Julia Krajewski and Uelzener’s Nickel. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
It can sometimes feel like a bit of a foregone conclusion that the first phase will be a match race between Michael Jung and fischerChipmunk FRH and Laura Collett and London 52, but in the twilight of both great horses’ careers, an heir apparent has taken over.
On the second day of dressage at the 2026 FEI World Championships, Germany’s Julia Krajewski and the 12-year-old Uelzener’s Nickel are at the top of the pack, having delivered a score of 22 that well eclipses their Paris Olympics score of 26.9 and marks a milestone step into the gelding’s prime.
Like so many horses and riders over both days of dressage, Julia and Nickel’s arrival into the arena was marked by a roar of support from the crowd – but Nickel, who was the yard’s ‘fun horse’ a few seasons ago and took part in plenty of raucous arena eventing competitions, isn’t easily muddled by a bit of noise.
“You do think, ‘okay, what will my horse think?’ The crowd was calm, and then just before I had to enter, [the commentator] finished announcing me and they started clapping,” says Julia. “I was like, ‘guys, that’s not the best moment!’ But Nickel, by now, knows what this square means, and even though he was a bit switched on 20 metres before, he went in and he’s okay.”
Then, she continues, “he’s concentrated, and supple, and with me, and I could really ride. Looking back, maybe I could have ridden even more, I don’t know, but he was so with me and correct and true, and I really had time to enjoy my dressage. I was even smiling a bit and thinking, ‘oh, he’s really nice!’ and smiling at the judges, hoping for half a point more. I don’t know if it worked, but he gave me a really nice feeling in there.”
Julia Krajewski and Uelzener’s Nickel. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Since Paris, where Nickel finished eleventh as a relatively green twelve-year-old, “he’s got a lot stronger. This test requires a lot of collection, and to stay supple in the collection is something you build over the years. Some horses find it easier and some more difficult, and it’s not the easiest for him to be really collected and quick with his hind legs but we’ve made that easier over the years.”
It is, she continues, “a balance between getting him stronger but also keeping him supple, because he’s quite a narrow horse, so he finds it difficult to bring the energy really through his back and he can be quick to get tense in his back. We always want to make sure he’s happy and supple in his body, so he’ll do one or two more intense schooling days and then a few easy days. It’s about going in waves – building up, taking a break, building up again, because that’s how his body works. His whole character is very genuine and he wants to do well and do what I ask him, so I make sure not to put too much pressure on him.”
Tokyo Olympic champion Julia goes into tomorrow’s cross-country with a unique accolade to her name: she’s won here at Aachen twice previously, yes, but she’s also done it with two thirds of today’s podium. She won the CHIO CCIO4*-S in 2024 with Nickel, just before their selection for Paris, and in 2018 with fischerChipmunk FRH, en route to that year’s World Equestrian Games, after which the horse was bought out from under her and sent to Michael Jung.
“I really like riding here, and I try not to think too much about the package of the World Championship – if I get a medal in the end, then I’ll know the difference,” she says. “The better you start, though, the better the base, and there’s a lot that can happen but in the end, for a medal, even a tenth of a penalty can make a difference. You really just want to get every point you can.”
Laura Collett and London 52. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Laura Collett and London 52 danced their way to overnight silver medal position with a score of 22.8 – a numerical value that proved that the ground jury wasn’t going to succumb to Friday afternoon marking, but also wouldn’t be averse to rewarding where reward was warranted. It might not be the lofty heights – or is that basement lows? – of the high teens, where both she and Michi have previously found themselves, but it’s also just 0.8 penalties off the lead. That’s just two seconds on the clock behind a horse who hasn’t made the time since two-star, and ahead of a cross-country day where the time might not even be catchable.
The extraordinary atmosphere of the grass dressage arena, which has been fashioned within the combined driving arena, even affected consummate showman ‘Dan’ today, and the pair had a step of jog in the walk work that wasn’t particularly influential in their scores.
“It was a shame, because he actually felt relaxed up until that point, but he kind of knows [the canter] is coming and just slightly anticipated,” says Laura. “But he felt really with me and rideable, and once he got into the canter he was lovely. He loves it here – he loves an atmosphere, and he loves lots of people, so he’s right at home when everyone’s clapping. He loves walking over here, with the vaulting arena and the main arena and this arena, where you can hear all the crowds clapping.”
Their effort leads the way for the British team, who sit in gold medal position overnight on a score of 72.8, just ahead of the Germans in silver on 73.6.
Michael Jung and fischerChipmunk FRH. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Just behind Laura in bronze medal position is Michael Jung and his Paris Olympic champion fischerChipmunk FRH on a score of 23.
“I’m still very happy – Chipmunk is an amazing horse, and every day with him is to be enjoyed,” says Michi. “Today we’re not in the lead and maybe not everyone is so happy about that, but I’m still happy. We had a good test for sure; not everything went like we wished, but it’s not always like this.”
Though they led throughout much of the trot and walk work, it was a late mistake in the canter that saw them relinquish gold medal position.
“The third flying change was not our best. I tried to push him a little bit more forward and uphill, but then we lost a bit of the balance and had a little bit, maybe, of a misunderstanding for a part of a second. But I think that’s the only change I’ve ever ridden on him that hasn’t been good. This is [the reality of] horse and rider; this is connection – these five minutes are so important. Hopefully that was our last mistake.”
Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
2023 European Champions Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo, too, sacrificed a mark or two in the canter work, though their mistake came at the second flying change.
“He decided he’d quite like to have a walk,” laughs Ros. “I think the changes are our trickiest thing, and always have been – and still now I wouldn’t say they’re 100% at home at all. So that’s a tricky test for him, because he really has to have a bouncy canter in order to have a clean change. I went for the bounce and got a walk instead. But you know what? I’m still pretty proud of the fact that he clawed it back and did the next two really well.”
Though ‘Walter’ is arguably the best event horse in the world right now – or perhaps ever – the first phase is the one that’s taken the most development. His score of 23.4 today is good enough for overnight fourth, and on a par with his last few years’ worth of top-level scores but, says Ros, “he’s quite a blood horse and he naturally wants to be a little bit on his forehand, which is why he gallops so well – but it’s taken time and lots of practice for him to start to really dance. He loves to drop his tummy, which is what he does when he gallops and which is what makes him such a streamlined galloper, so it’s been a lot of core work to make him strong. I think there’s more in him yet, and I feel very proud that he can be so close to the top of the leaderboard. He’s an amazing partner to have.”
The 2018 World Champion and her five-time five-star winner – the most-decorated event horse in history – head into their best phase just 1.4 penalties, or roughly four seconds, off the leading spot. On a day when the time will be potentially uncatchable, this is one horse who feels preordained to get as close as proves possible.
Nicolas Touzaint and Diabolo Menthe. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
The top five after the first phase is completed by day one leaders Tom McEwen and JL Dublin on their score of 26.6, creating a surprisingly wide 3.2 penalty margin, while France’s evergreen Nicolas Touzaint and his Paris mount, Diabolo Menthe, are piggybacking into sixth place on a tight 26.7.
For them, too, the canter work was the biggest story of the test.
“I know the horse is technically spot on, and the test was really good, but we had a slight issue with one of the flying changes, and I’m annoyed with myself because he usually does them like clockwork,” laments Nicolas, who dropped down to marks of five for that third change. “I was the one rushing things a bit. The rest was really good, and I felt he was with me.”
By the time we reached this busy afternoon session, the Grand Prix Special in the main stadium had resumed after its siesta and that class, too, was heading into its zenith, creating a pressure-cooker atmosphere punctuated by uproarious screams and cheering with little warning. That was an anomaly that had popped up notably in the moments before Ros and Walter entered the ring, and its sudden intrustion was never far from Nicolas’s mind as he entered the arena a few tests prior.
“I was worried because there was a lot of noise coming from the stadium next door, but he stayed focused on me and was brilliant. I really felt like I was executing my plan, and it’s a great result for me and for the team. The points put us right in the mix – we’re not leading, but we aren’t trailing, either.”
France goes into cross-country in bronze medal position, though they’re being closely hunted: New Zealand is just three-tenths of a penalty behind them in fourth place at this stage of the competition.
Andrew Hoy and Vassily de Lassos celebrate yet another milestone moment in a storied career. Photo by Haley Boothe/Impulsion Media.
Australia’s line-up of largely inexperienced horses and riders, who are being developed for the future, is sitting a touch further back in provisional eighth place in the team competition, but one of their own broke into the top ten late this afternoon.
Andrew Hoy isn’t the only rider to return to Aachen this year as a veteran of the 2006 World Equestrian Games – Belgium’s Karin Donckers, the USA’s Phillip Dutton (then an Aussie himself), France’s Nicolas Touzaint, Austria’s Harald Ambros, Brazil’s Carlos Parro, and Denmark’s Peter Flarup were all competing here twenty years ago, too. But nobody boasts quite the same championship resume as Andrew: this is his ninth World Championship start, having made his debut at Lexington in 1978, and he’s been to ten Olympics, too.
The 67-year-old has no intention of slowing down, though, and nor does the seventeen-year-old Vassily de Lassos, who looked back on his best form after a few seasons slightly set apart from the spotlight. The Tokyo individual bronze medallist put forward his best-ever international score at any level this afternoon, posting a 26.9 to sit seventh overnight.
“I have the easy part, because I’ve got a complete team around me that have set the horse up absolutely beautifully – all I had to do was focus on what I needed to do, and go and do it,” says Andrew. “I can’t take the credit myself. Vassily is an amazing horse – I’m getting emotional, but he’s just very, very special. Every day I learn a new way with him; I learn to understand him and his body and how to set him up for something like this.”
It’s not, he continues, “just about going in and riding the movements – it’s about preparing the horse in the correct way, so that he has the ability to do his best, and I think apart from one small mistake where he just tripped at the end of the medium trot, there was nothing to add today.”
But the writing wasn’t always on the wall for the best test of their partnership.
“This morning we were doing some gymnastic exercises and I said to [my trainer], ‘I’ve lost him – I’ve lost him mentally.’ It wasn’t that I couldn’t go and ride the movements, it was just that he was focused on other things,” explains Andrew. So, he continues, adaptability was key: “we relocated to another arena, did five minutes’ work, and left it at that. If I’m asked what’s the one thing I’ve learned in all my time in this industry, it’s that you’ve got to give the horses time.”
Tamie Smith and Lillet 3. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
The best of the bunch for the strong US front is individual rider Tamie Smith, who posted a 27 with the ten-year-old former Andreas Dibowski ride Lillet 3 to step into eighth place overnight.
“You don’t know what they’re going to do in an atmosphere like that, but she was like a seasoned pro in there,” says Tamie of her Kentucky CCI4*-S winner. “She’s so young and wouldn’t have ever seen something like that, and so I’m so proud of her. Her trot work was just so fluid, and the highlight was that she stayed with me every stride. She was like, ‘like this? Like this?’ and I’m like, ‘yes! Like that! Keep going!’”
Tamie made a bold decision that paid off in the ring, opting to ride the mare in a double bridle for the first time.
“This is my first time competing in it, but we’ve been playing around a little bit,” says Tamie. “I’ve had a lot of time in the UK with her, so we’ve been experimenting and she really liked it.”
Tamie has been in the UK since the end of May, when she travelled over with a small string of horses, and daughter Kaylawna and student Molly Duda, who owns Lillet 3, to aim for a series of competitions. For Molly, that was the recent Under-25 World Championships at Millstreet, where she finished in the top ten; for Tamie, it was a visit to Bramham for Lillet, where a surprise fall ended their weekend early, and they’ve been on the up and up again ever since.
New Zealand’s Jonelle Price and Senor Crocodillo move into ninth place with yesterday’s score of 27.2, while Thursday’s best scorers for France, Alexis Goury and Je’Vall, round out the top ten on their 28.5.
Will Coleman and Diabolo. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
For US team riders Will Coleman and Boyd Martin, the starting point of the week might not have been heralded in with fireworks, but their scores still see them sit in close contention for a climb. For Will and his Kentucky five-star winner Diabolo, it’s overnight 21st place after a slightly surprising 30, a touch off the pace of the 27.3 that began their Kentucky campaign.
“There were some good things, but he just maybe had a hard time putting the whole test together today,” says Will, who rode in some of the worst of today’s weather, when temperatures soared over 100 degrees. “I kind of anticipated him going in there and responding to the crowd and the atmosphere, and he really just didn’t. He was almost a little lazy for bits of his test, and then the only place where he was a little bit crowd sensitive was during the walk, so that was a bit of a hairy walk tour. I was on eggshells for most of that, but we did the best we could.”
It is, he points out, “his first championship, and he’s a great horse who can hopefully have two more good days, and that’s all we’re going to focus on.”
Boyd Martin and Cooley Nutcracker. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
For Boyd and the former Liz Halliday ride Cooley Nutcracker, it was a 30.9 and overnight 25th.
“I was pretty pleased with it,” says Boyd. “You always dream of like, this perfect test, and I felt like I got a lot of good work in there and one or two moments I wish I could redo. But all in all, I’m really pleased with him. He’s a quirky horse – he’s a very quiet, laid-back horse in the stable, and then when you’re riding him, people move. He’s so sharp and quick, and the best thing about him is that when you go into the competition ring, he’s really focused. I never worry about his shenanigans in the warm-up, and I’ve got immense belief in him that when it’s time to perform, he puts his head down and does a good job.”
This is Bali’s second time doing an Olympic short test: he contested the inaugural version in Paris two years ago, and Boyd did, too, with Fedarman B. Today, it became a test of their flourishing fledgling partnership.
“I underestimated how brilliant of a job Liz did on him, because I was at Paris with Bruno and Liz was there with this guy, and she made it look so easy,” says Boyd. “It’s been a humbling experience because I’ve been working and working and working and only just nearly got him back to where she had him. It’s still a work in progress.”
One way that Boyd prepared for today’s test was by riding through its movements with wife Silva and her dressage horses.
“Every two years we do this canter half-pass, flying change, canter half-pass [movement in a test]. You do it and then you sort of forget about it, and then a couple of months before a championship you’re like ‘holy moly, how do you actually do this?!’ So being able to ride Silva’s Grand Prix and Inter I horses and just get the feeling of how it’s supposed to feel is something I can then try and picture when I’m riding Bali.”
With 87 scores logged, we now look ahead to the week’s most pivotal challenge: Giuseppe della Chiesa’s 5600m, 28 fence cross-country course, which looks set to pair all of Aachen’s usual intensity into a longer, 9:50 effort. We’ll be bringing you a much deeper dive into the track, with insights from riders and course designer alike, so keep it locked on EN. Until then: Go Eventing!
The top ten individually after dressage.
The team leaderboard following cross-country.
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