August 14, 2026 
Any medal at a world championship is a win, objectively speaking. But for silver medalists, a runner up podium finish can feel like a loss. A near miss. A gold that got away.
This psychological phenomenon, known as the silver medal effect, was in full effect at the Dressage World Championships on Friday. The athlete feeling the weight of its disappointment: Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour.
The highly decorated Danish rider piloted Mount St John Freestyle to a 80.927% score—one of only three on the day—and 19,600.00 EUR payday. But you’d never know that hearing her speak about her ride.
“I’m just disappointed with myself,” said the dejected Dane in the mixed media zone. “I mean, I have an amazing horse, and the best coaches in the world, and the best team. So I was really hoping for myself to be the best rider today. But my horse, she was amazing.”
The focus of her self-loathing: three rider errors in an otherwise spectacular test.
“I had a really good start off with the trot and the piaffe per se,” she continued, “but then a few mistakes creeped in—the tiny one for the two [tempis], and the big one for the one [tempis], and one for the last canter pirouette. For some reason, I just lacked the sharpness today. Really unfortunate because I feel that she is in such an amazing form. She’s fit. She likes the arena. She loved the crowd today.”
Laudrup-Dufour was quick to shut down any hint of an excuse too—or find any silver linings in her personal performance.
One journalist asked if the heat had an impact on her focus.
“It was warm, but I can’t really blame the heat. Unfortunately, I can only blame myself.”
“You’re still world number one,” another added.
“To be honest, the result is one thing, but when you come here as an athlete, then you want to present your horse the best way, just like your horse deserves. And I did not manage to do that today, and that’s why I’m really disappointed.”
“It’s horses sometimes,” the press conference moderator quipped. “We all know the feeling.”
“I think it’s more the rider. I don’t think I can blame my horse on this,” replied Laudrup-Dufour. “It’s the rider sometimes, we all know the feeling.”
And that’s just it—she does know the feeling.
Laudrup-Dufour won silver medals in the Grand Prix Special and the Freestyle at the Herning 2022 World Championships on Vamos Amigos. She was runner up with the same horse at the 2022 FEI World Cup Final in both the Grand Prix and the Freestyle. And took team and individual silver with Mount St John Freestyle at the 2024 Paris Olympics and the 2025 European Championships.
But she’s also broken through the silver barrier too. She was part of the gold medal winning team at the last World Championships in Herning.
Come Saturday’s Freestyle, that’s the energy she’ll be channeling.
“It’s a matter of just letting today be today,” she said. “From the second we go out that door, then the preparation for tomorrow starts. I’m really super excited to perform my new freestyle. We’ve managed to do the practice quite a lot back home and she feels like she absolutely loves the new music, so I’m happy that I have another goal to show what an amazing horse she is tomorrow.”
Great Britain’s Charlotte Fry and Glamourdale defended their title to take gold with a score of 82.295%. Germany’s Katharina Hemmer and Denoix PCH claimed bronze with 80.866%.
