By KENNETH J. BRADDICK
AACHEN, Germany, Aug. 9, 2026–More than 90 dressage horses, including teams from 19 nations, are scheduled to appear before a panel of judges and veterinarians Monday to signal the start of the World Championships of six equestrian disciplines.
Dressage horses representing 34 countries spanning the globe from New Zealand in the south to Norway in the north–but as in the 2022 championships minus Russia over the Ukraine war–will undergo the inspection the start on Tuesday of two days of Grand Prix competition to decide team medals. After a day’s break the Special and the Freestyle will to decide the individual world champion.
Charlotte “Lottie” Fry of Britain will be back with Glamourdale to go into Aachen’s 40,000-seat Main Stadium–the biggest stage in the world for dressage–to defend the title she won at Herning, Denmark in 2022.
Since then, other combinations have emerged that will challenge for the title–Justin Verboomen of Belgium on Zonik Plus, Isabell Werth on her Olympic gold medal mount Wendy de Fontaine, Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour of Denmark on Mount St. John Freestyle and longer odds for Jagerbomb, the home-bred on which Becky Moody claimed the World Cup in April.
The United States, rebuilding its dressage program after silver medal performances at the 2018 World Equestrian Games and the Tokyo Olympics, has experienced the most significant changes to its team of four combinations.
Geñay Vaughn and Gino pulled out to be replaced by Meagan Davis and Toronto Lightfoot just days after Jordan LaPlaca and Gold Play departed to be succeeded by Kasey Perry-Glass on Heartbeat W.P.
Ashley Holzer on Hawtins San Floriano and Christian Simonson on Fleau de Baian are other two pairs that remain on the team initially announced by US Equestrian.
The other disciplines in two weeks of equestrian championships are jumping, eventing, driving, para dressage and vaulting,
Several of the horses coming to Aachen for the quadrennial championships have been introduced to new stabling for the more than century-old show.
The first to enter the 3 x 4 meter stalls in their light-flooded setting were Ecuador’s Julio Mendoza and his Jewel’s Goldstrike. “It was really exciting. We were here in 2024, just before the Olympic Games and moving into these new stables with him now is something very special,” he said. “The stable is beautiful; there is so much space for the horses to move around and everything is simply wonderful.”
