Fry and Glamourdale Blindside Rivals for GP Special Gold at 2026 World Championships Dressage

- Text © Eurodressage (this article expresses Eurodressage's' eye-witness account and opinion about the competition)  
-- Photos © Astrid Appels/Eurodressage - No reproduction allowed - NO SCREENSHOTS FOR SOCIAL MEDIA

Four years after becoming the World Champions in Herning (DEN), British Charlotte Fry and and her black stallion Glamourdale blindsided her rivals in a very impressive move to win Grand Prix Special gold at the 2026 World Championship Dressage in Aachen on Friday afternoon 14 August 2026.

She was joined on the podium by perpetual bridesmaid Cathrine Dufour and shooting star Katharina Hemmer after a true battle of the titans in brutal heat in the Aachen main stadium. 

Sell-Out Crowd Roars

A sell-out crowd of almost 40,000 people watched a thrilling battle of the world's best dressage riders on Thursday afternoon, keeping the crowds on the edge of their seat as mistakes by the medal favourites re-organized the leaderboard and delivered a rather unexpected gold medalist. 

The Grand Prix Special had to be re-scheduled with a "siesta break" as a 34 C° temperature made competing over lunch time too hard on the horses. Twenty horses went early in the morning as of 8h30 am, while the last group of 10 started at 15h00.  FEI Head Veterinarian Goran Akerstrom (SWE) measured the temperature and humidity in the arena before the class re-started and gave a thumbs up that the conditions were considered good enough to compete. 

A few pockets of empty seats were to be detected in the stadium, but usually in the spots where the sun hit hard, roasting people alive. Many preferred to stand in the shade on ground level than take their allocated seats. With the World Championships in full swing, the show grounds were packed with people who also came to watch eventing dressage and vaulting. The loud cheering of the eventing fans could be overheard in the dressage stadium, but nothing shook you more to the core than when the audience roared after a finished ride by one of the greats in the big stadium. The thunderous applause and cheers rumbled through the stadium, making you deeply feel how beloved this equestrian sport it. 

After Twenty Years...

In 2006 Aachen hosted the fifth "World Equestrian Games" in Aachen, where fans saw perpetual rivals Anky van Grunsven (Salinero) and Isabell Werth (Satchmo) continue their duel started on horses Bonfire and Gigolo. Dressage sport was a little less exciting back then as it was always the same faces on the podium and the up-and-comers getting very little chance to break through in the sport.  Back then it was an unknown face in the sport,  Andreas Helgstrand, who broke the mold and wiggled his way onto the podium with Blue Hors Matine. This pair was much more the talk of the town back then than yet another fight between Anky and Isabell.

Twenty years later quite a few things have changed. The sport has professionalized so much more, the quality of the horses has improved, and after a very difficult transition period round the 2010s the judging finally started to improve and change towards an appreciation of a more harmonious way of riding than leg flash, caused by a tug of war in the saddle, which scored high notes in those days. Dressage competition sport has (pain-stakingly) slowly evolved into a rewarding of grace, elegance, and correct (classical) riding with more intolerance to ridiculously tight nosebands, harsh hands and spurs, and other training short-cuts for quick results. We're not there yet, but it has ameliorated.

In addition, the group of players fighting for a medal has gone from the usual 2 or 3 to a at least 5 or 6 that have a chance for a podium place. While these numbers seem low, it has given the sport more edge, more diversity, and more excitement and dressage fans got a taste of that first hand here in Aachen.

Let's Get Things Rolling

The morning groups kicked off an historic day of dressage competition, which kept the judges' panel of seven gripped to their seat. Alice Schwab (AUT), Maria Colliander (FIN),  Ulrike Nivelle (GER), Kurt Christensen (DEN), Michael Osinski (USA), Maribel Alonso de Quinzaños (MEX), and Clive Halsall (GBR) officiated and were supported by a Judging Supervisory Panel that included Andrew Gardner (GBR), Henk van Bergen (NED), and Mary Seefried (AUS) to double check for technical errors or lapses.

Austria's newest sensation, the 23-year old Felicita Simoncic, was the first rider to go and painted a beautiful picture on her 16-year old KWPN stallion Four Legends (by Wynton x Ferro) who has successfully taken her out of the youth ranks and into the junior division. Nicely up in the bridle and in a light contact, they were a good representation of what the future should look like. They finished 26th with 70.076%.

American team rookie Christian Simonson rode his first World Championships on "schoolmaster" Fleau de Baian, Adelinde Cornelissen's former GP horse (by Jazz x Ulft), which turned out not the easiest professor. Only this year the new duo found their stride in the competition ring and as sole American pair made it into the Special. Simonson did a lovely job presenting the liver chestnut stallion but the "curse of the Special" reared its ugly head when he went off course at the start of the canter tour. It brought back memories of the curse on the house of Herning in 2013. From my corner USA's medal glory days ended in 2021 and the affluent dressage nation are climbing out of a deep hole. They have much more scaling to do if they want to shine on home turf at the 2028 L.A. Olympics. 

Brazilian double Olympian Joao Victor Marcari Oliva had an off day on his 14-year old Westfalian Feel Good (by Franziskus x Dimension) as the horse threw the tongue over the bit and had contact issues throughout.  Spaniard Jose Antonia Garcia Mena and the 15-year old Lusitano Gladiador do Lis (by Peralta Pinha x Spartacus) worried spectators close to the ring when the bay stallion started roaring so loudly it felt like the horse was going to pass out. Mena gave Gladiador the rein on multiple occasions to make him stretch the neck, but the roaring continued until the end of the ride. It would not have been out of place had the bell for the welfare of the horse been rung. 

The first truly thrilling test of the day came from Australian Simone Pearce on the 10-year old CDE registered Will Marq (by Rio Marq x Lanciano). The Australian exceeded her own expectations and with very nice piaffe work and a steady contact and head/neck position she rode herself to a personal best score of 74,438% on this horse and 12th (!!) place. In the one tempi changes she should sit more quietly in the saddle instead of swinging like a show jumper from left to right. Pearce bought the horse together with fiance Martin Fuchs and business investor Ilan Ferder in January 2025 and has now earned herself a spot in the Kur to Music finals. Pearce was in tears as she left the arena but then reality hit fast as she does not have music for her horse and had to commission a freestyle to be made in one day. 

2026 World Cup winners Becky Moody and her 12-year old home bred Jagerbomb (by Dante Weltino x Jazz) made a good recovery in the Special after some atypical mistakes in the Grand Prix, but were still not on peak form.  "Bomber" stood still in the halts, but the rhythm of the right half pass could have been smoother. The collected walk was rather short, but clear and there was a nice transition into the first piaffe. In the second piaffe the horse was uneven on the diagonals and wagged his head left-right, same in the piaffe at X. The canter work was strong with big, tidy tempi changes. Moody revealed after her test that her horse had trod on his foot and pulled off one of his front shoes in the warm-up. Unfortunately, there was not time to put the shoe back on before his test, but was declared sound by Becky, along with the team vet and farrier, Andre Buthe and Mark Watson. " It wasn’t the ideal prep, but I think that is where our relationship does really shine.. and he’s got really good strong feet thank goodness! We checked him and he was all good, but it wasn’t what you want to happen just before you go in!” They finished 7th with 77.660%

Swedish Maria von Essen and the 14-year old KWPN gelding Invoice (by Jazz x Ferro) rose to the occasion and delivered Sweden's best result of the week. They carefully rode all the movements with a soft contact. The gelding shone in the passage - extended trot - half pass sections. The piaffe at X was rather tense and forward. The judges scored it 75.274% for Von Essen to place 9th.  Invoice is listed as owned by company Alexanders Hovslageri & Häst, of which the rider is the key principal. Maria trains with Cathrine Dufour and Kyra Kyrklund and became the best performing Swede in Aachen, taking over the baton from Patrik Kittel, who made it into the Kur by riding his 14-year old Touchdown (by Quaterback x Sack) to a 17th place on a 73.191% score. The German based rider announced at the end of the day that he has withdrawn his horse from the freestyle. The horse stumbled in the Special and he does not want to risk the health in the Kur. His place in the freestyle has been taking by Patrik's best friend, Finnish Olympian Henri Ruoste on Victoria Schönhofen's 14-year old Danish mare Tiffany's Diamond (by Temptation s His Highness), who placed 21st with 72.188%

Into the Frying Pan

The 2,5 hour lunch and siesta break gave some respite from the heat and to relax the brain a bit before going onto the mental and physical roller coaster of what a medal finals can be for dressage addicts.  With the sun shining full blast burning at 34 C°, photographers ventured into the frying pan to stand in one of three photography "pockets" to capture impressions of the pinnacle of the sport.

The first top ride of the afternoon came from Holland's leading lady Marieke van der Putten on Saskia and Jacques Lemmens' 12-year old Oldenburg mare Zantana (by Zonik x Sir Donnerhall), which the Dutch pharmaceutical power couple bought for 955,000 euro at the 2019 PSI Auction. The ultra sharp and sensitive mare was already a break-out star in 2025 and has found more ease in the show ring, but still is plenty "on edge". Van der Putten does not have her in a light contact as the horse seems ready to go for a sprint any second, but she has her more on the aids and focused on her than the surroundings. The bending to the left is definitely not as well developed, but the half pass to the right was absolutely gorgeous. There was a good V-moment in the rhythm in the extended walk but there could be more overstep. The mare is a real leg mover and often braces the back, but she is super flashy and expressive in the piaffe and passage fuelled by so much energy. The transitions in and out of piaffe were very well ridden. There was a break into canter in the passes and a mistake in the two's. The pirouettes were both small but lacked bending. The final centerline was lovely. They scored 76.246% for 8th place. 

Carl Hester proved he's not ready to put on his slippers as he returned on the British team for another round of Championships aboard Fiona Bigwood's 16-year old KWPN gelding Fame (by Bordeaux x Rhodium). Hester rode his first FEI Championships as a senior Grand Prix rider at the inaugural World Equestrian Games in 1990 in Stockholm with Rubelit von Unkenruf; thirty-six years later he's peaking again on Fame, although we'll never forget the heydays with Uthopia. While I was not so convinced by Fame in the Grand Prix with underpowered pi-pa work and the nose dipping by the vertical at times, the gelding looked better and more "on" in the Special. He looked fresher in trot but as always the nose needed to be more out. The trot extensions were good, the passage left was better engaged than the one on the right lead. The piaffe-passage serpentine was very well ridden. There was such good balance and rhythm in the canter half passes, the two tempi's were excellent and the ones straight as an arrow.  He scored 78,298% for 6th place.  The individual marks went from 77.021% (6th) to 80,000%. (5th).

Clash of the Five Titans

The first pair to go into the arena in the clash of the five titans were Danish Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour and the 17-year old Hanoverian mare Mount St. John Freestyle (by Fidermark x Donnerhall). Owned by Emma Blundell, Laudrup-Dufour and the Zinglersen family, the bay mare  has developed into a spectacular Grand Prix horse since Cathrine took over the ride from Charlotte Dujardin. "Free" found relaxation and poise in her way of being and moving, something Dufour has meticulously curated over the years. This season they strategically avoided a confrontation in the competition ring with reigning European Champions Justin Verboomen and Zonik Plus and while Verboomen won all classes he entered (as well as the duel with Dufour in Frankfurt in December 2025), it was Freestyle who achieved the highest Grand Prix scores of this year. They travelled to Aachen as the favourites for gold.

The very ambitious Dufour has a very tight system set up around her with trainers, vets, farriers, and a long-time mental coach (Ramsus Bagger) to micro-manage her career for absolute top level. She has also become a brand with a company selling merchandising, horse care products, and influencer ads on social media. She deemed herself ready at age 32 for a biography, titled Passage and released in 2024. Dufour is incredibly popular and she's an incredibly good rider but despite micro-managing all aspects in her life the individual gold has eluded her since becoming a senior Grand Prix rider in 2016. It has almost become a curse, but everyone felt that the moment was finally ripe for her to pluck gold in Aachen. 

The pair began the test with a beautiful halt at entry, big trot extensions and lightfooted passage work that was so regular. The mare stayed fairly busy in the mouth but does not give the impression to be comfortable in the contact. The transition to the extended walk was superb. The piaffe-passage serpentine was so carefully ridden with a few teeny-tiny regularlity issues. In the second piaffe Freestyle sidestepped with the left hindleg. The two tempi changes were good but one change was slightly shorter behind from my viewpoint. And then it happened.. a mistake in the ones and the crowd moaned with regret.  The extended canter was big. There was a slight imbalance in the left pirouette and a bobble in the exit from the right one. The end halt was not immobile as the crowd couldn't hold its excitement for a truly brilliant ride. These small technical imperfections put the score at  80,927% and left the door open for another rider to claim gold.

Next in was Belgian Justin Verboomen on his own 10-year old Hanoverian stallion Zonik Plus (by Zonik x Hohenstein). The refined looking stallion is not the tallest horse, nor is he the most athletic mover of the five titans in Aachen, but his strengths lie in his co-operativeness, lightness, elegance and harmony with his rider, a new standard set by the FEI and judges for the direction of modern dressage sport.  In the Grand Prix the pair did not truly bring their A-game and nervous Verboomen had to go back to the drawing board and conjure a better preparation for the Special. After a good halt at entry, the pair showed a big trot extension with the rider leaning a bit too much backwards in the saddle. The half passes were floating, the passage work regular but could have a hindleg reaching under a bit more, and the extensions energetic. The extended walk was relaxed and the collected clear but the transition to piaffe came early. The piaffes were better than in the Grand Prix but they were more clockwork in Crozet.  The two's were impressive in ground cover and straightness, but then a mistake followed in the ones, just like Dufour did.  When a second mistake happened in the ones on the centerline the door was closed for gold. The pirouettes were phenomenal though and the final centerline carefully ridden. With Zonik Plus being more content in the mouth on a looser curb rein than in the Grand Prix the overall image was much better, but still not as "on point" as he had him last year at the Europeans. Albeit the pair was clearly in the same league as the titans and loved by the crowd with thunderous applause in support. They scored 79,362% which put them behind Dufour and in the end in fifth place. 

Mohammed Ali

The question lingered in the air what the Queen of Dressage, Isabell Werth, will pull out of her sleeve when put under pressure. The evergreen Werth has the fighter mentality of a Mohammed Ali and it is mind-blowing how she can step up her game when it matters. 

The 12-year old Danish warmblood mare (Queenparks) Wendy (de Fontaine) is such a sympathetic horse - tall, black, beautiful - with a super mind, but she's not the most supple in the topline nor very flexible in the hindlegs. Werth has transformed her into a medal magnet since taking over the ride from Andreas Helgstrand in 2024. She ridden her on the Olympic podium in Paris (silver) and to double bronze in Crozet. Entering the arena after Verboomen in the Special in Aachen, the duo gave it their all. The first trot extension was the best one the mare has ever performed in her life in a show ring, even though she leaned into her rider's hands. The passage work was very regular, but one wishes to see a hindleg more pushing. The left passage was more collected (and less ground covering) than the right one. The extended walk was very nice with a clear V-moment, the collected walk was good. She stumbled into the first piaffe though and in the second there was a short back-step. Two changes in the line of two's seemed shorter, one jump in the line of ones was not jumped through. The pirouettes were small but not really supple. On the final centerline the passage was neat, but there was some backstepping tendency with the left hind in the piaffe at X. The final halt was almost square. Werth scored 79.544% and pushed Verboomen behind her. 

Dinner is Served

And then came Charlotte Fry on Gert-Jan van Olst's 15-year old KWPN stallion Glamourdale (by Lord Leatherdale) x Negro). The World Cup winners of 2025 have been capable to win individual medals from the start of their Grand Prix career: they first did the World Championships in 2022 and struck double gold as the new shooting stars. In 2023 at the Europeans there was kur silver, at the 2024 Olympics she got individual bronze, but at the 2025 Europeans in Crozet they were off the podium twice for individual honours after a 9th place in the Special and 10th in the Kur.  In 2026 they only did three shows very early in the season, between January and April, and finished second behind reigning European champion Justin Verboomen in her last four tests 

Coming into Aachen they were certainly considered contenders for the medals but not considered the principal players, truly... Boy, did they prove everyone wrong. When the lions fight, the wolves dine well. As Dufour and Verboomen made mistakes, Fry entered the fray and ran off with the bone. For some dressage lovers Glamourdale is the epitome of dressage sport: power, expression: black, tall, strong hindleg, massive ground cover. His big hooves pound on the floor as if a tank is rolling by. All that energy and power come at a cost of a lack of collection and a bridle contact that is rather strong. Glamourdale also has a look of concentration and exertion on his face and not so much of a horse happily sauntering through a test, like a Freestyle or Zonik Plus.

Lottie and Glammy showed huge trot extensions, a very forward passage, and smooth transitions in between, as well as trot half passes in medium trot. At times the nose was flexed to the right, also on the left lead. The extended walk had a good four-beat rhythm but not the greatest overstep. The first piaffe was not out of the walk but clearly out of a halt. There was a small hesitation before the canter strike off. The tempi changes were huge and confident, but a little swinging from left to right in front in all their greatness. The judges automatically have their finger on the 10 button for the canter extension. It was in canter that Glamourdale made the difference for the win.  The pirouettes worked out and the final centerline was the best one they've ever ridden with the piaffe - usually one of Glamourdale's weaker points - now in a better sitting frame. The crowd could barely contain their excitement as groups wanted to clap very early on, while others shushed them to stay quiet until the final halt. 82.295% flashed on the board and the lead was theirs. Six judges placed them first with scores between 81.489%  (Alonso) and 84.468% (Colliander); one judge had them third with 80.213% (Christensen).

Only one rider was left to go into the arena: German Katharina Hemmer on Nancy Gooding's 14-year old Oldenburg gelding Denoix PCH (by Destano x Pik Noir). She entered the arena in walk with a scared expression on her face. She lifted her finger to her mouth to ask the audience to be quiet as her liver chestnut usually does not cope well with electric environments. Aachen is electricity on steroids. Denoix did not stand still in the halt at entry, but then continued with good trot extensions and a right passage that was so elegant and gorgeous. In the left passage the horse started breathing heavily from all the effort and focus. The contact with the mouth was soft and supple at all times, truly exemplary. Denoix showed better ability to collect than Glamourdale. The extended walk was good, the collected clear with a lovely transition into the piaffe. The second piaffe was also good, despite a bit step out into passage. The canter half passes were so balanced, but the horse made a big leap in the flying change. The twos were straight, the ones top class. The extended canter good with a nice executed flying change. The right pirouette was a little big and could have had more bending.  The crowd was ready to blow the roof off the stadium on the final centerline and began to clap. Everyone expected Denoix to blow up, but he kept his cool in the final passage.  80.866% flashed on the board and Hemmer just won the bronze medal she already deserved in Crozet.  Dufour ended up with silver and Fry got gold.

Outpour of Emotions  

Fry jubilated behind the scenes and jumped into the arms of her boyfriend, Belgian veterinarian Willem Verhaeghe. At the press conference following the prize giving Lottie Fry was thrilled. 

“I still can’t believe what just happened. Glammie was amazing in there. He was just giving, giving and giving. Whenever I was thinking, ‘Stay safe’, Glammie was saying, ‘No, let’s take a risk!"," Fry explained. "When everything comes together after such a long preparation is amazing. I have no words for him, he’s incredible. He loves big arenas like this, with all the lights shining on him. He is 15 now, but he just keeps improving.”

Dufour, on the other hand, could not hide her disappointment. "I'm very disappointed. I didn't feel that I managed to show my lovely Freestyle in the best possible way. So that really disappoints me. I felt that she was super sharp. I thought that I had the sharpness that I needed today. For some reason I just couldn't put it together, so I'm really disappointed right now. She felt on form, she felt lovely. She was fantastic and she was putting all the effort in, but I must have miscommunicated for my one tempis and a little bit for the last part.  So that's just such a pity. Right now I'm just really disappointed. 

Dufour is excited about the Kur to Music finals. "Freestyle did her first World Championships many years ago in Tryon (2018). I did my first one in Herning in 2022, and now we're doing the third one together. So that's the whole theme coming together and I hope that we can really manage and maintain and show this partnership how amazing it can be. So that's my biggest goal for tomorrow."

Hemmer was on cloud nine. Twenty years after her coach Hubertus Schmidt won team silver at the 2006 WEG in Aachen, did she win individual bronze on Denoix who was trained to Grand Prix level by her coach.  “I never dreamed of winning an individual medal in Aachen. We had mainly focused on the Team Competition and the Grand Prix. Achieving a personal best there was amazing. Everything after that would simply be the icing on the cake,” she said. “I will never experience anything like this again: winning a World Championship medal on home soil in Aachen with my best friend. Denoix is so special to me. He stayed focused, even during our final halt when the crowd was already cheering.”

At the press conference Hemmer announced that she will not be riding the freestyle on Saturday. A string of mixed messages from different channels followed in which it was said this was a German equestrian federation decision, who seemingly claimed the right to choose which of the three riders goes to the freestyle if all four of the team qualify. That version was then followed by a "veterinary" decision, i.e to spare the horse. Denoix sustained a minor injury in June and for the welfare of the horse it was decided not to make him do a third test, even though it's a mandatory FEI rule to partake in all three rounds when qualified. Of course with an FEI vet report any rule can be altered. Let’s not forgot that Denoix does not like the Kur and had a little meltdown in Crozet last year. The Aachen atmosphere would be exponential to the boutique Europeans in France. Later in the day it was also announced that Patrik Kittel pulled out Touchdown for veterinary reasons. 

Werth said in an interview with the German FN, "I said it before, every mistake is crucial here. At these World Championships we have five or six contenders for the individual medals, and the mistakes made the difference. I simply have to be flawless, it’s that simple. They were small things; the stumble in the piaffe was a bit of bad luck, one of the flying changes was a bit shorter, and I think there was one on the centerline too—that cost us two percent overall.” 

Fifth placed Verboomen commented that, "Zonik is only ten years old, and this was our first Grand Prix Special since the European Championships in Crozet. We had focused entirely on the team result." He added to Eurodressage that the horse felt much better in the warm-up compared to the Grand Prix and that now he feels relieved. "I have nothing to lose now," he said expressing his excitement to ride to his well liked music in the freestyle on Saturday night.

-- Photos © Astrid Appels/Eurodressage - No reproduction allowed - NO SCREENSHOTS!

Related Link
Eurodressage Coverage of the 2026 World Championships Dressage
Scores: 2026 World Championships Dressage