July 27, 2026 
Shakeups are par for the course in the lead-up to major championships, and this summer’s FEI Jumping World Championships, taking place August 19-23 at the Allianz Park in Aachen, Germany, is no exception.
In June, the current World No. 1 Kent Farrington announced that he was withdrawing himself from consideration for the World Championships, stating that his top horse, Greya, had already contested and won the FEI Jumping World Cup Final in April, while his much-buzzed-about 9-year-old, Descartes SR, was still developing and not yet ready for a major championship.
Last week, word broke that the reigning European Individual bronze medal-winning combination of Gilles Thomas and Ermitage Kalone—who many considered a favorite for another podium finish—would not be competing due to injury. “[Ermitage’s] health and well-being will always come first, no matter how difficult this decision is,” the rider for Belgium said.
Finally, this week, it was again Team USA’s turn for reshuffling. Marilyn Little, the former Pan American double-gold medalist in eventing in 2015, announced on social media on Sunday that her talented 11-year-old Mecklenburg mare, La Contessa, had also suffered a minor injury.
“With the interest of my incredible partner in mind, I have withdrawn her from competition to give her any time she needs to rest and feel her best again,” Little wrote on Instagram. “Though disappointing for today, I look forward to getting back in the ring with her when the time is right.”
Little, who is currently the sixth-highest ranked American on the Longines Rankings, took second on two 5* podiums this year with La Contessa at MLSJ Monterrey and the Winter Equestrian Festival. Together, they jump clear at 63% in 16 rounds at 1.60m+, according to Jumpr.
In response, US Equestrian announced that they would be replacing Little with Natalie Dean and Mr. Boombastic, her partner of just under one year. In June, Dean and the 12-year-old Selle Français gelding—a former Denis Lynch (IRL) ride—provided the only clear round for the USA in Round 1 of the CSIO5* Nations Cup of La Baule (the USA failed to qualify for Round 2).
They jump clear at 33% in six rounds together at 1.60m, while Dean is currently the 10th-highest ranked U.S. athlete in the Longines Rankings.
The rider from Palo Alto, California will join teammates Katie Dinan and Out of the Blue SCF, who took third place on podium in the FEI Jumping World Cup Final in April; 2022 World Championships competitor Lillie Keenan and Fasther, who were second in the LGCT Grand Prix of Paris in 2025; Laura Kraut and Bisquetta, who won 5* Grands Prix at MLSJ Thermal and the Rolex Grand Prix of Ireland in 2025; and McLain Ward and High Star Hero, who won the 5* Grand Prix in Wellington in February and the FEI Jumping World Cup qualifier of Los Angeles in 2025.
While Keenan, Kraut, and Ward are all veterans of major championships, this will be the first team competition appearance at this level for Dinan, 33, and Dean, 27, since their Young Rider days.
The first combined team competition and individual qualifier kicks off August 19 in the FEI Jumping World Championship Turkish Airlines-Prize, at 9:00 a.m. local time (3:00 a.m. EST).
