Team PracThe draw is set for the first classes of the FEI Para Dressage World Championship, which will officially begin tomorrow in Aachen, Germany.
On Wednesday and Thursday, 94 riders representing 31 nations will compete for individual medals. The team competition follows on Friday and Saturday, with 21 nations fielding squads of three or four riders. The championship closes Sunday with the individual freestyle final for each of the five grades.
Defending Champions in the Field
The entry list includes several Paralympic, FEI World and European champions. The United States’ Fiona Howard, a triple gold medalist at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, will compete in Grade II aboard 13-year-old Diamond Dunes. Fellow triple Paralympic gold medalist Rebecca Hart will contest Grade III on 18-year-old mare Floratina.
In Grade III, Hart will face reigning double FEI European champion Rixt van der Horst of the Netherlands, riding the chestnut stallion Eisma’s Royal Fonq N.O.P., in pursuit of their first FEI World Championship title together. Tobias Thorning Joergensen of Denmark, aboard the 10-year-old stallion Blue Hors Zackorado, is also entered in Grade III.
Grade I brings together para-dressage veteran Sara Morganti of Italy, riding a new mount in Bond Girl 18, and Great Britain’s Mari Durward-Akhurst, aboard 19-year-old Athene Lindebjerg, who is seeking her first FEI World Championship gold. Six-time gold medalist Rihards Snikus of Latvia will ride 6-year-old Rise and Shine, a first championship start for the pair. The United States’ Marie Vonderheyden enters with gelding Fan Tastico H.
In Grade II, Howard faces Germany’s Heidemarie Dresing and 2025 FEI European triple gold medalist Poesie 143, as well as Denmark’s Katrine Kristensen, who will defend her world title aboard Goerklintgaards Quarter. Great Britain’s Jemima Green, riding Fantabulous, makes her championship debut.
Grade IV Wide Open After Voets Withdrawal
Reigning Grade IV World Champion Sanne Voets of the Netherlands has withdrawn, opening the field. Sweden’s Louise Etzner Jakobsson, the 2025 FEI European champion, enters Goldstrike B.J.
Kate Shoemaker, a 2024 Paris Paralympic bronze medalist for the U.S., will ride Vianne in their first world championship together.
In Grade V, Great Britain’s Sophie Wells returns with championship newcomer MSJ Gold Standard, a 10-year-old Oldenburg mare, as she seeks a fifth World Championship medal. Germany’s Regine Mispelkamp rides Highlander Delight, her Paris 2024 Paralympic double-silver partner, while the Netherlands’ Britney de Jong makes her senior championship debut aboard 2025 European triple silver medalist Caramba N.O.P.
The U.S., Great Britain, Germany and Denmark are considered the top contenders for the team title, with the two days of team competition expected to be closely contested.
