HOST nation Germany celebrated its second team gold medal at the FEI World Championships on home ground, after its dressage team matched the show jumping team’s win. And its studbooks covered themselves in glory too.

The leading studbooks at the Dressage Championships? Not surprisingly, it’s the KWPN, the studbook that specialises in producing dressage horses with 28 on the start list; followed by Germany’s Oldenburg studbook (18). The Portuguese Lusitano studbook had a strong showing with nine representatives, followed by two familiar sights in dressage breeding: the Hannoverian Verband (eight) and Denmark’s DWB (five).

Switching to Hippomundo’s studbook by nationality category and here, Germany surges into the lead with over €1.5 million won so far this year, when its main five studbooks - Oldenburg, Hannoverian, Westphalian, Rheinlander and Baden-Würrtemberg are bundled together.

While the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses (WBFSH) August rankings weren’t available at the time of writing, Hippomundo’s weekly-updated rankings show Isabell Werth’s Wendy de Fontaine (DWB. Sezuan 2 x Blue Hors Soprano. €150,227) as the top-earning dressage horse so far this year.

Next comes the back-to-back World Championships title-holder Glamourdale (KWPN. Fidermark NRW x Donnerhall. €124,428), followed by Mount St John Freestyle (HANN. Fidermark NRW x Donnerhall. €121,290), Jagerbomb (KWPN. Dante Weltino OLD x Broere Jazz. €98,675), Maxima Bella (OLD. Millennium x Christ 3. €72,820), Zonik Plus (HANN. Glock’s Zonik N.O.P x Hohenstein I. €64,523), Touchdown (SWB. Quaterback x Björsells Sack 907. €64,492), Fame (KWPN. Bordeaux 28 x Rhodium. €58,678) and Indian Rock (KWPN. Apache x Vivaldi).

Top sires

The WBFSH rankings, up to the end of July, has Mount St John Freestyle in the lead, followed by Zonik Plus, Queenparks Wendy, Glamourdale, Jagerbomb, Viva Gold OLD, Maxima Bella, Zantana RS2 OLD, Flambeau and Indian Rock.

Longtime WBFSH dressage studbook rankings leader, the KWPN, is the number one-ranked studbook (12,804), closely followed by its Oldenburg (12,379) and Hannoverian (11,542) rivals.

Denmark’s DWB, the Westphalian, Lusitano, Deutsche Sportpferd, Rheinlander, Swedish Warmblood and PSH studbooks complete this top 10, however expect a post-Aachen reshuffle.

Sires? Johnson TN, a son of second-placed Broere Jazz had four dressage progeny at Aachen, followed by his sire with three. Five more stallions also had three offspring, including Bretton Woods, Desperado, Everdale, Quaterback and Zonik NOP.

The longtime influence of Broere Jazz, more widely known as Jazz, continues on both sides as he was the leading damsire with offspring of five broodmare daughters competing at these World Championships, followed by Donnerhall (four) and then Ferro and Negro with three apiece.

And in the current top-10 dressage sires in Hippomundo’s 2026 rankings?

Glocks Zonik NOP (DWB. Blue Hors Zack x Glock’s Romanov) leads the pack on €244,330.

Next is Dante Weldino OLD (Danone x Welt Hit II. €229,584) and close on his heels is Sezuan 2 (Blue Hors Zack x Blue Hors Don Schufro. €227,100).

Werth the money

Following this trio are Fidermark NRW (WESTF. Florestan x Werther. €198,090), Bordeaux 28 (KWPN. IPS United x Gribaldi. €185,752), Lord Leatherdale (RHEIN. Lord Loxley x Ferragamo. €169,283), Quaterback (Berlin-Brand. Quaterman I x Branderburger. €163,961), Totilas (KWPN. Gribaldi x Glendale. €154,689), Millennium (TRAK. Easy Game x Ravel. €148,696) and Glock’s Johnson TN (KWPN. Broere Jazz x Flemmingh. €138,797).

One place outside this top-10 sires is Broere Jazz himself (KWPN. Cocktail x Ulster. €136,684).

Top-earning dressage riders so far in 2026? No surprise to see longtime superstar Isabell Werth in the lead (€238,290), followed by Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour (€199,090), Justin Verboomen (€190,159), Charlotte Fry (€144,764), Becky Moody (€124,217), Sandra Sysojeva (€123,396), Patrik Kittel (€101,813), Raphael Netz (€98,951), Matthias Alexander Rath (€90,000) and the multi-tasking Ingrid Klimke (€88,130).

Respectable sums seen at the top of the dressage and eventing leaderboards, although nowhere near the scale of the show jumping world.

Aachen Dressage Medallists

GRAND PRIX SPECIAL

GOLD - Glamourdale (KWPN). Lord Leatherdale (KWPN) - Thuja (KWPN) by Negro (KWPN). Breeder: JW Rothenburg. Rider: Charlotte Fry (GBR).

SILVER - Mount St John Freestyle (HANN). Fidermark NRW (WESTF) - Donna Gracia (BAD-WÜ) by Donnerhall. Breeder: Stephan Kurz. Rider: Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour (DEN).

BRONZE - Denoix PCH OLD. Destano (HANN) - Princess (OLD) by Pik Noir (OLD). Breeder: Friedrick Kuhlmann. Rider: Katherina Hemmer (GER).

GRAND PRIX FREESTYLE

GOLD - Glamourdale.

SILVER - Mount St John Freestyle.

BRONZE - Wendy de Fontaine (DWB). Sezuan 2 (DWB) - Skovens Vanilla (DWB) by Blue Hors Soprano (OLD). Breeder: Kurt Gosmer. Rider: Isabell Werth (GER).

By the numbers

€2,500 - won by UK photographer Peter Nixon in the Silver Camera award presented at the FEI World Championships for the best international equestrian photo. Bluetooth NOP’s rider Frederic Wandres, members of the host nation’s gold medal team, was one of the judges.

91 - horses competed at the World Dressage Championships.

Three - dressage horses bred at Paul Schockhemöhle’s Gestüt Lewitz: Bluetooth OLD, Droda Fuerst Kennedy (OLD) and Zantana RS2 OLD NOP.

Two x two - a pair of breeders each bred two dressage horses at Aachen: Vasco Freire (Hit Plus and Zonik Plus) and Sylvain Massa (Come Back de Massa and Carpe Diem de Massa).

One - home-bred competed by a breeder: none other than Becky Moody’s Jagerbomb, the current World Cup Final title-holder.

Did you know?

  • Team Ireland’s horsepower at the 2026 FEI World Dressage Championships was provided by Ganesh (KWPN. Broere Jazz - Partouch, by TCN Partout); Top Gear (OLD. Totilas - Dosalla, by Don Frederico), Dan Its Carston (British Warmblood. Durable - Cassy 82, by Clearway) and Vanotti (WESTF. Vitalis - Farell, by Florestan), ridden by Kevin Acres, Alex Baker, Jessica Dunn and James Connor.
  • Team Ireland’s squad for the 2026 FEI Para Dressage Championships was Chantal (HANN. Christ 3 - Donnerfee, by Del Piero), DCI Cerruti (HANN. Christ 3 - Fariane, by Rubenstein 46), Keystone Dawn Chorus (HANN. Dimaggio - H Estrada, by Escudo 19) and Norabel (KWPN. Just Wimphof - White Spot, by Don Schufro), ridden by Clodagh Walsh, Jessica McKenna, Katie Reilly and Rosemary Gaffney.
  • Charlotte Fry made history by becoming the first-ever dressage rider to win two back-to-back World Championship individual titles after Herning and Aachen.