Le Lion d’Angers in western France has hosted the FEI WBFSH Eventing World Breeding Championships for Young Horses, the world championships for six- and seven-year-old event horses. This year one mare made history and another gave a family-bred winner a fairytale result.

Back-to-back for Tara van het Leliehof

Belgium’s Lara de Liedekerke-Meier and Tara van het Leliehof won the seven-year-old championship (CCI3*-L) on their dressage score of 28.6. They jumped clear cross-country and show jumping rounds. The pair won the six-year-old title in 2025, so the mare is now a double world champion. It was the rider’s 14th appearance at the championships.

Tara van het Leliehof is a BWP mare by Pegase van’t Ruytershof out of Bonita van het Leliehof, by Major de la Cour. She is owned and bred by Stal het Leliehof.

The podium:

• 1st: Tara van het Leliehof (BWP), 28.6

• 2nd: Hector Payne (GBR) and Bueno, an AES gelding by Dante’s Junior, 29.0

• 3rd: Alexis Goury (FRA) and Jeroboam Wal, a Selle Français stallion by Vleut*GFE, 29.4. They shared the lead after dressage but added 0.8 time penalties cross-country.

A family-bred six-year-old champion

The six-year-old championship (CCI2*-L) went to Germany’s Ann-Catrin Bierlein and ACSI Daisy Dynamite on 29.4, also on their dressage score. The Westphalian mare, by Diacontinus out of Camilla (by Casall), was bred and is owned by the rider’s grandfather and was born on her grandparents’ farm. Bierlein, who won team silver at the 2026 FEI U25 Eventing World Championships, has ridden a half-sister by the same stallion before.

• 1st: ACSI Daisy Dynamite (Westphalian), 29.4

• 2nd: Robin Godel (SUI) and Kosmic d’Elbe, a Selle Français gelding by Contendro, 31.3

• 3rd: Kevin McNab (AUS) and Monbeg Kobe, an Irish Sport Horse gelding by HHS Cornet, 31.4

Why breeders watch Le Lion

These championships carry the names of both the FEI and the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses (WBFSH), and the focus is on the horses as much as the riders. The FEI’s reports list each horse’s sire, dam, studbook and breeder, which makes Le Lion a useful guide to the studbooks and stallions producing young horses for the sport.

This year’s podiums are a good example of how varied eventing breeding is. In two classes, the six horses on the podium came from five different studbooks: Belgian (BWP), Anglo European (AES), Selle Français, Westphalian and Irish Sport Horse.

What it means for buyers

Young event horses with good results at Le Lion often become sought after, and their siblings and relatives get noticed too. If you are looking for a young eventer:

• check the sire and dam line against recent young horse championship results

• look at the horse’s full FEI record, including dressage marks and time penalties, not just the final placing

• remember that a seven-year-old’s form is a promise, not a guarantee, so a thorough vetting matters as much as ever

Sources

• FEI: Eventing glory for Tara van het Leliehof and ACSI Daisy Dynamite at Le Lion d’Angers