Changes have been announced to the jumping World Championships for young horses following concerns about horses “racing against the clock” at last year’s competition.
The World Breeding Federation of Sport Horses (WBFSH) and the FEI confirmed an “important update” to the format for five-year-olds at Lanaken; these classes will be judged using an optimum time, instead of against the clock.
The federations said the change will “place greater emphasis on correct and educational riding, reduce time pressure and better support the developmental stage of younger horses”.
Minimum eligibility requirements (MERs) have also been introduced – to ensure horses arrive at the championships “with an appropriate level of preparation”.
Five-year-olds must jump three clear rounds in CSIYH competitions or within a “selection procedure organised by a national federation” over fences of at least 1.15m, in the year of the championships. The same applies for six-year-olds, but over fences at least 1.25m, and for seven-year-olds at 1.35m.
Last year’s five-year-old final generated widespread concerns over horses “racing against the clock”. William Funnell raised this in his H&H column (9 October 2025) and WBFSH committee member Katy Holder-Vale told H&H rule changes were under discussion as “a lot of people felt that the five-year-old horses were under pressure to go fast” (news, 12 March).
Too many unprepared
Ms Holder-Vale told H&H that during a meeting of the WBFSH, FEI and stakeholders including riders, it was agreed that “too many five-year-olds were not very well prepared and didn’t cope very well with last year’s course, and there were too many in the jump-off”.
“Horse welfare has got to be the first thing you think of. It’s important that we’re showing care for those young horses and we believe this is a sensible strategy,” said Ms Holder-Vale, adding that it is hoped federations will introduce similar changes nationally.
“It will be more difficult for horses to qualify, but the hope is that the horses presented at the final are well prepared to come to a championship.”
Breeder and young horse producer Carron Nicol was a spectator at last year’s World Championships for young horses and told H&H it was a “difficult watch”. She attended the meeting and supports the optimum time format.
“I think it’s a good thing,” she said. “If you keep racing horses against the clock, they don’t learn to jump in the correct way. They must learn to jump in balance and accept the rider’s aid. Once you start galloping horses round, more rein is needed, and it makes for a lot of mistakes – that’s not the way to produce horses.”
A positive step
William Funnell told H&H the new format and MERs are “a step in the right direction”.
“It’s going to be a learning curve for everybody the first year, but racing five-year-olds around definitely didn’t work last year,” he said. “We’re ruining a lot of horses doing that – and the fact they’re doing something about it means that it’s not OK.”
William added that he would like optimum time to be brought in for the British young horse championships at Hickstead, which are a qualifier for Lanaken.
“We could be ahead of the game here and it could be good practice for getting the optimum time,” he said.
H&H has approached BS for comment.
An FEI spokesperson told H&H the FEI and WBFSH have shared views on the continued development of the World Championships for young horses “with a strong emphasis on safeguarding the welfare of young horses” – and the FEI worked with the organising committee and WBFSH to support this aim.
- 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:
William Funnell on producing young horses: ‘The five-year-old world championships at Lanaken made uncomfortable viewing’
Championship changes to prepare youngsters in more ‘age-appropriate and horse-friendly way’
Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round
