won individual medals at these championships.

For context, if team scoring were based on today’s individual results alone, Britain, Germany and the Netherlands would be separated by less than two points in the race for the podium behind the USA – though the actual team competition, starting tomorrow (21 August), will be decided by each grade’s dedicated grand prix B test, not today’s scores.

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Nicola Naylor scored 73.86% to win grade IV bronze for Britain at the 2026 World Para Dressage Championships – but not on the horse she was originally entered with. Her nine-year-old mare Moulin Rouge – known at home as Satine, after the character in the musical – was withdrawn in favour of her more experienced stablemate and European medallist Humberto L, who had been her direct reserve.

It was a late swap, and the original selection of Moulin Rouge over Humberto had been unexpected given Humberto’s higher average scores. Moulin Rouge appears to be the mare Nicola and the selectors have in mind for the 2028 Los Angeles Paralympics, and the plan had been to give her championship experience here – but it was decided Aachen came too soon, and the decision was made to opt for experience instead.

“It’s just not her moment,” said Nicola, who was competing at her first World Championships. “She is absolutely extraordinary – a horse that will be on fire, and the campaign for LA will start with her as soon as we get home. Humberto and Satine have been neck and neck all year, and he was my direct reserve, so we had another horse who could step in.”

She stressed that the decision was about protecting the mare’s development, not doubting her: “There are some strength issues we’re working on. I don’t like to push them when they’re not ready,” she said. “They need to be at their best health, their best strength, to come and do something like this. She had amazing scores all year, but I was careful at her last international at Hartpury – I didn’t push her there. I just thought she needs to get stronger and healthier in herself, and then she can take on something like this.”

Nicola Naylor on her World Championships test

Humberto competed in this same arena in April, so it wasn’t new to him, and it showed. He and Nicola produced a flowing round, the medium canter a highlight, averaging an eight from the panel.

“He loves that bit,” Nicola said. “You can feel he’s quite excited – he just goes, and he covers the ground. He’s got such a big, bouncy canter, and you can feel he’s really happy when he’s cantering. He’s like, ‘Come on, we’re doing the thing I like now.’”

It’s remarkable to see a visually impaired rider trust her horse enough to ride that forward, with as much impulsion as Nicola had in the canter. Their one blemish came at M – where the horses enter Aachen's stadium three – when Humberto spooked. "I felt like there was a real partnership there, and he really trusted me," Nicola said. "There was one moment where he was a little unsure, but other than that, he was superb."

Nicola is blind – in 2025 she became the first blind rider to compete in an able-bodied grand prix – and relies on her groom, Julie Riches, who calls out the arena letters as Nicola approaches them so she can orientate herself. It’s a reminder of how much of a team effort para sport is, in particular.

“Julie has taken on the role of calling the letters – and it’s another partnership,” explained Nicola, who trains with Sarah Millis. “Whenever we go to international competitions, she has a great relationship with Humberto because she’s with him almost 24/7 at the stables.”

On what the day meant for her partnership with Humberto: “I’m beyond proud, particularly with Humberto – he’s been my horse for six years, and it’s been a real relationship of love and work. To get him to come here and trust me enough to go into that arena... that is not the horse I had six years ago. He could not have done that six years ago. I didn't know what to expect today, but he held it together, and I am really proud of him.”

US golden run continues

Kate Shoemaker won gold with a new world record of 78.89%, riding perhaps the outstanding para dressage horse of the moment, the 10-year-old mare Vianne – her fifth world record across two grades, but not, as Kate was keen to stress, a gold medallist before today.

“Coming into [the Paris Paralympics], we were still really trying to figure each other out – she was eight, still trying to figure herself out, and one day one aid would do one thing, and the next day something else,” Kate said. “This year we really came into our own as a partnership. It just feels so easy – I can go in there, think about it, and the ride’s going to happen. That’s what it felt like today – she was completely one with me. By the time I’d finished trotting, I was already smiling. I was crying before the final halt. I was just so filled with joy.

“I wasn’t thinking about points or scores or medals – I was just thinking, how can I show this very special horse to the best of our ability today,” Kate added.

“She earned a world record in this arena in April, so we got to come in thinking, this is our arena – let’s go show them our absolute best.”

It’s the US team’s second individual para gold at the championships; Marie Vonderheyden and Fan Tastico H took grade I gold on the first day of competition (19 August) with 76.71%

Germany’s Anna-Lena Niehues won silver on Vive l’Amour, scoring 74.64%.

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Writing this after the final medal ceremony at the dressage World Championships, I’m having a “did I just dream that?” moment. From the British point of view, could Aachen have gone any better? Well, yes – I suppose we could’ve won team gold, but all credit to the Germans, and the standard of the sport made the colour of the medal less significant.

Plus, we’ve secured Olympic qualification at the earliest opportunity, which means we can use next year’s Europeans to develop rising combinations. Talking of which, a shout-out to Fiona Bigwood for holding her nerve and riding Donna Bella sympathetically, even under the pressure of being on a championship team.

I had two roles in Aachen: part of the broadcast team for FEI TV and assisting Carl Hester with his warm-up. While the former requires neutrality and might appear to contrast with the latter in practice, it’s not an issue.

Having ridden in my fair share of championships, I couldn’t help but be lured-into the view from the saddle of every combination regardless of which nation they represented.

Across the three medal tests, there were highs, lows and unpredictability.

In the team test, it was Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour and Mount St John Freestyle who delivered the standout harmonious performance. Sadly for Cathrine, that didn’t bring her an individual title – despite 11 individual medals, gold still eludes her.

A lack of immobility in Becky Moody and Jagerbomb’s first halt, followed by a break in the first extension, made for a difficult start. But Becky gave us all a lesson in damage limitation, clawing the scores back.

Despite outstanding movements elsewhere, Glamourdale’s first piaffe impacted his team score.

Carl used a shortened warm-up routine for Fame to take into account the impact of travel and heat. He rode a blinder and pulled off a great score. But all told, Germany beat us fair and square.

A canter that secures gold medals

For the special, Carl made use of the shade provided by the indoor school – roof only, so the breeze still got through. He removed Fame’s fly hood for extra coolness, with the breeze keeping the flies at bay.

The gold medal effectively came down to the canter tour and was, essentially, a flying-changes competition. Going into that phase of the test, the leading contenders were level-pegging. That suited Glamourdale: if he stayed error-free, the quality of his natural canter would be enough to counter any of his competitors’ gains over his piaffe achilles heel. And that’s how it played out.

Cathrine’s mistakes left her feeling she’d lost gold.

But as the kür would go on to show, even a fault-free canter tour from anyone else on the circuit can’t match Glamourdale’s extraordinary biomechanics in this gait.

The 40,000 spectators were invested – an “ooh” or a ripple of applause for every outstanding movement, and a whistle or two when they felt the judges had scored too low.

Becky and Cathrine both made difficult programmes look easy. Justin Verboomen had Zonik Plus close to last year’s form, though the contact issues are still a work in progress. Glamourdale was astonishing and on the final centre line, showed us that he can deliver a classical piaffe. The top five or six were all medal contenders.

Podium moments for owners and grooms

One new initiative from these championships must stay: bringing owners and grooms onto the podium and into the spotlight. Overdue and I fully support it. No medal is won without them.

As to the 91 starters in the team test, has dressage reached a point where the minimum eligibility requirement needs to be increased? In the interests of the judges and a consistent, level playing field, starter numbers need to be limited to what science tells us about cognition and concentration.

However, I was impressed with the stewarding, the veterinary supervision and the provisions for the heat.

I sat down with FEI vet director Dr Göran Åkerström to talk through the measures in place, including thermal cameras used to monitor horses during the warm-up. It’s a world away from where this all started – I was part of the first trial of heat-mitigation protocols in Atlanta in 1996 – 30 years on, it’s good to see the sport still taking it seriously.

● Where should be drawn on championship starter numbers? Let us know your thoughts at hhletters@futurenet.com, including your name, nearest town and county, for the chance to have your thoughts published in a future issue of Horse & Hound magazine

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Jemima Green and Fantabulous produced a career-best round to take individual bronze in the grade II grand prix A individual test at the World Para Dressage Championships, scoring 75.24% – narrowly eclipsing the pair’s previous best of 75.23%, set at Aachen in April.

The result also came with a notable spread across the judging panel: E, C and M placed her in the low-to-mid 70s but the judge at B – Anne Prain (FRA) – marked her considerably higher at 80.35%, the top score of any competitor from that box.

“It wasn’t the easiest to ride – he almost felt too relaxed in there, which I wasn’t prepared for,” Jemima said. She was referring to their one real mistake – a walk-to-trot transition in which the eight-year-old gelding was slow to react.

“There was a slight moment of miscommunication – I think he just kind of was in his own little world, which we call ‘Fantaland’.

“After that, he was ‘Oh, I’m back with you, Mum’. It is a big place – he’s found the atmosphere over the last few days quite a lot, and he’s been sleeping quite a lot – but he’s still so young.”

On her reaction when the scores were read out, Jemima added: “I was very shocked, because I was actually walking up going, ‘Oh no, that was a disaster’. And then the [judge at B]’s mark came at the end, and I just couldn't hold in the shock. They said it was a personal best – that’s just incredible to get for our first worlds test.”

Jemima Green’s World Championships bronze edges out others

Jemima’s bronze came at the expense of one of the grade’s reliable performers. Fiona Howard and Diamond Dunes – a triple Paralympic gold medallist, and so often faultless in this class – were left to rue an error in the very same corner that had briefly caught out Fantabulous. The pair finished fourth on 75%, just 0.241 points shy of the podium.

“This has been a really hard 18 months for me and my health, and I’m just so proud of that horse because he has risen to everything I’ve thrown at him,” Fiona said. “We didn’t have our best ride out there today, but I really couldn’t fault this horse – he put his heart out there today. And I’m so proud of him because it has not been an easy 18 months for either of us.”

Gold went the way of Germany’s Heidemarie Dresing and Poesie 143, though not without alarm. A tractor sparked into life just outside the arena as the pair walked down the centre line, sending the 11-year-old mare reversing at speed – a heart-in-mouth moment for her support crew watching.

“I thought it was the end,” Heidemarie, 71, laughed afterwards. “But then I think I had better make the test, ride forward, and show people what my horse is able to do.”

That she did, keeping her composure and steering Poesie back to the task, and although they picked up an average of 1.8 from the judges for their entrance, the pair recovered well enough to top the board on 75.48%, with a nervous wait for the scores to follow.

Denmark’s Katrine Kristensen and Goerklintgaards Quater were next in and took silver on 75.31% with a less expressive but accurate test. Heidemarie’s scores took a while to come through, so it wasn't until both riders had finished that the picture became clear – hers read out first, then Katrine’s, confirming the Dane a fraction behind. In the end, barely half a point separated gold from fourth.

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Mari Durward-Akhurst and Athene Lindebjerg kicked off Britain’s World Para Dressage Championships, winning a silver medal in the grade I grand prix A individual test, scoring 74.54%.

Gold went to the USA’s Marie Vonderheyden and Fan Tastico H on 76.71% – a clear 2.167 points clear of the field – and Italy’s Sara Morganti and Bond Girl 18 took bronze on 74.46%, 0.08 points behind Mari.

Athene came into the arena with great purpose and kept her impulsion throughout the test, as distant roars from Aachen’s main arena – where the showjumping was under way – punctuated the air. It was only accuracy on the tighter movements, like the voltes, that prevented an even bigger mark.

“Everything we worked really hard on came off in the test, so I’m delighted,” Mari said. “Just at the right time, everything came together. She was hot out there. But when she saw the big screen [in a corner of the arena], she kept a lid on it and was really up for it.”

Athene Lindebjerg’s decorated career stretches back over a decade – Paralympic team gold with Sophie Christiansen at Rio 2016, three golds with Julie Payne at the 2017 Europeans and Paralympic and European bronzes with Mari. But despite the 19-year-old mare’s medal-laden history, this is her first World Championships appearance.

“I am emotional now,” Mari said. “She’s obviously 19 now, so we’re not sure what the future holds, and I’ve had so much pressure everywhere we’ve gone – we’ve had to deliver because somebody else already has, but this is our story, so this just makes it unique. I’m so pleased she’s now a World Championship horse as well.”

With the team test still to come, Mari was clear she had no intention of holding anything back today. “I definitely didn’t play safe – I went bold,” she said. “I worked really hard with the psychologist on going in and owning test A, because I find it harder than test B. The circles are much tighter; she’s one big-moving horse, and they’re hard to get around – whereas B’s got bigger 10-metre circles and they’re just a bit easier, it flows a bit better. We definitely went for it and hopefully in the team test (grand prix B), we’ll have a bit more to give.”

Mari’s silver took Britain’s 2026 World Championships medal tally to three gold, three silver and one bronze – seven medals in total – holding second place in the overall standings behind hosts Germany (12).

Golden birthday

For gold medallist, championship debutante Marie Vonderheyden, the win had extra significance – 19 August is her birthday, and she turned 36 the day she won her first World Championship title.

“It was very good – it’s my first medal,” she said, still visibly processing the result. “It’s kind of hard to find all the words I want to say, but [Fan Tastico H is] the champion.”

Marie took over the ride on Fan Tastico H – teammate Roxanne Trunnell’s Paris 2024 grade I silver-medal horse – in early 2025, so this is a partnership of around 18 months.

It marks a remarkable turnaround for the French-born American, who suffered a severe traumatic brain injury in 2015 after a horse she was riding spooked. She was in a coma for two months and had to relearn how to walk and speak.

“I used to compete before and when I had my accident... I need to do it again and again and again,” she said. “I don’t know how I can tell you, but it doesn’t make me nervous, and I hope it will stay like this.”

This is predicted to be the first of a spate of medals for the US para dressage team – the dominant force in the sport at the moment.

Double European champion Rixt van der Horst (NED) took grade III gold in the individual test earlier in the day, riding Eisma’s Royal Fonq NOP to 77.53%
– comfortably clear of the field by 2.434 points. Denmark’s Tobias Thorning Joergensen took silver with Blue Hors Zackorado on 75.1% and Italy’s Francesca Salvadè completed the podium with Escari, 0.333 points further back on 74.77%.

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Watch the para dressage World Championships live from Aachen this week and join thousands of others to appreciate this sport at the highest level.

There are five days of competition across the five grades in the World Para Dressage Championships and there will be medals on offer every day. H&H dressage editor Oscar Williams has set out his predictions for the medals.

You can find more information about how to follow other sports at the 2026 FEI World Championships on our how to watch the FEI World Championships hub.

How to watch the para dressage World Championships on TV

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Para dressage World Championships broadcast times

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Britains golden era in para dressage already feels a distant memory and the World Para Dressage Championships in Aachen won’t be the place it returns.

Once untouchable – team champions at every Paralympics until Paris – Britain finished sixth in Paris then fourth at last summer’s Ermelo Europeans. But the team in Ermelo went closer than most would’ve thought, finishing just 0.7 points off the bronze medal spot, buoyed by an impressive championships debut from Jemima Green and Fantabulous, who took individual bronze in all three grade II tests.

But close only counts for so much and the honest read is that Britain are no longer among the undisputed favourites for team honours. A podium finish in Aachen looks like a stretch.

That’s partly down to who’s coming back. The USA arrive as reigning Paralympic champions and the best para dressage nation in the world – and three of the four combinations that swept five golds in Paris return unchanged for Aachen.

Rebecca Hart (Floratina), Fiona Howard (Diamond Dunes) and Kate Shoemaker (Vianne) return, while Marie Vonderheyden takes over the ride on Fan Tastico H – US rider Roxanne Trunnell’s Paris grade I silver-medal horse – having partnered him since early 2025. If Aachen goes to form, gold should be heading back across the Atlantic.

Behind them, it should be the two nations who shared the top two Ermelo steps. Germany bring back both their Ermelo grade winners in the same combinations – Heidemarie Dresing and Poesie 143 in grade II, Regine Mispelkamp and Bayala in grade V – giving them a proven core to build a team score around.

The Netherlands counter with strength in even greater depth – Rixt van der Horst and Eisma’s Royal Fonq NOP return as reigning grade III European champions, Britney de Jong and Caramba NOP as Ermelo’s grade V grand prix B winners, and crucially Sanne Voets is back aboard Demantur after sitting out Ermelo, adding a Paralympic medal-winning combination the Dutch didn’t even need at Europeans.

Denmark, Ermelo’s bronze medallists, look the shakiest of the European top three. Katrine Kristensen returns on Goerklintgaards Quater, but Tobias Thorning Jørgensen has switched from multiple-championship-medallist Jolene Hill onto Blue Hors Zackorado. With further changes elsewhere in the team, it’s harder to read their medal chances.

Para dressage World Championship team medal predictions

Para dressage World Championship individual medal favourites

Fiona Howard (USA)

Fresh from a hospitalisation for kidney surgery last December, Fiona’s season took a record-breaking detour. While her triple Paralympic gold partner Diamond Dunes stayed off the CPEDI circuit, she rode US team-mate and coach Kate Shoemaker’s Vianne just days before March’s Wellington CPEDI and broke her own grade II freestyle world record – set on Diamond Dunes in 2025 at 83.27% – with an 84.934% score on a horse she’d never competed before.

Back on Diamond Dunes for Aachen, the pair picked up where they left off: 78.1% in the grand prix A and 80.83% in the grand prix B on their return in July.

Rihards Snikus (AUT)

Rihards and grade I ride King Of The Dance made history at the 2022 worlds, winning Latvia’s first-ever equestrian gold, before adding individual and freestyle Paralympic titles in Paris, and double gold at last summer’s Europeans.

Now 18, the gelding hasn’t competed at all in 2026, leaving his form for Aachen a genuine unknown after such a long absence. US team members Marie Vonderheyden and Fan Tastico H – world number two in the grade and unbeaten in the freestyle, bar one runner-up finish this season – look well placed to capitalise if the champion isn’t fully sharp.

Kate Shoemaker (USA)

Newly installed as world number one – dethroning long-time team-mate Fiona Howard’s 15-month reign – Kate has been near-unbeatable in 2026, winning almost every start across Wellington, Aachen and Aalborg, with only a single freestyle retirement blotting the record. On that run, she was also a winner in an able-bodied inter I test (67.29%).

Kate bought Vianne (below) outright at the end of 2024, after taking over the ride from Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour, then lent the mare to her US team-mate Fiona for a week in March, so that she could go on her record-breaking run.

Rixt Van Der Horset (NED)

Runners-up in all three grade III tests in Paris, Rixt and Eisma’s Royal Fonq NOP (below) have kicked on since, sweeping all their tests at last summer’s Europeans. Their one defeat of the season came in the grand prix A at Hagen last month. They were beaten by Denmark’s Tobias Thorning Jørgensen and Blue Hors Zackorado – who will run them close in Aachen – but they responded by winning both the B and freestyle there, the latter their best score of the season at 85.69%.

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With Britain’s golden era in para dressage in the past, the focus at the World Para Dressage Championships (19-23 August) will be on building towards the LA Paralympics in 2028.

A top-seven finish – excluding Olympic hosts USA – in Aachen would secure qualification, and that should be within reach. In many ways, the pressure is off: with no team medal expectation, there’s room for some of the squad’s less experienced combinations to bank valuable championship experience.

Mari Durward-Akhurst and veteran Athene Lindebjerg anchor a team otherwise built around youth: Jemima Green’s eight-year-old Fantabulous, the selectors’ call to field Nicola Naylor aboard the developing nine-year-old Moulin Rouge rather than her more experienced European Humberto L, and Sophie Wells and the 10-year-old MSJ Gold Standard’s late, form-driven arrival into the fourth spot.

It’s a young squad built for the next cycle as much as this one, so let’s find out more about them.

Mari Durward Akhurst, 32

HORSE: Athene Lindebjerg, 19

BREEDING: Gribaldi x Diamant, bred by Ulla and Kristian Bech

OWNERS: Diane Redfern, Nick Durward-Akhurst and Romilly Hart

GRADE: I

FORM: Athene, now 19, has been unbeaten all season – an 83.87% freestyle at April’s Hartpury CPEDI remains her high point, backed up by a clean sweep at Wellington in June (including an 80.76% freestyle) and another hat-trick at the final selection the following month, albeit a shade below those spring peaks (77.04%, 74.71% and 78.11%). The technical gains keep showing: Mari points to work on the stretch walk and the centre-line halts, and credits a lighter travel schedule for keeping the mare fresh.

RIDER’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS RECORD: Mari will be making her World Championship debut but has competed at two Europeans and the Paris Paralympics.

Jemima Green, 37

HORSE: Fantabulous, eight

BREEDING: Foundation 2 x Fürst Romancier, bred by Rainer and Angelika Ahlers

OWNER: rider

GRADE: II

FORM: Fantabulous, still just eight, has kicked on since winning bronze in Ermelo – runner-up in the mid-70s in all three tests at April’s Aachen CPEDI – behind European gold medallists Heidemarie Dresing and Poesie 143 – a hat-trick at Hickstead in May, then back-to-back personal bests in the grand prix B (76.07%) and freestyle (78.44%) at Hartpury, in what Jemima called the most settled she’s felt him. The grand prix A there was tougher (74.76%) – a rare off day – but a tweak to their changeover routine with trainer Georgie Nicholls yielded the two personal bests that followed.

RIDER’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS RECORD: Jemima will be making her World Championship debut.

Nicola Naylor, 65

HORSE: Moulin Rouge, nine

BREEDING: Decor Ferdinand x Dorado, bred by P Buwalda

OWNER: rider

GRADE: IV

FORM: Moulin Rouge has spent the season shadowing her more experienced stablemate Humberto L – and got the better of him at Wellington in June, sweeping all three grade IV tests, including a 76.55% freestyle. But Humberto turned the tables at the final selection trial, leaving Moulin Rouge second in both grands prix (71.75% and 72.19%). Nicola chose to ease off rather than chase more from the still-developing mare, and although Humberto edged the head-to-head on the day, it was Moulin Rouge the selectors chose to carry to Aachen, likely with the next cycle in mind as much as this one.

RIDER’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS RECORD: Nicola will also be making her first appearance at a World Championships.

Sophie Wells, 36

HORSE: MSJ Gold Standard, 10

BREEDING: Governor x Fürstenball, bred by Mount St John Equestrian LLP

OWNER: Emma Blundell

GRADE: V

FORM: Since taking on the ride in February, Sophie’s grand prix B score has climbed steadily – 71.61% at Waregem, 72.46% at Hickstead, 73.03% at Wellington. Then, right when it mattered most, she pulled it out of the bag: a clean sweep at July’s final trial with personal bests throughout (74.05%, 74.4% and 80.27%).

RIDER’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS RECORD: This will be Sophie’s fifth worlds. She won triple gold in Kentucky in 2010 (Pinocchio), team gold and double individual silver in Normandy in 2014 (Valerius), double individual gold and team silver in Tryon in 2018 (C Fatal Attraction), then individual silver and bronze in Herning in 2022 (Don Cara M).

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Becky Moody and Jagerbomb stepped up onto the biggest stage of all and were met with a standing ovation for their superb test in Saturday evening’s freestyle at the dressage World Championships.

"That was fun. I was super pleased with him, because that is a serious ask for any horse to go into an environment like that,” said Becky, who finished fifth on a score of 87.48%. She last rode this freestyle when she won the World Cup final in the US this spring.

“He’s done a lot of big shows. Obviously, he coped with Paris, but that's another level, so I wasn't sure how he was going to go in there, but he was just amazing.

“He stayed super chilled, he stayed really with me. I could have had a little bit more sometimes – my piaffe was a little bit quiet. I haven’t actually ridden that since Texas, so it’s a little while since I’ve done it. He was just so with me that it was a pleasure to ride.”

She added: “It is another level – it is crazy in there. The crowd is phenomenal; you could feel it building through the test. Even though you’re not aware of them visually, because they’re quite far back, you can still feel the atmosphere building as you’re doing it.”

Their technical floorplan, appreciated by Aachen’s knowledgeable crowd, was set to hits by The Beatles.

Their tempi changes – two-times into one-times on a curved line – received cheers from the packed stands. So too did their canter pirouette, which they capped with piaffe pirouette steps in both directions on the final centre line.

Watch Becky and Bomb’s freestyle test

Reflecting on the nitty gritty of the test itself, she said: “He’s not exceptional at anything, but he's just really pretty good at everything.

“The piaffes were a little bit quiet – they weren't quite as in front of me as I would have liked. The passage as well, you know, maybe not as sharp as it can be, but the pirouettes were good, the changes were good, the extensions felt nice.

“Everything just felt easy to do, which is such a lovely feeling to have.”

She added: “When are you going to get the opportunity to do something like that again? To know that he takes that all in his stride is just amazing, they are incredible creatures.”

World Dressage Championships: freestyle results

Gold: Lottie Fry (GBR) and Glamourdale (91.91%)
Silver: Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour (DEN) and Mount St John Freestyle (91.24%)
Bronze: Isabell Werth (GER) and Wendy De Fontaine (88.65%)

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Carl Hester and Fame rounded out their World Dressage Championships scoring 82.3% in the freestyle with their new David Bowie-themed routine to take seventh place.

In the cauldron of Aachen’s main arena under the lights, Fame gave Carl quite a round and looked hot and on edge at times. Carl had to use all of his horsemanship to keep it all together – with Fame spooking a couple of times.

Carl joked afterwards that Fame was a completely different horse to the one he’d planned for. “He was a totally different horse to work with today – I don’t know what got into him!

“He’s obviously feeling well – it’s cooler at night, he was a little bit spooking at shadows, all that sort of thing. It was like Fame from four years ago. He was looking for everything. Every time I turned right, there was a speaker in front of him, and he was like, ‘We’re not going in that corner!’

“Down the other end, another speaker in front of me – not going in that corner either. What can you do? You do all the arena walks in the world to prepare for it, but nothing gives you that feeling of what you get with 40,000 people in the stands. You can’t replicate that.”

It meant tearing up the plan on the fly. “It really was a freestyle – I just thought, I’ve got to get to a place in the arena where I can actually do something,” he laughed. “He’s great fun like that; I just wish he hadn’t done it at the World Championships.

“He's great fun to ride like that, because I’m literally just steering with my legs, like, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa!’ Great fun, but obviously it’s not going to bring me into contention.”

Carl barely had time to enjoy the occasion itself.

“I didn’t have a moment to take it in, because he was so freaking spicy – I just couldn’t, I had to keep concentrating on where I could get to and calming him down,” he said.

“But I could feel it as I was going around, and you can hear it too – every time he did something, the crowd made more noise, and he got more oomph off the back of it. I shan’t watch that one back – I’ve got the other two tests to watch and enjoy.”

Even so, there was no disappointment in Carl’s voice when looking back on it.

“I’m not disappointed at all, because I’ve had an amazing week – he’s been fantastic all week, and without him, the team would be struggling.

“We need every single one of those horses and he’s proved again this week what a competitive horse he is – top 10 in all three tests at a World Championships. I can't complain.”

Asked to reflect on the championship as a whole, Carl was full of gratitude for the team around him. “As usual, I’m glad it’s over. It’s been a long year to get here, and it’s been another successful year for British dressage, which I couldn’t be more grateful for – our support team, the owners, everyone, we’ve got an army out here with us” he said.

“But I shall be in my car at 6 o'clock in the morning, and I’m looking forward to Sunday lunch at home tomorrow with my dogs – that’ll make my life complete.”

Carl had nothing but praise for his gold medal winner Lottie Fry.

“I have to say, I love the way Lottie’s fought back to be number one. I think her style’s changed a little more towards the softness people are looking for, and I really think her training and riding this week has definitely been worth the gold medal,” he said. “Last year they had to re-evaluate where it was all going, and they’ve come back stronger this year – fantastic to see for her too.”

Will we see Carl at more championships?

And, inevitably, with qualification for the 2028 LA Olympics now secured, the questions turned to his future – can we expect to see Carl there? There’d already been speculation this week that this might be his last championships. If he did compete in LA, he’d set a new record, becoming the first rider to represent Team GB at an eighth Olympic Games.

“I have said nothing [about retirement]. And that’s the plan – I’ve said nothing, and I’m going to continue to do that. So if you ever read anything about me retiring, it’s definitely not from my mouth,” he said.

“But it's year to year now, isn’t it? My age, the horse’s age, you don’t know where the next one’s going to come from. I’ve got a lovely one at home coming up. I’ll just chip away and enjoy some shows again next year.

“It’s great that Fiona [Bigwood]’s got her horse up to this level now too, because it’s nice to have someone to travel to shows with. I’ve actually enjoyed some of my shows this year, because I’ve taken the pressure off it always being a championship and just gone and ridden for fun.”

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Lottie Fry and Glamourdale performed “the test of a lifetime” to win freestyle gold at the dressage World Championships and so secure the “double double” world crowns.

The pair, who won individual and freestyle gold four years ago at the 2022 World Championships in Herning, defended the first of their gongs in last night‘s grand prix special. Tonight, in front of some 40,000 people, they held firm to the other on a score of 91.91%.

Their performance blended technical perfection and wow-factor athleticism with that magic ingredient – fun. “Captain” Lottie’s voice told the crowd to fasten their seatbelts for take-off on Glamourdale Airways, a riff on the original intro to Vengaboys’ 1998 hit We’re Going to Ibiza! as the opening notes from the song played out across the packed stadium.

The aviation theme continued through the music, John Denver’s Leaving on a jet plane and Nelly Furtado’s I’m like a bird among the other flying-related melodies on the soundtrack – and boy that canter must feel like flying.

“I had a smile on my face during the extended canter, I thought, ‘This is the most incredible feeling in the world and for me to be experiencing this tonight is just amazing’,” she said.

“I can’t believe how amazing Glamourdale was in there today. It was the test of a lifetime, we’ve never ever had a test so good – it all just came together at the right time in Aachen, it was so special.”

During an anxious wait while the final competitors rode their tests. Lottie kept herself busy and checked a few messages on her phone.

“I also knew that it couldn’t have gone any better for me, so whatever the result, I was incredibly happy because for Glamourdale to perform like that was just insane,” she said.

“He is so funny, he was whinnying the whole time to get in there, he was so excited to get started, then he went in completely relaxed with the crowd and just did everything to his best. He’s such an incredible horse.

“I was so relaxed and calm in there, not worried at all. He was just giving me so much confidence, we both enjoyed it so much, every minute of it.”

Rising to the medal challenge

Plenty of tests were brilliant tonight, of course. This is the sharp end of the very best in the world. What set Lottie’s apart tonight was the level of risk she was prepared to take, where some who finished off the podium erred a tad on the conservative side.

Denmark’s Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour and Mount St John Freestyle were among those to give their all and rise to the challenge Lottie had set. The medal they won tonight by virtue of their huge performance (91.24%) an altogether sweeter silver than the one they collected yesterday.

“I’m over the moon today. Yesterday I really felt that I had lost the gold medal because of my performance and my mistakes, but today I won that silver medal,” she said. “I’m so happy about my silver today.”

Last to go Isabell Werth smiled and sang her way down the final centre line with Wendy De Fontaine in front of her home crowd, who rose to their feet as she finished.

“I feel so grateful, I’m so happy about my test today,” said Isabel, who scored 88.65% to win bronze. “I got goosebumps when I went in. Wendy was so fantastic, I saw the scores from the other riders and I thought, ‘Take the risks – that’s the only chance you have to get a medal’.”

All three British riders finished in the top seven. Becky Moody and Jagerbomb were fifth (87.48%) and Carl Hester and Fame were seventh (82.3%).

World Dressage Championships: freestyle results

Gold: Lottie Fry (GBR) and Glamourdale (91.91%)
Silver: Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour (DEN) and Mount St John Freestyle (91.24%)
Bronze: Isabell Werth (GER) and Wendy De Fontaine (88.65%)

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The times for this evening’s freestyle (15 August) at the World Dressage Championships have been released – but one name won't be on the start list. Katharina Hemmer has announced she will not be riding her individual bronze medallist from the special Denoix PCH.

Jump to: start times

“Just so you're not surprised – Denoix won't compete in the freestyle tomorrow," she said in the press conference after the prizegiving. “We had a small period of injury in the season, so we weren’t really able to prepare the freestyle. He gave his all to me in both tests, and I don’t want to compete him in the freestyle when it’s not 100% prepared – I think that’s what he deserves.”

She added that she had run the decision past national coach Monica Theodorescu beforehand.

“I think we kind of all knew,” Katharina said. “I was talking to Monica, and I told her I had the feeling it’s probably better not to do the freestyle, and she smiled at me and said, ‘Yeah'.

“We only did the freestyle once this year, and it wasn’t as well prepared as it should be. So the whole dressage committee and the whole team were on the same page.”

Denoix was unable to take part in the German Dressage Championships in June – Germany’s first mandatory selection trial – after a bump in the stable left him with a swollen leg.

Katharina made her comeback just in time for the final selection trial at Hagen in early July, winning the grand prix and finishing runner-up in the freestyle.

The pair had been breakout stars of these championships regardless, last-to-go in the special and finishing with bronze on 80.86% – a result no one would have predicted before the event began.

Katharina isn’t the only rider missing from the field, either. Patrik Kittel and Touchdown have also withdrawn, despite finishing 17th in the special – just inside the top-18 qualification cut-off.

Their absence, combined with the nation cap of three riders per country, means two names move into the freestyle who wouldn’t otherwise have made it: Frederic Wandres and Bluetooth OLD (GER), and Henri Ruoste and Tiffanys Diamond (FIN).

Carina Cassøe Krüth and Heiline’s Danciera (DEN) outrank Ruoste in the special (19th to his 21st), but Denmark already has its full three riders in the freestyle – Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour, Daniel Bachmann Andersen and Nadja Aaboe Sloth – so the cap skips over her and passes the vacancy to the next eligible rider outside a capped nation.

Katharina’s withdrawal also changes who fills the final German spot. Raphael Netz’s own placing (10th) already secured him a starting berth regardless. It’s Frederic who benefits from her decision – ranked 14th, he’d originally have been squeezed out by the cap behind Katharina, Isabell Werth and Raphael, but moves into the freestyle now that her spot is free.

What time do the British riders go?

• Becky Moody and Jagerbomb – 8:53pm German time (7:53pm British)
• Lottie Fry and Glamourdale – 10:02pm (9:02pm)
• Carl Hester and Fame – 10:24pm (9:24pm)

If you would like to watch your favourite riders compete in Aachen, find out how you to watch the Dressage World Championships on TV from anywhere in the world with our comprehensive guide. And follow the action with our Dressage World Championships live reports service.

Dressage World Championships freestyle start times

19:00 (18:00) – Henri Ruoste (FIN) – Tiffanys Diamond
19:11 (18:11) – Larissa Pauluis (BEL) – Flambeau
19:22 (18:22) – Dinja van Liere (NED) – Mauro Turfhorst N.O.P.
19:33 (18:33) – Simone Pearce (AUS) – Will Marq
19:44 (18:44) – Frederic Wandres (GER) – Bluetooth OLD
19:55 (18:55) – Isabel Freese (NOR) – Total Hope OLD

14 min break

20:20 (19:20) – Sandra Sysojeva (POL) – Maxima Bella
20:31 (19:31) – Nadja Aaboe Sloth (DEN) – Favour Gersdorf
20:42 (19:42) – Raphael Netz (GER) – Great Escape Camelot
20:53 (19:53) – Becky Moody (GBR) – Jagerbomb
21:04 (20:04) – Maria von Essen (SWE) – Invoice
21:15 (20:15) – Daniel Bachmann Andersen (DEN) – Flash Gordon 37

14 min break

21:40 (20:40) – Marieke van der Putten (NED) – Zantana RS2 OLD N.O.P.
21:51 (20:51) – Justin Verboomen (BEL) – Zonik Plus
22:02 (21:02) – Lottie Fry (GBR) – Glamourdale
22:13 (21:13) – Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour (DEN) – Mount St John Freestyle
22:24 (21:24) – Carl Hester (GBR) – Fame
22:35 (21:35) – Isabell Werth (GER) – Wendy de Fontaine

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Carl Hester and Fame scored 78.3% to finish sixth at the Dressage World Championships in Aachen, just over a percentage point behind Justin Verboomen and Zonik Plus in fifth – but the placing is only half the story of what was, by Carl’s own admission, one of the best rides of his career.

“It’s one of the highest scores I’ve ever had in the special,” he said. “He’s had an 80%, but one wonderful judge [Alice Schwab at K] gave me an 80% today, so it feels just as good. But what a horse to do that in this weather!"

The heatwave in Aachen – temperatures climbed to 35°C – forced a change of plan in Carl’s preparations. “Conditions affect how you warm up,” he said. “Because it’s so hot and very close, I warmed up just in the covered arena to keep the sun off his back for half an hour today.

“I made the decision to take his ear bonnet off, which could have gone either way – normally it helps him with the sound, but I thought it was too hot for that; he needs to be able to get air around him and enjoy the atmosphere as I do.

“It just shows how far he’s come, because he lights up in it now rather than run from it. I think that’s the difference between now and a few years ago – he was frightened of atmosphere and frightened of noise, and now I feel he has grown to it.”

Technically, Carl could have few complaints. “That was a really good test – he didn’t do anything wrong,” he said. “My lifelong work is always to have him better in the frame, and I think there were moments today where he was really good in that, a very rideable test. But it's a long test, and it’s draining in this heat for them, and he still had that energy on that last centre line.”

Carl Hester: “He gives me everything”

It’s the consistency that stands out most to Carl himself. “He has always, for four years now, given me everything in a championship, which is unbelievable. A championship is what I do it for – and saving him like I did this year, just to do three shows and come and do one, so he arrives with a good mind and fresh, not thinking competition is boring,” he said.

“He surely has to be one of the most consistent horses I’ve ever had the pleasure of riding, because he just doesn’t want to make mistakes. It doesn’t matter whether it’s boiling hot or lashing with rain, or if there are thousands of people – he does what I ask. He’s such a willing horse – it was just great to ride.”

“It’s not always the case that you get the mark you feel you deserve when you ride – very often you feel you’ve had a good ride and then you’re disappointed with your score,” he added. “So to actually have the marks match my feeling was just great.”

Yesterday, when Carl entered the arena, he decided to ride in rising trot around the outside of the ring before entering. Today he walked Fame in. “In the grand prix I was just trying to ride him forward and get off his back, because he holds himself when he’s looking at things,” he explained.

“So I went rising trot yesterday to release him, because the first thing you have to do in that test is an extended trot – they’ve got to really go, and it’s not something I’m very good at either – the first extended trot. I’m a cautious rider, but I thought, I’ll go for it today – push, let go, who knows when the next ride is, go for it. And he reacted well to it.”

Asked whether the special suits Fame better than the grand prix, Carl added: “No, I don’t think so. I think if it was the other way round – if I could do the special first and the grand prix second, I think he’d be even better, because of the things on the long side, because of his little spooks,” he said.

“The grand prix, if you think about it, is mostly in the middle of the arena – the zigzag, the pirouettes, crossing the middle with the half-passes. He’s quite happy in the middle. So the special is actually a difficult test for him, because he has to stay on the wall a lot more, and I can feel him the whole time – his left eye, especially on the right rein, is constantly ‘What's that?’ and I have to ride him a bit in the test, which I love, because that’s his personality.”

“Becky Moody rode the test of her life”

Carl finished just ahead of Becky Moody and Jagerbomb in seventh, scoring 77.66% with a much improved test from the grand prix – despite a lost shoe moments before they entered the ring.

But Carl laughed off any suggestions of a friendly rivalry with his student. “There’s no rivalry at all,” he said, adding with a laugh: “I train Becky, so I can’t have her beating me at this championship, embarrassing me!

“I thought she did a phenomenal job today, and I’d easily put her test on a par with mine – she could easily have had my score. We’re a team – cliché maybe, but we’re very good mates. I wouldn’t care if she beat me.”

He had nothing but admiration for how Becky handled her scare in the warm-up. "Imagine that happening if you’re not focused – the shoe comes off before she’s even gone up. That would freak most people out. Not her. She went and did the test of her life.”

A Bowie surprise for the freestyle

The rumours doing the rounds at the showground turned out to be true: Carl is performing a brand new freestyle tomorrow night (15 August).

“Yes, I do have a little surprise,” he said. “It’s David Bowie – completely not something I’d normally do. It’s a mash-up of his greatest hits, it should be a great crowd-pleaser, banging songs everyone knows.

“I’m hoping that’ll change the way my freestyle looks – I haven’t done it yet, of course. I’m furiously watching a video every day, trying to learn it and get my ear into the music.

“I don’t expect to win a medal – but I expect to do well and go home with a really successful, happy championship and a great score.”

The technical side, as ever, is his own work. “I design [the floorplan] – I always do the technical side of it myself. And Tony Hobden, who does Becky’s music, has designed my new one.”

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Britain’s Lottie Fry and Glamourdale have retained the world champion title they won four years ago with a scintillating performance in the grand prix special at the 2026 World Dressage Championships.

Will we ever see an extended canter like Glamourdale’s again? To watch 28 horses at the top of the sport and for the 29th to produce something so spectacular it makes you gasp is special indeed.

Their early trot work was solid, but this horse’s canter is the strength in his armoury.

Some niggly mistakes from their rivals opened the door an inch, and Lottie and Glamourdale powered through it. Their first set of tempi changes, the two-times, were huge, and they followed these with an equally impressive set of one-times.

The crowd that clapped Lottie and Glamourdale down their final centre line roared in delight as they finished their test. Their score of 82.3% took them to the head of the leaderboard and meant they were guaranteed a medal.

“I really haven’t taken it in yet, it was just the most incredible test. Glamourdale knew how important it was, and he loved that arena. He did the most amazing test,” said Lottie.

“I think I’m a bit emotional still, it’s still sinking in. It was an amazing feeling. We’ve been really working to this point and hoping we would peak at the right time; for it all just to come together is like a dream.”

She added that she “didn’t dare” to think too much about holding on to the world champion title.

“I knew what amazing competition we have and how much the sport is improving all the time,” she said. “There are so many incredible horses and riders now, I knew it was going to be really tough, so we’ve just focused on ourselves and didn’t think too much about anyone else.”

She added: “I cried my eyes out the whole way out of the test as I was in such shock at how amazing that horse is, and I’ve just been shaking for the last 10 minutes waiting for the final score to go up!”

Grand prix special goes down to the wire at dressage World Championships

Last to go, Katharina Hemmer and Denoix PCH gave a good challenge, trending very close to the world champions at times, and finished on a score of 80.87% to secure individual bronze.

“I’m incredibly happy and super proud of my horse, he tried his hardest for me and it was such a great feeling to ride him there in the big stadium and to feel he gave his very best. It was a big honour for me,” said Katharina Hemmer, who ended the day in a tussle for bronze with her team-mate Isabell Werth.

“To be in a battle with Isabell is always a good feeling, because then you know you’ve reached the top!”

The pair have had a phenomenal time in Aachen, adding this their first individual senior championship medal to the team gold they won earlier.

We will hopefully see them at many more championships to come, but this is the end of their 2026 worlds campaign. Katharina revealed at the press conference that she will not be competing in tomorrow’s freestyle.

She said the horse had a small injury during the season and so they have not been able to prepare for the freestyle.

“He gave his all to me in both tests, and I don’t want to compete him in the freestyle when it is not 100% prepared,” she said.

Mount St John Freestyle scoops silver

Sandwiched between the two is the silver filling of Denmark’s Catherine Laudrup-Dufour and Mount St John Freestyle (80.93%).

The pair, the first of the day to break the 80% barrier, made a beautifully harmonious start to their performance, floating through the extended trot work and showing some lovely technique and lightness in the passage.

Some imperfections crept in as the test went on. There was the short change behind in the two-time flying changes and a stutter in the one-times, plus what appeared to be perhaps a slight loss of balance coming out of the second pirouette on the centre line.

That is splitting hairs and there was still so much to enjoy – their flying changes in between the two pirouettes were excellent, as was the last centre line.

“To be honest, I was quite disappointed with my ride today,” Catherine said. “For some reason, I felt I just lacked sharpness today, which is really unfortunate because I feel that she is in such amazing form. She’s fit, she likes the arena and she loved the crowd today. So I'm just really hoping for myself to be just a tad sharper tomorrow.

“But that’s the name of the game, and that's the sport sometimes. It is what it is.”

Isabell Werth and Wendy De Fontaine were fourth and European champions Justin Verboomen and Zonik Plus finished off the podium in fifth.

All three Brits in the special have made it through to tomorrow’s freestyle. Carl Hester (Fame) and Becky Moody (Jagerbomb) both enjoyed super tests today, finishing sixth and seventh respectively.

Dressage World Championships: grand prix special podium

Gold: Lottie Fry (GBR) and Glamourdale (82.3%)
Silver: Catherine Laudrup-Dufour (DEN) and Mount St John Freestyle (80.93%)
Bronze: Katharina Hemmer (GER) and Denoix PCH (80.87%)

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After a difficult grand prix on Tuesday (11 August) Becky Moody and Jagerbomb needed a boost in the special – and they delivered, scoring 77.66% to take the provisional lead heading into a heatwave-lengthened lunch break at the Dressage World Championships in Aachen.

But it was, once again, far from smooth sailing. Their start time had already been brought forward by over two hours owing to the heat, but Jagerbomb kept his cool in the vast main arena. There was still one more scare to come, though – as he lost a shoe in the 10-minute box, and as there was no time to replace it, completed his test on just three.

“That was much better today,” Becky said. “I mean, I’m kind of a little frustrated I didn’t manage to do that on Tuesday, but super pleased with how he went in.

“He was just a little bit more relaxed, a little bit more at ease, more confident when he went in there. I was careful at the beginning, but as soon as I stopped for that first halt I didn’t have any of that nervous anticipation I had on Tuesday.

“So I was a little cautious to begin with, but then was able to really build on that as we went through, and both of us got a little bit more confident."

The shoe came off in perhaps the lowest-key way possible. “We had a little drama – we probably came into the 10-minute box four or five minutes before we were due in. It’s not a full-length arena, so I don’t like to be in there for too long, just doing some basic transition work,” Becky explained.

“With about a minute to go, I did a centre-line halt, and then I use quite often a turn on the forehand to help with my halts – I sort of halt, do a turn on the forehand, halt, and as he did the turn on the forehand, he pulled a front shoe off.

“Luckily, he really does have very strong, substantial feet – his feet are a bit like the rest of him. It was a very clean pull. We gave him a trot round in both directions; he was totally comfortable and fine, but it certainly wasn’t the ideal prep just before going into that arena.”

Becky Moody: the grand prix special is different

If Tuesday’s mistakes were still on her mind, they didn’t show. “I think Tuesday was just one of those things – I wasn’t sure how he was going to react going in there, maybe I wasn’t quite ready to deal with it in some ways, or took a little too much of a risk in that scenario,” she said.

“But [the special] is different – it’s not the team test; it’s just an individual competition, so immediately the pressure is less. I also prefer this test, and I think he prefers it too – it suits us a little better. So we went in there, maybe just a little more confident.”

Talking through the test in detail, she added: “We actually halted, so that was an excellent start, and the first extended trot, after what happened on Tuesday, I did keep quite conservative – I sort of thought, okay, let’s just have a seven for this.

“It suits him that it starts with the left half-pass, which is his slightly stronger half-pass, and the way the test goes, with the passage, extension, half-pass, passage, it helps to build the momentum and the energy a little as you go.

“I think the thing I was able to show in that test was just an easier relaxation – I could show the harmony a little more. For me, from on board, the piaffes weren’t as good today as they were on Tuesday, because they didn’t have quite the engine I want to feel.

“But actually, I think probably to the people watching, you don’t see it as much as I feel it. He was cool with his pirouettes and changes and things like that – so I was really pleased with him.”

With all that had come before, it was a fantastic round – the changes were a particular highlight, and on the judges’ average marks, Jagerbomb only dropped below seven for one movement, averaging 6.9 for the extended walk. In truth, the piaffe-passage could have scored even higher.

The frame was the best we’ve seen so far – averaging an 8.6 for harmony from the judges. Given how electric Bomb was in the grand prix, it’s a real compliment to Becky that she resisted the urge to take a tighter hold of the reins to enforce that control, trusting him throughout instead.

Asked whether Bomb himself had felt calmer, she added: “Definitely – literally from the moment I went in through the gates. I have to go away and look at this – maybe it was a little bit me on Tuesday as well, but I think he was definitely different in here today.

“He did the arena familiarisation under the lights last night, so he’s been through this arena again, been in there another time. So maybe both of us were just feeling a little bit more confident.”

The searing heat added another layer of difficulty. “We’ve had some quite serious heatwaves, even in Yorkshire!” Becky said. “Jesting apart, we have had a lot of days hitting 30 degrees, which has probably helped us prep for this a lot more than if we'd had a normal Yorkshire summer.

“But when the chips are down, you just deal with it – we’ve got a great team around us. There’s electrolytes and water, there’s ice, and the horses have been being washed off, they’ve got lovely ice water and things like that.

“The team here at Aachen, and our team around us, are brilliant in terms of supporting us in this situation with the weather.”

“27 pairs of overreach boots will be staying on until we go in the arena!”

As for the farrier who had no time to help, Becky could only laugh about it afterwards. “Mark Watson went to pick up his tools, and we were saying ‘There’s no time; we can't do anything here’,” she said. “I think Mark comes to these events largely for Bomb, because Bomb has this uncanny ability to do something – I think maybe it’s because his feet are a bit big, he just likes to keep us all on the edge of our seats.”

She hadn't seen the score before being told it in the mixed zone. “I don’t actually know what I finished on,” she admitted. Told it was 77.66%, she nodded: “I’ll take that. I think, for the mistake – and knowing that, again, it’s that balance – our personal best in the special was here, and it was a 78.3% or something like that, and I’d have said he was a little more electric, a little hotter then, but then that comes with a little more risk as well. So yeah, I’ll take that – that’s pretty good for where we were at.”

With the freestyle to come tomorrow night, in front of a packed 40,000-strong crowd, Becky was already looking ahead. "I’m just wanting to not lose my mind when I go into that arena tomorrow night – I think it's just going to be an absolutely incredible night of dressage,” she said. Asked if she had anything special planned, she laughed: “27 pairs of overreach boots will be staying on until we go in the arena!”

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The team behind the FEI World Championships in Aachen have explained why they have changed tomorrow’s dressage timetable in deference to the hot weather – but not the eventing dressage schedule.

In the pure dressage, the grand prix special will now start at 8.30am local time, rather than 10.50am, with a break in the hottest part of the day between 12.30pm and 3pm. Competition re-starts at 3pm and finishes at 4.50pm as originally planned.

The eventing dressage schedule has not been altered. The action runs from 9.30am to 5pm, although there is a long lunch break across part of the hottest period, from 1.13pm to 2.44pm.

Göran Akerström, veterinary and equine welfare director at the FEI, told the press tonight at the World Championships that there is “quite a big difference” between eventing and dressage in the context of hot weather.

“First, if we look at the horses, eventing horses are relatively lean. They are extremely well trained for that kind of purpose and also, very importantly, their test is much, much shorter than the grand prix special,” he said.

“Dressage horses, on the other hand, have much more muscle mass. They do much more concentrated muscle activity, which generates heat, and therefore they are more susceptible for getting to a high temperature. That’s why we are taking this measure.

“So there’s a clear difference, in relation to the risk between these two types of horses and the activity they are doing.”

A question was asked about whether the break could have been longer, with the dressage finishing later, but another member of the organising team explained that level playing fields have to be considered and the new timetable mitigates the risk sufficiently.

“We can’t have conditions that are vastly different for one set of horses compared to the other set of horses. So the main concern was obviously welfare and then secondary, level playing fields,” she said.

“I think the solution that was found, avoiding the middle of the day – the risk window – ticked both of those boxes and we’re very confident with that,” she said.

World Championships: planning for hot weather

Göran was also joined by the president of the veterinary commission Dr Friedrich Wilhem Hanbücken.

The pair explained that learnings have been taken from events such as the Tokyo Olympics, while also emphasising that Aachen (with humidity at a maximum of 45%) is a different set of conditions to Tokyo (where humidity could reach 90%).

The organisers here in Aachen are monitoring the conditions every half an hour at 16 different locations.

Thermography cameras are being used to measure horses’ body temperatures – “a system that was developed ahead of Tokyo 2020 and used successfully there; the method has been peer-reviewed and published in scientific publications.”

The system allows the vets to see if horses are becoming too hot and if necessary, to intervene and advise the team to go and cool down the horse.

In addition, the officials spoke about the cooling measures being put in place here in Aachen, including having iced water in preparation and cooling areas and shaded areas.

Cross-country day on Saturday is predicted to be cooler than tomorrow. Iced water and people to cool horses will be available at all the stopping points on course.

At the finish, there is a “really well-resourced cooling area” in the shade, with a number of wash bays, a lot of iced water and huge cooling fans. Veterinary supervision will include all horses having their temperature taken before they are allowed to leave the venue.

Göran said: “So we’re very well prepared for anything on Saturday, but of course we very closely monitor the weather forecast to be prepared for anything.”

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The FEI has announced a significant change to tomorrow’s (Friday 14 August) grand prix special schedule at the 2026 Dressage World Championships in Aachen.

The class is now due to start at 8:30am German time (7:30am British time) – more than two hours earlier than the previously confirmed 10:50am start.

A lengthy break has also been added between 12:45pm and 3pm, before the competition resumes and concludes at the originally scheduled finish time. The decision was made by the President of the Ground Jury, the Technical Delegate and the President of the Vet Commission, in consultation with the organising committee, based on veterinary and meteorological advice given the heat expected on Friday. Enhanced heat mitigation measures will also be in place across the venue throughout the day.

The change was made under FEI rules that allow a competition to be postponed, rescheduled or cancelled if extreme weather conditions or horse welfare are a concern.

Eventing’s second day of dressage, held elsewhere at the venue, will run as originally scheduled. We’re expecting more information on this to come; a press conference is scheduled at 5pm German time (4pm British time)

Jump to: Revised start times

Who’s through, and who can win it

The special decides the first set of individual medals, with the top 18 combinations progressing to Saturday’s freestyle for the second – though only a maximum of three riders per nation can advance.

The top 30 individual combinations from the grand prix progress to the special, and the qualifying score has typically been between the high 60s and low 70s at recent championships. This year’s cut-off was 70.71% – notably higher than the high 69% we predicted and closer to the Herning 2022 worlds’ 71.15% than the 68.88% at last summer’s Europeans.

Three of Britain’s four grand prix combinations made the cut. Becky Moody and Jagerbomb, Carl Hester and Fame and Lottie Fry and Glamourdale all return to the main stadium on Friday; Fiona Bigwood and Donna Bella narrowly missed out on 69.35%.

Much of the individual intrigue centres on the piaffe-passage specialists, who our preview tipped to have the edge over Lottie and Glamourdale – whose scores lean more on the canter work – in this particular test. Piaffe and passage, including the transitions in and out of both, make up 42% of the marks on offer in the special against 36% in the grand prix, so the specialists in that department stand to gain most.

Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour and Mount St John Freestyle were our pick for gold, Justin Verboomen and Zonik Plus – who edged the pair 82.37% to 81.69% in the equivalent test at last year’s Europeans – for silver and Isabell Werth and Wendy De Fontaine, with a sell-out home crowd behind her, for bronze.

Here’s how that trio actually fared in the grand prix: Cathrine and Freestyle topped it on 82.38%. Tension crept into Justin and Zonik Plus’ test and they finished second on 80.89%, Isabell and Wendy De Fontaine were fourth on 79.88%. Lottie and Glamourdale were third on 80.31%.

Of course, the special is a completely clean slate, but this shows it’s not a clean cut at all. Katharina Hemmer and Denoix PCH can consider themselves unlucky not to have scored even more than their personal best 79.22% – audience scoring put her third overall rather than fifth, one of only a handful of combinations the crowd rated higher than the judges did.

Expect her to push for a podium spot too – and don’t rule out Becky and Jagerbomb. Although errors pegged them back to 73.82% and 12th in the grand prix, they can do a lot better, and the special is probably their best test.

What time do the British riders go?

• Becky Moody and Jagerbomb now go over two hours earlier than planned – 11:46am German time (10:46am British), rather than the original 2:01pm (1:01pm)
• Carl Hester and Fame – 3:22pm (2:22pm) unchanged
• Lottie Fry and Glamourdale – 4:28pm (3:28pm) unchanged

If you would like to watch your favourite riders compete in Aachen, find out how you to watch the Dressage World Championships on TV from anywhere in the world with our comprehensive guide. And follow the action with our Dressage World Championships live reports service.

Revised Dressage World Championships grand prix special start times

08:30 (07:30) – Felicita Simoncic (AUT) – Four Legends
08:41 (07:41) – Maria Caetano (POR) – Hit Plus
08:52 (07:52) – Julio Mendoza Loor (ECU) – Jewel's Goldstrike
09:03 (08:03) – João Victor Marcari Oliva (BRA) – Feel Good Vo NRW
09:14 (08:14) – Christian Simonson (USA) – Fleau de Baian
09:25 (08:25) – José Antonio Garcia Mena (ESP) – Gladiador Do Lis
09:36 (08:36) – Nadja Aaboe Sloth (DEN) – Favour Gersdorf
09:47 (08:47) – João Miguel Torrao (POR) – Lirio MVL
09:58 (08:58) – Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu (CAN) – Jaccardo
10:09 (09:09) – Henri Ruoste (FIN) – Tiffanys Diamond

20 min break

10:40 (09:40) – Carina Cassøe Krüth (DEN) – Heiline's Danciera
10:51 (09:51) – Therese Nilshagen (SWE) – Navarro
11:02 (10:02) – Simone Pearce (AUS) – Will Marq
11:13 (10:13) – Patrik Kittel (SWE) – Touchdown
11:24 (10:24) – Maria von Essen (SWE) – Invoice
11:35 (10:35) – Sandra Sysojeva (POL) – Maxima Bella
11:46 (10:46) – Becky Moody (GBR) – Jagerbomb
11:57 (10:57) – Dinja van Liere (NED) – Mauro Turfhorst N.O.P.
12:08 (11:08) – Raphael Netz (GER) – Great Escape Camelot
12:19 (11:19) – Larissa Pauluis (BEL) – Flambeau

2.5 hour break

15:00 (14:00) – Frederic Wandres (GER) – Bluetooth OLD
15:11 (14:11) – Marieke van der Putten (NED) – Zantana RS2 Old N.O.P.
15:22 (14:22) – Carl Hester (GBR) – Fame
15:33 (14:33) – Isabel Freese (NOR) – Total Hope OLD
15:44 (14:44) – Daniel Bachmann Andersen (DEN) – Flash Gordon 37
15:55 (14:55) – Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour (DEN) – Mount St John Freestyle
16:06 (15:06) – Justin Verboomen (BEL) – Zonik Plus
16:17 (15:17) – Isabell Werth (GER) – Wendy de Fontaine
16:28 (15:28) – Lottie Fry (GBR) – Glamourdale
16:39 (15:39) – Katharina Hemmer (GER) – Denoix PCH

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Three eliminations were recorded during the grand prix at the Dressage World Championships in Aachen, held 11–12 August.

On 11 August, Rotem Jale Ibrahimzade (TUR) and Wendi Williamson (NZL) were both eliminated under the blood rule following review by the Ground Jury, after FEI stewards flagged a matter for further review during the post-test tack inspection.

Under FEI rules, elimination is mandatory when fresh blood is found in a horse's mouth, the area of the mouth, or the area of the spurs during the post-test check.

Riding the 18-year-old stallion Hexagon’s Double Dutch, Rotem had already endured a difficult test before the inspection – issues in the piaffe left her marked at 62%, having dropped as low as the mid-50s in the movement itself.

Straight after her test – before she had been told of the elimination – Rotem said the stallion had grown anxious in the atmosphere of the big arena.

She later added: “Unfortunately, during the bit check after our test, a tiny spot of blood was spotted in the mouth.

“There was no visible wound once we looked, at the stables, and, most importantly, he is absolutely fine. Nevertheless, we completely understand and respect the decision that was made. The welfare of our horses must always come first.”

Wendi was riding Don Vito MH, who was found during the post-test check to have bitten his lip. The pair had scored 64.95% before the elimination was confirmed.

“It feels very disappointing to fall short on the world stage in a prestigious event and venue like this,” Wendi later said.

Wendi and Rotem were both competing as individuals, so their eliminations had no bearing on the team standings. Suphakamol Vuntanadit’s did. She was riding Dreamboat BCN for Thailand – fielding their first-ever World Championships team – and her elimination for marked lameness meant the team couldn’t register a total at all: with only three riders and no discard score, all three results have to count.

Under FEI rules in cases of “marked lameness”, the judge at C informs the athlete directly once it is confirmed – for Suphakamol, that came fast; Britain’s Clive Halsall rang her out soon after her opening halt.

The FEI added that elimination under either rule carries no implication of wrongdoing on the athlete’s part. The rules exist to protect the welfare of competing horses, safeguard the integrity of competition and ensure a level playing field for all athletes.

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With so much emphasis on winning and killer pressure to stay at the top, is our young riders’ system flawed? It should be a stepping-stone to the senior ranks, yet many never successfully make the jump because they have never learned how to produce their own horses. Indeed, many avoid competing against adults until they have to – then get a shock.

Then there’s the ever-present threat of being without a suitable horse; dropped from the World Class Programme and minus the hope that goes with it. So high is the standard of horses that riding merit alone won’t keep a young rider on that top list.

Having said that, there are phenomenal learning opportunities and the current team management is excellent.

At the recent international at Wellington, the new stars on show were really just that.

But the costs of competing, where it’s normalised to spend without restraint, are extraordinary.

In the real world, how many 16- to 21-year-olds can afford £1,000 a pop for a helmet, jacket and riding boots? Or complain that “I’ve only got £250,000 to spend on a horse”, as was expressed to me recently.

As I watched in awe a young rider on a stunning horse coached by a foreign trainer flown in for the day, I realised how so many ambitions remain at home trapped behind the affordability barrier.

One day, we’ll invent a horse with a coin slot between its ears. You put 50p in and turn the ear to the level you require. Then anyone can win!

There are glimmers of hope. A favourite young rider I know gets more pleasure from painting a patent top on their second-hand De Niros than buying a shiny new pair. Even their horses are bargain-bucket rejects; a £200 stud fee and a vet failure.

But sadly, without access to millions, competing at the top level is unreachable for the normal rider. Unless, that is, you are Gracie Catling, whose ability and success are inspirational. Mette Dahl is also brilliant, albeit with a hugely experienced and well-resourced team behind her.

A few are bucking the trend. But even with exceptional talent, young riders need a miracle of luck to achieve without the money. Although affordability perhaps needs addressing, horsemanship should win the day.

Praised, not protected

Written and spoken praise is heaped upon riding schools, crediting them with fostering the future of equestrianism and giving root to many an international rider.

Yet they’re closing faster than village pubs because common sense dictates that it’s financial madness to try to run one.

Unlike other countries, UK riding schools have no government support, fiscal or otherwise. There’s no lobby to clamp down on illegal “lessons on own horses” in defence of lawful, licensed establishments, for instance.

The plight of equestrian businesses has no traction with the public. It’s simply too elitist.

The British Horse Society (BHS) offers much advice and support around how to run a business, from marketing to management.

It runs world-class assessments and globally-recognised qualifications. Yet those of us in the system are having to work harder just to maintain the wherewithal for these to happen, not to mention to create jobs for the newly qualified.

Despite all it does, the BHS lacks political clout. We have the British Horse Council, which does a decent job with the Government, and Defra on equine health and welfare, which overlap into sporting issues. However, there’s a distinct lack of appetite to take up the cudgel on behalf of embattled equestrian businesses.

Farmers have the National Farmers’ Union and Jeremy Clarkson fighting their corner. But despite a preponderance of organisations, the lack of a “National Equestrian Union” renders us voiceless.

Like farmers, our animals are a way of life beyond counting our costs and time. But it would be nice to earn a little money – if only to enable us to keep going and give generations to come the chance to experience the joy of horses and riding.

Good luck to our World Championship teams!

● How can the sport work to make top-level competition affordable again? Let us know your thoughts at hhletters@futurenet.com, including your name, nearest town and county, for the chance to have your thoughts published in a future issue of Horse & Hound magazine

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Isabell Werth and Wendy de Fontaine scored 79.88% to seal Germany’s 13th Dressage World Championships team gold – and the 10th world gold of Isabell’s own extraordinary career.

Jump to: Final team results

She’s been coming to championships in this city for two decades, and this one clearly meant more than most. “This rates a lot, because it's not so normal to come back after 20 years and to be in the team again, and to win the gold medal again,” she said.

“That makes me really proud – especially when I think about everything that’s happened in between, how many different horses I’ve had, and everything through the World Championships in between. That’s something very special, and of course, especially on this showground – I think there is no bigger, no nicer, no greater showground than Aachen.”

Going last for the German team, Isabell knew exactly what was needed. As Lottie Fry and Glamourdale had posted 80.31% for Britain, and Frederic Wandres and Katharina Hemmer’s scores were already banked for Germany, anything above 76.26% would be enough to secure gold.

She credited the platform her teammates had built. “We had a super great and strong team. It started very, very well, and then Freddy and Katha this morning – she did superb, it was really a great ride, and that gave us some safety and some space,” she said. “I was very proud to be in the team and to go last and finish it off with the gold medal.”

On paper, that looked well within hers and Wendy's range – but the test wasn't without its scares. Mistakes crept into both sets of tempi changes, and at one point their running score dipped below the mark Germany needed. It was the piaffe and passage work that pulled it back, scoring well enough to close the gap and see gold safely home.

For all that gold means to her personally, Isabell’s 79.88% didn’t crack the top three individual scores of the whole competition. Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour’s 82.38% topped the leaderboard, with Justin Verboomen on Zonik Plus (80.885%) and Lottie on Glamourdale (80.311%) also finishing ahead of her – Isabell’s score was good enough for fourth on the day, so comfortably clear of the medal target Germany needed, but far from their best individual ride.

H-A-M-M-E-R time

Whatever margin for error Isabell had going last, she owed in large part to Katharina. Had she ridden only to her season average of 76.62% rather than producing a personal best, Germany’s winning margin over Britain would have shrunk from 3.62 to just 1.02 – still enough to win, but by a fraction of the cushion they actually had. National coach Monica Theodorescu didn’t need the maths to reach the same verdict.

“I thought today we should actually rewrite her surname H-A-M-M-E-R, because that ride was really a hammer today,” she said. “Katharina is relaxed anyway – I know she can perform under pressure; she’s proved that many times. But it’s still very special to perform that way in a championship, for a team, under that kind of pressure. No one wants to be the one to fail, and she never did that.”

Silver for a team to be proud of

Missing out on gold clearly stung a little for the good-humoured Brits, but Carl Hester put that pressure in the context of a 36-year-long championship career. “36 years is a very long time, and I can’t think how many grands prix I’ve ridden,” he said. “But still 36 years later, being on a team brings pressures, brings fun, brings sleepless nights – there’s so many things that go with it, however long you’ve been doing it.

“I can’t say it gets easier as you get older – I think it probably gets worse, because once you start winning, you want to keep winning, and I did 20 years at the bottom. When you’re not winning anything, it’s actually easy. But when people expect you to win, or your team starts winning, you want to keep winning.”

Britain’s silver, came with something he seemed just as proud of as the medal itself: the make-up of the team that won it. “It’s never any good just being a good individual – to make your country proud, you need a team, not just one person as a one-off,” he said.

“We've been winning medals since 2009, and that’s a big ask every year, to find riders and horses that can join us and be successful. I think that’s made our country very, very proud, because it also shows anybody from any background can be part of our team.

In reference to Becky Moody and Jagerbomb and Fiona Bigwood and Donna Bella, he added: “The interesting thing on our team is we also have two girls with home-bred horses that they produced themselves. That’s a wonderful story for normal people who might think, ‘I don’t come from a horsey background,’ or ‘I haven't got enough money’ – those are the stories I think are inspiring, so it’s a very good team to be on."

Final team results

1. Germany – 235.063
   Frederic Wandres (Bluetooth OLD) 75.963 · Katharina Hemmer (Denoix PCH) 79.224 · Isabell Werth (Wendy de Fontaine) 79.876 · Raphael Netz (Great Escape Camelot) 73.338 (discard)
   
2. Great Britain – 231.445
   Becky Moody (Jagerbomb) 73.820 · Carl Hester (Fame) 77.314 · Charlotte Fry (Glamourdale) 80.311 · Fiona Bigwood (Donna Bella) 69.348 (discard)
   
3. Denmark – 229.426
   Carina Cassøe Krüth (Heiline's Danciera) 72.174 · Daniel Bachmann Andersen (Flash Gordon 37) 74.876 · Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour (Mount St John Freestyle) 82.376 · Nadja Aaboe Sloth (Favour Gersdorf) 71.956 (discard)
   
4. Belgium – 223.044
   Jeroen Devroe (Lestor) 69.690 · Larissa Pauluis (Flambeau) 72.469 · Justin Verboomen (Zonik Plus) 80.885 · Wim Verwimp (Jedai de Massa) 68.121 (discard)
   
5. Netherlands – 221.428
   Rowena Weggelaar (Don Quichot) 69.503 · Dinja van Liere (Mauro Turfhorst N.O.P.) 74.161 · Marieke van der Putten (Zantana RS2 OLD N.O.P.) 77.764 · Thamar Zweistra (Hexagons Mr Magnum N.O.P.T.) 65.342 (discard)
   
6. Sweden – 216.552
   Therese Nilshagen (Navarro) 72.376 · Maria von Essen (Invoice) 72.080 · Patrik Kittel (Touchdown) 72.096 · Rebecca Mauléon (Johnnie Walker BCN) 68.711 (discard)
   
7. Portugal – 212.625
   João Miguel Torrao (Lirio MVL) 71.398 · João Pedro Moreira (Drosa Fuerst Kennedy OLD) 70.202 · Maria Caetano (Hit Plus) 71.025 · Vasco Mira Godinho (Marques Dos Cedros) 68.680 (discard)
   
8. United States – 210.621
   Kasey Perry-Glass (Heartbeat W.P.) 70.606 · Christian Simonson (Fleau de Baian) 71.304 · Ashley Holzer (Hawtins San Floriana) 68.711 · Meagan Davis (Toronto Lightfoot) 67.624 (discard)
   
9. Canada – 210.559
   Denielle Gallagher (Come Back de Massa) 68.074 · Camille Carier Bergeron (Finnländerin) 70.559 · Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu (Jaccardo) 71.926 · Chris von Martels (Londoncrown) 66.320 (discard)
   
10. Spain – 209.379
    Severo Jurado Lopez (Flaconi W) 68.913 · José Antonio Garcia Mena (Gladiador Do Lis) 71.134 · Borja Carrascosa (Frizzantino FRH) 69.332 · Lucia Gallardo (Hip by Johnson) 68.370 (discard)
    
11. Austria – 208.479
    Felicita Simoncic (Four Legends) 70.730 · Ulrike Prunthaller (Fleur TSF) 68.665 · Bettina Kendlbacher (Broadmoars Don Alfredo AWÖ) 69.084 · Peter Gmoser (Dante's Daiquiri) 59.037 (discard)
    
12. Poland – 207.220
    Roy First (Infinity Win T) 67.282 · Aleksandra Poplawska-Slazak (Sambalito) 66.786 · Sandra Sysojeva (Maxima Bella) 73.152 · Hubert Jankowski (Guerlain) 66.506 (discard)
    
13. Australia – 206.677
    Mary Hanna (Ivanhoe) 67.267 · Simone Pearce (Will Marq) 72.391 · William Matthew (Faye 43) 67.019 · Warwick McLean (Le Special) 64.984 (discard)
    
14. Finland – 205.699
    Anu Sironen (Ypajan Fioretto) 65.373 · Ville Vaurio (Dante NL) 68.509 · Henri Ruoste (Tiffanys Diamond) 71.817 · Stella Hagelstam (Hagels Prince Nassak) 62.516 (discard)
    
15. Switzerland – 204.798
    Estelle Wettstein (Quaterboy) 67.795 · Delia Eggenberger (Santa Maria) 68.742 · Charlotte Lenherr (Dettori) 68.261
    
16. France – 204.053
    Alizee Roussel (Bel Amour) 67.407 · Alexandre Ayache (Ruling Olivia) 67.950 · Pauline Basquin (Sertorius de Rima Z Ifce) 68.696 · Bertrand Liegard (Ginger) 65.637 (discard)
    
17. Brazil – 202.080
    Nuno Chaves De Almeida (Noga) 66.273 · Murilo Augusto Machado (Jorge V.O) 65.093 · João Victor Marcari Oliva (Feel Good Vo NRW) 70.714 · Manuel Rodrigues Tavares De Almeida Neto (Hermes) 60.761 (discard)
    
18. Ireland – 199.161
    Kevin Acres (Ganesh) 66.289 · Alex Baker (Top Gear) 64.596 · James Connor (Vanotti) 68.276 · Jessica Dunn (Dan Its Carston) 63.401 (discard)
    
19. Thailand – no total
    Suphajit Vuntanadit (Wall Street JV) 65.078 · Pakjira Thongpakdi (Definitely) 63.230 · Suphakamol Vuntanadit (Dreamboat BCN) eliminated

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