August 12, 2026 
It was a no-holds-barred kind of day for Team Germany. As the host nation stepped into the Deutsche Bank Stadium for the dressage team final and individual qualifier on day two of the FEI World Championships, the weight of expectation was palpable.
After a dominant performance yesterday that left them holding first and third place, the pressure might have eased slightly, but with rival nations breathing down their necks, any mistake would open the door.
Katharina Hemmer and Denoix PCH leaned on every inch of their three-year partnership to handle the heat.
“We’ve really developed such a close bond by now,” Hemmer shared. “We know we can rely on each other. Even in the morning when I arrive at the stable—he recognizes my walk; I don’t even have to speak to him. He’s really tuned in to me, and that’s why he reacts the way he does.
“That paid off today. I always let him look at things on a long rein. It gives him a good feeling to know I’m not trying to hold him back from anything. He can take a good look; no one is going to hurt him. I think that gives him a bit of an extra confidence boost.”
The confidence was well-placed. Their score of 79.224% landed just 0.25% shy of her personal best.
“I knew it was a good ride, and seeing the scores go up on the board—that really gives you goosebumps!” she admitted.
Hemmer’s massive contribution allowed Isabell Werth, the anchor for the German team, to enter the ring with a relaxed mindset. For Werth, a living legend returning to the scene of her 2006 World Equestrian Games triumph, it was a moment of poetic symmetry.
“To have managed to put together such a strong team here once again is really fantastic; it genuinely feels great. When you think we won a gold medal in Aachen 20 years ago, quite a lot has happened in between. To be able to keep developing over the years and still be right up there at the front—that’s something special.”
Special enough to repeat. Werth and Wendy de Fontaine’s 79.876% secured the gold medal for the German team in 2026.
Meanwhile, across the board, Carl Hester was navigating a different kind of pressure. Having watched his rivals go before him, the British rider was acutely aware of the crowd’s energy.
“[I’ve been] following the public judging and it’s pretty much up there. They seem to be equal with the judges. So it just goes to show, in fact, you’re not being watched by seven judges, you are being watched by 20,000 judges!” he quipped.
Hester has spent his time with Fame finding the calm rather than the fire. But on this day, it was the crowd that gave him a spark.
“I followed [Dinja van Liere], who had done a good test and I could see a good mark going up. The crowd was excited for her,” he shared. “[Fame] didn’t really bat an eyelid, but it gave me a lift, actually! I suddenly felt confident because he didn’t react negatively to all of the noise and off I went and enjoyed my test.”
That enjoyment paid off. Between Hester’s 77.314% and the stunning 80.311% from Charlotte Fry and Glamourdale, Great Britain claimed silver.
“He’s just incredible. He seems in a really good place this week,” she shared.
“Dressage is such tiny little aids and just the tiny wrong thing, wrong timing and it doesn’t come off perfectly. I’m just happy I managed it! Some of the work in the test was some of the best he’s done. He was so on the aids. It was a real pleasure.”
Rounding out the podium was Team Denmark, anchored by the evergreen Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour and the remarkable 17-year-old mare, Mount St John Freestyle. The 17-year-old Hanoverian mare was unbothered by the afternoon heat or the enormity of the arena.
“I feel really nice in the heat and I felt that she warmed up so well and so fast in the warmup,” Laudrup-Dufour remarked. “It’s a humongous arena to ride into and I’m over the moon. She was really on her toes today and I think it must also be the biggest arena I’ve been riding in with her. Maybe it is the biggest we’re ever going to enter.
“She smashed many of the things we’ve worked on. I’m just really proud of her and I’m proud of my teammates. We could end on a bronze medal so I’m over the moon and I am proud of Freestyle and I’m proud of myself as well!”
Dressage action continues Friday with the Grand Prix Special for the top 30 combinations, while Eventing takes center stage tomorrow morning at 9:30 am local time.
Catch all the action on ClipMyHorse TV.
