-- FEI press release, edited by Eurodressage
The Western European League is set to begin its 2025/2026 World Cup season in Herning (DEN) on 17 -18 October, with a strong field of 19 horse-and-athlete combinations.
Just six weeks after the European Championship in Crozet (FRA), Europe’s leading athletes are back in action for the indoor season. Host nation Denmark and their Scandinavian neighbours Sweden arrive in full force, bringing nearly their entire European Championship team to the Jyske Bank Boxen Arena.
Danish Bronze Medal Team Riders
Three combinations from Denmark’s bronze-winning team in Crozet are entered for the Herning qualifier. Among them is World No. 3 Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour, who took individual silver in Crozet and won last year’s CDI-W Herning. With her 16-year-old Hanoverian mare Mount St John Freestyle (by Fidermark x Donnerhall), she has maintained consistent Grand Prix scores above 80% and will once again start as one of the clear favourites for victory on home soil.
Laudrup-Dufour will be joined by her fellow European Championship team members Nadja Aaboe Sloth with Favour Gersdorf (by Foundation x Leandro, who also qualified for the Freestyle Final in Crozet, and Rikke Dupont with Grand Galiano (by Grand Galaxy Win x Don Schufro). Olympian Carina Cassøe Krüth will also make her return with her Tokyo partner Heilines Danciera (by Furstenball x De Niro).
Swedish Squad at Full Power
Sweden fields its complete European Championship team in Herning. Patrik Kittel, winner of the 2024 World Cup Final in Riyadh (KSA) with Touchdown (by Quaterback x Sack), leads the line-up. He is joined by Maria von Essen with Invoice (by Jazz x Ferro), Tinne Vilhelmson-Silfven with Hyatt (by Apache x Sandreo) and Sofie Lexner with Inoraline W (by Johnson x Amiral).
Also travelling to Herning is Caroline Darcourt with Lovsta Stuteri's Lord Django (by Stalypso x Londonderry), who already secured an FEI Dressage World Cup™ Central European League qualifier victory in Tallinn (EST).
Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands
A number of leading combinations from Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands will join the Scandinavian nations in Denmark. For Germany, Carina Scholz will compete Soirée D’Amour OLD (by San Amour), the mare she also rode in the 2025 Final in Basel (SUI). The pair have already secured a World Cup qualifier win this season in Dunajský Klátov (SVK) as part of the Central European League. Germany’s entry list further includes Dorothee Schneider with First Romance, 2024 Finalist Raphael Netz with Great Escape Camelot, Fabienne Müller-Lütkemeier with Valencia AS, and Moritz Treffinger with Cadeau Noir.
Belgium will be represented by Isabel Cool with Herr Charmeur and Alexa Fairchild with Fairplay.
For the Netherlands, Rowena Weggelaar, just 21 years old and a member of the Dutch European Championship team in Crozet, starts Don Quichot. She is joined by compatriots Geert Jan Raateland (Gladiator) and Jonna Schelstraete (Ironman).
Season 39 Finishes in Texas
Now entering its 39th season, the FEI Dressage World Cup will conclude in the United States on 8-12 April 2026. Three years after the Finals in Omaha (USA), the 2026 Final will return to the U.S.A. for the seventh time in the series’ history, and for the first time in Fort Worth, Texas (USA).
It has been 17 years since an American athlete last claimed the FEI Dressage World Cup™ title: Steffen Peters and Ravel in Las Vegas (2009). The only other U.S.-winner remains Debbie McDonald with Brentina in Gothenburg (2003).
The North American League (NAL) began its 2025/2026 campaign at the end of September in Devon (USA), where Benjamin Ebeling and Bellena (by Belissimo M x Welser) took the first victory, perhaps signalling the start of a home-turf journey towards the Fort Worth Final. The NAL calendar continues with qualifiers in Canada, Mexico and several events across the United States.
Western European League calendar
This year’s World Cup Western European League features ten qualifiers rather than eleven, following the cancellation of Madrid Horse Week in late November. The season opener in Herning will be followed by Lyon (FRA) at the end of October, and Stuttgart (GER) in November. December will host London (GBR) and Mechelen (BEL), before the series moves on in January to Basel (SUI) and Amsterdam (NED). February brings Neumünster (GER) and Gothenburg (SWE), while the last qualifier once again takes place in ’s-Hertogenbosch (NED).
The top nine combinations from the Western European League qualifiy for the 2026 Final in Fort Worth (USA). Defending champion Charlotte Fry (GBR) is automatically eligible for the Final, provided she competes in at least two qualifiers this season. Fry claimed the 2025 title in Basel with the black stallion Glamourdale.
Kick Off in Herning
The 2025/2026 FEI Dressage World Cup™ series will officially begin on 17 October at 14:00 (local time) with the Grand Prix in Herning, followed by the Freestyle to Music on 18 October at 12:00 (local time).
With top athletes from across Europe and beyond lining up, the opening leg promises an exciting start to what looks set to be another thrilling season of FEI Dressage World Cup™ action — from Scandinavia to the heart of Texas.
Related Link
Eurodressage Coverage of the 2025-2026 World Cup show circuit