Thai Equestrian Federation Long Lists Seven Riders for 2026 Asian Games Team Selection

Dressage

Thailand

The Thai equestrian federation has announced the long list of riders who will be considered for Thai team selection for the 2026 Asian Games in Tokyo, Japan, on 24 - 27 September 2026.

The long list comes right after the CDI Kronberg and on 22 June 2026, the deadline for the nominative entries.

Thai Long Listed Riders

The Thai long listed riders are:

Chalermcharn Yotviriyapanit - Sant Jordi
Chanjanok Klara Ruecker - Vincent
Thitinun Sahawat - Furstenglory OLD
Nynn Puttisombat - Rock That Tango
Pawarisa Thongpradup - Indigo
Pakjira Thongpakdi - Definitely
H.r.h. Princess Sirivannavari Mahidol - Boulevard

FEI Minimum Eligibility Requirement

The 2026 Asian Games will host a mixed format of small and big tour classes. The team must be composed of at least 1 Small Tour combination and up to 2 Big Tour combinations. It is also permitted to enter a team with three or four Small Tour combinations.

In order to qualify to compete at the 2026 Asian Games, combinations have to obtain a Minimum Eligibility Requirement of two times at least 62% attributed by the Ground Jury in a Prix St. Georges and/or Intermediate I at two different CDI1* or CDIO1* events, from 1 January 2025 until 22 June 2026.

Final Qualifier at CDI Kronberg

The 'Asian Trophy' hosted at the gorgeous
Gestut Schafhof in Kronberg, Germany

With a group of the Thai dressage riders stationed at Gestut Schafhof and German Grand Prix rider Matthias Rath serving as Thai team trainer, the historic German dressage yard hosted a final CDI the weekend before the nominative entry deadline.

The CDI Kronberg included a full small tour, as well as a Grand Prix and Special. Only riders from Asian countries participated and the ground jury was made up of Alice Schwab, Olivier Smeets, Vittorio Barba, Sascha Schulz, and Eisenhardt as president of the ground jury.

Some riders entered in Kronberg had not yet achieved their FEI MER and this show was their final chance. In addition for many this show servd a last opportunity to score as high as possible to be considered for team nomination for their respective countries.

Scoring Issues in Kronberg?

Eurodressage received witness reports that scoring issues took place in Kronberg at the start of both the Prix St Georges and Intermediaire I, allegedly due to technical issues. Equi-score, which handled the scoring in Kronberg, set the record straight with Eurodressage

The scoring company stated that "the judging throughout the event was conducted entirely via tablets. Our system operated without interruption, all scores were transmitted correctly and in a timely manner, and we did not receive a single paper protocol during the competition. As is standard procedure, paper protocols are always available as a backup. There was no need to revert to paper scoring at any stage of the competition."

Show host and Thai team trainer Matthias Rath
with president of the ground jury Evi Eisenhardt

However, a score change for one combination did take place. Reports arrived that the Intermediaire I score of H.r.h. Princess Sirivannavari Mahidol, who was still seeking to obtain her second required FEI MER score before the start of the Intermediaire I, got changed from a 61.9% to 62.0%.

Equi-score confirmed this indeed happened. "The score adjustment (...) was made by the Ground Jury President, Ms. Evi Eisenhardt, at the position she judged herself (Judge E). The modifications concerned movements 11 and 13. The changes were requested by the Ground Jury President directly and resulted in the final score changing from 61.9% to 62.0%. No explanation or justification for these amendments was provided to us. Any questions regarding the reason for these adjustments would therefore need to be addressed to the Ground Jury President or the FEI officials responsible for the event."

Eurodressage reached out to Mrs Eisenhardt, who replied to "contact the FEI Communication Department for the answer."

The FEI told Eurodressage that it is "aware that changes were made to the marks awarded to HRH Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana Rajakanya Mahidol (THA) at CDI1* Kronberg (GER) last weekend. We are currently reviewing the circumstances surrounding this matter and are awaiting the reports from the officials involved."

In The Running for Team Selection

Seven Thai riders are in the running for team selection of which two are competing at Grand Prix level.

Pakjira Thongpakdi and the 14-year old Westfalian gelding Definitely (by De Kooning x San Schufro) made their international break through this year at big tour level. Trained by Spaniard Ivan Nieto, the pair competed in five CDI's between April and June and posted consistent Grand Prix scored of 65,739% (Murcia), 65.457% (Alter), 67.283% (Las Cadenas), 65.891% (Verolanueva), and 67.609 (Kronberg). With these scores Pakjira also qualified for the World Championships in Aachen and will opt to rode those instead of the Asian Games.

The second Grand Prix rider in the mix is Pawarisa Thongpradup on the 13-year old KWPN gelding Indigo (by Bordeaux x Dayano). They have been showing at small tour level since 2023 but stepped up to Grand Prix level in March 2026 and competed at four CDI's, scoring 60.870% (Jerez 1), 63.500% (Jerez 2), 63.283% (Vejer), and 64.391% (Kronberg).

Five small tour pairs have been long listed, amongst them three Thai team routiniers.

Chalermcharn Yotviriyapanit and the 12-year old Hanoverian Sant Jordi (by Scuderia x Rotspon), previously owned by Gestut Schafhof and competed by Rath, have been actively competing at small tour level since March 2025 and already obtained their MER that year. In December 2025 they represented Thailand in the South East Asian Games. In 2026 the pair only showed at two CDI's, scoring 66.274% (Aachen dressage days) and 65.470% (Kronberg) in the Prix St Georges.

Chanjanok Klara Ruecker and her long-term equine partner Vincent, a 13-year old Brandenburg by Viscount x Stalypso) which she has been competing since 2022, also obtained her MER in 2025 as well as represented Thailand at the South East Asian Games. In 2026 she also did two CDI's: Aachen (PSG 66.274%) and Kronberg (PSG 65.470%).

H.R.h. Princess Sirivannavari Mahidol on Boulevard

H.R.h. Princess Sirivannavari Mahidol last represented Thailand at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou aboard Franziska Rath's (Matthias Rath's wife) Samba King before returning to competition in 2025. She was first entered with Irish Coffee BH (previously owned by Arie Yom Tov, then Rodolpho Riskalla and now owned by Thai-German business man Harald Link) and Harald Link's Fumaggio (previously owned by Jurgen Koschel) in the CDI's of Gossendorf and Hamburg but withdrew twice. She was then matched with the 15-year old Oldenburg gelding Boulevard (by Bordeaux x Donnerhall), who came from Hof Kasselmann and sold to Australian Kylie Riddell before returning to Germany. HRH Princess Mahidol represented Thailand at the 2025 FEI Asian Championships in Pattaya after having ridden one CDI with Boulevard (PSG 59.706%). In Pattaya she achieved her first Asian Games MER with a 63.941% in the Prix St Georges. In 2026 she and Boulevard competed at four CDI's: Gossendorf, Hamburg, Verolanueva and Kronberg. She did not score above 61% until her final test, the Intermediaire I at the CDI Kronberg, in which she got 62.059%.

Two more Thai small tour riders are up for team selection.

Thitinun Sahawat and her own 15-year old Oldenburg bred Furstenglory OLD (by Furstenball x Rohdiamant) got their two MER scores in 2025. This year they showed in four CDI's: in Motesice (PSG score 65.882%), Exloo (PSG score 61.667% but an Inter I score of 67.010), Olomouc (PSG 63.098%), and Kronberg (65.412% which she pulled up to 66.294% in the Inter I).

Nynn Puttisombat and the 13-year old Rock That Tango (by Blue Hors Rockefeller x Tango - previously owned and competed by Sara Gallop) began their campaign in October 2025 and achieved their two MER scores in 2025 She debuted at the CDI Wellington Heckfield and went straight to the South East Asian Games. In 2026 she showed at four CDI's: in Hartpury (68.480% PSG and 70.980%), Hickstead (68.677%), Wellington Heckfield (68971%) and Kronberg (69.235% and 71.41% in the Inter I). She seems to be Thailand's highest scoring small tour rider at the moment.