Wandres Wins, Kevin Kohmann Secures Third Ticket to World Cup Final at 2026 CDI-W Wellington

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2026 CDI-W Wellington

-- GDF press release, edited by Eurodressage - Photos © Lily Forado

Although only one rider can occupy the highest step of the podium, there were effectively two winners from Friday night’sWorld Cup Grand Prix Freestyle at the 2026 CDI-W Wellington oN 13 March 2026. The German anthem played for Frederic Wandres’ top score of 76.24% with Hof Kasselmann’s Verrenberg, but it also felt like a victory for second-placed Kevin Kohmann (USA), whose result secured him a start in April’s FEI World Cup™ Final in Texas. Spain’s Pablo Gomez rounded out the all-male podium and added another flag to the top trio.

Wandres Flies in to Win

German Frederic Wandres flew into Wellington to win the Freestyle, but the Olympian gave much of the credit for his personal-best performance on Verrenberg—at 10, the youngest horse in the nine-horse starting lineup—to his fiancée, Lars Ligus. Ligus rode the Vilancio x Johnson gelding for several weeks while Wandres was in Germany, with Wandres only returning to Florida at the start of Week 10. Fittingly, Ligus was presented with the grooms award of $500 for his care and preparation of Verrenberg.

“He’s a really promising horse,” said Wandres, who was on the German Olympic gold medal-winning team in Paris with Bluetooth OLD. “Of course, there’s a lot to improve, and Verrenberg is a bit green here and there, but he has everything. He’s very consistent in the arena to bring these good results already at this young age, which is not so normal.

“I was wondering whether we should do the three-star or the World Cup freestyle this week, but we so love the Friday nights under the lights, so the decision was made. It’s so special for us here,” continued Wandres, who rode to a freestyle soundtrack originally put together for Bluetooth. “This is Verrenberg’s fifth CDI and he becomes better and better—I think the future looks promising for him.”

Third World Cup Finals for Kohmann

Kohmann was laser-focused on qualifying for his third straight World Cup™ Final on Diamante Farms’ 17-year-old Dancier x Davignon I gelding, Dünensee. Not only did he need to finish as the top North American rider in the class, he also needed to score more than 73.85% to beat Genay Vaughn, North American League slot. Once his score of 75.715% was announced, he had an anxious wait to see if Ashley Holzer (USA) would top him.

A few mistakes crept into Holzer’s test on Hawtins San Floriana, and they finished in fourth with 73.555%. Only then could Kohmann celebrate his remarkable achievement of becoming the second U.S. rider this century to qualify for three straight FEI World Cup™ Finals on the same horse—also achieved by Laura Graves and Verdades.

Kohmann joins his fellow U.S. athlete Christian Simonson on Indian Rock and Canadian rider Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu on Jaccardo, taking the third and final automatic qualification spot on the FEI World Cup™ North American League.

“I was standing on the side very nervous because when you have a rider like Ashley at the end, she could easily have beaten me,” admitted the Wellington-based Kohmann. “We got lucky today. ‘Dunee’ felt amazing. For the mistake in the two-tempis, I put the blame on the rider, but in the rest, he gave me everything.

“This guy still feels like he’s eight years old,” he added. “This horse has such a big heart. He made my career; he changed everything. If you’d told me four years ago that we’d make it to the World Cup™ Finals three times in a row, I’d have told you you were crazy. This is incredible and I’m stunned.”

Top 10 North American League Standing

1 Simonson, Christian - USA - 60
2 Fraser-beaulieu, Brittany - CAN - 57
2 Kohmann, Kevin - USA - 57
2 Vaughn, Genay - USA - 57
5 Ebeling, Benjamin - USA - 52
6 Eastgate, Brittney - CAN - 34
6 Eckroth, Eline - USA - 34
8 Holzer, Ashley - USA - 32
9 Dutta, Susan - USA - 29
10 Nichols, Erin - USA - 26

Gomez Third

Gómez Molina was also riding an experienced horse, the 16-year-old Ulises De Ymas. He was bred by Yeguada De Ymas and Gomez Molina has been riding him for 11 years, producing him up through the competitive ranks.

“My night wasn’t as eventful as Kevin and Frederic’s, but it’s always fun to show him here, we love riding under the lights,” said Gómez Molina, whose result elevated him to second place on the Leading International Freestyle Rider leaderboard.

President of the ground jury, C judge Thomas Keßler, also noted that the ‘Friday Night Stars’ gala evening is a treat for everyone involved.

“It’s a special atmosphere with the stadium full of spectators,” he said. “You can’t find this all over the world, it’s only like this at a few shows. Tonight, the sun was setting over the first four horses and the light was amazing.”