Sport
A 90.000% Freestyle opened the Dressage World Cup league, with a personal best for Marieke van der Putten and a strong showing from the next generation.
The FEI Dressage World Cup™ Western European League 2026/27 opened in Herning, Denmark, with a familiar result. Home riders Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour and Mount St John Freestyle won the Grand Prix Freestyle on 90.000%, their third win in a row at the Danish leg. They had already won Friday’s Grand Prix by a clear margin.
A 17-year-old still at her best
The pair took the maximum 20 series points. The FEI reports one small mistake in the two-tempi changes. That cost them a little, but the judges gave several nines and tens for the piaffe, passage and pirouettes. Laudrup-Dufour, the world No. 1, said she had done little work with the 17-year-old mare since the World Championships in Aachen. She plans to ride in several more qualifiers and is aiming for the Final in Gothenburg at the end of March 2027.
The rest of the top five
2nd: Marieke van der Putten (NED) and Zantana RS2 OLD N.O.P., 86.235%, a personal best. The pair were sixth at the World Championships in Aachen.
3rd: Maria von Essen (SWE) and Invoice, 81.475%, the same placing as in the previous two years.
4th: Daniel Bachmann Andersen (DEN) and Flash Gordon 37, 81.225%. The FEI calls this an impressive result for a relatively inexperienced horse.
5th: Nadja Aaboe Sloth (DEN) and Favour Gersdorf, 80.545%.
All five had reached the Freestyle final at the World Championships in August. Five combinations scoring over 80% made it a strong start to the league.
The next generation
The young riders moving up from the under-25 ranks were close behind the top five. Denmark’s Alexander Yde Helgstrand, 23, was sixth on 77.770%. Cecilia Bergåkra (SWE), 25, was seventh. Karoline Rohmann (DEN) was ninth, Annabella Pidgley (GBR) tenth, Moritz Treffinger (GER) eleventh and Theodora Livanos (GRE) thirteenth.
What comes next
The next qualifier is in Lyon, France, on 29 and 30 October. The league then runs through the winter towards the Final in Gothenburg, Sweden, in late March 2027. Gothenburg is hosting both the jumping and dressage World Cup Finals. The dressage league is streamed on FEI.TV, now part of ClipMyHorse.TV.
Why it matters for buyers
The autumn World Cup legs show which horses have come out of the championship summer in good form. They also show which younger riders and horses are ready for Grand Prix level. For buyers in the dressage market, the results also say something about bloodlines. The studbook in a horse’s name, such as OLD for Oldenburg in Zantana RS2 OLD N.O.P., is a quick lead to the breeding behind the horses scoring well at this level.
As always, the results tell you what a horse has done, not what it will do for you. Watch the horse work, look at its full record and arrange an independent vetting before you buy.