By KENNETH J. BRADDICK
WELLINGTON, Florida, Feb. 20, 2026–Isabell Werth on Special Blend conquered the Global Dressage Festival with a victory in the World Cup Freestyle under lights before a packed stadium in the German partnership’s first musical performance.
Isabell, the No. 2 rider in the world, scored 82.660% on the 11-year-old Oldenburg gelding borrowed from one of her students, to lead the lineup of 11 riders from six nations in her first competition in Wellington since 2010.
The victory on Special Blend, that was a last-minute replacement for a slightly injured Quantaz she intended to bring, boosted the five-time World Cup champion and most decorated equestrian in Olympic history to a tie for second in the Western European League. With the World Championships in Aachen, Germany in which she plans to ride Wendy de Fontaine she will not decide until later in March whether to go to Fort Worth, Texas for the World Cup Final.
Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu on Jaccardo, however, as runner-up to Isabell on a personal best 79.250% seems assured of a start in Fort Worth with a total of 57 points. If she becomes one of three North Americans to make the Final, Brittany would be the first Canadian in the annual championship since 2013. Brittany qualified on All In but the event was canceled because of Covid.
Christian Simonson on Indian Rock is the only combination to have fully qualified, meeting the maximum of three wins for 60 points.
Kevin Kohmann, a two-time World Cup finalist, is in third place on 52 points.
Geñay Vaughn of Elk Grove, California and who competed in the 2025 Final, currently has 37 points but has a chance of picking up the third North American slot by a win for 20 points when she competes at the Del Mar qualifier this coming week.
Isabell had high praise for her visit to Wellington and support in the competition.
“I’d like to thank the show team because it was pretty impressive here,” said the seven-time Olympian. “I didn’t expect that it would be like this. There’s a huge improvement in the whole environment here–the horses, the riding—which is great to see.
“We have to make dressage more global and for sure here there is a lot of energy and enthusiasm, which I love to see and be a part of. I’m pretty sure that I’ll come back next year.”
And her feeling about the ride on Special Blend:
“This is what the special feeling is and where you really enjoy and where you know why you’re still in the saddle and in a competition. And even when this crowd is so supportive and starts to clap and really feels that it’s possible and the horse is with you and is really trying to the end this is something special and, yeah, like the name it’s something special and you can’t take it as usual.”
Results:
| Rank | Competitor | Score | E | H | C | M | B |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Isabell Werth (GER) Special Blend 3 | 82.660% | 81.700 | 86.425 | 81.450 | 81.300 | 82.425 |
| 2. | Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu (CAN) Jaccardo | 79.250% | 76.800 | 81.400 | 78.500 | 81.100 | 78.450 |
| 3. | Julio Mendoza Loor (ECU) Jewel’s Goldstrike | 78.165% | 74.625 | 79.675 | 78.900 | 79.100 | 78.525 |
| 4. | Susan Pape (GBR) Harmony’s Giulilanta | 77.885% | 75.600 | 78.875 | 77.375 | 78.750 | 78.825 |
| 5. | Caroline Darcourt (SWE) Lord Django | 76.760% | 77.325 | 78.850 | 77.550 | 75.200 | 74.875 |
| 6. | Kevin Kohmann (USA) Dünensee | 75.790% | 73.325 | 77.375 | 76.250 | 76.825 | 75.175 |
| 7. | Benjamin Ebeling (USA) Bellena | 74.130% | 73.800 | 76.375 | 74.525 | 73.675 | 72.275 |
| 8. | Devon Kane (USA) Vamos | 71.900% | 70.675 | 76.300 | 69.900 | 71.825 | 70.800 |
| 9. | Laine Ashker (USA) Zeppelin | 71.690% | 72.925 | 70.650 | 70.550 | 70.800 | 73.525 |
| 10. | Eline Eckroth (USA) Daphne | 67.350% | 69.875 | 65.800 | 66.375 | 65.000 | 69.700 |
| 11. | Laura De Cesari (USA) Rossi | 66.385% | 66.150 | 68.175 | 65.025 | 64.475 | 68.100 |
 Find details on Equestrian Hub |
