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.
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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.
