by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 23, 2026
Australia’s Boyd Exell wore out the superlatives. What can you say about a man who has taken eight consecutive world four-in-hand driving titles?
Boyd Exell on the podium for his eighth individual medal with Dries Degrieck and Chester Weber. (Photo © FEI / Wilco van Driessen)
Yes, he did it again at the FEI World Championships on Sunday, collecting only 0.3 penalties in the concluding cones segment to stay comfortably ahead of Belgium’s Dries Degrieck, 142.64 penalties to 148.85. Chester Weber of the U.S., who won the dressage phase last week, finished with the bronze medal despite 3 cones penalties that brought his total to 156.77.
Boyd missed out on another gold, however, as the Netherlands took the team title on 315.13 with a boost from a winning cones effort by Bram Chardon, while Australia settled for second with 317.25 after Tor van den Berge, the other member of the two-man team from Down Under, collected 8.89 penalties in cones.
Belgium finished third on 325.52, while the U.S. team that also included Taren Lester and Jimmy Fairclough in addition to Chester was fifth of 13 nations with a score of 354.91. That was just behind fourth-place Germany on 334.35.
So what was Boyd’s reaction after his victory: “I feel relief. We’ve got good horsepower and I brought my old horses to this World Championship.
“I’d like to pay tribute to a horse called Celviro who was injured at Royal Windsor this year and wasn’t able to come. He was a three- ay leader for me, so there was a bit of a change around for the rest of the season. But I brought my favorite old horse, Checkmate, and he’s so good in dressage and cones, and he’s 19, so he gave me a lot of confidence to be strong for the Aachen World Championship.”
Boyd added, “Daan, who is 18 now and has won medals before, was brought in this year because he’s renowned as a fast cones and marathon horse.”
Discussing Australia’s team success, Boyd reflected on his work with teammate Tor van den Berge.
“With no drop score, everything counts, and Tor and I have been working together and practicing for this occasion and that’s paid off.”
The world champion paid tribute to the Australian fans who were vocal in their support at every stage, plus course designer Alexander Flocke of Germany and the grounds team at Aachen, who overcame extreme weather conditions to keep the going as good as possible.
Chester, who also won bronze at the championships in Hungary two years ago, knocked a cone early on the course.
Chester Weber on the cones course. (Photo © FEI / Wilco van Driessen)
He gave credit to his equine partners, saying, “I’m super pleased with the horses. It was a great way to start off the event with an impressive win in the dressage. I was also happy on the cross-country and we had a great team of supporters around.
“I knew what I needed to do to stay in medal contention, knowing that Dries and Bram were going out there fighting too. We tried to drive as cleverly as we could yesterday and it all worked out.
“I had an unfortunate cone number two down, which was my fault and definitely not part of my plan. So I thought, ‘Now I’ve got to make it happen,’ and my horses did a fantastic job. My support staff helped so much, too, because this is a team sport; you just can’t do it alone and you need people around you who are passionate. It takes such a huge level of care to get five horses ready for a World Championship.”
Click here for cones results Click here for team results Click here for individual results
by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 23, 2026
The glitter kept coming on Sunday for the U.S. Para Dressage riders, all part of the squad that earned team gold Saturday at the FEI world championship.
They picked up three more gold medals Sunday in the Grades I, II and IV Freestyles. Fiona Howard, Marie Vonderheyden and Kate Shoemaker were crowned Freestyle World champions, with Marie and Kate sweeping Individual, Team and Freestyle honors, while Fiona added Freestyle gold to the Team title for which she contributed.
Fiona did not make the Individual podium last week, but came back strong to win the Grade II Freestyle gold with Diamond Dunes on a score of 81.866 percent.
Fiona Howard and Diamond Dunes. (USEF Photo)
“He went in there today and really gave me everything. He’s just such a special horse. I’m so proud of how he’s handled this week. My muscles are a little bit tighter today, but Dunes just took such good care of me,” Fiona said about the 13-year-old Hanoverian stallion.
Marie’s third title of the week was claimed with 80.540 percent on Fan Tastico H.
Marie Vonderheyden and Fantastico H. (USEF Photo)
“The composer designed the music just for him and I love it; it suits him very well,” Marie said of her compilation of show tunes.
“Today ended my week on a super note at an amazing and well organized event.
Kate claimed her third victory with Vianne, scoring 83.305 percent. Their floor plan included a four-loop counter-canter with a flying change in the middle section and an extended trot down the final center line.
“There are no words, really. It’s just amazing to have the ride on a horse that feels like she enjoys it so much,” Kate said of the 10-year-old Hanoverian mare.
Kate Shoemaker and Vianne (USEF Photo)
“None of this has sunk in whatsoever. To be on the hallowed showground that is Aachen and to come away with three gold medals is beyond what I could have hoped for.”
by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 23, 2026
Switzerland’s genius show jumper Steve Guerdat crowned his brilliant career Sunday by earning individual gold, as the FEI World Championships ended its remarkable two-week run with a fabulous flourish.
For the final act, how appropriate that Steve’s stellar record of an Olympic individual gold, European Championships individual gold and three World Cup finals finally was joined at Aachen by the elusive piece he had been unable to capture, the World title.
Tied on 0.86 penalties before the class started with Germany’s Daniel Deusser, who wound up incurring four faults in each round, Steve became the only rider who did not drop a pole during the course of the championships. He actually had a rail in hand when he cantered into the arena for the last time, but he didn’t need it.
Asked for his thoughts on the victory, Steve responded, “I don’t have the words,” as tears made their way down his face.
The man who has had two back surgeries in recent years showed his prowess was unaffected by that affliction, as he rode the 13-year-old Selle Francais mare Dynamix del Belheme (Snaike de Blondel X Cornet Obolensky) to Switzerland’s only medal of the championships.
Steve Guerdat on his way to victory (FEI Photo)
“I was very nervous all week,” revealed Steve, who finished on his score from Wednesday’s first round .
“I thought, `World championships is every four years. It’s not every four years that you have a horse like Dynamix,’ ” Steve commented.
“It’s not every world championship that you are in a situation where you can bring a medal, and maybe the gold, which I was dreaming of. I kept getting very nervous about my last chance to get it.
“I never wanted to finish my career before having won Aachen. There’s not a day in my life where I don’t think about Aachen. To win the world title, the one I was missing, in me Aachen — I don’t think it gets any better than that.”
When he was on the podium, Steve held up his medal and kissed it with heartfelt gratitude, pressing it to his lips for an extra few moments. He got what he came for.
Unless the planet Mars starts putting on horse shows (are you paying attention, Elon Musk?), Steve now has nothing else to conquer on the highest level in this equestrian universe.
But there is still plenty to conquer for the two members of the younger generation who joined 44-year-old Steve on the podium. Belgium’s Thibeau Spits, only 25 and ranked as the number one in Young Rider, took individual silver, while Harry Charles, 27, of Great Britain earned bronze — rocketing from fifty-ninth place at one point last week.
Thibeau (5.60 penalties) and Harry (7.17) were both double-clear as they claimed silver and bronze in the deciding two-round test set by Aachen’s resident course designer, Frank Rothernberger.
They will be among other rising stars we saw at Aachen who insure a bright future for horse sport.
Steve Guerdat (center) with Thibeau Spits and Harry Charles. (FEI Photo/Leanjo de Koster
Thibeau, a member of his country’s European gold medal team last year, said, “I can’t believe what just happened. Silver at the World games in Aachen. It’s unreal.”
He had been afraid that a rail on the second day “was going to be very expensive.” But he and the Zangersheide stallion Impress-K van’t Kattenheye Z (Indoktro K van’t Kattenheye Z X Vagabond de la Pomme) didn’t let that stop them.
“It’s unbelievable what he’s done for me. I can never give back to him what he’s done already for me, the horse of a lifetime. This is what I always dreamed of.”
He followed the lead of two other Belgians who medaled years ago in the World meet; Jos Lansink, the champion in 2006 and Philippe LeJeune in 2010.
Harry, part of Britain’s 2024 Olympic gold medal team and its bronze medal squad in Aachen, has only been riding LT Holst Freda for 10 weeks. She was purchased by Harry’s wife, Eve Jobs (daughter of Steve Jobs) after Harry took a liking to the New Zealand warmblood mare (Colman X Casall) when he saw her at the FEI World Cup Finals in Texas last April.
“Roller-coaster of the week,” Harry said about his experience in Aachen, then added about his beautiful gray mare, “She has been incredible.
“Started off, I blew it the first day, knew I blew it the second day. Managed to pull a clear out on Friday. and honestly wondered if it was the right thing even to jump today.
“I was twenty-third starting today. You never know what can happen. She felt so fresh. Still a massive longshot, going into the second round, it was enormous. I thought I’d let her do her thing. Can’t believe the feeling I got and can’t believe the horse I have. She got this bronze and I was just lucky to be sat on her. She really deserves the medal. I’m so happy to have given it to her.
“Never did I dream after the first couple of days an individual medal was possible. It was something I dreamed about as a kid.”
Harry did better than his more experienced compatriots. Ben Maher’s Point Break had a stop at the wavy planks in the first round and collected time penalties. Scott Brash made it into the second round, but Hello Mango toppled a rail in the A element of the triple combination, swam through the B element as Scott was unseated and jumped the C element on her own. Her rider was unhurt.
And for Germany, the short odds before the competition likely would have been on Richie Vogel to take the gold, but he didn’t even make it to the second round. A short turn to the wall meant Untied Touch S ran out of ground and the resulting refusal put an end to his quest. He jumped it easily on his second try, leaving the crowd thinking about the ending that might have been.
The first round of the individual finals was down to 25 riders from the field of 142 who started for the discipline. on Wednesday. They were the best after three days of jumping that secured the team medals for Germany, Belgium and Great Britain.
Sunday’s first course
The U.S., which finished just off the podium in fourth place, had two competitors come forward on Sunday, but they did not make it to the second round.
McLain Ward, who had been twenty-first after the team competition with High Star Hero, had a rail at the second fence of the first round, an orange and white oxer 1.55 meters high, and another at the Longines oxer two obstacles before the end. He finished his participation in the same placing.
“Hero gave so much in team rounds, maybe (he was) a little out of gas,” McLain commented.
“I didn’t expect the second jump. I think he was a bit surprised by how big it was. I think the horses performed great this week. We should have had a team medal.”
He added, “The ground’s taking a beating, no doubt. This is for me the greatest venue in the world…but I think on reflection, 150 horses this many days in a row on the turf, I think it’s not something that’s great.” He suggested the footing situation is a matter that should be considered for the future.
Laura, twelfth going in with Baloutinue, had an uncharacteristic fault at the water that scuttled her chances of making the final round. She wound up fourteenth.
“It’s very disappointing because he jumped outstanding,” she noted.
“He thinks he had a clear round. I don’t think he has any idea he touched the tape (at the water). It’s the first time in the time I’ve ridden him he even came close to the tape. He’s been a champion all week.”
As for the rest of the course, she pointed out, “He jumped it so easily. He had plenty in the tank to come back for a second round.”
Sunday’s second course for the top 12.
What the sport is capable of was on display this month in a style that only Aachen could deliver, offering a brilliant panorama over six disciplines.
Aachen is always a very hard act to follow. Its show jumping world championships in 1986 were an experience I will never forget on my initial visit to the venue (writing about the first female world champion, Gail Greenough!) and its 2006 World Equestrian Games was even more memorable. This month’s tour de force another 20 years later set a standard that likely cannot be emulated elsewhere.
It was a fabulous success, and the closing ceremonies were emotional as always; I wasn’t the only one with tears in my eyes.
From Isabell Werth repeating her musical freestyle on Wendy de Fontaine (for me, it was even better than her bronze medal outing last week), to a liberty horse performance and then dancing horses with purple-clad riders, it offered entertainment.
But that was only a prelude to the heart of the Aachen farewell, the traditional parade of smiling athletes, including all the gold medalists, something that pulled on the heartstrings of the spectators.
The crowd as always enthusiastically waved goodbye with white handkerchiefs, while joining in the nineteenth century folk (drinking) song, “Muss i Denn,” as the show jumpers, vaulters, Para participants, dressage riders, eventers (yes, Michael Jung was there) and drivers walked out under the sign that read “Aufwiedersehen Aachen.”
I comforted myself with that old saying, “Don’t cry because it’s over; smile because it happened.”
Click here for results
by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 22, 2026
A memorable marathon over a compelling course ended with the U.S. Four-in-Hand driving team in fifth place among 13 countries on Saturday, the next-to-last day of the FEI World Championships in Aachen.
Chester Weber, the leader after dressage, is now third individually, after his marathon score was added to his total. Fourteenth in the marathon with a total of 119.21 penalties, the U.S. star is behind the leader from the Netherlands, Koos de Ronde on 108.39, who had the best marathon of the day.
But first individually overall after two phases is, no surprise, defending champ Boyd Exell, who is after his eighth consecutive individual title and has led the Australian team of two to first place. That’s so far, since Sunday’s cones contest will decide who, and what countries, get the medals.
Boyd has 142.34 penalties individually, followed by Belgium’s Dries Degrieck on 147.72 and Chester’s 149.61. Which means it’s relatively close in determining who will get individual honors.
“It was hard work out there,” said Boyd.
“You had to work from the beginning to the end, and you couldn’t take your foot off concentrating. But my four horses, like yesterday, were at an optimum.
“They did it again for me today, and they were safe and fast. We didn’t try to win the marathon but we just tried to stay by the top three in every obstacle, which was our goal.”
He added, “The ground was ‘holding’ after 50 carriages and teams, although Aachen has done everything possible to keep the ground stable. I had an unlucky slip in obstacle six when my left wheeler stumbled in the mud, but he got up straight away and I was so grateful he found his extra legs.”
Chester praised his horses, especially venerable left wheeler Amadeus, who proved he still has it at 21 with his performance in the complicated obstacles.
Chester Weber in the marathon (FEI Photo).
The horse is “a half-hackney” combined with KWPN.
“I really like that sort. Maybe they’re not the best young horses, but when they settle into their job, they become professionals and cross-country really suits them; they have a lot of athleticism,” Chester pointed out.
Amadeus’ record that includes 59 starts would seem to underline the truth in that comment.
The second-highest score for the team is Taren “Taz” Lester, a man who used to work for Chester, among other internationally known drivers. He’s a trainer as well as a driver who is twenty-fourth individually with 183.65 penalties and came in twenty-ninth in the marathon after a seventeenth-place dressage finish.
U.S. four-in-hand driver Taren “Taz” Lester at the DHL obstacle in the marathon. (USEF Photo)
Veteran Jimmy Fairclough, who first drove in a four-in-hand championship in 1980, has 201.98 penalties and stands thirty-sixth, which is where is also finished in the marathon.
“I feel a little rusty,” said Jimmy.
“The footing got a little slippery, but my horses were full of power.”
Simply being at Aachen, with its atmosphere heightened by thousands of spectators, is a test for the horses.
“In America,” Jimmy explained, “we don’t have crowds like this and that takes a little bit of a toll on how fired up they are. But we pretty much made every turn we wanted; a little bit slower than I’d like, but I’d rather not have a mistake than be a little faster and something go wrong.”
He noted that it is the first world championship that his two leaders have been with him, though they did a pairs championship before he bought them. His other horses were in the last championships in Hungary two years ago, but that didn’t go well after one of his marathon leaders knocked out all his front teeth on the bars of his stall.
Jean Thornton, driving as an individual for the U.S., is fulfilling an ambition by being in the competition.
“I’m just thrilled to have finished this incredible course here at Aachen. It’s been a lifelong dream for me. To work with these beautiful, talented horses is such a privilege. They took me, I’m just guiding them; they’re the stars here.”
She ranks fiftieth of the 52 marathon finishers.
“I was so happy I was able to get within the time allowed,” Jean mentioned.
“I’m not super-fast in the obstacles. I was really happy to have achieved that. So many obstacles went so well.”
Click here for marathon results. Click here for team results. click here for individual dressage plus marathon results
by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 22, 2026
The U.S. came into the FEI Para Dressage World Championships as the top nation in the discipline, and it is leaving the same way after taking the team gold medal Saturday.
On Friday, Fiona Howard with Diamond Dunes and Marie Vonderheyden on Fan Tastico H earned the best scores in Grades II and I respectively.
Kate Shoemaker and Vianne, the stars of Grade IV, produced the highest individual score of the team competition in Aachen with a mark of 80.460 to complete the job in style the next day and clinch the gold on a total of 236.135 for the squad that also includes longtime Grade III competitor Rebecca Hart.
Kate Shoemaker and Vianne. (FEI Photo)
Even better, Kate was the only rider to score more than 80 percent in the competition that involved teams from 20 countries.
The U.S. had a comfortable margin over the home side, as Germany wound up second with 229.875. The Netherlands was third on 227.639, Denmark fourth with 228.867 and Great Britain fifth on 222.379. It’s worth noting that Great Britain once dominated the Para standings, a reminder than no sporting status is ever eternal.
Chef d’Equipe Michel Assouline acknowledged that as champions from the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games, the team was under pressure. That makes the desire to win even more of a task.
“We know from a sport perspective that maintaining your strength is probably the hardest,” he observed.
“We did it. But we also prize our horses, very much so. We want to look after the horses so well and make sure they are happy horses. Yes, we are thirsty to win the gold for the world championship because it was a first for us, so we wanted to have that — but not at the expense of the horses.”
Michel pointed out, “I think everybody could see that in the performance, the horses were really happy horses under extremely high standards of harmony, so we’re happy.”
The triumph was not without drama.
Kate revealed that there was “a bit of a moment” just as she was getting ready to enter the arena, when Carla Onrubia Roman of Spain fell from Valerio, who spooked as he and his rider were leaving the ring.
“She fell off right where we needed to cross by each other,” Kate recalled.
“I never had that experience with my horse, having a loose horse next to her,” Kate revealed.
But Vianne, fabulous mare that she is, handled the mini-crisis.
“She looked over there, said, `Are you guys okay? And then, she was like, `Okay, it’s fine,’ ” Kate reported.
“And then Michel said, `Get in the arena.’ I was like, `Yes sir.’
“I was so proud of Vianne in that moment, because she just went in the ring and said, `We go do our thing now and everything’s okay.’
“It was really, really special to me that she had that much confidence in me, to go in with that much excitement and still put in a really good test.”
Now that Para Dressage has been a success at Aachen, it will continue to be part of the show’s program annually, according to Sports Director Birgit Rosenberg.
That is a logical decision.
As Rebecca Hart explained, “One of the main things that we as Para athletes try to recognize is that Para doesn’t actually refer to being paraplegic or disabled.
“It refers to being parallel to able-bodied sport. When we can highlight that at a huge championship and a venue this world-renowned, it can only benefit the future of our sport. And for individuals with disabilities, being inspired helps them to understand that you do not have to let what the world would seem as limiting, limit you.”
Click here for team results. Click here for individual Grade IV results.
by Nancy Jaffer | Aug 21, 2026
For decades, Chester Weber has been polishing and perfecting his horses and his driving skills.
All that effort paid off Friday in Aachen at the FEI World Championships, as Chester not only won the dressage phase of the four-in-hand driving competition, but also set a new world record in the process.
His score of 30.40 penalties powered the U.S. to third place in the standings before Saturday’s marathon.
After the dressage, in the individual rankings, Chester was just 1.46 penalties ahead of Australia’s perennial driving star, Boyd Exell, who is looking for his eighth world championships title.
Germany leads the team standings on 79.31 penalties with its father/daughter team of Christoph and Anna Sandmann (as well as Anna Meier), while Australia’s two-member team of Boyd and Tor van den Berge is at 81.17, and the U.S. is on 81.84.
Chester raved about his Dutchbred harness horses, especially Amadeus, his 21-year-old right wheeler.
“He’s super special. He has a huge piece of my heart. We went to Windsor this year. He’s in super form.”
He added with a smile, “It’s super nice to have that sort of PhD in knowledge right next to you.”
In addition to Chester, the U.S. team consists of championships first-timer Taren Lester, seventeenth on 51.44 penalties, and James Fairclough, who first drove in a world championships in 1980 and was on the gold medal team at the 2018 World Equestrian Games with Chester.
Jimmy had to deal with pouring rain that made things uncomfortable during his dressage test. He is thirty-first with 60.83 penalties.
Click here for team standings. Click here for individual standings.
