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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Lottie Fry and Glamourdale scored 80.31% to secure silver for Britain at the 2026 Dressage World Championships

Before Lottie went in, the picture in the race for silver was clear. Denmark’s total was locked in at 229.426, after Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour’s 82.376% made Nadja Aaboe Sloth’s score the team’s discard. This was the highest score of the championship so far, and enough to put Cathrine provisionally top of the individual leaderboard, pending Lottie and Isabell’s rides. As Becky Moody and Carl Hester’s scores counted for Britain, that meant Lottie needed more than 78.29% to keep Britain ahead of Denmark and secure silver.

Lottie herself wasn’t thinking about any of it. “No, actually, I had no idea,” she said, when asked if she’d known beforehand what she needed to hit silver. “I just really wanted to do everything we could.”

Lottie and Glamourdale looked in good form in the warm-up and breezed through the first few movements in style, scoring eights and nines. “I think that's the best feeling I’ve ever had in a test with him,” she said. “He was on fire. He was listening, he was calm and on the aid and relaxed, yet so sharp and with me the whole way.”

Some old issues re-emerged in the first and second piaffe, which knocked his score back, leaving the pair hovering around the 76% mark towards the end of the trot work.

Lottie Fry’s grand prix nail-biter

“I just kind of threw him into that first piaffe, which was a shame – it was a bit of a misunderstanding," Lottie explained. “It’s such a fine line. Everything is such tiny little aids, and just one tiny wrong thing, wrong timing, and it doesn’t come off perfectly.”

It was turning into a bit of a nail-biter – Glamourdale can always bank on getting some marks back in the canter work, and he did climb back up, towards 79%. But could he hold it together for the double-marked piaffe on the final centre line? Yes, he could, and Lottie was able to show off some of the work she’s put into the movement ever since the issue emerged last season.

“We’ve been just building his confidence with it, really, and letting him learn to travel forwards, and become really strong and happy in it,” she said. “It’s always been there – it’s just about finding the right aids in the ring to show it off to its best.

"The piaffe I think we showed on the last centre line was one of his strong points. He’s become much stronger and much more confident in it, and when he does it well, he does it incredibly. Everything else, I don’t really think it can be better. He’s just incredible – he seems to be in a really good place this week. He loves that arena, and it’s going to be so exciting to ride in there again [in the special] on Friday.”

Whatever the final colour of the medal, she was adamant it would be a result to be proud of. “Any medal is amazing to win at a World Championships,” she said. “Becky had a difficult ride yesterday, but she did everything she could and really still pulled it out of the bag for us. And this morning, Carl was so inspiring – every time you’re surprised at how amazing he is riding a test, it was just beautiful to watch.”

In the final reckoning, the British team finished on 231.445 – 2.02 points clear of Denmark’s 229.426, but 3.62 points short of Germany’s gold-medal-winning 235.063. It came down exactly as the maths suggested it might: Isabell Werth, going last for Germany, rode Wendy de Fontaine to 79.88% – close enough to her season average that Lottie's recovery back to 80.31% was never quite enough to close a gap that size.

There’ll be some disappointment for the British team that gold slipped away, but it’s hard to begrudge the Germans on home soil – they were always going to take some stopping. There were twists and turns enough for a dozen team competitions, but when the dust settled, the final placings felt about right.

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After Becky Moody and Jagerbomb’s difficult grand prix yesterday (11 August), the British team needed a big result from Carl Hester and Fame to keep them in the race for gold at the 2026 Dressage World Championships.

In response, Carl delivered a masterclass. He never looked rushed, rearranging his seat before the rein-back and softening his hands to let Fame stretch through the extended trot.

“It was just details that I felt in every movement,” Carl said. “My twos had nice ground cover and felt straight. The extended canter I could ride out, the zigzag again – he’s just so lovely and easy, I don't even do those in the warm-up, I just save it for the test.”

The pirouettes, in particular, have become his trump card. “The horse I rode before him, En Vogue, taught me how to do a pirouette, and Fame and I just enjoy doing them together for as high a mark as possible, because I know that’s my double-marked movement and I know that’s something I can go for, and I can make it small with him."

The 16-year-old stallion can at times be electric, but Carl’s riding visibly gave him confidence throughout, and although their 77.31% wasn't a personal best, it was one of the most accomplished rounds of Carl’s career, especially given the circumstances.

He knew exactly what was riding on it. “It was important for me to try and get my best score today. I needed to – yes, it was very much on my mind,” he said. “I knew Daniel [Bachmann Andersen]’s score was above 74%, so I needed to try to move ahead of that, because we might have a difference [to catch up] when Freestyle and Glamourdale go as well – we want to try and keep them as close together as possible so we don’t make the gap too big.”

He was quick to support his teammate, too. “Becky beat herself up yesterday with her test, which she shouldn’t, because she delivers again and again and again,” he said. “I thought her highlights between the mistakes were the best work I’ve seen her do. So on one hand you get a hotter horse that doesn’t want to walk, and then you get your best piaffe – this is where experience and age come in.”

Even with a target hit, Carl was characteristically modest about the number itself. “It’s not the best score I’ve ever had, but at a World Championships you‘re just happy – I said this morning I’m aiming for between 75% and 77%, I’d be comfortable with that. I’ve gone over 77%, so I should be ready for a really large glass of... water.”

The gold and silver equation

Carl’s score has indeed strengthened Britain’s grip on silver – with Fiona’s score discarded, Becky and Carl’s combined total gives Lottie Fry and Glamourdale a 4.08% cushion over Denmark’s equivalent position ahead of Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour and Mount St John Freestyle.

But as we go into the lunch break, it’s Germany that has stretched its overall team lead, thanks to a stunning individual performance from Katharina Hemmer and Denoix PCH, who topped the leaderboard for the day with a personal best of 79.22%.

“It’s of course very special to deliver a personal best in front of the home crowd at a World Championships,” she said. “But he was already doing good in the classes he did [this season] – there weren’t many, but what he did was good. I had the feeling that in our preparation we made a step forward, and we were even better than before the last show. So I was feeling quite confident, and I think Denoix felt confident as well.”

Asked what stood out most, she pointed to the feel of the test rather than any single movement. “I think it was probably the harmony during the whole test – I could really do everything with light aids. He was listening, and I think that was what made it good.”

Knowing Carl’s score before she entered the ring only settled her further. "Yes, because I asked – I had the headset with Hubertus [Schmidt] and Monica [Theodorescu], and I asked, ‘What did he get?’ And they said, ‘77%’ And I said, ‘Oh, well, that’s no problem, because we had 77% in the last two grands prix, and we’re in better shape now.’ It gave me a push.”

If anything, the context took the pressure off rather than adding to it. “I didn’t ask too much, because I also knew that the boys on the team had done very well, and we were in a very good situation,” she said, adding with a laugh: “And I also know that even if I’d scored a little lower, that would only push Isabell [Werth] to score higher.

“I was in a very, very good situation today, and that made me feel relaxed and confident.”

It's amazing to think what Denoix PCH could still achieve riding at only half power. For me, Katharina was the difference-maker in the race for gold at last summer’s Europeans – the only rider across Germany and Britain’s core trios to outperform her season’s grand prix average, posting 75.7% against a pre-championships average of 74.3%, a jump of 1.4 points at exactly the moment it mattered most, while her German teammates and all three of Britain's trio dipped below theirs. And she’s done it again – what a competitor. You have to take your hat off to her.

That performance leaves Britain’s route to gold hinging heavily on Isabell. If she has a disaster and scores below 73.34%, Raphael Netz’s discarded score gets reinstated as Germany’s third counting total, capping their total at 228.525 regardless of how low Isabell’s actual score goes – in that scenario, Lottie would need to beat 77.39% for gold.

But if Isabell scores 73.34% or higher – the far more likely outcome, given her season average of 80.39% – her score counts instead, and Lottie would need to outscore her by more than 4.05% to win gold. If Isabell rides to anything close to her usual level, that’s almost impossible: matching her season average would push Germany’s total to 235.577, meaning Lottie would need above 84.44% – well into personal-best or beyond territory.

Silver still isn’t guaranteed either, and the picture there is tighter than that 4.08% cushion suggests. Britain currently leads Denmark by that margin, so Lottie doesn't need to outscore Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour at all – she just needs to stay within 4.08 points of her. But Cathrine's own season average sits at 83.43% – considerably higher than anyone else left to ride – so if she rides to form, Lottie would need something close to 79.35% just to keep Britain ahead of Denmark. That's within Lottie's own season average of 79.62%, but only just – so it’s actually a much tighter margin than it might appear on paper.

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The race for the team gold medal on day one at the Dressage World Championships in Aachen has swung the German way decisively.

The Germans were the pre-competition favourites but were expected to be pushed all the way by the British. But a difficult test from Becky Moody and Jagerbomb – scoring 73.82%, almost three percentage points below their season average – opened the door for Frederic Wandres and Bluetooth OLD to capitalise, scoring 75.96% to sit top after the first day of competition.

Germany’s Raphael Netz with Great Escape Camelot (73.34%) and Britain’s Fiona Bigwood with Donna Bella (69.35%) had gone earlier in the day, but both are likely to be their nations’ discard scores.

It wasn’t a flawless test from Frederic – he pointed to an unexpected complication in the arena itself. “What we couldn’t train in the familiarisation was that the video screen was showing movement; the horse was moving on it.

“We didn’t have that in the familiarisation, so that was something different for him. He came a little bit back to me when he saw himself – maybe he was thinking, ‘Is there another horse?’ I don't know,” he said.

“Especially in those lines, which is important – the one-tempi line, you’re going in the video’s direction – and the second extension too. So he was a little bit holding himself back. But other than that, I think it was quite a fluent test, a consistent, harmonious round, like always.”

Knowing Becky's score before he entered the ring shaped his approach. “I saw it a very little bit on the video screen in the warm-up in the covered arena, but of course I had to focus on my warm-up. Then when the result came up, I got the final result,” he said.

“Honestly, it’s better that it pops up as a 73.8% in my mind than a 78.8%; that’s for sure. But in another way, it also gives my alarm bells a little bit of a signal, because I know Becky is super experienced, the horse is super experienced, and obviously she had problems or mistakes. So that’s my alarm bell that makes sure you’re not the next one who has problems.”

That instinct – consistency over ambition – was echoed by the German team leaders as he headed into the arena. "I heard a bit when I went in that Monica [Theodorescu] and Isabell [Werth] were talking, ‘Don't go crazy, bring it home’,” he said. “Because they’d already got the result from Becky, and they thought, okay, we don’t have to go all-out, just bring it home like always, and we’ll see. I heard it through my coach’s earpiece.”

An ultra-experienced competitor, Frederic rode accordingly – a conservative round built on the knowledge that avoiding mistakes, not chasing marks, was now the priority for the German team.

Even from the top of the leaderboard, he’s wary of reading too much into day one. “It doesn’t mean anything at the moment. We’re a little bit ahead, but it can change by one ride tomorrow completely,” he said. “Carl [Hester] and Lottie [Fry] will have to go all in – they’re super experienced, they know how to do that, and they know that if they want to reach something, they have to go all in, or the points won’t come. But our other two riders, Katharina [Hemmer] and Isabell, also have to deliver good, consistent, or even better, personal-best scores. So everything is still open.”

Where the race for team medals stands

Understandably, Frederic didn’t want to get ahead of himself – but it's difficult to see a path to gold now for the Brits.

Carl (Fame) and Katharina (Denoix PCH) go head to head in the group just before lunch tomorrow (12 August), before Lottie (Glamourdale) and Isabell (Wendy De Fontaine) close out the day in the final group.

Britain have a banked deficit of 2.14% to close – the gap between Frederic’s counting score and Becky’s, assuming both teams' weakest scores so far (Raphael and Fiona) end up as their discards. Season form doesn’t offer much encouragement on top of that: Carl is up on Katharina by 0.13%, but Lottie is down on Isabell by 0.77% – a net swing that, if both pairs simply rode to their averages tomorrow, would stretch Germany’s lead closer to 2.78% rather than close it.

Of course, Becky’s test is proof that you can’t go on form and averages alone. Aachen‘s vast stadium is an unknown quantity for every rider still to come. We’re not in miracle territory yet, but it’s safe to say both Carl and Lottie will need to score close to their personal bests, while hoping either Isabell or Katharina slips up somewhere.

If you’re watching tomorrow, the number to have in mind is 2.14% – the deficit Britain needs to close over their two remaining rides to beat Germany to top spot.

Where the rest of the teams sit

Australia are in an unexpected third place – but don’t expect that to hold. They sent their best combination, Simone Pearce and Will Marq, out on day one, unlike most other nations, who have held their strongest pairings back for day two.

Denmark doesn’t look to have made much of a dent in Britain’s grip on silver – both Nadja Aaboe Sloth with Favour Gersdorf (71.96%) and Carina Cassøe Krüth with Heiline‘s Danciera (72.17%) scored below their season averages too. But should Carl or Lottie have a day like Becky’s, while Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour (Mount St John Freestyle) and Daniel Bachmann Andersen (Flash Gordon 37) both ride to form, that gap could close quickly.

Elsewhere, expect Belgium and the Netherlands to rise up the leaderboard, and the battle between Canada and the US looks tight – it would be quite the boost for the Canadians to come out on top.

Team standings after day one

1. Germany – 75.963
   Frederic Wandres (Bluetooth OLD) 75.963%
   Raphael Netz (Great Escape Camelot) 73.338% (discard)
   
2. Great Britain – 73.820
   Becky Moody (Jagerbomb) 73.820%
   Fiona Bigwood (Donna Bella) 69.348% (discard)
   
3. Australia – 72.391
   Simone Pearce (Will Marq) 72.391%
   Mary Hanna (Ivanhoe) 67.267% (discard)
   
4. Sweden – 72.376
   Therese Nilshagen (Navarro) 72.376%
   Rebecca Mauléon (Johnnie Walker BCN) 68.711% (discard)
   
5. Denmark – 72.174
   Carina Cassøe Krüth (Heiline's Danciera) 72.174%
   Nadja Aaboe Sloth (Favour Gersdorf) 71.956% (discard)
   
6. Portugal – 71.398
   João Miguel Torrao (Lirio MVL) 71.398%
   Vasco Mira Godinho (Marques Dos Cedros) 68.680% (discard)
   
7. Austria – 70.730
   Felicita Simoncic (Four Legends) 70.730%
   Ulrike Prunthaller (Fleur TSF) 68.665% (discard)
   
8. United States – 70.606
   Kasey Perry-Glass (Heartbeat W.P.) 70.606%
   Meagan Davis (Toronto Lightfoot) 67.624% (discard)
   
9. Canada – 70.559
   Camille Carier Bergeron (Finnlanderin) 70.559%
   Denielle Gallagher (Come Back de Massa) 68.074% (discard)
   
10. Belgium – 69.690
    Jeroen Devroe (Lestor) 69.690%
    Wim Verwimp (Jedai de Massa) 68.121% (discard)
    
11. Netherlands – 69.503
    Rowena Weggelaar (Don Quichot) 69.503%
    Thamar Zweistra (Hexagons Mr Magnum N.O.P.T.) 65.342% (discard)
    
12. Spain – 68.913
    Severo Jurado Lopez (Flaconi W) 68.913%
    Lucia Gallardo (Hip by Johnson) 68.370% (discard)
    
13. Finland – 68.509
    Ville Vaurio (Dante NL) 68.509%
    Anu Sironen (Ypajan Fioretto) 65.373% (discard)
    
14. Switzerland – 67.795
    Estelle Wettstein (Quaterboy) 67.795%
    
15. France – 67.407
    Alizee Roussel (Bel Amour) 67.407%
    Bertrand Liegard (Ginger) 65.637% (discard)
    
16. Poland – 67.282
    Roy First (Infinity Win T) 67.282%
    Hubert Jankowski (Guerlain) 66.506% (discard)
    
17. Ireland – 66.289
    Kevin Acres (Ganesh) 66.289%
    Alex Baker (Top Gear) 64.596% (discard)
    
18. Brazil – 66.273
    Nuno Chaves De Almeida (Noga) 66.273%
    Manuel Rodrigues Tavares De Almeida Neto (Hermes) 60.761% (discard)
    
19. Thailand – 65.078
    Suphajit Vuntanadit (Wall Street JV) 65.078%

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Becky Moody and Jagerbomb endured a rollercoaster grand prix test at the Dressage World Championships in Aachen, scoring 73.82%.

The test got off to a difficult start – Jagerbomb did not settle in the halt, then moved off with tremendous power through the collected trot and broke into canter in the first extension.

It was a costly mistake, dropping their running score into the low 40s after just two movements and leaving Becky with a mountain to climb. To her great credit, she clawed back plenty of marks from there, the piaffe a particular highlight. But it was not quite enough – just as they found a rhythm, another small error would creep in, like a lurch out of the second pirouette that drew groans from the crowd, right after a stellar first pirouette.

“It was certainly not the mark that I wanted to put on the board for the team, but after a difficult start, we did probably some of our best piaffes – the first one was good,” Becky said. “The trot half-passes were better in the test than they were in the warm-up. I was pleased that I managed to pull as much of it back as I did, but obviously very, very frustrated with the bits that I didn’t get right.”

She traced the lapse in focus back to the size of the arena itself.

“It’s always that balance with him – I love it when he’s hotter like that; it really is how I want him,” she explained. “But I just lost a little bit more of his focus than I would normally do.

“I think it’s just such an unusual arena. It’s incredible, and it's huge, but it's all quite far away, so I did just feel his focus went too far away from me. When everything is closer, I somehow feel like he stays a little bit closer. It's just knowing how they’re going to react in an arena like that, and I just have to learn from it and hopefully come back better for the next one.”

Mentally, she treated the mistakes as something to manage in the moment rather than dwell on. “It’s definitely something as a top competition rider you have to be able to do – not focus on the mistake that’s happened, but really go to ‘what can I do to try to either pull it back or at least not lose any more’,” she explained. “My focus was really on just doing the rest of the work without taking unnecessary risks, but trying to get the best marks I could.”

Becky Moody Aachen grand prix: the fightback

The good work that came with the fightback only sharpened Becky’s frustration. “It makes it even more frustrating,” she said. “It’s the wonderful sport that we do, that it's a little bit like this. But we just focus on the good bits and go away and make sure the bad bits don’t happen again.”

Looking ahead to the special, she doesn’t expect to change her approach too much. “I don’t think so, really – maybe just be a little bit more prepared for how he’s going to be,” she said.

“I know the special really suits him – you go straight into the extension still, but I’d probably be a bit more cautious with the first extension. Otherwise, the test really helps to get them focused and with you, with all the transitions, the changes and the half-passes. So in some ways, that test is more helpful when he's like that.”

Coming out of the ring, Becky spoke to her teammate and coach Carl Hester, and his message was simple: “Don’t beat yourself up.”

Away from the personal disappointment, though, this score carries real weight for Britain’s medal picture – which was riding on every score in this line-up.

Becky’s grand prix season average coming into Aachen was 76.43%, well above today’s 73.82% – which makes this score a blow to Britain’s gold medal hopes. The Germans were arguably favourites on home soil regardless, and with Becky’s contribution already several points shy of her own season form, Britain are now facing a much longer shot at gold – needing a massive day two from Carl and anchor Lottie Fry, and more than a little help from the hosts, to stay in the conversation.

It certainly looked like Becky came out all guns blazing, aiming for a big score, but she insisted the race for gold hadn’t crossed her mind in the test. “To be honest, I don’t actually think that really factored in. It’s just an incredible show to be at, and you're always just trying to do your best,” she said. “I was a little bit, ‘Oh, the Germans on home soil, we’ve not a chance,’ in so many ways – because for my mentality, that’s almost better for me to deal with, then I don’t put the pressure on myself quite as much. But I know that Carl and Lottie will absolutely come out fighting tomorrow, so we'll see what they can do.”

Of course, anything can happen in an arena like Aachen, as Becky’s own test showed. Averages and season form can only tell you so much – on the day, it’s the horse in front of you, not the horse on paper, that decides it. That’s the nature of top-level sport.

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Eleven years ago, Fiona Bigwood rode a 10-year-old mare to European silver in Aachen.

On Tuesday, she brought the same story back to the same city: her home-bred Donna Bella, daughter of that mare, Atterupgaards Orthilia, was also 10 years old when she went first into the ring for the British team at the FEI Dressage World Championships, scoring 69.35% – a little below the mare’s season average.

“It’s really nice to bring her daughter here and do the same thing – a really special moment,” Fiona said. “They’re both very similar, they both go and try their hardest. It’s lovely to have brought her here.”

Donna Bella was hesitant in the early movements – spooking slightly at the cameras – and broke into 17 one-time changes rather than the required 15. But with the pressure eased in some ways – this score was always likely to be the British discard – Fiona could focus on what mattered most for a green horse: giving Donna Bella a positive, confidence-building round.

“I’m absolutely delighted,” Fiona said. “She hasn’t done a huge amount of grands prix, and to come to one of the biggest venues in the world and do that… she’s unbelievable.

“I just wanted to go in and give her confidence, a nice round, getting her used to all this. Hopefully, it’s a long time I’m on her now – you’ve just got to start building everything up. It’s another stage in her training and her career.

“She was with me; she literally locks on, knows what I want, and is really trying for me, and I just can’t ask any more from her at the moment. I’m so pleased with her.”

On the mistakes in the one-time changes, she added: “The one-tempis are the ones that are really irritating – I thought I had it, and then two more.

“I had the 15, I thought I’d got her to stop. And then she did two more. It was my fault, rider error. But the whole year she’s hardly made any mistakes, so it’s okay.”

The same instinct to protect a young horse’s confidence ran through her whole round. Fiona chose not to spend too long in the 10-minute box – walking in alongside Carl Hester, who coaches her, riding a couple of walk-to-piaffe transitions and less than a minute of trot before entering the arena.

“She’s quite a hot mare, so we just try to keep her really calm, really chilled,” Fiona said. “She wants to give too much, so Carl’s last words to me were, ‘You’re doing fine, just keep her walking, keep her really calm and go and enjoy it’.”

She added that she didn't over-ask in any of the movements: "She’s 10, and in the extensions you’re probably better off instead of asking for the eights and nines, playing it safe and getting a nice seven rather than risking a break.

“I just wanted to give her confidence in there, because I could feel as I was coming in she was thinking, ‘This is a bigger atmosphere than I’ve ever been in.’ So I just wanted to give a nice, confident round.”

Fiona rode with a loose contact on the curb rein – as H&H website editor Carol Phillips noted in the live blog – but Fiona explained that it isn’t always deliberate. “It’s just a habit that I do; it’s nothing on her. Normally she’s ridden in the snaffle, but she’s absolutely fine in the double.”

Asked whether Donna Bella could go on to have a similar career to her dam, Fiona had no doubts: “Absolutely. I love that mare – she’s got the brain and the talent. Over the winter I’ve got a period to improve, obviously I know there's stuff that needs improving, and hopefully she’ll come back stronger next year.”

Will Fiona Bigwood qualify for the special?

Fiona faces an anxious wait to see if her 69.35% is enough to qualify for the special. The top 30 combinations from the grand prix (including ties for 30th) compete for the first set of individual medals.

A score of around 69–71% has been enough to make that cut at recent championships (68.88% at the 2025 Europeans in Crozet, 71.15% at Herning 2022). However, scores across the board have dropped since Herning, suggesting this year's cut-off may land nearer the lower end of that range. Results are trending a little lower at Aachen than expected – but not by much.

Global Dressage Analytics estimates a score of around 70.5% will be needed to make it through. H&H’s own best estimate is a mid-to-high 69% score.

At 69.35%, Fiona sits below both estimates for the cut-off – it’s not over yet, but she’ll likely need the rest of the field to underperform to sneak into the special.

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The grand prix start times have been confirmed and the stage is set for the FEI Dressage World Championships Aachen 2026. Run over two days – Tuesday 11 and Wednesday 12 August – the grand prix will decide the team medals, with 45 combinations competing on day one and 46 on day two. The top 30 combinations progress to Friday’s grand prix special.

All 91 horses were accepted at this morning’s trot-up at the World Championships, clearing the way for the draw that set the running order for the 19 competing nations, plus the individual combinations riding outside a team.

Brazil will lead the field out, with Manuel Rodrigues Tavares De Almeida Neto and Hermes the first combination into the main stadium at 08:20 German time (07:20 British time) on Tuesday. They will be followed by Ireland as the second team into the arena.

The draw has set up a tantalising finish. The final group on Wednesday will see the Netherlands, Britain, Belgium, Germany and the USA go out in that order – meaning anchors Lottie Fry and Glamourdale will have already produced their test before Isabell Werth and Wendy De Fontaine enter, a reversal of the running order at last summer's Europeans. With gold again likely to be contested between the two nations, it may be Isabell who knows exactly what score she needs.

Germany, competing on home soil, are among the medal favourites alongside Great Britain. National coach Monica Theodorescu has made no secret of her ambitions for gold, while also naming Denmark and Belgium as potential threats to the podium. Belgian team manager Jeroen van Lent played down medal talk by contrast, stressing that team qualification for the LA28 Olympics remains the priority.

Defending champions Denmark will send Nadja Aaboe Sloth and Favour Gersdorf out first for the team, followed by Carina Cassøe Krüth and Heiline's Danciera later on day one. Daniel Bachmann Andersen and Flash Gordon 37, along with world number one Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour and Mount St John Freestyle, complete the Danish quartet on day two.

What time do the British riders go?

• Fiona Bigwood and Donna Bella – Tuesday, 11:05 German time (10:05 British time)
• Becky Moody and Jagerbomb – Tuesday, 17:10 (16:10)
• Carl Hester and Fame – Wednesday, 12:00 (11:00)
• Lottie Fry and Glamourdale – Wednesday, 17:10 (16:10)

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 grand prix start times

Day 1 – Tuesday, 11 August 2026

08:20 German time (07:20 British time) – Manuel Rodrigues Tavares De Almeida Neto (BRA) – Hermes
08:30 (07:30) – Kevin Acres (IRL) – Ganesh
08:40 (07:40) – Bertrand Liegard (FRA) – Ginger
08:50 (07:50) – Lucia Gallardo (ESP) – Hip by Johnson
09:00 (08:00) – Theodora Livanos (GRE) – Robinvale
09:10 (08:10) – Anu Sironen (FIN) – Ypajan Fioretto
09:20 (08:20) – Mary Hanna (AUS) – Ivanhoe

25 min break

09:55 (08:55) – Roy First (POL) – Infinity Win T
10:05 (09:05) – Felicita Simoncic (AUT) – Four Legends
10:15 (09:15) – Vasco Mira Godinho (POR) – Marques Dos Cedros
10:25 (09:25) – Nadja Aaboe Sloth (DEN) – Favour Gersdorf
10:35 (09:35) – Denielle Gallagher (CAN) – Come Back de Massa
10:45 (09:45) – Rebecca Mauléon (SWE) – Johnnie Walker BCN
10:55 (09:55) – Rowena Weggelaar (NED) – Don Quichot
11:05 (10:05) – Fiona Bigwood (GBR) – Donna Bella

15 min break

11:30 (10:30) – Dara Ninggar Prameswari (INA) – Miestral d'Ferraria
11:40 (10:40) – Jeroen Devroe (BEL) – Lestor
11:50 (10:50) – Raphael Netz (GER) – Great Escape Camelot
12:00 (11:00) – Meagan Davis (USA) – Toronto Lightfoot
12:10 (11:10) – Nuno Chaves De Almeida (BRA) – Noga
12:20 (11:20) – Alex Baker (IRL) – Top Gear
12:30 (11:30) – Pavlina Révész (HUN) – Jiodinus PP
12:40 (11:40) – Suphajit Vuntanadit (THA) – Wall Street JV

60 min break

13:50 (12:50) – Alizee Roussel (FRA) – Bel Amour
14:00 (13:00) – Severo Jurado Lopez (ESP) – Flaconi W
14:10 (13:10) – Ville Vaurio (FIN) – Dante NL
14:20 (13:20) – Simone Pearce (AUS) – Will Marq
14:30 (13:30) – Rotem Jale Ibrahimzadeh (TUR) – Hexagon's Double Dutch
14:40 (13:40) – Hubert Jankowski (POL) – Guerlain
14:50 (13:50) – Micah Deligdish (ISR) – Carpe Diem de Massa
15:00 (14:00) – Ulrike Prunthaller (AUT) – Fleur TSF

15 min break

15:25 (14:25) – João Miguel Torrao (POR) – Lirio MVL
15:35 (14:35) – Estelle Wettstein (SUI) – Quaterboy
15:45 (14:45) – Gabriele H.-Kiefer (CYP) – Cyprus Ophelia
15:55 (14:55) – Carina Cassøe Krüth (DEN) – Heiline's Danciera
16:05 (15:05) – Camille Carier Bergeron (CAN) – Finnlanderin
16:15 (15:15) – Therese Nilshagen (SWE) – Navarro
16:25 (15:25) – Julio Mendoza Loor (ECU) – Jewel's Goldstrike

15 min break

16:50 (15:50) – Thamar Zweistra (NED) – Hexagons Mr Magnum N.O.P.T.
17:00 (16:00) – Santiago Ortiz Diez (MEX) – Waitoni
17:10 (16:10) – Becky Moody (GBR) – Jagerbomb
17:20 (16:20) – Wim Verwimp (BEL) – Jedai de Massa
17:30 (16:30) – Wendi Williamson (NZL) – Don Vito MH
17:40 (16:40) – Frederic Wandres (GER) – Bluetooth OLD
17:50 (16:50) – Kasey Perry-Glass (USA) – Heartbeat W.P.

Day 2 – Wednesday, 12 August 2026

08:20 (07:20) – Murilo Augusto Machado (BRA) – Jorge V.O
08:30 (07:30) – Jessica Dunn (IRL) – Dan Its Carston
08:40 (07:40) – Suphakamol Vuntanadit (THA) – Dreamboat BCN
08:50 (07:50) – Alexandre Ayache (FRA) – Ruling Olivia
09:00 (08:00) – Yvonne Losos De Muñiz (DOM) – Idwinaretto
09:10 (08:10) – José Antonio Garcia Mena (ESP) – Gladiador Do Lis
09:20 (08:20) – Stella Hagelstam (FIN) – Hagels Prince Nassak
09:30 (08:30) – William Matthew (AUS) – Faye 43

15 min break

09:55 (08:55) – Aleksandra Poplawska-Slazak (POL) – Sambalito
10:05 (09:05) – Bettina Kendlbacher (AUT) – Broadmoars Don Alfredo AWÖ
10:15 (09:15) – João Pedro Moreira (POR) – Drosa Fuerst Kennedy OLD
10:25 (09:25) – Delia Eggenberger (SUI) – Santa Maria
10:35 (09:35) – Daniel Bachmann Andersen (DEN) – Flash Gordon 37
10:45 (09:45) – Caroline Chew (SGP) – Blue Hors Zatchmo
10:55 (09:55) – Carolina Cordoba Wolf (MEX) – Isabella
11:05 (10:05) – Chris von Martels (CAN) – Londoncrown

15 min break

11:30 (10:30) – Nicolas Wagner Ehlinger (LUX) – Quater Back Junior FRH
11:40 (10:40) – Maria von Essen (SWE) – Invoice
11:50 (10:50) – Dinja van Liere (NED) – Mauro Turfhorst N.O.P.
12:00 (11:00) – Carl Hester (GBR) – Fame
12:10 (11:10) – Larissa Pauluis (BEL) – Flambeau
12:20 (11:20) – Diana Porsche (HUN) – Imhotep
12:30 (11:30) – Katharina Hemmer (GER) – Denoix PCH
12:40 (11:40) – Christian Simonson (USA) – Fleau de Baian

60 min break

13:50 (12:50) – João Victor Marcari Oliva (BRA) – Feel Good Vo NRW
14:00 (13:00) – James Connor (IRL) – Vanotti
14:10 (13:10) – Pakjira Thongpakdi (THA) – Definitely
14:20 (13:20) – Pauline Basquin (FRA) – Sertorius de Rima Z Ifce
14:30 (13:30) – Borja Carrascosa (ESP) – Frizzantino FRH
14:40 (13:40) – Henri Ruoste (FIN) – Tiffanys Diamond
14:50 (13:50) – Warwick McLean (AUS) – Le Special
15:00 (14:00) – Sandra Sysojeva (POL) – Maxima Bella

15 min break

15:25 (14:25) – Peter Gmoser (AUT) – Dante's Daiquiri
15:35 (14:35) – Maria Caetano (POR) – Hit Plus
15:45 (14:45) – Charlotte Lenherr (SUI) – Dettori
15:55 (14:55) – Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour (DEN) – Mount St John Freestyle
16:05 (15:05) – Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu (CAN) – Jaccardo
16:15 (15:15) – Patrik Kittel (SWE) – Touchdown
16:25 (15:25) – Marieke van der Putten (NED) – Zantana RS2 OLD N.O.P.

15 min break

16:50 (15:50) – Justina Vanagaite-Samuile (LTU) – Nabab
17:00 (16:00) – Yessin Rahmouni (MAR) – Kind of Magic
17:10 (16:10) – Lottie Fry (GBR) – Glamourdale
17:20 (16:20) – Justin Verboomen (BEL) – Zonik Plus
17:30 (16:30) – Isabell Werth (GER) – Wendy de Fontaine
17:40 (16:40) – Isabel Freese (NOR) – Total Hope OLD
17:50 (16:50) – Ashley Holzer (USA) – Hawtins San Floriana

• To stay up to date with the latest equestrian news from the World Championships in Aachen, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

Welcome to Horse & Hound’s expert form guide featuring all 92 dressage World Championships entries. Exclusively available for H&H subscribers, I have analysed the recent performances of all the horses and riders entered for Aachen to give you the full picture ahead of the competition.

We will be running H&H’s exclusive live reports service throughout the dressage World Championships, starting with the first day of grand prix action on Tuesday 11 August, including analysis of the action and interviews with the riders moments after their tests, so make sure you join us to keep abreast of the latest news as it happens.

In the meantime, check out the full dressage World Championships form guide below, and keep it on hand when you’re watching the dressage this week.

Countries are listed in order of their sporting country code.

Key to horse colour and gender

b = bay, db = dark bay, br = brown, bl = black, ch = chestnut, gr = grey

mare = m, gelding = g, stallion = st

Withdrawals and substitutions

This form guide was finalised on Monday, 3 August. Teams may make substitutions up to two hours before the first horse inspection. As a result, there may be some differences between this guide and the final confirmed start lists.

Dressage World Championships form guide

Australia

Austria

Belgium

Brazil

Canada

Cyprus

Denmark

Dominican Republic

Ecuador

Spain

Finland

France

Great Britain

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Indonesia

Ireland

Israel

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Morocco

Mexico

Netherlands

Norway

New Zealand

Poland

Portugal

Singapore

Switzerland

Sweden

Thailand

Turkey

USA

Top British judge Clive Halsall tells H&H what he’s been doing to prepare for the Dressage World Championships, what he finds hardest about judging and how he’s looking forward to every minute.

In the words of Clive Halsall

I got the email in January. It just arrives from the FEI – no phone call, no fanfare – and you’re being asked to officiate at a World Championship. It’s not my first senior championship; I did the Europeans in Rotterdam in 2019, and the World Cup Final in Leipzig, as well as plenty of under-25 championships. But there’s only one of us who gets to go each summer from Britain, so it’s a privilege and you have to take it.

I honestly can’t remember exactly when I started judging. My List Six exam was around 1990, then List One in 2006. It’s really thanks to Stephen Clarke that I went further. He asked if I’d go forward for internationals, so I took my three-star in 2012 and my four-star in 2014. If I’d fully understood what I was signing up for, I might have thought twice! But once you’re in the system, you want to see it through.

Stephen passed not long ago but he was our mentor as well as a good friend. Everything I know about this job traces back to him one way or another.

Staying sharp means judging as much as possible. I’ve always thought that to be a good rider you have to ride a lot, and to be a good judge you have to judge a lot. This year alone in preparation for Aachen I have been to Mexico, Brazil, Florida, Sweden, Rotterdam in the Netherlands, Fontainebleau in France, Germany. It’s not as glamorous as it sounds; entering and leaving the EU now takes forever – it took me two hours to get out of Lisbon recently.

I found the hardest thing to learn with judging, oddly, wasn’t the judging itself but sitting still for hours without being able to do anything about what you’re watching.

Aachen will be different because we’re in the main stadium this time, which we weren’t in before for the Europeans in 2015. It’s an incredible venue with so much history and I think the standard keeps getting higher every year – good horses, good riders, with real pressure on them in that environment.

I’ll be at C for the team test, so there’s an extra layer of pressure for me there too. But there’s only one scale of marks for me, whether it’s a small local show or a championship. You have to mark the same, and be prepared enough that nothing surprises you.

Technically, things have shifted. The final collective mark changed from general impression to harmony, so now it’s all about assessing correctness and harmony in every one of the 33 movements, in seconds, with no time to doubt yourself.

The freestyle is its own challenge: we see each rider’s floorplan on paper only moments before they enter the ring, so you’re absorbing an entire routine in a couple of minutes before assessing how well the music enhances what’s happening rather than the other way round. It’s mentally exhausting in a way that has nothing to do with being physically tired.

You try not to get too emotional about a freestyle, but you can’t always help it. Jessica von Bredow-Werndl’s La La Land freestyle with Dalera has always stayed with me. I try to stay analytical, but some performances get you anyway.

Continuity helps too. I’ll have the same scribe, Andrea Foss, throughout, having worked with her in Fontainebleau and Rotterdam already this year. There’ll be seven of us on the panel, with a Judges’ Supervisory Panel watching everything on video behind us. Riders get their score before they’ve even left the arena now, which still amazes me given how long it used to take on paper.

People always want judges to mark exactly the same, but I find the small differences interesting. A horse can look completely different from the front, back, and side – you’re not moving around with them, you give your opinion from the angle you have. Everyone brings their own experience to what they see from their seat.

What I love most is that this job has taken me round the world, into different cultures, with different people. What I love least is the travelling itself, if you haven’t already been able to tell. But Aachen, in that stadium, with a field this strong – I’m looking forward to every minute.

• To stay up to date with the latest equestrian news throughout the World Championships, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

Watch the Dressage World Championships live from Aachen this week and join thousands of others to enjoy a showcase of sport at the highest level.

The Dressage World Championships will run over five days, with a day’s break in the middle. Over the week, we’ll be treated to 92 horse-and-rider partnerships from 34 countries – check out the Dressage World Championship form guide to find out who your team is up against.

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. And if you decide not to watch on TV, you can follow our Dressage World Championships live reports for exclusive updates.

How to watch the Dressage World Championships on TV

There is no complete terrestrial TV coverage of the Dressage World Championships in the UK or US. ClipMyHorse.TV and FEI.TV will be the only place you can follow all the action live or on demand. ClipMyHorse.TV is showing every session across all sports during the fortnight of competition in Aachen.

This will be complete World Championships live coverage, including all disciplines, with additional editorial content and multiple commentary options for a complete viewing experience.

Find the broadcast schedule for dressage below.

If you’re away from home, you can use NordVPN to secure your stream of the action from anywhere in the world.

ClipMyHorse.TV discount code

You can save 26% on a ClipMyHorse.TV subscription until 23 August 2026 with code AACHEN26. This discount is for new and returning customers without an active membership – this brings the cost to around £154 for your first year’s subscription.

Visit tv.fei.org to claim your discount.

ClipMyHorse.TV commentary options

ClipMyHorse.TV/FEI.TV is available to viewers across the world with the following commentary options for the dressage:

• without commentary
• English
• German
• Dutch
• Spanish
• French
• Swedish

Watch Dressage World Championships for free

ClipMyHorse.TV/FEI.TV is available to viewers across the world but some countries are also hosting free streams, including Germany, Belgium and Sweden.

These streams are usually geo-blocked, but if you’re worried about accessing your usual free stream while you’re away, you can use a VPN.

🇩🇪 Germany 🇩🇪

Viewers in Germany can stream for free on ZDF and ARD.

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇧🇪

RTBF will show the dressage live (you’ll need to create a free account), while HippoTV will broadcast highlights.

🇸🇪 Sweden 🇸🇪

Viewers in Sweden can watch via SVT Play for free.

How to watch the Dressage World Championships from anywhere

If you’re away from home and your normal coverage is geo-blocked, a VPN will get you your usual coverage from anywhere in the world.

There are many VPN providers out there, with some more reliable and safe than others. We’d suggest using a paid-for service such as NordVPN, where you can get an exclusive 75% off, which offers a 100% risk-free money back guarantee. If you’re not happy with the service any time within the first 30-days, then you can cancel with no penalties at all.

Dressage World Championships broadcast times

Local time is CEST.

Note: There is a break from dressage competition on Thursday 13 August.

• To stay up to date with all the latest news from the FEI World Championships, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

Watch the FEI World Championships live from Aachen this week and join thousands of fans in watching the ultimate showcase of equestrian sport. Today is the third day of competition, which brings the first day of eventing dressage and the first day of vaulting (compulsory tests).

While we’ll be reporting on the Dressage, Eventing, Showjumping and Para dressage, this page reveals when, where and how you can watch all the equestrian sports at the 2026 FEI World Championships.

Today at the FEI World Championships

Thursday 13 August

Eventing dressage day one

• Starts 8.30am UK/9.30am local
• Start times by rider
• H&H’s Eventing World Championships live reports service

Vaulting compulsory tests

Session start times:

• Males 7.30am UK/8.30am local
• Females 12.30pm UK/1.30pm local
• Squad 2.30pm UK/3.30pm local

How to watch the FEI World Championships on TV

There is no complete terrestrial TV coverage of the FEI World Championships in the UK or US. ClipMyHorse.TV and FEI.TV will be the only place you can follow all the action live or on demand. ClipMyHorse.TV is showing every session across all sports during the fortnight of competition in Aachen.

This will be complete live coverage of the World Championships, including all disciplines, with additional editorial content and multiple commentary options for a complete viewing experience.

Find the broadcast schedule for each sport below.

If you’re away from home, you can use NordVPN to secure your stream of the action from anywhere in the world.

ClipMyHorse.TV discount code

You can save 26% on a ClipMyHorse.TV subscription until 23 August 2026 with code AACHEN26. This discount is for new and returning customers without an active membership – this brings the cost to around £154 for your first year’s subscription.

Visit tv.fei.org to claim your discount.

ClipMyHorse.TV commentary options

ClipMyHorse.TV/FEI.TV is available to viewers across the world with the following commentary options for each sport. Each sport is also available to view without commentary.

• Dressage: English, German, Dutch, Spanish, French or Swedish
• Eventing: English, German or French
• Showjumping: English, German, Dutch, Spanish, Norwegian, Swedish, French or Czech
• Para Dressage: English
• Vaulting: English or German
• Driving: English or German

Watch FEI World Championships for free

ClipMyHorse.TV/FEI.TV is available to viewers across the world but some countries are also hosting free streams, including Canada, Germany, Belgium and Sweden.

These streams are usually geo-blocked, but if you’re worried about accessing your usual free stream while you’re away, you can use a VPN.

🇨🇦 Canada 🇨🇦

Fans viewing from Canada can watch live on CBC as well as highlights on Rural TV.

🇩🇪 Germany 🇩🇪

Viewers in Germany can stream for free on ZDF and ARD.

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇧🇪

RTBF will show the dressage live (you’ll need to create a free account), while HippoTV will broadcast highlights.

🇸🇪 Sweden 🇸🇪

Viewers in Sweden can watch via SVT Play for free.

How to watch the FEI World Championships from anywhere

If you’re away from home and your normal coverage is geo-blocked, a VPN will get you your usual coverage from anywhere in the world.

There are many VPN providers out there, with some more reliable and safe than others. We’d suggest using a paid-for service such as NordVPN, where you can get an exclusive 75% off, which offers a 100% risk-free money back guarantee. If you’re not happy with the service any time within the first 30-days, then you can cancel with no penalties at all.

FEI World Championships broadcast times

Local time is CEST.

• To stay up to date with all the latest news from the FEI World Championships, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

Britain will aim to win their first-ever dressage World Championships team gold medal in Aachen.

The core of the team from the last two championships is unchanged: Lottie Fry (Glamourdale), Becky Moody (Jagerbomb) and Carl Hester (Fame). Fiona Bigwood and her home-bred mare Donna Bella get the nod for the fourth spot, seeing off a fierce challenge from Charlotte Dujardin and Brave Heart.

It was just as tight at the dressage Europeans in Crozet last summer, where I fancied the Brits. But slight mistakes from Glamourdale and Jagerbomb, paired with a debut from Katharina Hemmer and Denoix PCH that outperformed projections, saw Britain slip to silver – 2.86 points behind gold medal winners Germany.

For a while it looked like difference-makers Katharina and Denoix might miss Aachen, having withdrawn from the first selection trial – which would have properly opened the door for the Brits.

But they’re through, joined by their Europeans team-mates Isabell Werth (Wendy De Fontaine), Frederic Wandres (Bluetooth OLD) and newcomer Raphael Netz (Great Escape Camelot).

Reigning team world champions Denmark – though gosh, how long ago does that 2022 win in Herning feel now? – arrive stronger than they did at the Europeans, headlined by Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour (Mount St John Freestyle), who’s joined by Carina Cassøe Krüth (Heiline’s Danciera), Daniel Bachmann Andersen (Flash Gordon 37) and Nadja Aaboe Sloth (Favour Gersdorf).

On current international form, Britain’s core trio’s season averages total 232.8. That’s just 0.67 points off Germany’s projected 233.47 – about what a single unsteady halt or late transition can cost a rider – and 1.8 points clear of Denmark.

But as Crozet proved, you can’t go on the raw numbers alone, especially when it’s this close.

Who will take the Dressage World Championships individual medals?

The race for individual medals is just as tight. Lottie and Glamourdale are the defending champions, but weren’t among the medals at the Europeans. They’ve since roared back into form and their Glamourdale Airlines routine – my pick for music of the year – deserves a medal.

The grand prix special, though, favours the piaffe-passage specialists – and that’s where their closest rivals have the edge. NB: A quick reminder for anyone who needs it – there are separate sets of individual medals for the special and the freestyle at the worlds.

The Europeans showed just how fine the margins are between Cathrine and Belgian superstars Justin Verboomen and Zonik Plus. Justin edged it in both individual tests – 82.37% to 81.69% in the special, then 89.96% to 89.82% in the freestyle. The two haven’t met since, each seemingly avoiding the rematch – so we look for another thrilling showdown.

At 17, Freestyle is entering the twilight of her career. She’ll be remembered among the finest dressage horses ever – but the individual gold that would truly crown her career has remained agonisingly out of reach… so far.

And as the sun fades and the lights take over, a sell-out home crowd roaring her on, don’t rule out Isabell Werth finding another gear – she’s capable of conjuring something extraordinary when the stage is this big.

Important info you need to know

• The grand prix is on 11-12 August, with the special on 14 August and freestyle on 15 August
• Stay up to date with the latest World Championships dressage news with us and follow our Dressage World Championships live report service
• For unlimited access to all our online coverage of the Aachen World Championships, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website
• Pick up a copy of Horse & Hound’s World Championships preview magazine, in shops from Thursday 6 August, for our essential 31-page guide to the event, including the full form guide covering every dressage rider taking part
• If you've missed the opportunity to pick up the magazine in store, you can order a single issue of H&H magazine for delivery by post

The British Riding Clubs (BRC) national championships have been cancelled, as the dry conditions in England take their toll.

The BRC team announced with “great disappointment” that the championships, due to take place in Lincolnshire on 5-6 September, are off. The competition had been due to run dressage and showjumping. The BRC horse trials championships at Swalcliffe went ahead on 1-2 August.

“The recent dry and hot conditions have meant that the ground cannot be prepared to a suitable standard for competition to take place. The weather forecast for the weeks leading up to the championship show no significant rainfall, so we have no other choice but to cancel the event,” said a BRC spokesperson.

“Every effort has gone into finding an alternative date or venue, but postponing or relocating an event the size of the national championships is just not feasible given the timescales we are working to.”

The spokesperson added that BRC “knows this will be very disappointing for those that have qualified for what is a real highlight of the calendar”.

“We are currently working through our abandonment insurance process and will release more information on refunds due as soon as we are able. Please bear with us during this time and we will be in touch with team managers directly,” he said.

The https://www.horseandhound.co.uk/tag/british-eventing fixture at West Wilts (18-19 August) is off owing to "unprecedented drought conditions”.

“The welfare of horses, riders, and the long-term condition of the ground must remain the highest priority,” said a BE spokesperson.

“Unfortunately, despite every effort and careful consideration, the current conditions do not allow the organisers to provide the safe and consistent going that competitors rightly expect.”

West Wilts organiser Pete Collins confirmed the 5-6 September fixture is still due to run and “conditions will be closely monitored over the coming weeks”.

“We are committed to taking all necessary steps to ensure the ground conditions are suitable and safe for competition. As part of this, we plan to aerate the ground ahead of the September event to improve the going and encourage any available moisture to penetrate the soil,” he said.

“Should we continue to experience dry conditions, we may have to reseed the affected areas after the event to aid recovery and protect the long-term quality of the course.

Mr Collins thanked all the competitors, officials, volunteers and supporters for their understanding and continued support. The venue is running arena eventing combined training on 16 and 18 August, on surfaces.

The PRB Horseboxes Cotswold Cup qualifiers have also been affected; the Ascott under Wychwood competition on 5-6 September is off and the Eland Lodge event on 16 August will run under a revised format.

“It is with real sadness that the team at Ascott under Wychwood have unfortunately made the decision that they will not be able to prepare the ground to a sufficient standard to host their Cotswold Cup qualifier,” said a spokesperson for the series.

“This was such a tough decision and they have held off as long as possible to make it, praying for some rain, but in light of the current conditions on the site they have made an early decision to enable competitors to re-route. We fully support them with both horse and human welfare at the forefront of their decision.”

The Eland Lodge fixture will run under an “arena eventing format”. Competitors will do dressage on grass and showjumping and cross-country in an all-weather arena.

“With the exceptionally dry ground preventing the team from preparing the cross-country course to the standard they would like, the team at Eland Lodge has gone above and beyond to ensure competitors can still enjoy a high-class Cotswold Cup qualifier,” the spokesperson said.

“The revised format reflects Eland Lodge’s commitment to horse welfare, rider safety and delivering a top-quality competition, despite the challenges presented by the current weather. Entry fees will be slightly reduced, and all competitors who have already entered will automatically receive a refund for the difference in entry fees.”

BE fixture Chepstow at Howick (2) has cancelled its 21-22 September event, but this is due to “farming commitments”.

“We are unable to provide the flexibility needed to run the event to the standard we expect, and so we have made the difficult decision to cancel this fixture,” said the organisers.

“We are truly sorry for any disappointment this may cause, especially after such a fantastic event in July. We were delighted with the wonderful feedback from so many, and we would like to thank all our competitors, owners, volunteers, officials, sponsors, and supporters for helping make it such a success.

“We look forward to welcoming you back to Howick horse trials in 2027, when we’re excited to introduce our brand-new water complex alongside another fantastic event.”

• To stay up to date with the latest equestrian news, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

Making double bridles optional at the top level remains a talking point in dressage – as equine ear plugs could be allowed in freestyles.

Following years of discussions, on 1 January 2026 a new rule came into force allowing snaffles or double bridles up to CDI3* level. Now, the Swedish federation – backed by British Equestrian (BEF) – is calling for this to be expanded for all grand prix competitions.

A Swedish federation spokesperson said it is “up to the rider to decide” the best option to support the horse’s comfort and overall welfare. A BEF spokesperson agreed and said the organisation “sees no reason why” the rule applies up to CDI3* only.

“We would welcome standardisation across all competitions at the earliest opportunity to ensure that we have a consistent approach regardless of the level of competition,” said the BEF spokesperson.

The FEI dressage technical committee (DTC) responded by saying that allowing doubles up to CDI3* means riders have the choice in up to 90% of FEI dressage competitions each year.

“The DTC remains of the opinion that using the double bridle at top sport level is not a welfare issue, we also believe that we need to gather further data when evaluating the choice of bridles from an athlete and official’s perspective before making further amendments to the rule,” said a DTC spokesperson.

The DTC came out in favour of double bridles remaining for junior competitions. A discussion around prohibiting them was raised last year but deferred to this year’s full rules revision. The German federation and European Equestrian Federation (EEF) stated that they “strongly opposed” removing doubles for CDIJ competitions.

“The DTC agrees with the feedback from many national federations and continues to permit the choice of using either a snaffle or double bridle at CDIJ, CDIOJ and junior championships,” said a DTC spokesperson.

Four organisations, including the EEF and US equestrian federation, have called for equine ear plugs to be permitted during competition. They are currently only allowed at trot-ups and prize-givings. The DTC agreed, but said this should be limited to freestyles.

A BEF spokesperson said research has shown that ear plugs “may heighten other senses, making horses more reactive” – and instead suggested a rule to “reduce potential stress” to the horse from excessive music in freestyles.

“It is proposed that a maximum decibel level should be established for freestyle competition, alongside consideration of sound system quality and audio dynamics at the venue, to ensure that there is a consistent sound level for all music played throughout the competition,” said the spokesperson.

Reducing horse stress is also a focus point for prize-givings; the International Dressage Riders Club and German federation proposed that riders should be allowed to attend ceremonies unmounted or on another horse. The organisations said this would “align prize-givings with the welfare code and prevent unnecessary strain, especially for sensitive and young horses”.

The DTC and dressage strategic action planning working group are reviewing prize-giving protocols.

“Where mounted prize-giving is required, we agree that athletes should be permitted to use an alternative horse,” said the FEI spokesperson.

Following previous discussions around making judges’ test comments public, BEF has raised a concern that these could be misinterpreted or judges “may soften” comments.

“As a potential compromise, we would propose that the summary comments at the end of the test rather than per movement could be published, so that the score can be put into the context of how they viewed the overall performance,” said a BEF spokesperson, adding this should apply to all tests, with no opt-out.

The DTC responded it was in favour of initiatives that “may enhance transparency” – but broadly agreed that judges may “become less specific in their comments, which would be a negative for the development of the sport”.

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

Judges’ positions and scoring, the definition of harmony and compulsory video monitoring of warm-ups are under discussion in dressage.

The first draft of the 2027 FEI rule change proposals have been published, as dressage undergoes its first full revision since 2022. National federations, the International Dressage Riders Club (IDRC), International Dressage Officials Club (IDOC), the European Equestrian Federation (EEF) and the FEI have submitted suggestions covering a broad range of topics.

The IDOC and EEF proposed that at championships, of the seven judges, four are placed on the long side, at V, P R and S – instead of the current two. The organisations said this would give judges “a much clearer picture” of particular movements, and an EEF spokesperson added that this is important owing to “the recent focus on harmony”.

“Most importantly, judges would have a much clearer indication of any contact issues, which are now very much under public focus and discussion,” said the EEF and IDOC.

“This would show that dressage is prepared to take a positive action in seriously addressing this issue. It would be a positive move for the sport.”

The FEI dressage technical committee (DTC) “agreed in principle” and said a test event will take place this year. The committee highlighted that having four judges on the long side would "significantly impact” spectators’ view, but could “assist spectators to better understand the sport as the four judges will have a similar viewpoint”.

British Equestrian (BEF) called for “a clear definition of harmony” to show how this applies to the general impression mark.

“We need to be able to articulate exactly what judges are looking for, in order to encourage riders to ride accordingly,” said a BEF spokesperson. “We should also be considering how to embed harmony within the score for each individual movement, rather than relying on a single collective mark.”

There could be a shake-up around collective marks; seven organisations put forward submissions – most favouring the introduction of a second mark.

The IDRC and German federation suggested having one collective mark to evaluate the horse’s “quality and demonstration of the level of training”, including rhythm, relaxation, mouth activity and head-neck position. The other would evaluate the rider’s performance, including seat and influence, aids and accuracy.

The EEF and Swiss federation suggested having one collective mark for scale of training and another for harmony of horse and rider.

But the DTC has proposed to remove collective marks entirely. A committee spokesperson said adding a second mark was considered in 2018, but research from Nottingham Trent University provided evidence that this was not favourable.

“The DTC is particularly sensitive to the issue of evaluating harmony and the scale of training as the core objectives,” said a DTC spokesperson.

“It is therefore recommended to remove all collective marks and instead focus on evaluating harmony and the demonstration of the training scale when evaluating each technical movement in the test, thus aligning with the object of dressage and further reducing subjectivity.”

The spokesperson added that the dressage judging guidelines and handbook are being reviewed and a definition of harmony and how this applies to scoring will be considered as part of this.

The EEF suggested the appointment of “welfare supervisors” at championships and major events to supervise the warm-up, including monitoring excessive work, the riders' hands, and use of spurs and whips.

The DTC rejected this, stating that stewards and veterinary delegates work together to oversee horse welfare and wellbeing in warm-ups. The spokesperson said a new “observation protocol” is being developed to assist officials on warm-up procedures.

“The possibility of introducing compulsory video monitoring/recording of the warm-up is also being explored,” he said.

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The breeding of Jagerbomb has resulted in one of the most popular dressage horses of recent times.

Jagerbomb was born at Julie Lockey’s Bramley Stud, where he spent his first three years living out, first with his dam Udysee – known as Dolly – and after weaning in a herd of youngsters who came and went from the field as they pleased.

“They liked their creature comforts and being pampered,” Julie says. “But I don’t think putting them in a stable before they’re three is a nice thing for them, so they were all just free spirits.”

“Bomb” wasn’t a head-turner to start with.

“He wasn’t your cute little foal,” says rider Becky Moody, who bred him. “A bit plain, a bit leg-at-each-corner. You certainly wouldn’t have picked him out as a future superstar.”

What he had instead was temperament. Julie remembers him as first to the gate for a stroke, inquisitive and never any trouble.

“He was one of my favourites,” she says. “He had such a niceness about him.”

The day Becky came to collect him in a 3.5t lorry, Julie was certain he’d refuse to load. “I was adamant, ‘Oh, you’ll never get him in that.’ And then he walked straight in. I thought, ‘Well, I’ll shut up now!’

The backing process was also uneventful, says Becky: “He was, honestly, the most straightforward. You could pretty much have just got on without doing any groundwork. He really did take everything in his stride.”

Meet the parents

Becky bought Udysee from the Equine Elite Auction in the Netherlands, where she’d been bred by a Dutch farming family who keep pigs alongside their horses. Becky retired Udysee to the paddocks due to a field injury when on the brink of grand prix.

Becky had originally planned to use Dante Weltino’s sire, Danone.

“He wasn’t available at the time, so we went with his son,” she says. “He really stamps his stock with excellent trainability and a natural ability for collected work.”

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The 2026 Para Dressage World Championships are taking place in Aachen, Germany as part of the FEI World Championships (11-23 August). There will be five grades of competition, with two sets of individual medals for each grade, plus the overall team medals.

Horse & Hound will be bringing you all the news in the run-up to the event, as well as in-depth reports on the action as it takes place. The para dressage competition is being held during the second week of the event, starting on Wednesday 19 August and finishing on Sunday 23 August.

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British team

Para Dressage World Championships timetable

Para dressage World Championships format

Para riders are grouped into five grades according to how their impairment affects their riding.

Grade I is for the most severely impaired athletes (tests are ridden in walk), while grade V is for the least (walk, trot, canter and lateral work). Grades II and III compete in walk and trot, and grade IV includes all three paces plus lateral work.

Riders in grades I to III compete in the short arena, while riders in grades IV and V ride in the long arena.

Nations can send either two individuals or one team of three or four. Every team must include at least one rider from grades I to III, and no more than two from the same grade.

Individual medals

The championships open with the para grand prix A (individual test), held on Wednesday, 19 August for grades I, II and III, and Thursday, 20 August for grades IV and V. Every rider competes in this round and medals are awarded in each of the five grades.

Team medals

Next comes the para grand prix B (team test) – Friday, 21 August for grades I, II and III, Saturday, 22 August for grades IV and V. All team members ride, but only the best three scores count and at least one of those must come from grades I to III. Team medals are based solely on the team test – results from the individual test don’t carry over.

Freestyle medals

Finally, the freestyle – on 23 August – is reserved for the top eight riders in each grade, based on their combined results from the grand prix A and B tests. To qualify, riders must average at least 60% across the two. Each grade has its own freestyle medals too, meaning the five grades each produce two individual medal sets (grand prix A and freestyle) alongside the single team medal – 11 sets of medals in total across the championships.

Paralympic qualification

Aachen doubles as the principal qualification route for the LA28 Paralympics. The seven highest-placed teams, hosts USA aside, secure their team quota places here.

Aachen world championships officials

Para dressage officials

Germany’s Marco Orsini presides over the para dressage judging panel in Aachen, joined by Kjell Myhre (NOR), Kristi Wysocki (USA), Marc Urban (BEL), Katherine Lucheschi (ITA) and Anne Prain (FRA). Juliet Whatley (GBR) serves as technical delegate, with Jaena Alvesparr (SWE) as chief steward. Kerri Sowers (USA) is the chief classifier, alongside Jana Kulichova (CZE).

Veterinary officials: week two

Veterinary commission: Friedrich-Wilhelm Hanbücken (GER) (President), Berndt Stanglmeier (CAN), Constanze Zach (AUT)

Veterinary delegate: Thierry Grisard (FRA)

Overall chief steward: Cesar Hirsch (VEN)

Why is it not the Aachen World Equestrian Games?

Aachen previously hosted the FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) in 2006. WEG brought together the World Championships in multiple different equestrian sports every four years between 1990 and 2018. Financial challenges associated with hosting so many disciplines at a single venue proved prohibitive and so since 2022 each of the disciplines have have their own World Championships. For 2026, Aachen was granted the World Championships for six disciplines, so is running a two-week combined World Championships – but it is not a WEG.

Para Dressage World Championships news

The 2026 Dressage World Championships are taking place in Aachen, Germany this week. The dressage competition started on 11 August with the first of two consecutive days of grand prix. Germany triumphed in the team competition, ahead of Britain in silver on 12 August. The top 30 riders after the grand prix go through to the grand prix special to decide the first set of individual medals on Friday 14 August. The grand prix special times have been adjusted because of the high temperatures forecast. The freestyle will take place in the evening under floodlights on Saturday 15 August.

Horse & Hound is bringing you in-depth reports on all the action from the FEI World Championships as it takes place. From the Dressage World Championships entries to our ultimate form guide and exclusive podium predictions, we have every angle covered.

H&H dressage editor Oscar Williams is on the ground in Aachen watching the action and interviewing the riders and their teams in the mixed zone after every performance. He is being supported in providing our live news reports service by H&H’s wider editorial team, based back in the UK. We will bring you all the stories behind the scores throughout the competition.

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Useful links

2026 Dressage World Championships timetable

Dressage World Championships format

The World Championships are split into three stages, with one set of medals awarded for teams and two sets of individual medals.

Each nation can enter a maximum of four horse and rider combinations, but only the top three scores count towards the team result. Nations without a team can send up to two riders as individuals.

The team contest

The action kicks off with the horse inspection (10 August), then the grand prix, taking place over two days: 11 and 12 August. This is the only test that counts towards the team medals, which are awarded on Wednesday 12 August. It also serves as the first stage of individual qualification for the special and freestyle, with all riders taking part, including those not on a team.

The individual contest

From there, things shift to the grand prix special on 14 August, where the top 30 combinations from the grand prix (including ties for 30th) compete for the first set of individual medals.

A score of around 69–71% has been enough to make that cut at recent championships (68.88% at the 2025 Europeans in Crozet, 71.15% at Herning 2022). However, scores across the board have depreciated since Herning, suggesting this year’s cut-off may land nearer the lower end of that range.

The week concludes with the freestyle to music on 15 August. The top 18 riders from the grand prix special (again including ties) are eligible to compete – historically requiring around 72.5–74% – but only a maximum of three per country may advance. If four from one country are in the top 18, the lowest-placed of them is replaced by the next-highest-placed eligible combination. This round decides the second set of individual medals.

The starting order

The running order for the grand prix is set by a draw. Teams are grouped based on their FEI world rankings, with lower-ranked nations riding earlier and the top contenders going later. Each team’s chef d’equipe submits their preferred rider order in advance, which is maintained during the draw.

Riders competing as individuals (not part of a team) are drawn separately and slotted into the schedule accordingly.

For the special and freestyle, the start order is based on performance. Riders compete in reverse order of results – so the best go last.

Why are the 2026 worlds important for the Olympics?

Aachen is the first and biggest qualifying event for the team competition at the LA 2028 Olympic Games. The six highest-ranked teams (excluding the host nation, the US) will secure their Olympic team quota places here – more than at any other single qualifier in the cycle.

Remaining team places are then decided across 2027 through the Europeans and other regional championships. A strong result in Aachen is therefore the most direct route to booking a nation’s place at the Games.

Aachen World Championships officials

Dressage officials

A panel of seven judges will decide the medals in Aachen, led by Germany’s Ulrike Nivelle as president of the ground jury. She’s joined by Kurt Christensen (DEN), Clive Halsall (GBR), Maria Colliander (FIN), Michael Osinski (USA), Maribel Alonso (MEX) and Alice Schwab (AUT).

Vincenzo Truppa (ITA) serves as technical delegate, with Didier Deschauwer (BEL) as chief steward, and a separate Judging Supervisory Panel – Andrew Gardner (GBR), Henk van Bergen (NED) and Mary Seefried (AUS) – overseeing standards throughout.

Veterinary officials: week one

Veterinary commission: Friedrich-Wilhelm Hanbücken (GER) (President), Kirste Neil (AUS), Juliana Ramalho De Freitas (BRA)

Veterinary delegate: Mark Sinnott (GBR)

Why is it not the Aachen World Equestrian Games?

Aachen previously hosted the FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) in 2006. WEG brought together the World Championships in multiple different equestrian sports every four years between 1990 and 2018. Financial challenges associated with hosting so many disciplines at a single venue proved prohibitive and so since 2022 each of the disciplines have have their own World Championships. For 2026, Aachen was granted the World Championships for six disciplines, so is running a two-week combined World Championships – but it is not a WEG.

Dressage World Championships news

The dressage Nations Cup will return to Hickstead in 2027 for the first time in eight years.

The CDIO3* team competition will run alongside the international and national classes, including the Dressage Masters series, at the Chart Stables International Dressage at Hickstead show (10-16 May 2027).

Aster Events stepped in to bring dressage back to Hickstead this year after the 2025 fixture was cancelled for financial reasons. Dressage legend Carl Hester sang the show’s praises in his latest exclusive H&H column.

Aster Events director Daniel Watson said the vision has always been to establish the show as “one of Europe’s premier dressage events”.

“Welcoming an FEI CDIO3* Nations Cup is a tremendous milestone, not only for Aster Events, but for British dressage as a whole,” he said.

“It will give riders the opportunity to represent their country on home soil, while offering spectators the chance to enjoy world-class international team competition at one of Britain’s most iconic equestrian venues.”

Hickstead has a long history as a dressage venue, as well as its world-renowned showjumping credentials.

Dressage at Hickstead was founded by international rider and trainer Dane Rawlins in 1993. It hosted national classes and an annual CDI, and was also home to the 2003 European Championships. From 2013 to 2019, it also held the British leg of the FEI Nations Cup series.

In 2020, lack of finances led to the end of Dressage at Hickstead in its previous form. It returned the following year and grew from a three-day Premier League show in 2021 to a six-day international fixture in 2024.

A spokesperson for Aster Events thanked all those whose “commitment continues to drive the event’s development”.

“Since assuming responsibility for the event, Aster Events has invested substantially in its growth, attracting leading international combinations, enhancing facilities and hospitality and building strong partnerships,” said the spokesperson.

“Following the success of the 2026 edition, the inclusion of a Nations Cup represents the next step in the event’s evolution.”

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If anyone had told me I’d be competing at a World Championship 36 years after my first, I wouldn’t have believed them. In fact, I can hardly believe it myself! This year I’ve had some of the nicest rides on Fame, so I’m delighted to be going to Aachen along with team-mates Fiona Bigwood, Lottie Fry and Becky Moody.

This year’s team has a reliable base of experience. Becky, Lottie and I have brought home medals as a team since Paris 2024. Fiona has been on teams before: silver at the worlds in Kentucky, silver at the Aachen Europeans five years later and silver again at the Rio Olympics – same as me – so she knows exactly what it takes to stand on the podium.

It’ll be a team debut for her home-bred mare Donna Bella – daughter of Fiona’s Olympic ride Orthilia – so once again we have a rider who has bred and produced a horse to top level. Together with Becky and Jagerbomb, it’s a story the press and the public should love. Hopefully, Lottie can continue the superb form and tip-top condition Glamourdale has been showing.

Many people say that Britain is favourite for the team gold, but trying to win gold in Aachen is a tall order. Anything is possible, though, and we’ll go as a team full of confidence and hope.

The selectors certainly had to fulfil their roles to the hilt this year, and it was a close call between Fiona and Charlotte Dujardin for the fourth spot. Either one of them would have ably supported the team.

The reserves are Charlotte and Brave Heart (first reserve), the wonderful Susan Pape who, at 63, proves age is no boundary, with her lovely mare Harmony’s Giulilanta, and Sadie Smith, who is also a popular choice. It might have been a little too early for Sadie and Swanmore Dantina this year, but I expect we’ll see them on teams in the future.

A great showdown

Competing in Aachen is always an impressive experience, but this year, with the freestyle in the main arena at 7pm on the Saturday night in front of 40,000 people, it will be incredible. Tickets have already sold out. Although none of us knows yet whether we’ll make it that far, that evening is set to be a great showdown. My spine is tingling already at the thought of it.

With Justin Verboomen and Zonik Plus, Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour and Mount St John Freestyle, Lottie and Glamourdale and Isabell Werth and Wendy De Fontaine in the mix, I couldn’t possibly call the winner, but I’d also add Becky and Bomb to the mix.

By the way, having enjoyed Hickstead so much this year, I’m thrilled to hear that at next year’s competition, there will be a CDIO Nations Cup.

We miss you Stephen

There have been so many tributes to Stephen Clarke, which is not surprising as he was loved and respected all over the world. Stephen was one of the most popular figures, if not the most popular figure, the world of dressage has ever seen. I can only add my thoughts to those from across the dressage world and wider.

Remembering Stephen as a rider was always easy, with that distinctive moustache and top hat back in the 1980s. He then became a leading judge. Considering everything Stephen gave to horses and dressage, I don’t think we’ll ever find someone so supportive – not only of judges but riders.

We could always guarantee Stephen’s honest, unbiased opinion on our training and performance. Stephen, on behalf of all of us riders, we will miss seeing your face whether at C or another position around the arena.

Stephen’s confidence as a judge gave us confidence to win gold at the London 2012 Olympics. He gave that gentle nod, a smile and said: “Go for it.” Such simple words that took the nerves out of all our performances.

Right now, our thoughts are with Julian who, apart from being a caring partner to Stephen for 40 years, ran Somerford Park’s events and, prior to that, shows at their home Cotton Equestrian Centre, which were always most convivial.

Stephen, we’ll carry your words in our hearts in Aachen.

● Who do you think will take individual freestyle gold in Aachen? 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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The intuitive response, when your flying changes aren’t going well in your dressage tests, is often to ride more of them. The instinct makes sense – practise the thing that isn’t working – but it’s rarely where the fix actually lies.

“Very rarely is getting a flying change, or fixing a tricky change, about doing more changes,” says Becky Moody. “It is nearly always about improving the canter.”

This is the bit that catches most riders out. The change feels like the problem – it’s late behind, or your horse runs out the front door, or swaps and then immediately falls into trot – so the change is where they put the work. But the change is a symptom. The canter underneath it is the actual job.

“It’s the quality of canter, every time”

The canter you need for a change is not the same canter you might ride elsewhere. It has to be collected but full of energy, straight, balanced, and – most importantly – adjustable.

“It doesn’t necessarily mean the problem is with the rhythm of the canter,” Becky says. “It’s very often the straightness of the canter, the balance of the canter. And for me, the adjustability of the canter. I think you have to be able to have a horse that is collected, but stay full of energy.”

A useful image: watch a top showjumper coming into a big vertical. The horse collects, but the energy doesn’t disappear – it gathers. The hindquarters come under, the frame shortens, and the canter gets bouncier. That’s the feel you want before a flying change Becky says. Not slow. Not steady. Loaded.

The springboard step

Here is Becky’s most useful idea, and it isn’t in any textbook.

“I like to have a springboard step,” she says. “The horse doesn’t change on the first part of your change aid. You have a springboard step – it’s like a spring then change, not just a change.”

Translated: your aid has two parts. A preparation stride, where you ask the horse to gather and bounce, and then the change itself. The whole sequence has the rhythm of “Are you ready? Change.”

This is the difference between a change that arrives flat and late, and one that lifts cleanly through the body. Riders who get into trouble are usually applying the aid in a single motion – leg on, change, hope. The horse hasn’t had a chance to load the spring first.

It’s also where anticipation comes in. For Becky, a horse learning changes should be thinking about what’s coming next – not nervous, but expectant.

“You almost need to create a degree of anticipation,” she says. “The horse is a little bit like, ‘Oh, what’s coming? This is good fun.’ Instead of you cantering across the diagonal in a lovely, nice, balanced, steady canter and then putting a change aid on, and the horse is like, ‘What?’”

Don’t lose the counter-canter

A common trap, once a horse can do changes, is that they start offering them unprompted. The rider asks for counter-canter, and the horse, helpful and over-keen, swaps.

“I’m quite a big believer that when you start teaching the horse changes, you shouldn’t stop being able to ride counter-canter,” Becky says. “You should be able to be like, ‘Now we’re doing counter-canter. And now we’re going to do a change. And now we’re doing counter-canter again.’ They have to be listening to what you say.”

The discipline matters because, in a test, you’ll be asked for both – sometimes within strides of each other. A horse that assumes every straight line means a change is a horse that will throw one in at exactly the wrong moment.

Build the change before you ask for it

Long before the change itself, the foundations need to be there. Canter-to-walk and walk-to-canter transitions are the bedrock – clean, on the leg, with no drift through the shoulders. The horse should be able to come back to walk with the outside hind genuinely stepping under, and step up into canter on a specific lead from a specific aid, without hesitation.

A good marker: can you ride around the outside of the arena and pick up eight to 10 walk-to-canter transitions, on the correct lead each time, on a straight line and in balance? If not, that’s where the work is. The change will come from this groundwork, not from drilling changes.

The walk half-pirouette is also useful here, because it asks the outside hind to stretch and step under, and it sets the horse straight before coming back into canter – the same body shape, in effect, that you need before a change.

An exercise: the figure-of-eight at the short end

When the foundations are in place, Becky’s go-to exercise is a small figure-of-eight at the short end of the arena.

“Imagine there’s a row of poles across the 10m line at the short end,” she says. “Then you’re doing your little figure-of-eight within that 20x10m box.”

You come out of the corner as if to ride a 10m circle at M, then take a small diagonal line across the centre line back towards the short side, change rein, and pick up the new circle on the other side.

The point of working in a small box is that it stops everything getting away from you.

“One of the most common things when both horse and rider are learning about changes is that everything gets a bit too forward and away,” Becky says.

“Doing it within a smaller area helps keep everything organised in a positive way without the rider having to do so much with their hand.”

The hand is the giveaway. A rider whose changes have unravelled is usually a rider whose changes finished with both reins pulling. Working in a smaller space buys you the discipline of riding the change with the leg and the seat, because there isn’t room to ride it with the hand.

A note on poles

Poles get used a lot for teaching flying changes in dressage, and they are a lot of productive exercises – but Becky uses them sparingly.

“I’m not a fan of the pole,” she says. She’s used one once, with a client’s horse that genuinely couldn’t grasp what was being asked. “We did what we could to help make it easier for them. It definitely got them more understanding of what we were trying to do.

“Then the changes were late behind, but at least it was doing changes, and we were then able to work on it. It then came back to the quality of the canter.”

Which is, of course, where everything in this piece comes back to. Poles or exercises won’t fix a change if the canter underneath isn’t right.

Build the canter. Then the change will be there.

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The British para dressage team for the 2026 World Championships in Aachen, Germany (11-23 August) has been announced – with one real surprise.

It was expected that three of the four combinations who competed at the Europeans in Ermelo last summer would return. Grade I combination Mari Durward-Akhurst and Athene Lindebjerg and grade II combination Jemima Green on Fantabulous are back and expected to be the two big scorers on the team.

Nicola Naylor is back too, but not on her European ride Humberto L – instead, she’ll be riding her other grade IV partner, Moulin Rouge.

We wrote when the nominated entries were released that 14-year-old Humberto L and nine-year-old Moulin Rouge had been shadowing each other all season, with Humberto L holding the higher grand prix B average – the score that determines the team medals – but Moulin Rouge having just won a head-to-head between the two at Wellington CPEDI3*.

After that was written, Humberto L burst into form at the final selection trial at Hartpury CPEDI3*, winning all three grade IV tests and scoring 74.46% in the grand prix B.

Moulin Rouge was runner-up behind her stablemate in both the grand prix A and B, trailing by a couple of percentage points – though Nicola had eased off from asking too much of the still-developing mare at Hartpury, which puts the gap in context.

On which of the two might ultimately be selected, Nicola said at the time: “I’ve let them give what they wanted to give, and I've been very relaxed about which one comes out on top.”

My guess is that most would have expected Humberto to get the nod on the numbers. But the selectors may have half an eye on Los Angeles 2028, wanting to test the exciting young mare in a championship setting. Humberto will instead be Nicola and team’s direct reserve.

The fourth spot

Gabriella Blake was the fourth rider at the Europeans, but her long-time ride Strong Beau retired in April.

That left one spot in genuine contention, fought out between Erin Orford on LJT Nutbush, Lee Pearson on Breezer, and Sophie Wells on MSJ Gold Standard – and, like the fourth-spot race for the dressage team, it went down to the wire.

Lee arrived at Hartpury as the form pick, Breezer sitting fourth among all eight nominated combinations on the season’s grand prix B average. But it was a quieter week by his own standards – 71.9% in the grand prix B, down on a season average of just under 73%.

Erin and LJT Nutbush swept all three grade III tests, but their 71.1% grand prix B average was the softest of the trio coming in, and a solid rather than spectacular 71.97% wasn’t enough to close the gap.

It was Sophie and MSJ Gold Standard who seized the moment, winning all three grade V tests with personal bests throughout – 74.05% in the grand prix A, 74.4% in the grand prix B and 80.27% in the freestyle. The result lifted her season grand prix B average from 72.36% to 72.87%, overtaking Lee’s, which dipped to 72.56% – a swing that settled the fourth spot in her favour.

The team’s clear goal in Aachen is qualification for the LA 2028 Paralympics, secured by finishing among the seven highest-placed teams, hosts USA aside. Britain fell just short of the medals at both last summer’s Europeans and the Paris Paralympics, finishing fourth and sixth respectively – so nothing can be taken for granted. But with three of the horses on the team 10 or younger, there's a young core here capable of carrying this squad well beyond Aachen, LA included.

British para dressage team for Aachen World Championships

Grade I

Mari Durward-Akhurst with 19-year-old mare Athene Lindebjerg

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

Breeder: Ulla and Kristian Bech

Breeding: by Gribaldi, out of a mare by Diamant

Grade II

Jemima Green with eight-year-old gelding Fantabulous

Owner: rider

Breeder: Rainer and Angelika Alhers

Breeding: by Foundation 2, out of a mare by Fürst Romancier

Grade IV

Nicola Naylor with nine-year-old mare Moulin Rouge

Owner: rider

Breeder: P Buwalda

Breeding: by Ferdinand, out of a mare by Dorado

Grade V

Sophie Wells with 10-year-old mare MSJ Gold Standard

Owner: Emma Blundell

Breeder: Mount St John Equestrian LLP

Breeding: by Governor, out of a mare by Fürstenball

Reserves in alphabetical order

Nicola Naylor with 14-year-old gelding Humberto L

Owners: Rosalind Emery Kay and rider

Breeder: J Lamers

Breeding: by Cachet L, out of a mare by Haarlem

Erin Orford with 14-year-old gelding LJT Nutbush

Owners: Carl Hester, Anne Barrott, Rowena Luard and The Lady Joseph Trust

Breeder: Mr A Gregory

Breeding: by Negro, out of a mare by Sion

Sir Lee Pearson with 14-year-old gelding Breezer

Owners: Jenson Guest, David Pearson, Linda Pearson and rider

Breeder: Sir Lee Pearson

Breeding: by Bacardi

The entries are announced in collaboration with the British Dressage selectors and World Class Programme principal partner Agria.

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The British dressage team heading to the 2026 World Championships in Aachen, Germany (11–23 August) has been announced.

The core of the team remains unchanged from last summer’s Europeans and the Paris Olympics before that. Carl Hester returns on Fame – 36 years after appearing at his first World Championships – and is joined by defending double-individual world champions Lottie Fry and Glamourdale, and World Cup winners Becky Moody and Jagerbomb.

Those three combinations were never in doubt – the fourth spot has been the season's real subplot. Over winter, the final place looked to belong to Charlotte Dujardin and Alive And Kicking – until the mare was sold in April, throwing the door wide open.

What followed was a crowded field: national champions Sadie Smith and Swanmore Dantina were early favourites, with Gareth Hughes and Susan Pape also in the mix. But two names pulled clear.

Fiona Bigwood’s homebred mare Donna Bella announced herself with a Hartpury grand prix win in March, then held her own on a Fontainebleau Nations Cup debut alongside Carl and Lottie.

Charlotte, meanwhile, switched her attentions to Ellie McCarthy’s Brave Heart, and the pair went head-to-head with Fiona and Donna Bella twice: Fiona edged it at Hickstead in May (73.13% to 72.8%), then again at Wellington in June (74.6% to 71.87%), by which point she'd emerged as the clear favourite.

Going into nominated entries, Fiona’s more extensively tested form – four international grands prix to Charlotte’s two – had her average ahead on 72.90% to 72.34%. But Charlotte had one shot left, at Hartpury, the last domestic international before the team was due to be confirmed. She took it: a stunning grand prix and special double, personal bests of 74.8% and 74.7%, that lifted her average to 73.16% – above Fiona’s, with just 0.26 points separating them.

That swing reopened a contest that had looked settled, leaving selectors Judy Harvey, Jenny Ward and Anne Keen with a genuinely tight call between two relatively inexperienced horses.

In the end, it's Fiona Bigwood and Donna Bella who complete the team. Although Charlotte edged it on the raw grand prix average – the mark selectors weight most heavily – it came from three starts against Fiona’s four, all three on the subdued domestic CDI3* circuit rather than the championship-like atmosphere of Fontainebleau CDIO5*, where Fiona scored 71.36% in the grand prix and 72.28% in the special.

Charlotte’s Hartpury score also carried a notable spread across the judging panel – more than five points between the highest and lowest marks – a factor selectors will have weighed alongside the numbers. But it was likely their head-to-head record – the only occasion the same judges saw both combinations, and one Fiona won twice – that was the deciding factor.

Where Britain stands against the rivals

Set against the field, Britain’s core trio total 232.80 on this season’s international grand prix averages, just 0.67 points off Germany's dressage team projected 233.47 (their best three of Isabell Werth, Katharina Hemmer and Frederic Wandres, with Raphael Netz's score dropped) and 1.80 points clear of reigning champions Denmark’s dressage team 231 (their best three of Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour, Carina Cassøe Krüth and Daniel Bachmann Andersen).

That figure hasn't moved with the fourth-spot news – best three of four counts for the team total, and Lottie, Carl and Becky were never in doubt. What Fiona’s selection changes is the insurance policy: a fourth combination capable of stepping into a top-three score if any of the trio falter.

A neat footnote: Donna Bella is out of Atterupgaards Orthilia, Fiona’s former ride on the British team that took silver at both the 2015 Europeans – held in this same Aachen arena – and the Rio Olympics the following year.

The individual medals look just as open. Lottie and Glamourdale are among the favourites, alongside Cathrine and Freestyle, Justin Verboomen and Zonik Plus, and home favourites Isabell and Wendy De Fontaine – with Justin and Cathrine perhaps the stronger picks on this year’s form. If any of the favourites falter, Becky and Jagerbomb – fresh off a personal-best 88.33% freestyle in Texas – have the form to make their own tilt at an individual medal.

Most nations have now confirmed their teams ahead of the FEI’s 27 July deadline for definite entries – follow our Aachen dressage teams page as the rest come in.

British dressage team for the 2026 Aachen World Championships

Fiona Bigwood with 10-year-old mare Donna Bella

Owner: rider

Breeder: rider

Breeding: by Don Juan de Hus, out of a mare by Gribaldi

Lottie Fry with 15-year-old stallion Glamourdale

Owners: Van Olst Horses and rider

Breeder: J Rodenburg

Breeding: by Lord Leatherdale, out of a mare by Negro

Carl Hester with 16-year-old stallion Fame

Owners: Fiona Bigwood, Mette Dahl and rider

Breeder: VOF G and M Gerritsen

Breeding: by Bordeaux, out of a mare by Rhodium

Becky Moody with 12-year-old gelding Jagerbomb

Owners: Jo Cooper and rider

Breeder: rider

Breeding: by Dante Weltino, out of a mare by Jazz

Reserves in alphabetical order

Charlotte Dujardin with 12-year-old gelding Brave Heart

Owners: Elllie McCarthy, Spencer McCarthy and Bridget McCarthy

Breeders: Shirley and Titian Wilaras

Breeding: by Bordeaux, out of a mare by Blue Hors Zack

Susan Pape with 15-year-old mare Harmony’s Giulilanta

Owners: Harmony Sporthorses and rider

Breeders: A Vogelaar and J Knol

Breeding: by Jazz, out of a mare by Flemmingh

Sadie Smith with 11-year-old mare Swanmore Dantina

Owner: rider

Breeder: Ben St John James

Breeding: by Dante Weltino, out of a mare by Charatan W

The entries are announced in collaboration with the British Dressage selectors and World Class Programme principal partner Agria.

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It’s been a sad few months for the international officiating community, with the deaths of Bob Ellis, Jacques van Daele and Stephen Clarke – all three lifelong servants of the sport, and all three officials at the London Olympics.

Bob’s team used to build the dressage arena for me in the early years of the London International and Jacques, the FEI’s dressage steward general, judged there too. It was always reassuring to have him on the panel.

Stephen and I first met as teenagers, competing at local shows. He went into judging to find out if the system could be improved from within rather than moaned about from the outside.

Nearly 50 years ago, international judging looked nothing like it does today. Consensus barely existed and where it did, it was usually as a small circle of judges had officiated together often enough to compare notes.

Riding style still varied by nation – a judge schooled in the French tradition prized lightness, one from the mid-European school would place more importance on accuracy and obedience – and judging reflected that split. Riding has harmonised a great deal since and judging with it, though enough discrepancies remain worldwide that consensus can’t be taken for granted.

A great leader from the back

Stephen’s judging combined obvious personal qualities – empathy, humility, integrity, self-reflection – with real clarity of method. He worked movement by movement, comparing what he saw against what the rules required, then gave his score. He never dwelt on the mark just given, nor guessed what might come next. He stayed in the moment, indifferent to how his total might compare with anyone else’s.

He also had extraordinary leadership qualities, which followed the same quiet pattern – he led from the back and pushed others into the light rather than himself. It’s little surprise his fellow judges made him president of the International Dressage Officials Club, or that the FEI made him their judge general.

He’d already helped produce the FEI’s first judging guidelines, a handbook that still serves as the sport’s definitive reference. But he recognised that dressage had outgrown what that handbook envisaged 20 years earlier, and no one pushed harder to recruit and cater for new judges entering our sport.

In 2018, the FEI mandated its dressage committee to produce a code of points to make scoring more transparent. Stephen, working with fellow consultees, put at least three years of work into helping create it, burning the midnight oil, distilling the judges’ handbook’s 250 pages into summary sheets setting out which “observables” take priority for each movement, and how to score them 0–10.

It has sat on a shelf in Lausanne ever since, while the ongoing lack of scoring consensus takes its toll on the integrity of the sport. The FEI could honour Stephen’s hard work properly by finally bringing his code of points into effect – not as tribute alone, but because it’s what the federation asked for and what the sport still needs.

It’s a tough call

Congratulations to Mette Dahl on her individual bronze medal at last weekend’s young rider Europeans, and commiserations to Annabella Pidgley who just missed out on a medal.

The selection meeting to settle our World Championship dressage team is looming and is going to be a tough call. Lottie Fry, Becky Moody and Carl Hester are certainties and, notwithstanding Germany’s strength and home advantage, are capable of securing team gold for us.

The fourth slot has gone to the wire, with Fiona Bigwood and Charlotte Dujardin being separated by a whisker due to Charlotte’s test-riding masterclass at Hartpury CDI3*. On my own rough sums Fiona edges it, and her five-star result nudges it further her way.

But there will always be information concerning specific criteria that those of us on the outside are rightly never party to. An independent observer and chair ensures that the decision is made in accordance with British Dressage’s selection policy. I have been on both sides of these procedures. I feel for the selectors, but more so for Fiona and Charlotte.

Good luck to everyone in contention and also to our junior and children-on-horses teams battling it out for European medals as we go to press.

● Who would you pick for the fourth team slot at the worlds? 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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A rider due to compete at the World Championships aged 71 said her aim is of course to win a medal – but also show there is “no such thing as ‘it can’t be done’.”

Germany’s Heidemarie Dresing will start at Aachen, a home championship, as the overall world number two in the para dressage rankings but she is top of the Grade II list. She brings her 11-year-old mare Poesie 123, with whom she has won seven of her eight international starts this year.

“Naturally, my aim is to win a medal,” Heidemarie said. “At my first World Championships in 2022, the 2021 Paralympics and the 2019 European Championships, I came fourth several times. While I was fortunate enough to take three gold medals home with me from last year’s European Championships in Ermelo, the desire to make it on to the podium at the home World Championships in Aachen is very strong.

“Beyond that, however, I also want to inspire older people and serve as a role model, because there is no such thing as ‘it can’t be done’! If you exert yourself and stay active, you can achieve amazing feats even at an advanced age.”

Heidemarie has multiple sclerosis, which means she has neurological and muscular impairments such as balance issues, fatigue and reduced muscle strength. She relies on a wheelchair, as she said she can only walk a few metres without it.

“Staying active keeps me fit!” she said.

Heidemarie first rode aged eight; her mother had always loved horses, she said. She had riding lessons and first competed in showjumping, then bought a horse with “the first real money I earned”.

Heidemarie Dresing: horses are my life

“Horses are my life,” she said “I can’t imagine life without them. Naturally, my training has changed since the onset of the illness, but I am still absolutely thrilled by the sense of unity and harmony we can create together.

“Sometimes I am moved to tears when I see everything the horses do for me and how considerate they are. They respond to the subtlest of aids and are forgiving of mistakes, too, which is something really special.

“Competing has always been part of my life, because I am very ambitious. When I thought my illness meant I would no longer be able to compete at shows, I initially wanted to quit. But then I learnt about para sports from [German para dressage rider] Hanne Brenner and suddenly I was able to compete again – albeit in a different way compared to before.”

Heidemarie Dresing added that Poesie is “as crazy as I am!”

“She is a fighter and has a mind of her own – after all, she is a girl!” she said. “But that is precisely the attraction of it. She is a truly special horse and the two of us harmonise extremely well together and share a very subtle form of communication.

“The horses provide fresh motivation for me every single day, they are the best medicine. It is fantastic that we para athletes are now part of the event in Aachen. It is great to have this opportunity to demonstrate our skills on such an impressive stage.”

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Reigning world champion Denmark has announced its dressage team for the 2026 World Championships in Aachen, Germany (11–23 August).

It feels a lifetime ago that the Danish team secured that historic win – their first world title – in front of a rapturous home crowd in Herning with a squad hailed at the time as the strongest Denmark had ever fielded.

Carina Cassøe Krüth and Heiline's Danciera, Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour and Mount St John Freestyle, Daniel Bachmann Andersen and Flash Gordon 37 and Nadja Aaboe Sloth and Favour Gersdorf will carry Danish hopes into Aachen.

Three of the Herning four return to defend the title – Carina, Cathrine and Daniel all make the trip to Aachen, with Nadja stepping in for Nanna Merrald Rasmussen. But look past the riders' names, and it's a much changed team: only Carina's Heiline's Danciera survives from that gold-medal line-up, with Cathrine and Daniel both on different partners four years on.

Set against Herning, there’s a gap on paper – though it's worth remembering that was arguably the high-water mark of Danish dressage, and not a fair yardstick to judge any team against. The counting three that day – Nanna's 76.72% on Blue Hors Zack, Carina's 76.86% on Heiline's Danciera and Cathrine's 81.86% on Vamos Amigos – added up to 235.451, enough for a historic 1.2-point margin over a fast-finishing British team.

This team looks a little over four points shy of that total on current form – but it’s a stronger projection than that of the Danish team that took bronze at the Europeans last summer.

Cathrine and Mount St John Freestyle are the obvious standouts, averaging 83.43% across three CDI grands prix this year – well clear of what Vamos Amigos delivered in Herning.

Everywhere else, the numbers point the other way. Daniel's promising but inexperienced new partner, Flash Gordon 37 – who only joined his string in January 2025 and made his international debut under him this March – has averaged 73.53%. That’s some three points shy of his score with Marshall-Bell in Herning.

Carina, still on Heiline's Danciera, sits at 74.04% from her one qualifying CDI this year, marginally down on her own Herning contribution on the same horse. Nadja, in for Nanna, averages 72.17% – over four and a half points below the score she’s directly replacing.

Add up the best three of this season’s four – Cathrine, Carina and Daniel, with Nadja’s score dropped as it would be in a team final – and you get 231, 4.45 points down on the total that won gold four years ago.

Set alongside this year's international grand prix form for their two closest challengers, Denmark’s projected total puts them third of the three – but not by much.

The German team was announced last week, and their best three (Isabell Werth, Katharina Hemmer and Frederic Wandres, with Raphael Netz’s score dropped) average out to 233.47.

Britain has announced its shortlist but not the definite team yet – we’re expecting that next week. However, their core trio (Lottie Fry, Carl Hester and Becky Moody) are almost guaranteed to be riding down the centre line in Aachen, and total 232.8. Denmark’s 231 leaves them 2.47 points off Germany and 1.80 off Britain – a gap, but not an unbridgeable one, and tighter than the 6.25 points that separated gold from bronze at last summer’s Europeans.

None of that decides anything on its own – form guides aren’t championship pressure. Anyone who was at Herning will remember how a rapturous home crowd can lift a combination past what the season’s numbers suggest and unnerve others. This time, it’s Germany who'll have that roar behind them, not Denmark.

Add in the eliminations, the one bad step nobody saw coming – championship week has a way of making a mockery of spreadsheets – but what’s certain is this: the Danes are experienced riders who know how to find their best when it matters.

Most nations have already confirmed their teams ahead of the FEI’s 27 July deadline for definite entries – follow our Aachen dressage teams page as the rest come in.

Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour peaking at the right time

Last summer’s Europeans showed just how fine the margins are between Cathrine on Freestyle and Belgium’s Justin Verboomen on Zonik Plus, the reigning European champions. Justin and Zonik Plus edged her in both individual tests – 82.37% to 81.69% in the special, then 89.96% to 89.82% in the freestyle, with barely half a point in it.

It was a thrilling and refreshing battle – in a sport that has so often been dominated by one outstanding horse – between two of the finest combinations in the world.

And we look set for a repeat of that titanic clash at the top. The two haven't met since – studiously avoiding a potential match-up. Cathrine and Mount St John Freestyle have been in career-best form all year, regardless. The pair opened the season with a personal-best 84.17% to win the Herning CDI5* grand prix in March, then added another lifetime-high 83.1% in the special at Hagen in April.

That form held through last week's Nations Cup finale at Falsterbo – Denmark's only outing in the series this year – where Cathrine's 83.72% headlined a dominant team display, before she added the freestyle title on 88.42% with a brand-new musical programme.

“I really had that dancing feeling and especially my last line, felt so uplifting having the crowd beside me as well," Cathrine said. “It’s been a lot of work putting this new freestyle together, and I think today was a perfect rehearsal, because now I know that there needs to be some small changes before the World Championships.”

Against Justin specifically, the freestyle picture is close to Crozet's, his 90.36% average this year nudging Cathrine’s 89.44% by under a point. But he hasn't yet ridden a special this year to set against her 83.1% at Hagen.

At 17 now, Mount St John Freestyle is entering the latter part of her career, and there’s no doubt she and Cathrine will be remembered among the finest partnerships of the modern era. But the individual gold or individual honour that would truly crown it remains agonisingly out of reach – time is running out to turn a career of silver into gold.

Danish dressage team for the 2026 Aachen World Championships

Daniel Bachmann Andersen with 12-year-old gelding Flash Gordon 37

Owner: Sofia Ek

Breeder: Jan Lueder Cornelius

Breeding: by Fiderbach, out of a mare by Don Romantic

Carina Cassøe Krüth with 15-year-old mare Heline’s Danciera

Owner: Poul Thøgersen

Breeder: Stald Heiline

Breeding: by Fürstenball, out of a mare by De Niro

Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour with 17-year-old mare Mount St John Freestyle

Owner: Laudrup-Dufour & Zinglersen ApS and Mount St John Equestrian LLP

Breeder: Stephan Kurz

Breeding: by Fidermark, out of a mare by Donnerhall

Nadja Aaboe Sloth with 13-year-old gelding Favour Gersdorf

Owner: rider

Breeder: Inger Marie Andreasen

Breeding: by Foundation, out of a mare by Leandro

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Australian rider Jayden Brown has paid tribute to his “amazing” Olympic ride Quincy B, who has left his yard to be sold.

Owner Willinga Park, in New South Wales, has confirmed that the 12-year-old Hanoverian gelding, with whom Jayden helped the Australian team to ninth place at the Paris Olympic Games, is on the market.

“Olympic dressage horse Quincy B will be offered for sale, marking the next chapter for the much-admired horse,” a spokesperson for the venue said.

“They are open to accepting offers from suitable buyers who can support Quincy B’s continued success and wellbeing.”

Jayden has played a major role in the venue’s high-performance programme since he started there in 2020. He competed at the 2022 World Championships with Willingapark Sky Diamond, as well as in Paris.

Jayden congratulated those who had been selected for this year’s World Championships and wished them luck, adding that Willinga Park had withdrawn Quincy B from selection on 10 July.

“I am disappointed not to be joining our team in Aachen, however I am proud of the results Quincy B and I achieved during our qualification campaign,” he said.

“I hope that together we showed Australian riders that it is possible to achieve one of the strongest qualifying positions for our team as a combination based in Australia.”

Quincy B and Jayden Brown: top results

Jayden and Quincy B have had a fabulous year, winning all five of the grands prix and freestyle classes they have contested.

“I am grateful for many years riding and training Quincy from a young horse through to grand prix and the opportunity to represent Australia on our team at the Paris Olympics,” Jayden said. “Quincy left us yesterday [14 July] and will be stabled locally while he awaits export to Europe to be sold.

“Quincy has always held a special place in my heart and his ability to charm ‘his girls’ in the stable will be missed. I wish nothing but the best for an amazing horse who truly deserves the best in life.”

The Willinga Park spokesperson said the decision is part of a “gradual wind-down” of its high-performance programme, as it focuses on hosting equestrian events and offering vet services, accommodation and hospitality.

“Quincy B has been owned by Willinga Park for seven years and has become one of Australia’s most recognised dressage horses, including representing Australia at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games with Jayden Brown,” the spokesperson said.

“Quincy B has been an exceptional horse for Willinga Park and Australian dressage, and we are incredibly proud of what he and Jayden achieved together.

“We thank Jayden for his professionalism, dedication and care, and wish him every success in the next stage of his career.”

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What goes into training a World Cup Dressage Finals champion? Becky Moody talks us through how she primes Jagerbomb to perform at his peak while enjoying the balance of turnout, hacking, fitness with perfecting his grand prix moves.

Becky doesn’t drill Jagerbomb (Bomb) in the school. He typically works specifically on dressage training two to three times a week.

These sessions are usually 40–45min, always starting with “an easy warm-up”.

“It’s less than I used to do because it’s not about how much I want to do, it’s about the horse,” she says.

“One of the most important things I do is transitions, hundreds of transitions. It doesn’t matter whether you’re riding a baby or a grand prix horse, transitions are key to good training, for adjustability and rideability.

“That fancy trot Bomb can do comes from a good walk–halt transition.”

It’s rare that Becky would ride all the grand prix moves in training; it’s more about working on the adjustability, suppleness and straightness.

“For instance, rather than riding my test pirouettes, I’d do a lot more working pirouettes, training the adjustability within it, on a bigger shape,” she explains.

“So I would make him more collected, then more forward – and ride only a couple of test ones. I also practise zig-zags a lot as they’re our weak point.”

To hone the flying changes, Becky has another tip.

“I do a lot of changes up the wall to really help me to be aware of my straightness – I wouldn’t so often do them across the school on the diagonal,” she says.

Becky estimates she’d put all the moves together to ride the full test every other week in the six-week run-up to an event.

Becky Moody on Jagerbomb’s non-schooling days

Other days are spent hacking, doing fitness work and stretching.

“Sometimes in the school, he would be in a snaffle, doing basic stretching and transitions,” says Becky, who says Bomb wears a snaffle “half the time”.

“He loves hacking so he does a lot of that. The girls hack him, but I also love hacking him, so sometimes I go off on a wander because he’s such a good boy.”

Although Bomb’s hacks involve hillwork, stomping up and down the Yorkshire hills, their location means they are limited to roadwork so he does additional fitness sessions in the outdoor school.

“He’s so big and he has to watch his weight, so we have to be really conscious of the fitness side to keep him at a good weight, fit and strong enough,” Becky says.

“There’s nowhere we can go fast on a hack, so he does his fast work in the outdoor school. We do interval training round our 20x60m.”

Becky uses her voice as a training aid, and welcomes the change in British Dressage ruling that riders can use their voice within reason.

“With young horses I always use my voice,” she says. “Especially in my downward transitions, saying ‘woah’, anything that makes it easier for them to understand without having to use as much rein. It’s a useful tool.”

“My bad habit is that I click,” she adds. “I train with Carl Hester and he says, ‘you’re not training b****y dolphins’, in his terrible Yorkshire accent!”

Stable management

In summertime, Bomb enjoy time in the field every day.

“In winter, as we live on clay it’s horrific ground so we don’t turn out on the grass,” Becky explains. “We have four sand paddocks and a horse walker, so all the horses are out of their stable three times a day.”

At over 17.3hh, Bomb is entitled to the biggest stable in the yard.

Feeding-wise, Bomb’s diet is quite simple. He’s on Saracen’s Competition Fit Mix, with alfalfa. He also has a basic joint supplement and electrolytes when he’s in work, plus salt.

At shows, Bomb “goes on hunger strike” – “it’s quite tricky when you’re away for two weeks,” says Becky.

“He likes a veteran mash – more than a recovery mash – and so has that to help him eat up,” she adds. “He’s getting better the more he does.”

And not just in terms of appetite, because when it comes to results in the ring, Becky Moody and Jagerbomb are still on an upward trajectory.

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We have a much better idea of the Aachen 2026 dressage teams as the FEI has now published the definite entries list for the 2026 dressage World Championships, confirming exactly which horses and riders will contest team and individual medals.

The definite entries confirm 18 nations have entered full four-rider teams for Aachen, with a further 16 nations sending individual combinations – 92 horse-and-rider partnerships in total across 34 countries. Germany, the European team gold medallists, start as favourites, with reigning world champions Denmark and a British side chasing a first-ever world team title also expected to be in the hunt.

The final line-up of dressage competitors heading to the FEI 2026 World Championships is listed below alphabetically by nation.

Dressage teams at Aachen 2026

Australia

Definite entries in alphabetical order by rider’s surname

• Mary Hanna with 13-year-old gelding Ivanhoe (Desperado x Jazz)
• William Matthew with 11-year-old mare Faye 43 (Fürst Wilhelm x Aljano 2)
• Warwick McLean and 10-year-old gelding Le Special (Grey Flanell x Sir Oldenburg)
• Simone Pearce and 10-year-old stallion Will Marq (Rio Marq x Lanciano)

Austria

Definite entries in alphabetical order by rider’s surname

• Peter Gmoser with 12-year-old mare Dante’s Daiquiri (Dante Weltino x Avagon)
• Bettina Kendlbacher with 13-year-old gelding Broadmoars Don Alfredo AWO (Destano x His Highness)
• Ulrike Prunthaller with 14-year-old mare Fleur TSF (Kentucky x Birkhof’s Grafenstolz TSF)
• Felicita Simoncic with 16-year-old stallion Four Legends (Wynton x Ferro)

Belgium

Definite entries in alphabetical order by rider’s surname

• Jeroen Devroe with 10-year-old gelding Lestor (Ghandi x Painted Black)
• Larissa Pauluis with 16-year-old gelding Flambeau (Ampere x Zeoliet)
• Justin Verboomen with 10-year-old stallion Zonik Plus (Glock’s Zonik x Hohenstein 4)
• Wim Verwimp with 12-year-old gelding Jedai De Massa (Don Juan De Hus x Galopin De La Font)

Brazil

Definite entries in alphabetical order by rider’s surname

• Murilo Augusto Machado with 12-year-old stallion Jorge VO (Xama Dos Pinhais x Icaro SA)
• Nuno Chaves de Almeida with 11-year-old stallion Lizarran (Zaire x Xaquiro CIP)
• João Victor Marcari Olivia with 14-year-old gelding Feel Good VO NRW (Franziskus FRH x Dimension)
• Manuel Rodrigues Tavares de Almeida Neto with 14-year-old gelding Hermes (Rico x Noitibó)

Canada

Definite entries in alphabetical order by rider’s surname

• Camille Carier Bergeron with 16-year-old mare Finnlanderin (Fidertanz x Donnerhall)
• Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu with 12-year-old gelding Jaccardo (Desperado x Jazz)
• Denielle Gallagher with 14-year-old gelding Come Back De Massa (Galopin De La Font x Quixote SDS)
• Chris von Martels with 13-year-old mare Londoncrown (Londontime x San Amour)

Cyprus

Individual

• Gabriele H.-Kiefer with 16-year-old mare Cyprus Ophelia (Blue Hors Rosoff x Ragazzo)

Denmark

Definite entries in alphabetical order by rider’s surname

• Daniel Bachmann Andersen with 12-year-old gelding Flash Gordon 37 (Fiderbach x Don Romantic)
• Carina Cassøe Krüth with 15-year-old mare Heline’s Danciera (Fürstenball x De Niro)
• Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour with 17-year-old mare Mount St John Freestyle (Fidermark x Donnerhall)
• Nadja Aaboe Sloth with 13-year-old gelding Favour Gersdorf (Foundation x Leandro)

For more insight on the reigning champions, here’s what you need to know about the Danish dressage team heading to Aachen.

Dominican Republic

Individual

• Yvonne Losos de Muñiz with 13-year-old mare Idwinaretto (Everdale x Glock’s Johnson)

Ecuador

Individual

• Julio Mendoza Loor with 15-year-old gelding Jewel’s Goldstrike (Bretton Woods x Scandic)

Finland

Definite entries in alphabetical order by rider’s surname

• Stella Hagelstam with nine-year-old gelding Hagels Prince Nassak (by Pin Rock’s Black Velvet)
• Henri Ruoste with 14-year-old mare Tiffany’s Diamond (Tailormade Temptation x His Highness 2)
• Anu Sironen with 15-year-old gelding Ypäjän Fioretto (Fürst Romancier x Sir Donnerhall)
• Ville Vaurio with 13-year-old gelding Dante NL (De Niro x Alantas)

France

Definite entries in alphabetical order by rider’s surname

• Alexandre Ayache with 12-year-old mare Ruling Olivia (Olivi x Aletto)
• Pauline Basquin with 16-year-old gelding Sertorius de Rima Z (Sandro Hit x Voltaire)
• Bertrand Liegard with 15-year-old mare Ginger (Glock’s Tango x Don Primaire)
• Alizee Roussel with 14-year-old stallion Bel Amour (Bretton Woods x Donnerhall 11)

Germany

Definite entries in alphabetical order by rider’s surname

• Katharina Hemmer with 14-year-old gelding Denoix PCH (Destano x Pik Noir)
• Raphael Netz with 15-year-old gelding Great Escape Camelot (Glock’s Johnson x Turbo Magic)
• Frederic Wandres with 16-year-old gelding Bluetooth OLD (Bordeaux x GB Riccione)
• Isabell Werth with 12-year-old mare Wendy De Fontaine (Sezuan x Blue Hors Soprano)

For more insight on the Germans, here’s what you need to know about the German dressage team heading to Aachen.

Great Britain

Definite entries in alphabetical order by rider’s surname

• Fiona Bigwood with 10-year-old mare Donna Bella (Don Juan de Hus x Gribaldi)
• Lottie Fry with 15-year-old stallion Glamourdale (Lord Leatherdale x Negro)
• Carl Hester with 16-year-old stallion Fame (Bordeaux x Rhodium)
• Becky Moody with 12-year-old gelding Jagerbomb (Dante Weltino x Jazz)

For more insight on the Brits, here’s what you need to know about the British dressage team entered for Aachen.

Greece

Individual

• Theodora Livanos with 19-year-old gelding Robinvale (Rubinero 2 x Wittinger)

Hungary

Individuals

• Diana Porsche with 13-year-old gelding Imhotep (Everdale x Vivaldi)
• Pavlina Révész with 12-year-old gelding Jiodinus PP (El Primero x Burggraaf)

Indonesia

Individual

• Dara Ninggar Prameswari with 10-year-old gelding Miestral D’Ferraria (by Escorial)

Ireland

Definite entries in alphabetical order by rider’s surname

• Kevin Acres with 15-year-old gelding Ganesh (Jazz x Partout)
• Alex Baker with 14-year-old stallion Top Gear (Totilas x Don Frederico)
• James Connor with 13-year-old gelding Vanotti (Vitalis x Florestan)
• Jessica Dunn with 13-year-old gelding Dan Its Carston (Durable x Clearway)

Israel

Individual

• Micah Deligdish with 14-year-old stallion Carpe Diem De Massa (Maestro JGB x Violino SDS)

Lithuania

Individual

• Justina Vanagaite-Samuile with 13-year-old gelding Nabab (Sir Donovan x Krack C)

Luxembourg

Individual

• Nicolas Wagner Ehlinger with 17-year-old gelding Quater Back Junior FRH (Quaterback x Bonheur)

Mexico

Individuals

• Carolina Cordoba with 17-year-old mare Isabella (Gribaldi x Don Schufro)
• Santiago Ortiz Diez with 15-year-old gelding Waitoni (Wynton x Weltmeyer)

Morocco

Individual

• Yessin Rahmouni with 11-year-old gelding Kind Of Magic (All At Once x Jazz)

The Netherlands

Definite entries in alphabetical order by rider’s surname

• Dinja van Liere with nine-year-old stallion Mauro Turfhorst NOP (Glock’s Zonik x Negro)
• Marieke van der Putten with 12-year-old mare Zantana RS2 NOP (Glock’s Zonik x Sir Donnerhall)
• Rowena Weggelaar with 18-year-old gelding Don Quichot (United x Gribaldi)
• Thamar Zweistra with nine-year-old stallion Hexagons Mr Magnum NOP (Expression x Valdez)

New Zealand

Individual

• Wendi Williamson with 13-year-old gelding Don Vito MH (Don Frederico x Anamour)

Norway

Individual

• Isabel Freese with 14-year-old stallion Total Hope (Totilas x Blue Hors Don Schufro)

Poland

Definite entries in alphabetical order by rider’s surname

• Roy First with 13-year-old gelding Infinity Win T (Everdale x Jazz)
• Hubert Jankowski with 15-year-old mare Guerlain (Blue Hors Hotline x Painted Black)
• Aleksandra Poplawska-Slazak with 16-year-old gelding Sambalito (Samba Hit II x Classic Dance)
• Sandra Sysojeva with 10-year-old mare Maxima Bella (Millennium x Christ 3)

Portugal

Definite entries in alphabetical order by rider’s surname

• Maria Caetano with 14-year-old gelding Hit Plus (Bretton Woods x Peralta Pinha)
• Vasco Mira Godinho with 10-year-old stallion Marques Dos Cedros (Disturbio x Rubi)
• João Pedro Moreira with 11-year-old stallion Drosa Fürst Kennedy (Fürsten-Look x Don Kennedy)
• João Miguel Torrao with 11-year-old stallion Lirio MVL (Zeus Do Lis x El-Negro)

Singapore

Individual

• Caroline Chew with 17-year-old stallion Blue Hors Zatchmo (Blue Hors Zack x Donnerhall)

Spain

Definite entries in alphabetical order by rider’s surname

• Borja Carrascosa with 11-year-old stallion Frizzantino FRH (Finest x Quaterback)
• Lucia Gallardo with 14-year-old stallion Hip By Johnson (Glock’s Johnson x Negro)
• José Antonio García Mena with 15-year-old stallion Gladiador Do Lis (Peralta Pinha x Spartacus)
• Severo Jurado López with 12-year-old mare Flaconi W (Foundation x Breitling W)

Sweeden

Definite entries in alphabetical order by rider’s surname

• Patrik Kittel with 14-year-old gelding Touchdown (Quaterback x Sack)
• Rebecca Mauléon with 12-year-old gelding Johnnie Walker BCN (Glock’s Johnson x Dayano)
• Therese Nilshagen with 10-year-old stallion Navarro (Negro x San Remo OLD)
• Maria von Essen with 14-year-old gelding Invoice (Jazz x Olympic Ferro)

Switzerland

Definite entries in alphabetical order by rider’s surname

• Delia Eggenberger with 11-year-old mare Santa Maria (by Sandro Marinero)
• Charlotte Lenherr with 13-year-old stallion Dettori (Desperado x De Niro)
• Charlotta Rogerson with 14-year-old gelding Bonheur De La Vie (Bordeaux x Blue Hors Zack) – withdrawn
• Estelle Wettstein with 16-year-old gelding Quaterboy (Quaterback x Rubinstern Noir)

Thailand

Definite entries in alphabetical order by rider’s surname

• Pakjira Thongpakdi with 14-year-old gelding Definitely (De Kooning x San Schufro)
• Suphakamol Vuntanadit with 18-year-old gelding Dreamboat BCN (Glock’s Voice x Metall)
• Suphajit Vuntanadit with 19-year-old gelding Wall Street JV (Wie Weltmeyer x Starway)

Turkey

Individual

• Rotem Jale Ibrahimzadeh with 18-year-old stallion Hexagon’s Double Dutch (Glock’s Johnson x Hexagon’s Rubiquil)

United States

Definite entries in alphabetical order by rider’s surname

• Ashley Holzer with 14-year-old mare Hawtins San Floriana (San Amour I x Florestan I)
• Jordan LaPlaca with 11-year-old gelding Gold Play (Grey Flanell x Sir Donnerhall II) – withdrawn
• Kasey Perry-Glass with 14-year-old gelding Heartbeat WP (Charmeur x Olympic Ferro) – replacement
• Christian Simonson with 16-year-old stallion Fleau de Baian (Broere Jazz x Ulft)
• Geñay Vaughn with 15-year-old gelding Gino (Bretton Woods x Haarlem) – withdrawn
• Megan Davis with 13-year-old gelding Toronto Lightfoot (Totilas x Onassis) – replacement

When is the dressage at the 2026 World Championships?

The dressage takes place from 11-16 August 2026, within the wider FEI World Championships in Aachen, Germany, which run from 11-23 August. The grand prix opens the competition on 11 and 12 August and decides the team medals, with the grand prix special (14 August) and grand prix freestyle (15 August) settling the individual medals.

How many riders can each nation enter?

Each nation can enter a maximum of four horse and rider combinations. Nations without a full team can send riders as individuals instead.

Why do the 2026 World Championships matter for the Olympics?

Aachen is the first and biggest qualifying event for the team competition at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. The six highest-ranked teams (excluding the host nation, the USA) will secure their Olympic team quota places in Aachen – more than at any other single qualifier in the cycle.

Remaining team places are then decided across 2027 through the European Championships and regional events. A strong result here is therefore the most direct route to booking a nation’s place at the Games.

• To stay up to date with all the breaking news from the World Championships and other major shows throughout the year, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

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Top British dressage rider Laura Tomlinson has paid tribute to her much-loved stallion Duval’s Capri Sonne Jr, who has died aged 19 following a happy seven-year retirement at home.

The KWPN Rhodium son competed at international grand prix but his career was cut short in 2019 aged 12, when he was found to have a heart murmur.

“He was still really fit and well, but he stopped competing on the vet’s advice having the heart murmur grade that he did,” Laura told H&H.

“He has had a lovely time living in the field outside our horse, enjoying a very unstressful life, with lots of attention from the kids.”

Capri Sonne was campaigned as a young horse by Dinja van Liere in the Netherlands. He was bought by Laura’s parents, the Bechtolsheimers, in 2015 and Laura produced him from small tour up to grand prix.

“He was as comfy as a sofa and he was my dad’s favourite to ride,” said Laura.

“He was wonderful to train and had a really good brain. I’m not a stallion rider, but you could hack him, travel him with mares, he turned out easily – he was just a really easy horse with an amazing temperament.”

During their four years of competition together, Laura Tomlinson and Capri Sonne contested CDIs in Aachen, Rotterdam, Hagen and Hickstead. In 2019 the pair were posting +70% at grand prix.

“He had some good competitions, but I think there was potential for a lot more,” said Laura.

“He was super talented, but not every horse is made for high level competition. We recognised that and didn’t push it, and he had an amazing life at home with us. He was just as important to us like that as he was a competition horse.”

Laura said Capri Sonne remained “extremely well” until his death in the field a few weeks ago, believed to be related to his heart condition.

“It’s very sad. He lived literally outside our living room window and on the drive, so he’s left a bit of a hole,” she said.

• To stay up to date with all the breaking news from major shows throughout 2026, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

You may also be interested in:’

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Irish Olympic dressage rider withdraws from World Championships contention

Germany looking strong with three core riders named for World Championships dressage bid

US dressage rider, trainer and author Jane Savoie, who passed away in December 2020, explains how to ride the flying change and what skills the horse needs to have established before you to introduce the movement

In order to learn how to ride a flying change, it is important to understand what the movement is. In the flying change the horse remains in canter, but changes the canter lead during the moment of suspension, when all four feet are off the ground. When competing in dressage it is important that changes are made cleanly, with both front and hind legs changing during the same moment of suspension.

A commonly seen mistake is when the horse changes in front in one stride and then behind in the following stride. This is less important when jumping, but the sooner the change is completed, the less balance in the canter will be lost. Cantering disunited to a fence is not giving the horse the best possible chance of cleaning that obstacle without incurring faults.

Preparing for flying changes

Before trying to teach a flying change the horse must be able to:

• Produce a good simple change of lead (canter/walk/canter). The downward transition should be a clear transition to the walk, with no dribbly trot steps. Shorten the canter with collecting half halts before you ask for the transition. If the horse is travelling too fast he will lose his balance on to the forehand in the downward transition. The upwards transition should be quick off the leg without being rushed or explosive.
• Be balanced in counter canter. Develop the counter canter until the horse can comfortably maintain it without tension on circles and lines. To test the horse’s balance ensure you can extend and collect in the counter canter without the horse switching leads.
• Be comfortable in collected canter. As the flying change is another canter stride the quality of the canter is vital to its success. The canter should have big, round, expressive, “off the ground” strides. Any tendency towards a canter that is four-time or flat will not give the horse time to change his legs in the air. Develop and maintain the quality of the collected canter by working on exercises that increase collection such as shoulder-in, travers, frequent simple changes of lead (five strides of walk and five strides of canter), and collecting half halts.

Understanding the collecting half halt

During a collecting half halt the rider should close their legs, push with their seat and close their outside hand for a moment. This engages the horse’s hind quarters and encourages them to wait and “sit” on their hocks.

Ride three collecting half halts in the canter, while thinking about reducing the amount of ground your horse covers with each stride by about 50% but maintain the same rhythm and tempo. During the short, engaged strides, pick a spot on the ground and imagine that you’re cantering on top of it for three strides. Then, go forward for several strides, and ask him to collect again for three strides.

How to ride a flying change

The timing of the aids is very important in riding a successful flying change. Give the aids as the horse’s leading front leg is coming forward. You need to give the aid before the period of suspension because it takes your horse a moment to ‘hear’ your request and another moment to carry it out.

You can practice the correct timing of the aids in the walk and then the canter by watching when the horse’s inside front leg comes forward. Each time you see it coming forward, say out loud, “Now, now, now”. In this way, you learn to coordinate your voice with the inside front leg coming forward.

For a flying change from left to right:

• Seat: Push your right seat bone forward toward your horse’s right ear.
• Right leg: Close your right leg on the girth to ask your horse to go forward during the change.
• Left leg: Swing your left leg behind the girth to signal the new outside hind leg to strike off into the new lead. (Don’t hold this leg back. Pretend your leg is spring-loaded so you give a quick aid.)
• Left rein: Close your left hand in a fist to keep the left hind leg on the ground and maintain uphill balance. Imagine that you’re closing and opening your hand so fast that you can snatch a fly out of the air.
• Right rein: Soften your right rein so you don’t block the new inside front leg from coming forward.

I like to introduce flying changes on a 10-meter figure of eight. Ride simple changes of lead in the centre of the figure of eight. Repeat until the horse understands and anticipates that he’s going to change leads. When you feel him anticipating, give the aids for the flying change instead of doing the simple change. If he changes, praise him a lot. If he doesn’t then stay calm and repeat the process.

Now you know how to perfect your flying changes, why not sign up to Horse & Hound’s eight-week e-training plan to give your training focus and perfect your flatwork basics?

Flying changes are unavoidably cool. I can still remember attempting my first – getting a friend to film me on their pixelated flip phone, beaming a stupid grin at the camera as my little pony leapt into her change and promptly bombed off. We’ll ignore, for now, that she was two strides late behind.

But there’s no doubt they can feel like a mystery until you get that “aha” moment where it finally clicks. And because every horse is different, there’s no single foolproof way to teach them.

The good news is there’s nothing magic about them. A flying change is a natural movement – your horse already does them loose in the field – and with the right foundations, most horses can learn to do them to order (making you look suitably cool in the process).

Here’s what a flying change actually is, how to ride one, and how to start teaching your horse – without flinging your entire bodyweight to one side as I did.

What is a flying change?

A flying change is when your horse switches their leading leg in canter, in one smooth motion, without breaking to trot or walk in between.

A quick step back, in case it’s useful: in canter, your horse leads with one front leg – it reaches further forward than the other, and you’ll feel that shoulder come through underneath you. On a left lead, the left foreleg leads; on a right lead, the right. Which lead you’re on matters for balance, especially on turns and circles, where you normally want the inside leg leading – so on the right rein, going clockwise, you’ll be on the right lead most of the time, and on the left rein, the left.

Canter has a three-beat rhythm, and after the third beat there’s a brief moment of suspension – a split second where all four feet are off the ground, and your horse is, fleetingly, airborne. A flying change happens in that instant. Your horse rearranges their legs mid-air and lands on the opposite lead, so instead of leading with the left foreleg, they’re now leading with the right. Done well, there’s no stumble and no change of rhythm – just a clean skip from one lead to the other, as if your horse has hopped across in the air.

You’ll come across flying changes in pretty much every discipline:

• Dressage: they appear from advanced medium level upwards, ridden on straight lines and, higher up, in sequences down to one change every stride (tempi changes).
• Showjumping: essential for jumping a course smoothly. A horse that lands on the correct lead – or changes to it – can balance through turns and meet the next fence in rhythm, without losing time or scrambling.
• Eventing, showing, and general riding: anywhere you’re cantering, turning and needing your horse balanced, a change keeps things tidy and comfortable.

For a lower-level rider, it’s less about the wow factor – although that’s cool, too – and more about control. A horse that changes lead on request is one you can balance and steer through anything, whether that’s a jump-off turn, a dressage centre line, or just staying upright out hunting.

How to ride a flying change

Assuming your horse already knows how to change (see the next section for teaching it), here’s the sequence of aids. The key thing is that a change is prepared, not just thrown in – you set your horse up, then ask.

1. Establish a good canter first. Balanced, active and collected enough that you feel you could ride a few steps smaller at any moment. A flat, strung-out canter has nowhere to change from.

2. Prepare on the approach to the change. Sit tall, half-halt to gather and balance the canter, and make sure your horse is straight – not falling in or out through the shoulder.

3. Change your leg position. Say you’re on the left lead (left foreleg leading) and want to change to the right. Your left leg, which has been at the girth, moves back behind the girth, and your right leg comes to the girth. This new leg position tells your horse which lead you now want.

4. Change your weight and hips. As you swap your legs, allow your seat and hips to follow – so your weight shifts subtly to the new leading side. Keep it quiet; it’s just a rebalancing, not throwing yourself across the saddle.

5. Ask in that moment of suspension. Apply the new outside leg (the left, now behind the girth) with a clear but light aid, ideally timed to the moment your horse is about to spring into the next stride. That’s when your horse can swing their legs through to the new lead.

6. Keep riding forward. Ride positively out of the change on the new lead. The most common mistake is to ask and then freeze or pull back on the reins – we’ve all done it, but both stop your horse jumping through cleanly.

The rhythm to aim for is almost “prepare… now go!” A change asked for in one flat motion tends to come late or flat; a change that’s set up first has time to jump through the body.

How to teach a flying change

Before you teach the change itself, the foundations have to be solid – it’s not as exciting, but this is the most important part. Rushing to the change before these are in place is the single most common reason changes go wrong. Your horse should be able to:

• Pick up either canter lead promptly, from a clear aid, on a straight line.
• Ride balanced walk-to-canter and canter-to-walk transitions without falling onto the forehand. (“On the forehand” just means your horse is carrying too much weight on their front end, rather than pushing from behind. You’ll feel it as heaviness in your hands, your horse tipping downhill or leaning on the reins for balance. What you want instead is your horse staying light in front and stepping their hindlegs underneath themselves – think uphill, not downhill.)
• Hold a counter-canter (cantering on the “outside” or “wrong” lead) in balance. This teaches your horse to stay on the lead you’ve asked for rather than swapping whenever they fancy.

Once those are established, here’s a simple and reliable way to introduce the change:

1. Use a change of direction. Ride a shallow loop, a figure-of-eight, or come across the diagonal – anywhere your horse is naturally changing bend and direction, so a change of lead makes sense to them.

2. Establish a clean canter, then rebalance. As you approach the point where you’ll change direction, half-halt and collect the canter, so your horse is balanced and listening.

3. Ask as you cross the line. At the moment you change direction, change your leg and seat position and apply the new aid. Because your horse is already changing direction, switching lead feels logical.

4. Reward the attempt. Even a scrappy first change – or one that’s “late behind” (the front legs change but the hind legs lag a stride) – is worth rewarding. You’re building understanding first; the cleanliness comes with practice and strength.

5. Keep it occasional at first. Ask for one, make a fuss of your horse, and move on. Drilling changes over and over tends to make horses tense or anticipatory. A few good attempts in a session are plenty.

If your horse finds it genuinely confusing, some riders use a raised pole or cavaletti on the change line to encourage your horse to jump through and swap behind – but I’d say use it sparingly at first, and only if plain riding isn’t getting there.

Above all, don’t panic if the first attempts are messy. Late, flat or over-excited changes are completely normal early on. They clean up as your horse’s balance and confidence improve – which, as any good trainer will tell you, is really where the whole thing lives.

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Irish Olympic dressage rider Abi Lyle has withdrawn her top ride Giraldo (Arty) from selection for the Irish dressage team for this summer’s 2026 World Championships in Aachen, Germany (11–23 August).

In a statement, she said: “After much careful consideration, I have concluded that it would be best for me to withdraw from [World Championships] 2026 team contention.

“Although I am very privileged to have an amazing, fit horse and the opportunity to be selected, this is an incredibly personal decision to which I have given a lot of thought.

“This year, Team Ireland has a fabulous group of talented dressage riders, and I wish them all the luck in the world. In the meantime, I intend to keep training, competing and most importantly, enjoying my horses and giving them the best life possible.

“Thank you to everyone who has supported and continues to support me, especially Horse Sport Ireland, Caroline Clarry, my sponsors, Carl [Hester], Gareth [Hughes] and Mark [McVicar]. I really appreciate it.”

Abi Lyle withdraws from World Championships contention

Abi Lyle also took an extended break from competing between the 2024 and 2025 seasons. Speaking to H&H after announcing she was withdrawing from selection for the Aachen 2026 dressage team, she reassured readers that her decision wasn’t down to any single underlying issue.

“It was nothing in particular, but it was a culmination of things,” Abi explained: “For me, it’s always important to have at the forefront the reason why we do this sport. I’m fine, Arty is fine, there’s no drama, nothing has gone wrong, and the decision has brought me a huge amount of relief.”

The withdrawal comes at the end of a season in which Abi has been Ireland’s form leader: her 2026 international grand prix average of 68.39%, across four starts, is the highest of any Irish combination nominated for Aachen.

She was competing as recently as Hartpury (3-4 July) – the same show at which several of her prospective teammates secured their own qualifying scores – finishing 12th in the grand prix (67.41%) and 4th in the freestyle (71.57%).

Abi has represented Ireland at the past three major championships for which they have had dressage representation: as part of the team at the 2022 World Championships and 2023 Europeans, and as an individual at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

What does Abi Lyle’s withdrawal mean for Irish hopes?

But whereas in championship seasons past Abi was Ireland’s sole or leading hope, the Irish team goes into the worlds in as strong a position as it’s been in for a long time. With her withdrawal, the remaining four nominated riders – who will make up the team – are:

• Kevin Acres with 15-year-old gelding Ganesh (Jazz x Partout)
• Alex Baker with 14-year-old stallion Top Gear (Totilas x Don Frederico)
• James Connor with 13-year-old gelding Vanotti (Vitalis x Florestan)
• Jess Dunn with 13-year-old gelding Dan Its Carston (Durable x Clearway)

Kevin’s place had been riding on securing a second minimum eligibility result (MER), which he duly achieved at Hartpury CDI3* last week, scoring 66.96% in the grand prix to finish 14th – part of a season that has seen his scores climb steadily, culminating in his best grand prix and special results of the year at the same show.

James arrives with by far the busiest campaign of the four, having contested seven grands prix across four countries this season for a 67.05% average, the most tested form of any of Ireland’s remaining combinations. Jess Dunn (67.32% from three starts) and Alex Baker (64.80% from six) round out the side; Alex’s has been the most variable season of the four, ranging from the low 60s to a personal-best 67.48% at Hartpury just days ago.

It will be the first time Ireland has sent a dressage team to a major championship since the 2023 European Championships in Riesenbeck. Six team quota places for the LA 2028 Olympics will also be awarded to the highest-placed nations at Aachen (excluding hosts, the USA), so a strong showing here would put Ireland’s name into that conversation for the first time in years.

• To stay up to date with all the breaking news on Aachen 2026 dressage teams, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

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Hosts Germany have announced their dressage team for the 2026 World Championships in Aachen, Germany (11–23 August).

The core of the team that won team gold at the Europeans last summer – Isabell Werth (Wendy de Fontaine), Katharina Hemmer (Denoix PCH) and Frederic Wandres (Bluetooth OLD) – remains unchanged. The only difference is in the fourth spot, where Raphael Netz and Great Escape Camelot have stepped in to replace Ingrid Klimke and Vayron, who didn’t contest the first selection trial and withdrew from contention before the second.

That change shouldn’t derail Germany’s medal prospects at the World Championships. Raphael’s 2026 grand prix average of 73.72% is actually well clear of the level Ingrid carried into Crozet last summer, when she averaged 72.03% across her three pre-championship grands prix – before a rough day at the Europeans itself, where she managed just 69.35% in a test she later described as the “worst grand prix we’ve done”.

Raphael, by contrast, has been strikingly consistent all season, never straying more than half a point from his own average across four grands prix.

There had been some early-season talk of Isabell switching to her exciting young stallion Viva Gold OLD, but the pair have consistently campaigned at CDI3*/4* level, whereas Wendy has been favoured for the CDI5*/CDIO circuit – and Viva Gold’s scores haven’t yet closed that gap, even if he’s one to watch on the road to LA28.

The only real doubt in that core trio for Germany’s dressage team at Aachen 2026 was Katharina Hemmer and her American-owned Denoix, who’ve had a disrupted season.

The pair have competed at three internationals. First at Lier CDI4* in March, where they won both the grand prix (75.59%) and special (75.6%). They followed that up at Hagen CDI4* in April, winning the grand prix (77.26%) and finishing runner-up in the freestyle (77.7%).

Those results at Hagen came just weeks after her long-time coach, Hubertus Schmidt, was hospitalised following a serious riding accident – and more disruption was to follow.

Denoix was forced to withdraw from the German Dressage Championships last month, Germany’s first mandatory selection trial for the worlds, after suffering a bump in the stable that left the 14-year-old gelding with a swollen leg.

It wasn’t the first time injury had cost them a start, either: the pair also missed Frankfurt CDI in December for the same reason.

Losing Katharina would have been a hammer blow to German hopes of team gold – not just for her scores, but for her record under pressure. At last summer’s Europeans in Crozet, she was the only rider among either nation’s core trio to outperform her season’s grand prix average, posting 75.7% against a pre-championship average of 74.3% – a jump of 1.4 points at exactly the moment it mattered most, while her German teammates and all three of Britain’s trio dipped below theirs.

Germany’s eventual margin of victory over Britain was just 2.86 points across three scores; without Katharina’s uplift, that gap would have been far closer, if not reversed entirely.

Thankfully for the German dressage team at Aachen 2026, she made her comeback just in time for the second and final selection trial last week, at another CDI4* at Hagen (2–4 July), winning the grand prix (77.02%) and again finishing runner-up in the freestyle (77.36%).

Afterwards, she said she “never really had any doubts” about Denoix. “By now I know that if he’s physically able to do it, he’ll give everything for me. I trust him completely,” she added.

German dressage team for the 2026 Aachen World Championships

Katharina Hemmer with 14-year-old gelding Denoix PCH

Owner: Nancy Gooding and Hubertus Schmidt

Breeder: Friedrich Kuhlmann

Breeding: by Destano, out of a mare by Pik Noir

Raphael Netz with 15-year-old gelding Great Escape Camelot

Owner: Theres Boss and Sonja Kristina Krall

Breeder: C.C. Kerssens-Rademaker

Breeding: by Glock’s Johnson, out of a mare by Turbo Magic

Frederic Wandres with 16-year-old gelding Bluetooth OLD

Owner: Equitorus GmbH

Breeder: Gestüt Lewitz

Breeding: by Bordeaux, out of a mare by GB Riccione

Isabell Werth with 12-year-old mare Wendy De Fontaine

Owner: Château de Fontaine and Madeleine Winter-Schulze

Breeder: Kurt Gosmer

Breeding: by Sezuan, out of a mare by Blue Hors Soprano

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Charlotte Dujardin and Brave Heart II put the cat among the pigeons in the pre-World Championships selection race, winning both the CDI3* grand prix and grand prix special at Hartpury, on 74.8% and 74.7% respectively – smashing their international personal bests in both tests.

The fourth British team spot for the worlds at Aachen has been the season’s big sub-plot. Selectors weigh grand prix scores most heavily, as this decides the team medals in Aachen – the special and freestyle, which determine individual medals, count too, but less.

Carl Hester on Fame, Lottie Fry on Glamourdale and Becky Moody on Jagerbomb have long looked nailed on for three of the four places, leaving one spot up for grabs.

Fiona Bigwood and Donna Bella had emerged as favourites on the back of the strongest form of the chasing pack, edging out Charlotte and Brave Heart in both of their head-to-heads this season: 73.13% to 72.8% at Hickstead CDI3* in May, then 74.6% to 71.87% at Wellington CDI3* in June, where Charlotte finished third behind winners Carl and Fame.

Charlotte’s international average had rested on just those two grands prix this season – the smallest sample size of any on the British dressage squad shortlist for Aachen 2026. And as the team is due to be confirmed this month, Hartpury was billed as the last chance for either combination to move the needle before selectors make their call.

Why Hartpury was a key moment in the Aachen worlds selection race

Fiona and Donna Bella were not competing at Hartpury – and although they have beaten Charlotte and Brave Heart on both occasions the pair have faced each other this season, Charlotte’s bumper score has lifted her grand prix average from 72.34% to 73.16%, above Fiona’s 72.9%. Charlotte’s Hartpury score is now also the highest posted by either combination all season, just eclipsing Fiona’s previous best of 74.61%.

Fiona still boasts the bigger sample size having competed at four internationals this season, including in the championship-like atmosphere of the Fontainebleau Nations Cup, where she rode alongside Carl and Lottie on the British team.

But the raw numbers have swung in Charlotte’s favour – a reversal I wouldn’t have predicted after Wellington, when I’d have put money on Fiona and Donna Bella completing the team alongside Fame, Glamourdale and Jagerbomb. Charlotte and Brave Heart had one shot left – and what a time to pull out a personal best.

“I’m so pleased with Brave Heart,” Charlotte said. “His confidence is really growing in the arena, and I know there is so much more to come.”

Her grand prix score did come with a notable spread across the panel, although she was the unanimous winner. Judge at B, Susan Hoevenaars, marked her at 71.85%, more than five points shy of Eduard de Wolff van Westerrode at M’s 77.17% – which selectors will no doubt weigh up. Despite that, her overall marks were remarkably consistent between the two tests, the special just 0.1% off the grand prix.

With averages, sample sizes, head-to-heads and now a scoring spread all in the mix, selectors Judy Harvey, Jenny Ward and Anne Keen have a genuinely tight call to make. I don’t envy them.

Sadie Smith and Swanmore Dantina – also among the nominated entries for Aachen – finished runners-up in the grand prix on their own personal best of 72.65%.

American rider Ashley Holzer completed the podium on 71.96% aboard Hawtins San Floriana, one of several of Charlotte’s former rides now competing at the highest level. Gareth Hughes and Mowgli-Olympia MC, the only other nominated combination in action, finished fourth on 70.98%. Sadie and Dantina went on to win Saturday evening’s freestyle gala, scoring 76.94%.

Susan Pape and Harmony’s Giulilanta were also in action this weekend, competing in Germany at Hagen CDI4*. Going into the competition, their grand prix average of 72.13% was just 0.2% behind Charlotte’s, leaving them an outside chance too. Among a stacked field, they scored 70.17% in the grand prix, finishing ninth, but bumping their grand prix average down to 71.64%.

International grand prix average scores for top British riders

Here’s how the season’s international grand prix averages now stand across the eight nominated combinations:

• Lottie Fry and Glamourdale – 79.62%
• Carl Hester and Fame – 76.75%
• Becky Moody and Jagerbomb – 76.43%
• Charlotte Dujardin and Brave Heart – 73.16%
• Fiona Bigwood and Donna Bella – 72.90%
• Sadie Smith and Swanmore Dantina – 71.74%
• Susan Pape and Harmony’s Giulilanta – 71.64%
• Gareth Hughes and Mowgli-Olympia MC – 70.42%

The top three didn’t compete this weekend, and their places remain untouched. But for the fourth spot, the picture could hardly be tighter: just 0.26 of a percentage point now separates Charlotte and Fiona – though, as ever, averages alone won’t be what decides it.

A couple of weeks ago, this looked like Fiona’s spot to lose. Now, with the door firmly back open, it’s genuinely anyone’s guess which name the selectors will read out – and as the British entries are not expected to compete again before the announcement, this is the picture they’ll have to work with.

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What happens when you pair a world-class showjumper with a top-flight dressage horse? Martha Terry finds out as Jack Whitaker picks up the reins on Jagerbomb

The Whitakers have ice in their veins. They’ll gallop at a 7ft wall, jump-off for their country in front of a 50,000-strong crowd and shimmy down the Hickstead bank. But when it came to the coveted offer of riding on Olympic dressage bronze medallist and reigning World Cup Final winner Jagerbomb – arguably the sweetest, kindest horse in the world – Jack Whitaker admits he was “nervous, very nervous”.

He was given the opportunity to “have a sit” on Jagerbomb as part of a demo at Sheffield Equine Clinic’s opening day. Jack was doing a showjumping session, Becky Moody a dressage display.

When Becky finishes showing off “Bomb’s” moves, she calls over to Jack: “Let’s do this!”

“I didn’t know I was going to be riding him until just before,” says Jack. “He’s such a famous dressage horse, he’s just won the World Cup Finals and suddenly I’m stood next to him and he’s so big! So impressive.

“I was very nervous,” Jack adds. “You don’t get to ride that kind of horse every day and it’s a completely different way of riding and feeling to what I’m used to – so I just didn’t want to mess him up. Luckily, Becky is so laid-back – I couldn’t believe it.”

Jack Whitaker riding Jagerbomb: “It’s a really cool feeling”

Jack is legged up into Becky’s Childéric dressage saddle, a very different sitting position to his usual CWD jump saddle. This proves the least of his concerns.

“The saddle actually felt a lot comfier – it’s a lot bigger,” he says. “Apart from when you set off and you’re doing sitting trot and then everything’s uncomfortable!”

Jack’s day-to-day training involves plenty of sitting trot, but Bomb’s movement presents an unfamiliar challenge.

“We’d do a lot of riding without stirrups as it’s just good training for everything,” he says. “But when I tried to sit to Bomb’s trot and then his extended trot, it was like riding a different animal – he gave a completely different feeling. Even though I’m used to doing sitting trot, I was feeling it after one lap round.”

Once Jack has trotted through a few changes of rein and checked out Bomb’s extended trot – with a big smile – Becky suggests he try passage, a movement that would not feature in a showjumper’s regular vocabulary. Within five minutes of being legged up, Jack is performing a pretty impressive passage.

“That thing where you go up and down on the spot?” Jack laughs. “That was the easiest! Bomb just did it. I kept half-halting with my leg on and he trotted on the spot and it felt seriously cool. That’s not something my horses can do.

“It feels like you’re floating, but hopping and floating. You don’t move, but everything happens underneath you – it’s a really cool feeling.”

Becky is impressed, too.

“Cracking passage, brilliant, way better than I was riding him,” she laughs. “I love watching other people ride Bomb. It does make me really proud of him – he’s such a diamond, such a legend and it’s good for people to see that.

“All my girls hack him out at home and if I want someone to feel a change or passage, it’s Bomb they get on because he’s very good for people to learn on.

“I try not to be too precious about my horses, which some people would say is mad, but it’s good for them. And sometimes I learn things about what I need to make better. It tells me how good my training is. If other people can get on and it’s easy, that tells me I’m doing a good job. If they can’t get that easy feeling, that tells me there’s still a missing link in that horse’s education and I need to keep working on it.”

Jack Whitaker: “It’s a different kind of power”

Passage nailed, Becky tells Jack to “play with the canter”.

“This is where you really see the crossover,” she says. “In dressage, we want the same adjustability in our horses as a showjumper does. Yes, you’re in a slightly different frame and balance, but when training any horse, it comes back to transitions, adjustability and rideability.

“It doesn’t matter whether Jack’s shortening or lengthening the pace to come into a jump, or I’m shortening for a pirouette, you still need your horse on the aid and listening. That’s cool.”

Bomb looks to be having a lovely time cantering freely down the long side and Becky shouts out, “shorten your reins! No chance of you ever being done for rollkur!”

Says Jack: “The canter actually didn’t feel very different to what I’m used to. We ride very powerful animals, but it’s a different kind of power.

“The dressage horses have to be so strong in their core and body to move and hold themselves in the way they do, whereas our horses are probably lighter and more agile to be able to turn so quickly on the spot – less pure muscle and power.”

Jack’s next challenge is to tackle flying changes. This would be his bread-and-butter as a showjumper, but Bomb’s mighty movement complicates matters. It takes a few goes until they click into place.

“The hardest thing was the flying changes,” Jack says. “I felt like an idiot not to be able to do a flying change on a horse who’s a total professional, known for his changes! I didn’t think that would feel so different. If it’s not actually a different language, maybe it’s a different accent.”

For Becky, this is important insight.

“Jack’s incredibly experienced and monumentally skilled at what he does – but he found the changes one way much easier than the other, so that made me think, ‘OK, I need to work more on that alignment and straightness,’ even if I can get them both ways,” she says.

“There’s obviously something there that made it harder for him. It’s a learning curve for me as well.”

True horsemanship

The session is short albeit sweet, with Jack needing to wrap up before his showjumping demo, leaving us wondering how much more Bomb could teach him.

It highlights true horsemanship – both on Becky’s part in training her world-class champion to perform with a totally new rider, and Jack’s soft hands and natural seat translating instantly to whatever discipline he turns to.

Will more dressage be on the cards?

“Probably should do, after that performance!” he jokes. “Though at home we are mainly doing flatwork training at home; we don’t jump much at all. But although you’d call it dressage, it’s not that kind of dressage – it’s ‘showjumping dressage’.

“Bomb felt like riding a completely different animal to what I’m used to,” he adds. “You can feel the muscle he has. Even when he first set off in walk, I could feel every movement – right from that first step from behind, the power was incredible. It was an amazing feeling and I’m very thankful I got to have a go.”

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Young, weak or unbalanced horses sometimes pick up canter on the incorrect lead. Over time, this has potential to become a habit.

Thankfully, there’s a simple flatwork exercise that requires you to ride a few steps of leg-yield to help your horse pick up the correct canter lead.

Aims

• Correct your horse’s flexion
• Connect the horse into the outside rein
• Improve the canter transition

The setup

You need: a 20x40m or 20x60m arena

How to ride the exercise

• Once warmed up, turn onto the three-quarter line in trot.
• As you pass X, begin to leg-yield to the track. You can sit or rise, depending on what’s best for your horse. Aim to hit the track just after the corner marker.
• Ask for canter as you reach the track going into the corner.

Things to note

1. Avoid over-flexing

When ridden correctly, your horse should show slight flexion away from the direction of travel. Too much flexion often leads to the shoulders leading, and often means the horse drifts rather than crossing the legs.

However, ensure you maintain the flexion, and the connection into the outside rein, into the corner. Alongside balancing him, this is what helps set your horse up to lead with the inside leg in the canter.

2. Ensure your horse’s body is straight

While the shoulders should be slightly in advance of the quarters, they should not be dramatically so. Likewise, the hindquarters should not lead.

3. Maintain the rhythm

Look to maintain the same trot you had while riding large up the three-quarter line and throughout the leg-yield.

Some horses lose their engine in leg-yield, dropping behind the bit, while others might rush forward and away from your inside leg aid.

Ultimately, the contact and rhythm should be consistent. You may need to adjust your aids to help maintain them, or remain in a rising trot to help keep to a regular rhythm.

Want more ideas? Check out our full library of daily training inspiration

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The action from the 2026 FEI World Championships at Aachen, Germany is underway and continues through two busy weeks until it concludes on Sunday 23 August.

H&H’s magazine and eventing editor Pippa Roome and H&H’s dressage editor Oscar Williams, are on-site, interviewing the riders and support teams in the mixed zone at Aachen. They will be supported by our expert team at home, as we provide in-depth reports on the dressage, eventing, showjumping and para dressage action as it takes place.

A Horse & Hound website subscription gives you instant access, wherever you are, to all of our coverage with no limit on how much you can read, from as little as £1 a week. Sign up now

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Why is it not the Aachen World Equestrian Games?

Aachen previously hosted the FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) in 2006. WEG brought together the World Championships in multiple different equestrian sports every four years between 1990 and 2018. Financial challenges associated with hosting so many disciplines at a single venue proved prohibitive and so since 2022 each of the disciplines have have their own World Championships. For 2026, Aachen was granted the World Championships for six disciplines, so is running a two-week combined World Championships – but it is not a WEG.

Latest FEI World Championships news

Olympic dressage champion Jessica von Bredow-Werndl is out of contention for the 2026 World Championships in Aachen (11 to 23 August).

On Sunday (28 June), Jessica shared the news that her current top ride, Times Kismet (“Kiss”), would not be contesting the selection trial for the German team in Hagen this week (1 to 5 July).

“I would have loved to take part in the second selection trial for the World Championships in Aachen next week, which makes the decision not to travel to Hagen an especially difficult one,” said Jessica.

“Together with Kiss’s owners, we have consciously decided to give her the time she needs. This is Kiss’s first grand prix season, and she has exceptional talent. Precisely because of that, it is important to us to develop her with patience and a long-term perspective.

“With every competition, we continue to grow and learn. Over the summer, we want to stay committed to this path, without added pressure, but with a clear focus on her long-term development.”

She added: “In competitive sport, it is often tempting to seize every opportunity. But responsibility sometimes also means letting an opportunity pass when you are convinced it is the right decision for the future.”

The 11-year-old mare is Jessica’s sole ride at international grand prix, so her withdrawal means Jessica is also out of the running for a place at her home world championships. Jessica’s former top ride TSF Dalera BB, with whom she was crowned Olympic champion in Tokyo and Paris, retired from competition in August 2024, and she sadly lost rising star Diallo BB to sudden illness at the start of the year. She has others coming up in her string, including Dancier Gold FRH, but none at this level yet.

Jessica and Times Kismet finished 10th in the grand prix at the German championships (3 to 7 June), but had to withdraw from the special and go into quarantine after the mare’s stable neighbour, Quick Decision FRH (ridden by Jessica’s brother, Benjamin Werndl), was diagnosed with a fever. Diagnostic tests came back negative for Quick Decision FRH, Times Kismet and Mondrian – Quick Decision’s other stable neighbour at the event, who was also taken into quarantine as a precaution.

Jessica posted on 5 June that Times Kismet and Mondrian were doing very well, and that Quick Decision was doing “pretty well” and his temperature was dropping. On 8 June, Benjamin said Quick Decision’s illness was “fortunately nothing serious”, that vets thought it was a minor viral infection that should pass as quickly as it came, and that the horse’s fever came down on its own.

Ingrid Klimke out of contention

Ingrid Klimke is also out of the running for the dressage World Championships.

Ingrid and Vayron NRW were part of the German side that won team gold at the 2025 Europeans, but on 18 June Ingrid said that the gelding “is not yet fit enough” to compete in Hagen.

The pair also missed the selection trial at the German Championships last month, and so are out of contention for the worlds squad.

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A square halt is one of the most underrated movements in dressage – yet it features in virtually every test from intro to the highest levels of dressage, so knowing how to ride one is key. It’s usually the very first thing a judge sees as you turn down the centre line, and a tidy halt is one of the easiest ways to put marks on the board.

Get it wrong, and you hand the judge a poor first impression before you have ridden a single proper movement; get it right, and you set the tone for a lovely, flowing test.

Yet the halt is deceptively difficult. Standing four-square, immobile and on the aids takes a surprising amount of training – and, crucially, it is a skill you build over months rather than something you can drill in a single session. Here is how to teach a square halt from the ground up, how to ride it under pressure in the ring, and how to fix the faults that cost riders marks most often.

What makes a halt “square”?

Before you can train a good halt, it helps to know exactly what the judge is rewarding. Most rulebooks ask for the horse to stand attentive, engaged, motionless, straight and square, with their weight distributed evenly over all four legs, the poll as the highest point, and the nose just in front of the vertical. The horse should stay on the bit and be ready to move off at the slightest aid.

In practice, that means all four legs in two neat pairs, no leg trailing or resting, no creeping or fidgeting, and at least three seconds of genuine immobility when you salute. It’s worth remembering that a halt does not have to be flawless to score well – a soft, straight, immobile halt that is fractionally open behind will still earn a respectable mark, whereas a crooked horse jiggling on the centre line will not.

How to ride a square halt from scratch

The single biggest mistake riders make is chasing squareness before their horse is standing still. Make sure to nail the immobility first.

1. Start with stillness, not squareness

When you first introduce halts, the priority should be for the horse to stand calmly. “The most vital part of the movement is for the horse to stand still and be submissive,” says event rider Coral Keen.

“Don’t make too many adjustments early on trying to make it square, or the horse starts fidgeting, and it becomes an issue. Once they’re happy and immobile, then you think about the squareness.” Make too many corrections too early on, and you’ll teach your horse to fidget – which becomes a far harder habit to undo later on.

2. Build it progressively

Begin in walk and, at first, be content with the front legs square. Use the outside track and repeat walk-to-halt downward transitions, asking your horse to move forwards one small step at a time after the halt forwards until they’re level in front. Only when that is established should you move on to trot-to-halt, making the trot slower and smaller beforehand and allowing a few walk strides into the transition so your horse has time to organise themself.

“It’s fine for it to be a bit progressive to begin with – don’t expect it to be too direct,” Coral says. “Allowing your horse time in the movement helps them develop the feeling of positioning themselves into a square halt.”

3. Move on to asking them to square up behind

As your horse becomes more established, ask them to collect before the halt so their weight is back and their shoulders are light, allowing them to sit into it rather than fall onto the forehand.

International grand prix rider Samantha Thurman-Baker says the key to a square halt is your horse’s balance: “If he’s loading one shoulder or is slightly crooked, the chances are your halt won’t be square.”

Her advice from a faster gait is to bring the horse almost back to moving on the spot before you ask: “That ensures their weight is back and their shoulders are light, allowing him to sit into the halt.” A mirror or a pair of eyes on the ground is invaluable as you learn to feel it for yourself.

4. Remember the quality of the pace is everything

Whether you halt from walk, trot or canter, the transition is only as good as the gait before it. Keep your horse active and in front of the leg so the hindquarters stay engaged – if they drop behind the leg in the approach, the hind legs trail and the halt cannot be square. As with every downward transition, ride forwards into the halt, not backwards.

Riding a square halt in the test

Training at home is one thing; producing a square halt down the centre line with one or more judges watching is another. A few things make it more reliable under pressure.

Most horses are straighter on one rein than the other, so enter the arena on your horse’s better rein. Resist the temptation to ride too boldly at the halt transition – come in with enough collection that you can quietly drop down into a square halt rather than slamming the brakes on. But keep the principle of forward riding front of mind.

As Carl Hester puts it: “Dressage is about forward riding, so even a transition to halt means riding the horse forward, allowing with the hands to let him step under.”

If your horse anticipates the halt – stopping before you have asked, or jogging on the spot in expectation – school plenty of centre lines without halting at all, and practise your halts off the three-quarter line instead so the movement stops being predictable.

Carl Hester’s centre-line halt exercise

Carl has a go-to flatwork exercise to build straightness, responsiveness and a square halt all at once.

Ride down the centre line and halt; only when the horse is square, immobile and relaxed, move off in your chosen gait, immediately circle right, and return to the centre line to halt again. Repeat, this time circling left, and continue alternating left and right circles with a halt between each all the way up the centre line.

The turn before each halt does much of the work for you, helping to position the inside hindleg and encouraging your horse to step into a square halt rather than leaving a leg trailing behind. As an added discipline, train yourself to feel whether the halt is square without looking down: sit level in the middle of the saddle and notice whether both sides of the horse’s back push evenly up into your seat. If only one side does, the opposite hindleg is trailing.

Fixing the most common halt faults

1. The quarters swing left or right

If the hindquarters drift as you halt, think of riding a touch of leg-yield or shoulder-fore into the transition to keep them in line. Riding down the centre line in shoulder-fore, with a mirror or helper checking you are truly straight, is one of the best long-term cures, because a crooked approach almost always produces a crooked halt.

2. A hindleg trails behind

Correct the specific leg that is left out: if the left hind is trailing, use your left leg to ask for one small step, keeping a quiet contact on the rein, and ask your horse to bring it underneath. Reward even an imperfect response so they learn that coming into halt means organising their own legs into a square position.

3. Your horse won’t stand still

Keep your legs gently wrapped around your horse’s sides at the halt so they feel held rather than abandoned, and make sure they wait for you to move them on rather than deciding for themselves. Avoid over-correcting – often a halt the rider thinks is unacceptable is, in fact, perfectly respectable.

4. Whatever you do, correct forwards

Every adjustment within the halt should be made by walking the horse a step forward, never back, so they stay in front of the leg and thinking forwards into the next movement. That also sets up a positive, powerful move-off.

Top tips for a square halt

• Practise, practise, practise. Halt squarely before you mount and dismount, and before every break in your schooling session – the more often your horse halts square, the more it becomes a habit
• Sit up tall, step down into your heels and check that your own weight is even on both seat bones – a crooked rider produces a crooked halt
• Always walk forwards to correct, never backwards
• Reward generously and never tell the horse off for halting unevenly – squareness comes from repetition and positive associations, not punishment
• Learn to feel the halt rather than look down for it – it keeps your test polished and your marks intact

Carl’s closing thoughts

Underpinning all of this is straightness, which Carl calls a lifetime’s work with every horse. One of the first lessons he says he learnt, going back some 35 years, was that whatever you are sitting on – pony, cob or warmblood – “there is no excuse not to ride straight lines and square halts.” Build the straightness, ride every transition forwards, and the square halt will follow.

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British grand prix dressage rider and trainer Anna Ross discusses brideless dressage, the stretch debate and two sad farewells

Ten years ago, the trend was clear: short reins won gold medals. Today, we can ride grand prix in a snaffle, we’re trialling a stretch movement at grand prix and the first bridleless dressage competition has generated enormous discussion. Whether these things represent progress is much debated – but the direction of travel has definitely changed.

Mention bridleless or bitless dressage, and you have a great way to blow up the internet. Some see it as the next step in improving horse welfare; others believe it has no place in the sport.

There is also a viewpoint that the double bridle is not a harsher piece of equipment, but a more refined one – capable of lighter, more nuanced communication in educated hands.

Grand prix rider Sam Whyley is among the sceptics.

“I’m struggling with the idea that this is a step forward and with the comments suggesting it’s the direction we should all take,” he says. “Are we going to get to a point where we can’t ride in breeches anymore, because a good rider shouldn’t need clothes to help keep their balance?”

He goes on: “I love the feeling of a horse working correctly and supplely through its body, engaging the hindquarters to take weight off the naturally weaker forehand. The better I am as a trainer, the healthier, happier, sounder life my horse will lead – something encouraged throughout the ascending levels, as I work towards the hardest test of all, the grand prix.

“What I’m seeing from the videos of the bridleless competition doesn’t embody this. I’m seeing horses moving hollowly, their backs like a canoe that the rider sits in rather than on; horses on the forehand, unable to lift their shoulders; pirouettes with no bend or even the wrong bend – examples of what, replicated consistently, will lead to forelimb injuries or sore backs.”

But welfare isn’t determined by bitting. I’ve seen horses ridden harshly in bitless bridles and beautifully in double bridles. A bit is a tool, and can be used well or badly. If a horse is genuinely softer and more confident without one, we shouldn’t dismiss that as “anti-tradition”, but nor should we pretend every horse is automatically better bitless.

Surely the pertinent question is: what equipment allows this horse, as an individual, to perform with the greatest confidence, relaxation and harmony?

Stretching at grand prix?

The same principle applies to the proposed stretch movement. A horse that can lengthen its neck, seek the contact and swing through its back is a joy to watch – it shows genuine throughness and trust, and could be one of the most revealing movements in the test.

Yet it has proved contentious. The much-decorated US Olympian Robert Dover has called it an “insult” to our stakeholders and too boring for spectators. But if spectators have watched a grand prix test that far without falling asleep, I think we can assume they’re pretty interested in dressage.

From a judging viewpoint, the stretch lets us reward the qualities we say we value: relaxation, harmony and correct training. At a time of increasing public scrutiny, that matters.

A relaxed expression, a quiet mouth, a swinging tail and a willing attitude say far more than the bridle a horse wears. The effectiveness of any tack depends far less on the equipment than on the hands holding the reins. If these debates encourage us to focus on those outcomes rather than defending tradition or chasing trends, the sport will be better for it.

Sad farewells

We lost an invaluable guiding hand recently. Horses and riders alike lost a friend in the late Stephen Clarke.

You always felt Stephen was on your side: ride well and you sensed it genuinely made him happy; ride poorly and you never resented his mark; you simply felt you’d let him down. Not because he was harsh, but because you knew he wanted everyone’s best.

He judged with honesty and integrity, but always with kindness.

Closer to home, we said goodbye to another great man: Andrew Goodwin Davies, father of grand prix rider Sally Bell, whose quiet warmth and wisdom touched so many.

We often talk of people “passing” – and the very best pass on their knowledge, kindness and values. Those left become custodians of that legacy. In that sense, they never really leave us.

● Where do you stand on bitless dressage? And should grand prix reward a stretch movement? Write to us 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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You might also enjoy reading:

Charlotte Dujardin, Carl Hester, Lottie Fry and Becky Moody among eight on Britain’s World Championship dressage shortlist

‘It was a massive risk that paid off’: Carl Hester’s view on the return of international dressage to Hickstead

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When Becky Moody and Jagerbomb flew home from their FEI Dressage World Cup final win in Fort Worth, Texas, the celebrated gelding looked, by every outward measure, completely fine. He had a week off in the field, a fortnight of gentle hacking, and was – as she told The Horse & Hound Podcast – “bright as a button and happy”. But the data picked up something his demeanour didn’t.

How does monitoring horse sleep work?

At home, Becky works with EquiConnect, a vet-built AI stable-camera system installed in 12 stables in one of her barns. The cameras monitor sleep patterns – distinguishing between sternal lying, where a horse rests upright, and lateral lying, when they are “flat out and actually getting proper sleep” – as well as how long each horse spends eating and how active they are through the night.

Horses sleep only a few hours a day, most of it standing, thanks to the stay apparatus – a system of tendons and ligaments that lets them doze upright without tiring.

But they can only reach REM (rapid eye-movement) sleep, the deep restorative stage, when lying fully flat in lateral recumbency, because that phase involves a complete loss of muscle tone.

Vets generally cite a need for around 30-60 minutes of lying down a day to get enough REM sleep, and horses that can’t, or won’t, lie down – whether through pain, stress or an unfamiliar environment – can become REM-sleep deprived.

For Jagerbomb, that data proved illuminating. “He only ever sleeps at night – he never lies down during the day,” Becky explains. “So you can’t really know what his sleeping is like unless you’re looking at the camera information.”

And what the information showed, once he was home from the States, was a horse working hard to recover from his travels across the Atlantic.

“It took him about 16 or 17 days to get back to his normal sleeping patterns at home,” Becky says. Across that recovery period, the cameras logged him catching up dramatically: “He was sometimes sleeping five times what he would normally have slept.”

It is the kind of insight that would be invisible to even the most attentive horseperson. Jagerbomb was away for close to two weeks in total – the same long journey out reversed on the way back, with overnight stops at Liège and Dover – and the after-effects on his rest ran far longer than his outward demeanour suggested.

Why over-competing concerns Becky Moody

For Becky, the data underlines something she already felt strongly about: the hidden toll of travel and competition, and the importance of not asking too much of a horse.

“When we talk about horse welfare, this is one of the things that I think is really relevant,” she says.

Even a relatively standard trip carries a significant load. Travelling to an international show such as Rotterdam – where Becky is speaking to us from – can mean a horse spending well over eight hours on the lorry in a single day, she points out, once ferry queues and French customs (“anything between 50 minutes and three hours”) are factored in.

“I can pretty much, even without the data, know that he doesn’t sleep at a show like he sleeps at home,” she says.

Her response has been to build in a more deliberate recovery. After a major effort, Jagerbomb is given an easy couple of weeks: time in the field, or a few days off, followed by gentle hacking.

Becky’s careful to say there is no single rule. Some horses benefit from a fuller calendar, gaining confidence and learning to settle in the competition environment.

But the difference between a local outing and several days of championship-level sport is, she stresses, enormous. “You have to know your horse and what you’re doing and what is best for them,” she says.

It’s a philosophy now backed by hard data – and one she sums up simply: she is “quite a big one for not over-competing”.

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On the latest episode of The Horse & Hound Podcast, World Cup winner Becky Moody lifts the lid on what it really takes to fly a horse across the Atlantic – from crates and zip lifts to a sleepless night tracking the flight to Texas.

Becky’s World Cup win on Jagerbomb was one of the standout British performances of the season so far. But as she explains, getting Jagerbomb to the venue in Fort Worth, Texas, was an enormous undertaking in itself – and one she had never attempted before.

“It’s a really big deal to put your horse on a plane and fly it all the way over there,” Becky says. She admits she “ummed and ahhed” over whether to commit at all, weighing the cost and the stress against the experience. But with the Los Angeles Olympics on the horizon in 2028, she ultimately decided it was worth doing.

“I’ve never flown a horse before. He’s never flown before,” she says. “At least I know that he has now flown, and he flew really well. He coped with that side of it brilliantly.”

How does flying a horse abroad actually work?

The journey began with Becky’s long-time groom, Kim Masson, driving Jagerbomb in their 4.5t lorry to Dover for an overnight stop, before a transporter took them on to Liège in Belgium, where most equestrian flights depart Europe – and where the European contingent of World Cup-bound horses were travelling from.

The shipping agent Peden Bloodstock organised the flight itself, quizzing the team in advance on Jagerbomb’s size and how he likes to travel.

“Knowing that Bomb is so big, we made sure he had plenty of room in his crate – extra length compared to some, and plenty of width,” Becky says.

The crates, she adds, are effectively like trailers, taking one, two or three horses apiece: “It’s your first, business, economy kind of thing.” Jagerbomb shared his with just one other horse, and “loaded like a pro”.

Loading and unloading were the most stressful parts, with the horses lifted onto the aircraft using zip lifts. Watching from home as the videos came in from Kim, Becky says she was “biting my nails away”.

“I know showjumpers who are flying their horses all the time, and it’s just normal,” she adds. “But when you haven’t done it before, it’s this enormously big deal.”

She spent much of that first night tracking the flight: “I spent most of the night on Flightradar, just watching Bomb and Kim’s plane as it went all the way up to Greenland and back down again. I didn’t sleep a huge amount!”

At the other end, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport hadn’t received flying horses in some time, so the incoming flight had to bring the zip lift they used to load the horses with them on the aeroplane to unload.

From there it was a 40-minute drive in “huge, super-cool American trucks” to the venue, where – crucially – Jagerbomb could complete his 48 hours of quarantine on-site, with Kim still able to muck out, feed and hand-walk him.

Kim, who had never flown with horses either, made such an impression that she was asked to take charge of the dressage horses on the journey home.

To hear more from Becky on the World Cup win, the spectacle of Fort Worth and her hopes for the World Championships in Aachen, listen to episode 178 of The Horse & Hound Podcast here, or search “The Horse & Hound Podcast” in your favourite podcast app.

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

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The eight-strong British dressage squad shortlist for the 2026 World Championships in Aachen, Germany (11–23 August) includes Olympic gold medallists Charlotte Dujardin and Carl Hester, as well as reigning double world champion Lottie Fry and World Cup winner Becky Moody.

We’re expecting confirmation of the four definite entries and the non-travelling reserves in mid-July, when British Equestrian’s selectors – Judy Harvey, Jenny Ward and Anne Keen – will name the squad that will travel to Aachen.

Carl with Fame, Lottie with Glamourdale and Becky with Jagerbomb look all but guaranteed their places – and as the best three of four scores counts for the team total, the likely backbone of Britain’s medal bid. That leaves one spot to fill.

Hartpury CDI3* (1-5 July) is the last domestic international before that decision, giving the contenders a final chance to influence the selectors. Running at the same time is Hagen CDIO4* in Germany – one of the most significant dressage events in the run-up to the worlds, and the final selection trial for the German team. That hands Britain’s overseas-based riders, such as Lottie in the Netherlands and Susan Pape in Germany, the option of one more run.

The selectors won’t simply rank season-best scores. Their policy sets out a clear hierarchy: grand prix results carry the most weight, followed by the grand prix special and then the freestyle. Scores are taken from international competition – CDI and CDIO five-star, four-star, three-star and World Cup qualifiers – the 2026 season is the primary window, though 2025 results also count.

Only marks earned in a double bridle are considered, and the selectors take into account the calibre of the judges and how closely an event’s conditions and field resemble what the combinations will meet in Aachen.

Beyond the raw numbers, the panel weighs the reasons behind any withdrawal or retirement, a horse’s fitness and soundness, an athlete’s ability to deliver under pressure and the wider contribution a combination and its connections make to the team environment. In other words, the grand prix scores below are the backbone of the case – but not the whole of it.

With that in mind, here’s how the season’s international grand prix form stacks up across the eight nominated combinations.

The three who look secure top the season’s grand prix averages, which is no coincidence. Lottie and Glamourdale lead the way on 79.62% across three grands prix, almost three points clear of the field. Carl and Fame follow on 76.75%, Becky and Jagerbomb are a fraction behind on 76.43%.

Behind them, the fourth spot comes into focus. Fiona Bigwood and Donna Bella head the chasing pack on 72.90%, and they do so off the back of four grands prix – more than any other combination on the list – including a Nations Cup outing at Fontainebleau alongside Carl and Lottie, the strongest field any of the fourth-spot contenders has faced. Theirs is the most thoroughly tested form of the group.

Charlotte and Brave Heart are next on 72.34%, though that average rests on just two grands prix this season, the smallest sample of the eight, so a single test would move it more than most. Susan Pape and Harmony’s Giulilanta (72.13%), Sadie Smith and Swanmore Dantina (71.43%) and Gareth Hughes with Mowgli-Olympia MC (70.24%) complete the nominated entries.

Read more on my pick for the fourth spot – and why.

British dressage squad shortlist for the 2026 Aachen World Championships

The full list, in alphabetical order by athlete surname, is:

Fiona Bigwood with 10-year-old mare Donna Bella

Owner: rider

Breeder: rider

Breeding: by Don Juan de Hus, out of a mare by IPS Gribaldi

Charlotte Dujardin with 12-year-old gelding Brave Heart

Owners: Elllie McCarthy, Spencer McCarthy and Bridget McCarthy

Breeders: Shirley and Titian Wilaras

Breeding: by Bordeaux 28, out of a mare by Blue Hors Zack

Lottie Fry with 15-year-old stallion Glamourdale

Owners: Van Olst Horses and rider

Breeder: J Rodenburg

Breeding: by Lord Leatherdale, out of a mare by Negro

Carl Hester with 16-year-old stallion Fame

Owners: Fiona Bigwood, Mette Dahl and rider

Breeder: VOF G and M Gerritsen

Breeding: by Bordeaux 28, out of a mare by Rhodium

Gareth Hughes with nine-year-old gelding Mowgli-Olympia MC

Owners: Georgina Wilkinson, Rebecca Hughes and the rider

Breeder: M Van Summeren

Breeding: by Rousseau

Becky Moody with 12-year-old gelding Jagerbomb

Owners: Jo Cooper and rider

Breeder: rider

Breeding: by Dante Weltino, out of a mare by Jazz

Susan Pape with 15-year-old mare Harmony’s Giulilanta

Owners: Harmony Sporthorses and rider

Breeders: A Vogelaar and J Knol

Breeding: by Jazz, out of a mare by Flemmingh

Sadie Smith with 11-year-old mare Swanmore Dantina

Owner: rider

Breeder: Ben St John James

Breeding: by Dante Weltino, out of a mare by Charatan W

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

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