August 15, 2026 
From direct route successes to major upsets, cross country left no stone unturned in the second phase of the FEI Eventing World Championships Aachen 2026.
Great Britain retains their lead at 75.6, adding only a cumulative 2.8 time penalties to their dressage total. Their three counting team riders sit in second, third, and fourth on the individual leaderboard. Even with the elimination of pathfinder Gemma Stevens and Flash Cooley at the coffin complex, team strategy did not waver. The lines ridden were direct, tight, and competitive.
Sitting lowest of the Brits is Tom McEwan and JL Dublin.
“Dubs knows what he’s doing,” McEwan remarked of his horse. “[But even] for the good horses and riders, it still needs a lot of riding. You’ve got flags everywhere, the corners are skinny—not just corners.
“Dubbs for me went brilliantly. I let him set sail and never at one point thought I was rushing. I tried to leave enough petrol in the tank [so] that I was feeling enough on top to go the direct way at the corner combination. Seven minutes round Aachen is knackering, not just for the horse physically, but mentally, and that’s the same with the ride. It’s not such physically demanding course, but it is for both of us mentally.”
Adding 2.0 time penalties to their dressage score, McEwan moved up from fifth to fourth.
Teammate Laura Collett and her championship specialist in London 52 made the course look like a walk in the park, adding just 0.8 time penalties to their dressage score to slot into third.
“He felt like he’d walked the course and knew what I was wanting him to do before I even got there,” she exclaimed. “He gave me so much confidence from start to finish. Never wavered off line! It’s that kind of course [where] there’s never an easy stride. Every stride you’re either turning, jumping, setting up, moving away, trying to make up the time that you lose doing the combinations.”
Highest of the Brits is the record breaking combination of Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo.
“The Badmintons and Burghleys—it feels a little bit easier for Walter because you can cruise along in between,” she said. “Whereas today you have to go so fast in between and there doesn’t seem to be any space to go because all of a sudden you’ve got another jump to jump. It was very intense.
“But what an amazing horse he is! As soon as he came over [to the cross country], his ears perked. It just gives me the utmost confidence. I had just watched Tom go the long route at the last courses, so I had that in my mind, even coming out of that last water. I was really, really tempted because he just felt like he’d gone a bit strung out. Then I was like, for goodness sake, you haven’t come to the World Championships to wimp out of it. So get on with it because you know you want a good course. I’m really pleased I made that decision!”
Germany retained their second place position on the podium with a cumulative score of 90.4, widening the gap between them and Great Britain. But Michael Jung replaces Julia Krajewski as the overnight leader. With time penalties adding up to 13.6, she dropped to 20th position.
“I honestly didn’t expect to go inside the time,” she explained. “He’s not exactly a racehorse, like he doesn’t have a seven to eight gear really, so my aim was to travel as smooth as possible. He worked out really well, he jumped incredibly at the last double of corner combination and he was really good at the very last combination.
“I think I did good for the team. I obviously lost individual positions. Maybe I’m disappointed for the points, but I’m very, very happy for my horse and I think he did a good job. He’s the most genuine, honest horse. He is always going straight. He jumps where you put in front of him. And the crowd was amazing. They really screamed at you all the way around.”
The machine that is Michael Jung sits in first on the evergreen fisherChipmunk.
“I did just three jumps [to warm up], had a nice walk to warm him up, a little trot and canter one time a bit faster to open the lungs and get him ready with the right pressure, right adrenaline, and atmosphere. But he has all the experience and he knows he knows everything,” Jung explained. “This is just the best feeling you can have as a rider that is horse is absolutely with you, listening during the course, going forward or waiting and finishing for the time and still in the end, so powerful. It’s unbelievable how many people are here everywhere in every corner, every turn, every gallop track, on every jump!”
And as the hometown heroes, the Germans had no lack of cheering as they made their way through the fields of Aachen.
Third position on the team podium is held by Switzerland. Their best placed rider, Mélody Johner, and her mount Erin went in the middle of the day a dramatic day on course, putting wind back in the sails of the other riders.
“[My coach Andrew Nicholson] knows that I’m always thinking about the negative or the wrong things,” Johner reflected. “So he said, keep going, be positive, and ride as you know how to ride.”
Johner took that advice to heart. Her clear round inside the time helped keep Switzerland’s cumulative score low, after the elimination of Nadja Minder and the time penalties from Felix Vogg and Robin Godel.
The second horse inspection is due to start at 9:30am local time Sunday before the eventers take to the main stadium for the medal deciding round at 1pm.
