July 2, 2026
By KENNETH J. BRADDICK
Five of the nine North American qualifiers for the 2027 World Cup Final will be in Florida while California has been cut to a single event. Canada and Mexico each have been awarded one along with the long-standing Devon Dressage on Philadelphia’s Main Line.
The sole California event is scheduled for Del Mar Feb. 25-28, the same date as the last of three qualifiers at Wellington’s Global Dressage Festival and just four weeks ahead of the Final of the annual championship scheduled for Gothenburg, Sweden Mar. 23-28.
California has had multiple World Cup qualifiers in recent years each of which have attracted spotty participation.
At the same time, several prominent West Coast riders have moved to Florida sparked by growth of dressage that was spurred with establishment of the Global Dressage Festival in Wellington. The state continues to experience a surge in Olympic level equestrian sport with the creation of the billion dollar World Equestrian Center in Ocala and Terra Nova near Sarasota on Florida’s West Coast that has received praise for its design and operation.
Among the Californians now based in Wellington is Christian Simonson who rode Indian Rock to reserve championship at the latest Final that was in Fort Worth, Texas in April.
The significance of the reduction to a single qualifier in California means that West Coast riders seeking to match up to three scores to qualify for the Final will have to go to other locations to be competitive.
Riders from Wellington have competed at the Mexico City event.
Canadian riders, especially from the populated eastern provinces that have traditionally spent winters in Florida, are able to earn at least one qualifying result at home, at the popular Royal Horse Show in Toronto.
North America is allocated three of the 18 starting combinations at the Final.
The qualifying schedule for North America:
–Dressage at Devon in Devon, Pennsylvania Sept. 22-27, 2026
–Terra Nova Dressage II in Myakka City, Florida Oct. 15-18, 2026
–Lerma CDI-W in Mexico City, Mexico Oct. 23-25, 2026
–Royal Horse Show in Toronto, Canada Nov. 10-14, 2026
–World Equestrian Center in Ocala, Florida Dec. 9-13, 2026
–Global Dressage Festival in Wellington, Florida Jan. 13-17, 2027
–Global Dressage Festival in Wellington Feb. 10-14, 2027
–Del Mar Dressage in Del Mar, California Feb. 25-28, 2027
–Global Dressage Festival in Wellington Feb. 25-28, 2027
