Aachen World Championships: summary of this first day

The 2026 World Dressage Championships got underway at 8:20 a.m. today. The schedule for today and Wednesday features the Grand Prix, split into two groups; tomorrow's final standings will determine the team rankings. The stakes are high for the 19 nations fielding teams: they are vying to finish among the top six—excluding the United States—thereby securing qualification for the Los Angeles Olympic Games. Data specialist David Stickland recently highlighted the scores needed to realistically aim for this goal: a combined total of around 220 points from the top three pairs—equating to just over 73% (!). These projections also reveal that a team average of 70% would only be enough for... 10th place (see HERE)! The Grand Prix also serves as a qualifier for the top 30 riders, who will advance to the Grand Prix Special; a score of around 70% appears necessary to make the cut. But let’s set the numbers aside and focus on the sport itself.

Germany is currently dominating the team competition, thanks to the performance of Frederic Wandres and Bluetooth Old. The rider from Kasselmann Stables and the son of Bordeaux posted the day's best test score—75.963%—despite some resistance during the rein-back and contact quality that left room for improvement. The Oldenburg’s pirouettes could also have shown more sit and uphill tendancy. Earlier that morning, Raphael Netz and Great Escape Camelot had gotten the German team off to a very respectable start: while not perfectly square in the entry halt or the halt before the rein-back—though this movement themselves were executed correctly—the son of Johnson lost a bit of activity in his first piaffe and made a mistake at the start of the one-tempi changes; the test was scored at 73.338%, putting them in the lead for a good while.

The British team sits in second place provisionally. Fiona Bigwood and Bella Donna were the first to fly the flag for the team. The chestnut mare by Don Juan de Hus—ridden with an extremely loose curb rein during the trot, piaffe, and passage—performed 17 one-tempi changes instead of the required 15, yet delivered a consistent test that earned a score of 69.348%. Even after winning the last World Cup Final, one can still experience a World Championship start that falls short of usual standards; Becky Moody had a few anxious moments today. Jagerbomb was difficult to steady in the entry halt and broke into a canter during his first extended trot. Tense in the walk, he also tried to transition into passage a bit too early after the collected walk; these scattered imperfections explain their uncharacteristically low score of 73.820% for the day. Australia rounds out the provisional team podium thanks to the 72.391% score achieved by Simone Pearce and Will Marcq.

Lurking in fifth place is Denmark, having chosen to field Nadja Aaboe Sloth with Favour Gersdorf first, followed by Carina Cassoe Kruth with Heiline Danciera. While the first rider and her 13-year-old Foundation gelding left the arena with a score of 71.956%—following a Grand Prix test that was consistent overall but marred by errors—the second rider and her Fürstenball mare delivered a test free of major faults, even though the dark bay mare briefly resisted the contact during the rein-back and her piaffe work could have been steadier and more fluid. They were awarded a score of 72.174%, placing them sixth for the moment in a ranking that is far from final.

Full results HERE

crédit photo (archives) : FEI/Leanjo de Koster