Team gold for Germany, silver for Britain – how the final day played out
Germany claimed team gold on home soil, Britain held on for silver and Denmark completed the podium – but it was Katharina Hemmer’s personal best, not Isabell Werth’s anchor round, that made the real difference. Here’s how the final day unfolded, plus the complete team standings
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.
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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
The team podium at the 2026 Dressage World Championships in Aachen.
- 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) - 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) - 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) - 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) - 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) - 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) - 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) - 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) - 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) - 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) - 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) - 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) - 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) - 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) - Switzerland – 204.798
Estelle Wettstein (Quaterboy) 67.795 · Delia Eggenberger (Santa Maria) 68.742 · Charlotte Lenherr (Dettori) 68.261 - 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) - 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) - 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) - Thailand – no total
Suphajit Vuntanadit (Wall Street JV) 65.078 · Pakjira Thongpakdi (Definitely) 63.230 · Suphakamol Vuntanadit (Dreamboat BCN) eliminated
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Oscar joined Horse & Hound in October 2023 and is the magazine’s dressage editor and sports manager, overseeing coverage of equestrian sport. After studying equine science at Myerscough College, he spent four years working for leading dressage rider Emile Faurie, competing at the 2015 National Dressage Championships and travelling with the yard to CDIs including Aachen and Saumur. He holds a master’s degree in Literature from York St John University (2021).