Cecilia Bergåkra Makes World Cup Debut at 2026 CDI-W Wierzbna Bialy Las in Poland

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2026 CDI-W Wierzbna Bialy Las

Swedish dressage rider and NorCordia Partner Cecilia Bergåkra made her FEI Dressage World Cup debut aboard My Friend over the weekend at the 2026 CDI-W Wierzbna Bialy Las in Poland, finishing sixth in the freestyle with 74.715%.

The 25-year-old and her 15-year-old Swedish Warmblood mare began their weekend with 69.152% and seventh place in Friday’s Grand Prix before moving up one place in Saturday’s freestyle.

Debut in Poland

“My Friend is in really good form and has continued to develop since our last competition in Hagen,” said Bergåkra. “My goal was to get through our debut with a good feeling, but also to raise our baseline level, and I think we managed to do that.”

Their previous international appearance was at the CDIO4*-NC in Hagen in July, where Bergåkra and My Friend made their four-star and Nations Cup debut. Bergåkra represented Sweden on the Nations Cup team, which finished fourth.

Bergåkra was particularly pleased with the freestyle and the pair’s performance of the more difficult parts of their choreography.

“We have great music and quite a difficult choreography. We managed all the difficult parts, although we had a small misunderstanding in the one-tempi changes,” she said. “Overall, there is still more strength to develop in the test, but I had a really good feeling.”

Aiming for Gothenburg

Following their debut in Poland, Bergåkra plans to compete with My Friend on the FEI Dressage World Cup circuit during the 2026/27 season.

“It will be exciting to see how we can grow into this challenge,” she said. “Being in this environment makes me super motivated, also when it comes to the training at home.”

Her goal for the season is to qualify for the 2027 FEI Dressage World Cup Final, which will be staged on home soil in Gothenburg, Sweden, in March.

Bergakra at the World Cup Qualifier in Poland

“Of course, it would be a dream to ride the World Cup Final in Gothenburg,” Bergåkra said.

Next Stop: Herning

Bergåkra and My Friend will next compete at the qualifier in Herning, Denmark, in October.

The CDI-W Herning opens the 2026/27 Western European League season and will be the pair’s next opportunity to collect points on the road towards Gothenburg.

Discover Norcordia, which offers a curated selection of elite dressage horses for sale, at www.norcordia.com