PARALYMPIC qualification is on the line at Aachen, where the best seven teams in the FEI Para Dressage World Championships, excluding the USA as hosts, will earn a ticket to LA28.

Ireland has a strong history of success in para dressage at championship level. In recent years, Grade I rider Michael Murphy won a silver medal at the 2023 European Championships to add the two bronze medals he brought home from the last World Championships in Herning. Going back further, Helen Kearney claimed three medals at London 2012, leading her team to a historic bronze before moving on to individual glory.

Horse Sport Ireland high performance para dressage manager Simone Hession will be hoping her riders can write their own place on this honour roll next week, and Rosemary Gaffney, Jessica McKenna, Katie Reilly and Clodagh Walsh come together as a strong quartet. All have prior championship experience, with Gaffney and McKenna having ridden at the Tokyo and Paris Paralympics respectively. Reilly and Walsh meanwhile, share the distinction of having each held the top spot in the FEI’s para dressage U18 world rankings within the last 12 months.

“The team have had a very positive preparation in the lead-up to the World Championships,” said Hession. “All four athletes are feeling very confident and are ready to show their absolute best. We combine youth and seasoned experience as we set out to achieve the required results on our first opportunity to qualify for the Paralympic Games.

“The support teams around each individual rider have put in a huge amount of work and time, and I’d like to thank Horse Sport Ireland and the team sponsors as well. We are very much looking forward to arriving at Aachen and putting our best results on the score board.”

Simone Hession, the new Irish High Performance para dressage coach

The challenge

Germany climbed to the top of the podium at the European Championships last year and, with the added advantage of competing on home soil, they are among the favourites to do again in Aachen. Their challenge will be spearheaded by Heidemarie Dresing and Poesie 143, who added a clean sweep of their Grade II individual classes to their European team gold, and are capable of breaking the 80% barrier.

Great Britain traditionally dominated the sport, winning every team gold medal on offer since para dressage was introduced to the Paralympics at Atlanta in 1996 and the World Equestrian Games at Kentucky in 2010. Their reign ended when the Netherlands claimed a historic team victory at Tryon in 2018, but they were back on top at the Paralympics in Tokyo in 2021.

Sophie Wells is the only member of that gold medal winning team to be called up for duty in Aachen, and she will ride her rising star and team debutante MSJ Gold Standard. Wells will be joined by Nicola Naylor riding Moulin Rouge, Jemima Greene riding Fantabulous and Mari Duward-Akhurst riding Athene Lindebjerg, all of whom have medalled at previous championships.

The Dutch team not only have the distinction of ending Britain’s reign of domination, but they are also the defending World Champions. Their Sanne Voets and Demantur were the Grade IV champions individually at Herning, and they return to the team here alongside Rixt van der Horst and Fonq, the Grade III Freestyle European champions last year. Britney de Jong riding Caramba and Annemarieke Nobel riding Doo Schufro complete their team.

American strength

Germany, Great Britain and The Netherlands could well be challenged for places on the podium by the USA, who are fielding not one but two of the riders at the top of the overall FEI para dressage world individual rankings. World number one Fiona Howard won both Grade II individual medals at the Paris Paralympics as well as team gold with her ride here, Diamond Dunes, and she will be joined by her trainer and world number two Kate Shoemaker riding Vianne. Like Howard, Rebecca Hart was part of that Paris team, and she returns to Aachen with Floratina. The team from the USA is completed by Marie Vonderheyden and Fan Tastico H.

Many of the most likely medal contenders have already been mentioned, but another to keep an eye on is Italy’s Francesca Salvade.

Salvade will be taking on the Irish pair of Katie Reilly and Jessica McKenna in the Grade III competition, and she currently sits at the top of the world rankings for that classification.

Although she narrowly missed out on a medal in Paris, she and her ride here Escari have not been beaten internationally this year. Another individual of note, and Salvade’s direct competition, is Denmark’s Tobias Thorning Jorgensen. Known as the medal magnet, he will be looking to retain the individual gold he won at Herning in 2022 with Jolene Hill.

The action at Aachen will begin next Wednesday, when McKenna, Reilly and Walsh will all take to the arena, followed by Gaffney’s first test on Friday.

Clodagh Walsh, Katie Reilly, Kate Kerr-Horan and Jessica Mckenna at Wellington International with team manager Simone Hession

Format

Rosemary Gaffney (68)

Grade IV

Horse: Norabel, 8 (Just Wimphof x Don Schufro)

Owners: Sue Smallman and Mary Dennehy

Form: Gaffney and Norabel have won too many national classes to count this year, on top of picking up podium placings in the Freestyle at Hartpury CPEDI3* and as part of the Irish team at Wellington CPEDI3*. The combination also picked up valuable experience in the stadium at Aachen, where they picked up a top 10 placing in April. Gaffney is one of two Paralympians on the Irish team, having contested the Tokyo games with Werona, and this will be her sixth appearance at a major championship.

Jessica McKenna (25)

Grade III

Horse: DCI Cerruti, 15 (by Christ)

Owners : Elder Klatzko and Emma and Jessica McKenna

Form: Like Gaffney, McKenna is also a Paralympian, and she finished 10th individually both at the Games in Paris in 2024 and at the European Championships last year.

The latter result came aboard her ride for Aachen, DCI Cerruti, and together they have finished no worse than third across the four CPEDI3* competitions they have contested this season. They are currently 10th in the FEI world individual rankings for Grade III athletes and will likely deliver a solid performance for the team.

Katie Reilly (19)

Grade III

Horse: Keystone Dawn Chorus, 15 (Dimaggio x Escudo 19)

Owners: Karen and Brendan Reilly

Form: This will be a first FEI World Championships for Reilly, but The Irish Field’s Dressage Rider of the Year for 2025 delivered the highest score for Ireland at the European Championships last year. Incredibly, at the four CPEDI3* competitions, Reilly and Dawn Chorus have contested this year in the UK and Doha, they have never finished worse than second. They are currently ranked fourth in the world among Grade III athletes and Keystone Dawn Chorus was a Paralympic gold medallist with her former rider, Britain’s Natasha Baker.

Clodagh Walsh (17)

Grade I

Horse: Chantal, 17 (Christ x Del Piero)

Owner: Alan Walsh

Form: Earlier this year, Walsh had the distinction of being the only Irish athlete at the top an FEI world ranking list when she led the U18 para-athlete standings. She currently sits in second on that list, and her youth belies her experience in that she delivered a counting score for the Irish team at last year’s European Championships. Like Gaffney, she has already competed at Aachen this season, where she finished second in the Freestyle, and her horse has previous World Championship exposure as Gaffney’s ride in Herning in 2022.