Twenty years after Aachen (GER) last hosted the World Championships, the FEI Dressage World Championship returns to one of the sport’s most iconic venues. From 11 to 15 August, 91 horse-and-Athlete combinations from 34 nations will contest the team and individual titles.
Nineteen nations will field teams, while 17 individual Athletes representing 15 nations will also take part. With defending team World Champions Denmark, record 12-time team World Champions Germany, and defending individual World Champions Charlotte Fry (GBR) and Glamourdale among the entries, the stage is set for a highly competitive Championship.
The team medals will be decided in the Grand Prix on 11 and 12 August. The individual titles will be contested in the Grand Prix Special on 14 August and the Grand Prix Freestyle on the evening of 15 August.
Nations and defending champions
The Championship will be the first opportunity for nations to secure qualification for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. The six highest-ranked eligible teams in Aachen will earn an Olympic team quota place, except for Team USA, already qualified as host country.
Denmark arrive as defending World Champions, having claimed their first team title on home soil at the ECCO FEI World Championships 2022 in Herning. Three Athletes from that winning team return for Aachen: Carina Cassøe Krüth with Heiline’s Danciera, Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour with Mount St John Freestyle and Daniel Bachmann Andersen with Flash Gordon 37. Nadja Aaboe Sloth and Favour Gersdorf complete the quartet.
Laudrup-Dufour has produced some of the highest scores of the 2026 season so far with Mount St John Freestyle, including a Grand Prix score of 84.174% at CDI5* Herning (DEN). She also won individual silver in both the Grand Prix Special and Grand Prix Freestyle at the 2022 World Championship, where she rode Vamos Amigos.
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand and the United States of America will compete in the team competition.
Individual representatives will come from Cyprus, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Greece, Hungary, Indonesia, Israel, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore and Türkiye.
Germany aiming to reclaim the title
Germany, bronze medallists in Herning, remain one of the leading favourites for a team medal in Aachen. Having won a record 12 World Championship team titles, they will be eager to return to the top of the podium on home soil, although strong opposition can be expected from Great Britain, Denmark and Belgium.
Their team consists of Katharina Hemmer with Denoix PCH, Raphael Netz with Great Escape Camelot, Frederic Wandres with Bluetooth OLD and Isabell Werth with Wendy de Fontaine.
Werth is the most decorated Athlete in the history of equestrian sport and currently has 12 World Championship medals to her name, nine of them gold.
British title defenders and Belgian ambitions
Team silver medallists in Herning, Great Britain will again be among the main contenders for a team medal in Aachen. Charlotte Fry and Glamourdale won gold in the Grand Prix Special and Grand Prix Freestyle in 2022 and return to defend both titles. They are joined by Fiona Bigwood with Donna Bella, the vastly experienced Carl Hester with Fame and 2026 FEI Dressage World Cup™ Final winner Becky Moody with Jagerbomb. Fry, Hester and Moody were also part of the British team that won Olympic bronze in Paris 2024.
Belgium will be aiming for a first World Championship team medal. The team is headed by World No. 2 Justin Verboomen and his championship partner Zonik Plus, who won gold in both the Grand Prix Special and Grand Prix Freestyle at the FEI Dressage European Championships in Crozet (FRA) in 2025. Jeroen Devroe with Lestor, Larissa Pauluis with Flambeau and Wim Verwimp with Jedai de Massa complete the Belgian line-up.
In Herning, Dinja van Liere (NED) was one of the individual stars of the 2022 World Championship, winning bronze in both the Grand Prix Special and Grand Prix Freestyle with Hermès. In Aachen, she will compete with the nine-year-old Mauro Turfhorst N.O.P., who will make his first appearance at a senior Championship.
Indonesia and Thailand make history, Mexico returns
Aachen will mark an important milestone for Indonesia. Dara Ninggar Prameswari will become the first Indonesian Athlete to compete at an FEI Dressage World Championship. She will ride Miestral d’Ferraria.
Thailand will also make history by fielding its first team at an FEI Dressage World Championship. Pakjira Thongpakdi with Definitely, and sisters Suphakamol Vuntanadit with Dreamboat BCN and Suphajit Vuntanadit with Wall Street JV, will form the three-member team.
Mexico will return to the FEI Dressage World Championship for the first time in 20 years and will be represented by Carolina Cordoba Wolf with Isabella and Marcos Santiago Ortiz Diez with Waitoni.
Experience and Championship debuts for Spain and the USA
Spain’s line-up combines familiar names with a senior Championship debutant. Severo Jurado López returns to the Spanish team following a three-year break from team selection and will compete with Flaconi W. He is joined by Borja Carrascosa with Frizzantino FRH and José Antonio García Mena with Gladiador do Lis, while Lucía Gallardo will make her senior Championship team debut with Hip By Johnson.
The United States bring a mix of World Championship experience and new faces to Aachen. Ashley Holzer, who previously represented Canada at World Championship level, will compete with Hawtins San Floriana. Kasey Perry-Glass also brings valuable experience with Heartbeat W.P., having helped the U.S. team secure silver at the FEI Dressage World Championship in Tryon (USA) in 2018. Christian Simonson with Fleau de Baian and Meagan Davis with Toronto Lightfoot will both make their World Championship debuts.
Fifty years between youngest and oldest
At 71, Mary Hanna (AUS) will be the oldest Athlete in the field. Aachen will mark her seventh World Championship appearance and she will compete with Ivanhoe.
The youngest Athlete will be Rowena Weggelaar (NED), who will be 21 when she enters the arena with Don Quichot. Felicita Simoncic (AUT) will also be among the youngest Athletes in the Championship at 22.
World titles under floodlights
All 92 combinations will start in the Grand Prix, which takes place on Tuesday 11 and Wednesday 12 August. The three best scores from each team will count towards the final team result, with the medals decided on Wednesday.
The best 30 combinations from the Grand Prix will qualify for the Grand Prix Special on Friday 14 August, where the first set of individual medals will be awarded.
The best 18 combinations from the Grand Prix Special will then qualify for the Grand Prix Freestyle, with a maximum of three Athletes per nation. The Freestyle begins at 19:00 on Saturday 15 August and will take place under floodlights in the sold-out Main Stadium, providing a spectacular conclusion to the FEI Dressage World Championship.
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