Germany has won a historic team gold at the 2025 European Para Dressage Championships – as Britain finished just off the podium in fourth.

The team medals remained open right until the final combination of the day, Britain’s grade IV Nicola Naylor and Humberto L, rode their test, resulting in a thrilling competition in Ermelo, the Netherlands, today (6 September).

Germany finished on a final score of 224.454 for gold, the Netherlands won silver on 223.362, and bronze went to Denmark 221.974. Great Britain finished just outside of the medals on 221.267.

“It’s incredible. It’s like a dream right now,” said German chef d’equipe Nico Hörmann. “Thank you to the Netherlands, Denmark, and Great Britain for the great competition. It was really close, and we were on the right side today.”

Germany’s oldest team member, 70-year-old grade II Heidemarie Dresing, said she was “very proud of the team”, praising their “great team spirit”.

“We are proud of winning the gold medal for the first time – it’s a little bit of a surprise,” said Heidemarie.

How the action unfolded

On the second day of team action the sun came out for the grade IV and V riders and there was a buzz of excitement at the Netherlands’ National Equestrian Centre. Denmark had sat in provisional gold overnight (221.766), Britain in silver (221.267) and the Netherlands’ in bronze (220.567) – all with one rider to go. But Germany still had two big scorers to come.

The grade V got under way first, and Isabel Nowak and 14-year-old gelding Siracusa Old kept Germany in the hunt for gold with 72.82%, producing a test she was thrilled with as she threw her hands in the air in celebration after the salute.

The pressure fell on the home-side’s final rider, Britney de Jong and her long-term partner Caramba NOP. Britney showed off the 18-year-old gelding’s big extended trot, trending early at 73%. They exhibited control and athleticism in their lateral movements, before a bold extended canter, breaking the 74% barrier. They completed on 74.40%, at the top of the rankings in this section – giving the Netherlands a final team score of 223.362.

“We know what we can do, so it was a case of ‘We need to do that now’,” said Britney, about her test, having just missed out on individual gold on Thursday (4 September).

“Overall I was really happy about the test. He was more forward, we had some more expression, things like the half-passes were better than Thursday.”

All eyes then turned to Germany’s Regine Mispelkamp and Pramwaldhof’s Bayala – who had won individual gold in this grade two days earlier. The 10-year-old mare had a big spook on the outside of the arena, moments before turning down the centre line, and the first halt looked a little unsteady, but they promptly regained their composure and their marks began to climb.

The extended canter allowed Pramwaldhof Bayala to really shine, but the final rein back dropped their marks slightly, the pair completing on 74.11%. The score was just shy of Britney and Caramba’s, but enough to put Germany in front at this stage on a final score of 224.454, ahead of the Netherlands.

Regine said Pramwaldhof Bayala “felt a bit nervous, but in a positive way”.

“She was so light in the hand, and she went into the corners much better. She trusted me more today, and we worked together,” she said.

“I think we had a strong extended canter, and the half-pass to the left she felt great. On that side I’m not as strong, but she said ‘Ok, I have to help you’, and that’s a wonderful feeling.”

Turning to the grade IV riders, it was Denmark’s chance to keep themselves in the mix, and their final rider Pia Wulff Jelstrup came forward with nine-year-old mare Zafia. A mistake in their medium trot proved expensive, resulting in two 5s and their trending score to fall to 68%, but they pulled it back to post 72.22%. This slotted Denmark into the bronze position on 221.974, but the door was still wide open for Great Britain.

The team competition goes down to the wire at the European Para Dressage Championships

Final combination of the day and championship first-timers, Nicola and Humberto L started positively, but the sensitive 13-year-old gelding looked more aware of his surroundings than during their individual bronze-medal winning performance of Thursday. A spook in the collected trot transition was costly – one judge giving a four – but they recovered well, to finish on 71.41%.

“I’m really pleased with him, he did really well. I went in there today with a bit more expression, and when I got in there I could feel that he was a bit nervous, so it was sort of a quick decision of how much do you go for, and how much do you hold his hand? I could feel that he was just a little bit unsure,” said Nicola, who owns Humberto with Rosalind Emery Kay.

“His medium canter was really lovely, I was pleased that he was able to relax into the walk work and I think he did one really nice pirouette. Of course we got the spook; the problem is that I can’t see whatever it is he sees, I can just feel it in his body and then I know he’s nervous.

“But he was great, I had to hold his hand and keep my leg on, and he went past whatever he was looking at. Whatever monster he found, he got through it.”

In the team medals, only the best three scores count and so Nicola’s score was dropped. Britain’s 221.267 was the result of Jemima Green and Fantabulous (72.100), Gabby Blake and Strong Beau (74.000) and Mari Durward-Akhurst and Athene Lindebjerg (75.167).

What dreams are made of

Britain was fielding a new team at this year’s European Para Dressage Championships; Nicola and Jemima Green were making their championship debut, Gabby Blake returned to the squad for the first time since the 2023 Europeans, and Mari Durward-Akhurst was on the team in Paris last summer.

“It’s lovely to be part of the team, it’s what dreams are made of,” said Nicola.

“We’re a completely new team, we’ve all pulled together. It would be wonderful to walk home with a team medal, but it was all so close, so we’ve got everything to look forward to and nothing to complain about.”

British Equestrian para dressage performance manager Georgina Sharples told H&H the feeling was “mixed emotions”.

“I’m incredibly proud of this group of riders. We obviously have a new team here, two championship debutants, a seven-year-old horse, and the fact they came out and performed the way that they did. Three individual medals and a fifth place out of three grades was phenomenal,” she said.

“I’m disappointed for the team, we are ambitious and I think it’s well within our grasp – you can see how close it is. It’s literally points of percentages that make the difference. But that said, these guys are going to learn so much by coming here.”

All four Brits have qualified for the individual freestyle tomorrow (7 September). Times to follow.

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Germany’s Regine Mispelkamp and Pramwaldhof’s Bayala won individual gold in an unbelievably tight grade V section at the European Para Dressage Championships.

Regine and the 10-year-old mare scored 73.18%, just keeping home-side combination Britney de John and Caramba NOP at bay in silver, on 73.15%. The battle for bronze also went down to the wire; Germany’s Isabel Nowak and Siracusa Old looked to have the job done, with 71.36%, until final combination Lena Malmstrom and Fabulous Fidelie snatched it from them for Sweden, on 71.64%.

Regine already has six medals behind her, achieved at seven championships with former ride Look At Me Now and her top ride Highlander Delights, but this is her first gold – and Pramwaldhof’s Bayala first championships.

“No words can describe this, it’s very special,” said Regine.

“I’m really happy, I didn’t expect this coming here. She’s my second horse, and next year I have two very, very nice horses for the World Championships, and then looking towards LA 2028.”

Regine had much to be proud of; Pramwaldhof Bayala looked at home in the arena, demonstrating her expressive paces for which she received 8s from three of the judges for the coefficient.

“The highlight was her walk work, and the canter on the long rein. She came forward and uphill, which was really nice,” said Regine, adding that she chose Pramwaldhof Bayala for the Europeans over Paris silver medallist Highlander to give the mare experience.

“Highlander has done so many competitions, he knows everything,” she said.

“We can do better”

The European Para Dressage Championships is Britney’s championship debut and the 24-year-old came agonisingly close to the gold with her partner of seven years, 18-year-old Caramba NOP.

“We’ve really grown from the youth classes. In the last four years we’ve been first reserve for the Netherlands, so this was our first really big competition,” she said.

“Overall it was a good test and we didn’t have any really big mistakes, but I think we can do a little bit better. His trot half-passes and simple changes were the best parts, but the walk needs to be better, it was a bit difficult today.

“We have a great partnership, he’s not that easy for everyone, so it makes it special that we can do what we can together.”

Attention turns to teams at the European Para Dressage Championships

Looking ahead to the team competition, which begins tomorrow with grade I, II, and III – and grades IV and V on Saturday – Regine believes it will be tight. The Netherlands, Italy and Denmark all look fierce – and Britain has got off to a brilliant start with three medals in the bag, including from team newcomers Nicola Naylor and Jemima Green.

“The others are strong – I think it will be close,” she said.

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The European Para Dressage Championshipsis scheduled to take place 3–7 September at the Dutch National Equestrian Centre in Ermelo, the Netherlands. This is the first time the European Para Dressage Championships is being hosted in Ermelo, although it has previously hosted other major equestrian events.

If you’re planning a trip to the venue, check out these hotels near Ermelo and the Dutch National Equestrian Centre, plus guesthouses and holiday lets. Accommodation is listed in order of distance from the European Para Dressage Championships venue – jump down to…

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Hotels near Ermelo, the Netherlands

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The Dutch House of Representatives has accepted a proposal from Party for the Animals (PvdD) representative Christine Teunissen to ban “all animal-unfriendly aids and training equipment.”

“Thanks to our adopted proposal, the state secretary must introduce a ban,” Ms Teunissen said. “This means that equestrian sports will change radically.”

The motion was submitted during a legislative consultation on proposed amendments to Dutch civil code concerning consumer protections for live animal purchases. Although the main legislative proposal was rejected, Teunissen’s motion was adopted in a vote on 28 January.

The motion’s approval signals parliamentary support but its implementation remains uncertain. The text does not define which training aids would be banned, leaving the term “animal-unfriendly” open to interpretation.

A PvdD statement suggested that whips, bits, tongue ties and spurs would be prohibited, but without a clear definition in the motion, questions remain over what exactly will be restricted and how the rules will be enforced.

As part of the next steps, the Dutch government must consult key stakeholders, including the Sector Council for Horses (SRP), before drafting regulations.

An SRP spokesperson pushed back against the motion, accusing animal rights organisations of misrepresenting its potential impact.

“Animal rights organisations are trying to frame this motion as if all aids and training aids in equestrian sport will be banned,” the spokesperson said.

“They do this by using shocking images that are often taken out of context and do not provide a complete or realistic picture. We are committed to continuing to provide the media and politicians with correct information. It is important that policymakers and public opinion are not influenced by misleading campaigns.

“Decisions on the use of aids and training resources should be based on sound research. The equestrian sector is open to improvements and innovations but warns that regulations should not be drawn up on the basis of emotion and misinformation.”

This is not the first attempt to legislate against training aids in the Netherlands. In 2021, Dion Graus of the Party for Freedom (PVV) submitted a similar motion calling for a ban on certain horse and dog training tools.

In response, the Dutch government launched a study into the impact of various training aids. Published in October 2024, it concluded that no specific aid is inherently inhumane; rather, its impact depends on how it is used.

As a result, the state secretary declined to phase out any training aids, and the motion was never enforced.

Ms Teunissen’s motion specifically references Graus’s earlier proposal, raising questions about whether this latest attempt will lead to tangible changes or face the same roadblocks. But the motion reflects a broader shift across mainland Europe, where several countries are reassessing regulations on tack and training aids.

Denmark is at the centre of one of the most high-profile debates. The government is considering a ban on the double bridle, an issue that has also been raised in the European Parliament.

Olympic silver medalist Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour recently told Ekstra Bladet that she would consider leaving Denmark if the ban was enforced.

The Danish equestrian federation has made nosebands optional at all levels in national dressage competitions and now permits bitless bridles at lower levels.

In the Netherlands, bitless options are expanding. From April 2025, the Dutch equestrian federation will allow bitless bridles up to the national equivalent of advanced medium dressage. While, the Hungarian equestrian federation has introduced a dedicated competition category for bit-free riders under updated rules.

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The Netherlands’ Olympic medal-winning dressage rider Arjen Teeuwissen has died, aged 53.

The Dutch national federation KNHS confirmed that Arjen passed away suddenly on 29 March. He lived in the Netherlands until 1998, then moved to Belgium.

Arjen Teeuwissen was a former Dutch champion, and in 1999 he and KWPN gelding Goliath T were part of the silver medal-winning team at the European Dressage Championships, on home soil in Arnhem. The team of Arjen and Goliath, Anky van Grunsven and Bonfire, Ellen Bontje and Silvano and Coby van Baalen and Ferro, were second to Germany, while Denmark took bronze. Arjen and Goliath won individual bronze.

The following year Arjen and Goliath were third at the World Cup Final in Den Bosch, the Netherlands, and the pair went on to compete at the Sydney Olympic Games, Australia, where they won team silver. In 2001 they won team and individual silver at the Europeans in Verden, Germany.

The 2003 Europeans at Hickstead was Arjen’s last international competition with Goliath, who later sustained an injury and then retired. Arjen continued to train and compete nationally for a number of years, and returned to the international arena for one competition in 2013, the Kapellen CDI3*, in Belgium, with Silver ‘n’ Brass.

In an interview with CHIO Rotterdam in 2022, Arjen said he was no longer active in sport and that all his horses had been sold, adding that he was supporting his husband Frank in the catering industry.

A spokesman for KNHS said the organisation “wishes Arjen’s relatives a lot of strength with this enormous loss”.

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Tributes have been paid to the “Fjord who could do everything”, a farmer’s horse who held his own at the top of his sport.

Super Guus, who became the first Fjord in the Netherlands to compete at subtop, the highest national level of dressage and appeared at an FEI World Cup leg, has died aged 30.

Grand prix rider Jolanda Adelaar, who owned Super Guus for 27 years, said he was “an inspiration to the common man”.

“A ‘farmer’s horse’ who held his own in the top sports world was an enormous inspiration,” she said. “He never became an Olympic horse, but he did have a huge impact. He encouraged people to also start to do dressage with their horses. Those who did not have a sport horse; Haflingers, Fjords, tinkers, crossbreeds, were inspired by Super Guus to appear in the competition arena. Because ‘If Super Guus can do it, my horse can do it too’.”

Jolanda does not come from an equestrian family; she started at a riding school and met Guus at a summer camp when she was 12. She wanted to buy him but her parents were wary of the costs of owning a horse. It took her a year to convince her father, and she found a field where he could be kept for €30 per month.

“At the beginning I trained Guus in the cow pasture,” she said. “I rode bareback because I did not own a saddle yet. His first bridle I made myself.”

Jolanda joined her local Pony Club, which was close enough that she could hack to weekly lessons, and it was when she saw a dressage freestyle on television that she knew what she wanted to do.

“I wanted to start competing dressage with Guus but I was told I needed a sport breed for that,” she said. “My father bought a one-horse trailer to connect to his car for €1,200 so we could travel to competitions. Within two years I became regional champion in the Z2 level with Guus and got in the newspaper. We were invited as a special act at the FEI World Cup dressage in 2006 at ‘s-Hertogenbosch. Here we showed that a draft horse can do piaffe and passage. Guus also became the first Fjord horse in the Netherlands competing at subtop. People started to call him Super Guus. He got his own fan club and book, Guus, published in 2006. It fascinated me how telling the story of an unknown animal can make an animal loved by so many.”

Jolanda said Super Guus “made dressage pop”, which had not been done before, in the early 2000s.

“He paved the way for new ideas,” she said. “I was the first to start a YouTube channel in the Netherlands about my life with my horse. At that time, there were no horse influencers active on the internet as they are today. My company has carried his name for almost 20 years. His life came with an important message and I will continue to carry it forward. He is a Dutch legend.”

Jolanda added that from her perspective, Super Guus was her best friend.

“He was my indestructible rock who literally and figuratively carried me when life was difficult,” she said. “Super Guus moved with me to Italy in 2013, where we lived for five years, in Rome and Milan. He had never officially said goodbye to the Dutch public.

“When Super Guus returned to the Netherlands in 2019, he was already retired. He gave a farewell show at Equiday on 8 April this year. He was still so healthy and full of zest for life.”

Jolanda said she had thought Super Guus would live to at least 40, but he deteriorated during the two weeks before he was put down, on 7 October.

“I am grateful that we were able to say goodbye at my home,” she said. “Super Guus is part of me and his loss feels like a big hole that can never be closed in this life.”

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Dinja van Liere has shaken up the leaderboard in the Blue Hors FEI World Dressage Championships results in the grand prix opening day.

Riding for the Netherlands, rising star Dinja and the 10-year-old stallion Hermes scored 78.84% to catapult them into the lead.

Overall Dinja was “very pleased” with her test but despite her top marks the world number six rider felt there was still room for improvement.

“The piaffe and passage is always a really good thing from him because he can do those really well. The last piaffe he was a little bit too behind, which is a shame because he can do it so good,” she said.

“My first pirouette wasn’t the best but the second was a lot better – they were tiny mistakes but he can do better, so I want to do better.”

“But I’m very happy. It’s not really a difficult arena but it’s really big, and with the wind today, I was very happy that he fully focused and he did a good test.”

Dinja described Joop Van Uytert’s Hermes as “very smart” with a big character.

“He’s a clown,” she said. “He likes everything! He can be very funny and he likes himself a lot, so you have to deal with the character, but I like his ego. He shows it off in the arena which is really cool,” she said, adding Hermes particularly enjoyed the audience clapping in the final moments of their test.

“When I stopped at the end he was like ‘Ok, this is all for me’. When I come in and the audience starts to clap he’s a little bit scared of it, but in the end when he knows it’s for him he likes it a lot.”

Dinja’s teammate Thamar Zweistra sits in 9th in the World Dressage Championships result after the first day of the grand prix, on 72.38%. Marieke van der Putten and Torveslettens Titanium RS2, and Emmelie Scholtens and Indian Rock will compete tomorrow.

“We have a very young team; young horses and riders. With the girls it’s really nice and fun because we don’t really have the experienced riders so everything is new,” she said.

Under the World Dressage Championships format, the team medals will be decided solely on the results of the grand prix, with the three best scores per team to count. The grand prix will also serve as an individual qualifier through to the grand prix special on Monday, 8 August, with the best 30 results going through.

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Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

Top German eventer Bettina Hoy is to step down as coach to the Netherlands’ eventing team.

The Netherlands’ equestrian federation (KNHS) confirmed that Bettina, who was appointed in January 2017, will be succeeded by the country’s own British-based eventer Andrew Heffernan. Andrew is based at Somerford Park Farm in Cheshire and has represented the Netherlands at the London 2012 Olympics and 2014 World Equestrian Games in Normandy, France, where the country took team bronze.

Technical director of the KNHS Maarten van der Heijden said he was enthusiastic about the arrival of Andrew, who will take on the role ahead of the Tokyo Olympics. The Netherlands failed to secure a team place, but has two individual starting places. Read the KNHS statement in full.

In a statement Bettina said it was “mutually agreed” by both parties not to extend her contract with KNHS beyond 2019.

“We have also agreed that I should continue to coach a number of individual Dutch riders and support them in achieving their future goals in top level eventing,” she said.

Article continued below…

‘Going at the top of my game’: Olympic eventer steps down from national team

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“During the past three years I have learnt a lot, not just about the job of trainer and leading a team, but also about myself and I thank the KNHS for the great experience and opportunity.

“I look forward in the future to having not only more time to coach my private pupils and run clinics worldwide, but also to spending more time in the saddle. Perhaps I can even achieve my dream of competing in dressage at grand prix level. Finally I would like to wish my successor and the team all the best.”

Andrew said he was surprised to be approached for the role, but said he was “very excited” to be the new coach.

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A new venue has joined the Rolex Grand Slam of Showjumping — and an additional €1 million bonus is also up for grabs.

Indoor Brabant, at ‘s-Hertogenbosh in The Netherlands, will be the fourth location in the 2018 series.

It joins CHIO Aachen in Germany, CSIO Spruce Meadows Masters in Canada and CHI Geneva in Switzerland.

“Rolex has already done so much for our sport and our long-term partnership with the brand is a privilege on its own,” said president of Indoor Brabant and dressage star Anky van Grunsven.

“However, to now become part of the Rolex Grand Slam, announced in the 50th anniversary year of Indoor Brabant, is a very special gift for us, the show organisers.”

Regardless of the calendar year, the grand slam cycle begins for each rider with his or her first victory in the series.

Scott Brash (pictured, top) is so far the only rider to have won the title, which he took in 2015. Anyone who replicated his achievement will receive the same €1 million bonus, on top of the individual prize money for each show. A new additional €1 million bonus has also been added for any rider who manages to win a fourth major in succession.

Other prizes include a bonus of €500,000 for any rider who wins two successive grands prix of the grand slam series in any order. Additionally, a rider who wins two grands prix within a period of four successive majors will receive a bonus of €250,000.

The current “live” contender for the grand slam title is Brazil’s Pedro Veniss, who was victorious at Geneva in December and will travel to Aachen in July for the next leg of the series.

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“What has always united all the majors is the passion for the sport, the love for horses and a long tradition of the highest standard,” said Linda Southern-Heathcott, president of the Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping’s steering committee.

“Therefore, Indoor Brabant is a perfect addition to the Rolex Grand Slam. It offers an outstanding infrastructure, has had a long history and attracts the best riders in the world every year.”

Dutch showjumper and reigning World and European champion Jeroen Dubbledam welcomed the news.

““The two best outdoor and the two best indoor shows in the world are now combined with each other, and will allow the riders to prepare our horses strategically for the Rolex Grand Slam campaign,” he said.

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Althea Bleekman, who won a silver medal at the 2007 eventing pony European Championships as part of the British team, has been selected to represent the Netherlands at the senior Europeans in Sweden later this month (28 August – 1 September).

Althea, 21, who is based at her family’s Whorridge Farm Stud in Devon, took Dutch nationality in 2011. Her father Edward is Dutch and her mother Clissy rode for the Dutch team after her marriage.

“Riding for the Netherlands was always an option, but it made more sense to be British when I was doing ponies,” said Althea.

“When I decided to make horses my career, there were going to be a lot more chances for me if I were Dutch.”

Althea, who “doesn’t speak Dutch, but is learning”, added: “I was hoping to get on the team as my horse is such a phenomenal jumper, but it was still a little bit of a shock.”

Her ride in Sweden will be the nine-year-old chestnut mare Ziomf, who stands just 15.1hh. Ziomf was bred by the Venderbosch family, who still own her, at their stud at Vasseveld in Holland, and is by Guidam.

Although Althea and Ziomf have only done one CCI3* together — Boekelo last autumn, where they jumped clear across country — they have completed seven CIC3*s.

“She has been to lots of big events and seen plenty of international courses, so her lack of CCI experience doesn’t worry me,” said Althea

This news story was first published in Horse & Hound magazine (15 August 2013)

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Britain finished well outside a top-five Olympic qualifying spot when slotting into ninth in the show jumping championships at the World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany last tonight.

Another superb performance from Michael Whitaker and Insul Tech Portofino, who collected just a single time fault once again over the difficult new 13-fence track, was not enough to improve the British team’s result. Tim Gredley and Omelli had two fences down along with a time fault, and both Nick Skelton with Russel and John Whitaker with Peppermill collected five faults each.

In the lead after Wednesday’s first Nations Cup round, it was The Netherlands who took team gold ahead of the USA in silver and Germany in bronze medal position. The team from The Ukraine, who have been the talking point of much of the championships so far, were edged out by just 0.01 points into fourth place. Switzerland finished fifth while the Irish had the frustration of missing out on those tickets to Beijing when sixth. One of the biggest surprises of the tournament has been the proficiency of the Spanish whose eighth-place finishing spot, behind Belgium and ahead of Britain, was earned with some superb jumping.

The Netherlands show jumping team celebrate their gold medal

Photo by Trevor Meeks

Michael Whitaker is the only Briton to remain in for Saturday’s Top-25 two-round competition. Lying 14th after the first three rounds of jumping, his score of 7.53 leaves him just over one fence behind the leader, America’s Beezie Madden, whose zero score with Authentic was maintained with another superb performance. Eric Lamaze, lying second

for Canada going into today’s class, disappeared off the radar when picking up 12 faults. Holland’s Gerco Schroder, riding the spectacular jumper Eurocommerce Berlin, has moved into silver medal position while Germany’s Ludger Beerbaum (L’Espoir) is in bronze. But

there is precious little between the leading bunch that includes Holland’s Jeroen Dubbeldam (BMC Up and Down) in fourth, America’s McLain Ward (Sapphire) in fifth and Germany’s Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum in sixth, while the gracious Cavalor Cumano continued

to wow the packed stadium with another sensational round for Belgium’s Jos Lansink who is lying seventh.

Insul Tech Portofino looks to be growing in confidence with every round so Michael Whitaker can go into Saturday’s challenge full of determination.

Frank Rothenberger’s track caught out some of the real favourites with the new Postage Stamp Wall at fence six proving the undoing of Holland’s Piet Raymakers (Van Schijndel’s Ckurtis) and, of all people, German super-star Marcus Ehning who retired with Noltes Kuchengirl after a crash at this one.

Tim Gredley, whose only mistake occurred at the triple combination at fence eight where Omelli hit the final two elements, is ever-improving while Nick Skelton, whose ride with Russel on Wednesday was nothing short of a work of genius, was caught out only by the difficult distance between the double at four and the following oxer. John Whitaker clipped the first element of the combination after Peppermill seemed to react to either a strong pull from his rider, or to something in the crowd which brought him almost to a stop but, as

only the masterful Yorkshireman could, Whitaker steered the stallion home safely without further ado.

Meanwhile German show jumping team horse, Cento, was retired in a special ceremony that took place ahead of the team final. The 17-year-old was ridden by Otto Becker to take team gold in Sydney and team bronze in Athens and the grey Holsteiner who, during a wonderful career, collected the Grand Prix titles at Aachen and Spruce Meadows and who claimed the World Cup title for his rider in 2002 was edging to take on some of the fences instead of parading in front of his adoring fans who cheered the stallion, sire of 16 approved sires and of 151 international competition horses, as he took his emotional final gallop around the world-famous Aachen arena.

Read the show jumping reports in full in next week’s Horse & Hound (7 September)

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The Dutch team held onto the lead in the race for the World Show Jumping Championship title at the WEG in Aachen today where the British improved their position when moving up from 11th place overnight to slot into eighth after the first round of the Nations Cup.

The Ukraine, a team comprised mainly of riders that have defected from other countries, lies second ahead of the USA in third and only 10 of the 24 teams that lined out today will return to the ring tomorrow for Nations Cup round two, together with all the leading individual riders.

The top three individuals retained their positions when America’s Beezie Madden and Authentic, Canada’s Eric Lamaze riding Hickstead and Holland’s Gerco Schroder and Eurocommerce Berlin jumped clear once again, but Brazil’s Bernardo Alves and Canturo ousted McLain Ward and Sapphire from fourth spot when the American faulted and Alves enjoyed the most incredible luck on his way around the track, especially when the 11-year-old stallion paddled through the oxer at fence 10 without hitting a pole.

Beezie Madden retains her lead in the individual competition

Picture by Trevor Meeks

Michael Whitaker and Portofino and Nick Skelton with Russel both collected just a single time fault while Tim Gredley with Omelli and John Whitaker and Peppermill returned five-fault results. John said afterwards that he was a bit disappointed when making his mistake at fence 10 which Peppermill met on a long stride “but he’s still quite green really” he said, adding “it’s still all to play for and it’s very possible that we can still finish in the top five which is the main

plan”.

There was plenty of drama during the competition including an interesting interlude for South Africa’s Roger Hessen whose gelding, Quito, decided he had enough after jumping the oxer at fence eight and napped wildly in the direction of the in-gate. It took quite a bit of persuasion to get him back into the ring to complete, while, later in the day, Columbia’s Manuel Torres endured an unscheduled dismount from Chambacune who then enjoyed the freedom of the arena.

Eyecatcher of the day was Jos Lansink’s Cavalor Cumano whose graceful and spectacular tour of the track produced gasps of delight from the sidelines and boosted the Belgian rider from 40th all the way up to individual 16th place while Malin Baryard-Johnsson had a horrible afternoon. Sweden’s passage to tomorrow’s top 10 second round depended on her returning clear but, having clocked up a cricket score in yesterday’s opening speed leg, she did it yet again when coming home with 29 faults from Butterfly Flip.

The Irish benefitted from Malin’s disaster and squeezed into that final 10th qualifying spot behind Belgium in ninth, Britain in eighth, the surprising Spanish who are lying seventh, the three-man Brazilian team in sixth, Switzerland in fifth and Germany in fourth. The Dutch have a one-fence advantage at the top of the order but there is less than a fence between the next three teams.

Read the show jumping reports in full in next week’s Horse & Hound (7 September)

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now