Australia's multi-Olympian Mary Hanna proved unbeatable once again in the Pacific League World Cup Final, clinching a ticket to her seventh World Cup Finals in her career, if she choses to go. Hanna achieved this extraordinary feat by winning the Kur to Music at the 2025 CDI-W Werribee on Saturday 13 December 2025.
The CDI-W Werribee, also called High Horse dressage Festival, featured two Grand Prix tours: a Pacific League final and a 3* tour. Only five riders entered the league final, while 8 rode the 3*.
Seventh World Cup Finals on the Horizon
A seasoned competitor, Hanna left the competition far behind her, already in the Grand Prix. Aboard her 12-year old KWPN bred Ivanhoe (by Desperado x Jazz) she topped the Grand Prix with 69.196% and dominated the freestyle with 72.695%. The classes were judged by an international panel including Holler, Cunningham, Ventura, Schwennesen, and Love.
"A great finish to our competition winning the Pacific League Final Grand Prix Freestyle," Hanna took to Facebook. "A wild night of competition in the middle of a massive thunder storm, but all the horses were amazing coping with difficult conditions."
By winning the freestyle Hanna secured herself the ticket to the 2026 World Cup Finals in Fort Worth, TX (USA). Hanna has already competed in six World Cup Finals so far: in 1996 (Gothenburg), 1997 (Den Bosch), and 1998 (Gothenburg) on Mosaic; in 2014 (Lyon) on Sancette; in 2016 (Gothenburg) on Umbro; and in 2025 (Basel) on Ivanhoe.
Serena Ireland Runner-Up
If Hanna declines to go, the ticket will be passed on to the second place finisher and so on.
The runner-up in the league final in Werribee was 27-year old Serena Ireland on Tracy Watson's 14-year old Australian warmblood Royalty R (by Regardez Moi x ??). The pair was second in the Grand Prix with 66.022% and second in the Kur with 68.965%, edging out Breanna Tillitzki on 15-year old Australian warmblood Bz Rafael (by Regardez Moi x Jive Magic) by a hair's breadth (68.895%).
Ireland is a newcomer to international Grand Prix sport. She only rode in one CDI, back in 2019 as a young rider on Jazz Song, before making her international big tour debut in March 2025 with Royalty R. She trains with Robert Harrisson Schmerglatt.
Photo © One Eyed Frog Photography
Related Links
Scores: 2025 CDI-W Werribee
Mary Hanna Wins Pacific League World Cup Final at 2024 CDI-W Werribee