China's Jiayi Yu Wins Intermediaire at 2026 Asian Games

China's Jiayi Yu and  her Danish warmblood gelding Jackpoint won the Intermediaire I on the second day of competition at the 2026 Asian Games in Tokyo, Japan, Saturday 26 September 2026.

With 45 riders competing, of which 44 chose to ride the small tour and one to ride at big tour level, the 2026 Asian Games took an exciting start on Friday 25 September with the team championship competition. China won team gold ahead of South Korea for silver and home nation Japan getting bronze.

The individual medals are decided by the Kur to Music on Sunday 27 September 2026. Fifteen riders are eligible to compete in the freestyle and they are decided by the combined scores of the team test (Prix St Georges/Grand Prix) and today's Intermediaire I / Grand Prix Special. Only two riders per nation are eligible to compete in the Kur to music finals.

The 2026 Asian Games are judged by Ricky MacMillan, Helen Hughes-Keen, Vittorio Barba, Sunil Shivdas, and Hans-Christian Matthiesen. Barba was the judge at C today.

While yesterday conditions were optimal with bright sunny weather and balmy 28° C temperatures, today the Intermediaire I took place in totally different conditions with a heavily overcast sky, 19 ° c max, and short rain showers throughout the day. Fortunately the torrential downpour that was forecast did not take place, but the overall sensation went from super summer  yesterday to dead autumn weather today. Most people felt chilled to the bone by the sudden temperature drop.

China on Strong Form

With all four Chinese team members inside the top 15, China dominated the combined results after two rounds at the Asian Games. Jiayi Yu and Jackpoint (CHN) comfortably won today’s Intermediate I with 71.853%, moving them to the top of the overall standings and launching them as hot favourites for the individual gold medal tomorrow. Her compatriot Jiayi "Sarah" Rao and Geniaal sit second overall, while Korea's Dongheon Nam could not maintain his lead after the PSG and dropped to a third place.

A student of Cathrine Dufour, Jiayi Yu and 14-year old Danish warmblood Jackpoint (by Johnson x Welt Hit II) won the Intermediaire I with a personal best of 71.853%. The result marked another personal best for the pair, following their 70.265% in yesterday’s Prix St Georges. The pair started their Inter I test with a very good halt at entry, but the halt for rein back was not square though the backing steps were good. The shoulder in left was not truly shown, lacking angle and also in the half passes one would wish for much more crossing and ground cover, but overall the frame and connection with the bridle are very nice. Jackpoint's weak point is the wal with a very limited collected and an extended walked with okayish overtrack but not truly marching with long steps. The tempi changes were a highlight though: dead straight and secure, but the flying change at F was in two phases.  The right pirouette was tiny but there was a loss of rhythm before K in the third trot extension. The final halt was good. 

Jiayi "Sarah" Rao and the 15-year old KWPN gelding Geniaal (by Vivaldi x Biotep)  finished fourth in the Prix St Georges before landing second place today in the Inter I with 70,000 euro. A student of British Sarah Higgins, Rao rode a better test today although still not taking any risks in the trot extensions. The trot work was fluent, but the collected walk could have been better in the clarity of rhythm. The extended walk had plenty of overtrack, but the horse could have lengthened the frame a bit more. Geniaal dragged his feet in the rein back. The tempi changes and pirouettes were very secure and the end halt tidy.

China’s Zhanzhao Gu on Shakespeare and Yue Wu on Iggy Pop BEK also finished inside the top 15 of the combined ranking. However, the limit of two combinations per nation means only Yu and Rao will represent China in the Kur final.

Thailand and Taiwan Knocking at the Door

While China, Korea and Japan were the team medal winners, riders from Thailand and Taiwan captured place three and four in the Inter I ranking. 

Nynn Puttisombat, who trains in the UK with Sara Gallop, piloted the 13-year old Oldenburg bred Rock That Tango (by Rockefeller x Tango) to a third place with 69.324%.  The very elegant pair stood out with its light-footed, regular work and steady bridle contact. The pair would easily have cracked the 70% marker if not for a too big right pirouette which lacked bending. The tempi changes were so solid and overall it was a very beautiful, effortlessly looking ride. 

Janneke van Riet's student, Taiwanese Hsiu-hua "Louise" Yeh, produced a confident test aboard her 10-year old KWPN gelding Lorava (by Giovanni x Westpoint). Yeh was the rider who probably rode in the worst bit of rain on the day but it did not dampen their enthusiasm and drive. The liver chestnut gelding stayed in a lovely frame throughout the ride. The trot work flowed but overall the horse should take more weight with the hindquarters and show a more carrying than pushing hindleg. The trot extensions were "running." The canter work was very secure, only in the right pirouette the horse lost his balance. They scored a personal best of 68,765%.

Don't Count Them Out

Home hero, Olympian Shingo Hayashi (JPN) and the 11-year old KWPN bred King Leatherdale O (by Lord Leatherdale x Ronaldo)  were once again the highest-placed Japanese combination, slotting in fifth with 68.618%. As last pair to go in the Inter I, they braved the rain and lifted the spirits of the home spectators cheering on their bronze medal winning team riders. Hayashi's bay gelding is not the biggest mover, but the experienced rider manages the gaits really well. The trot was fluent and carried, but the horse was not truly light in the contact. The halt for rein back was really good, as well as the balanced canter half passes.  The horse lost the canter in the right pirouette though, but the two tempi changes were very solid.

The demure Palestinian dressage rider Aleksandra Maksakova and her 8-year old Hanoverian So Secret (by Secret x Desperados) landed sixth place with 68,323%. Maksakova represented Russia at the 2021 Olympics in exactly the same stadium - the Baji Koen equestrian park - five years ago. She retired Bojengles from sport three months later in October 2021 and took an almost two-year break from international competition. With So Secret she is back and seems to have a new super star in the making, but needs to control her own head space. During the test it looks like the rider and not the horse lacks the confidence in producing a fault-free ride. The trot work was very soft footed and balanced. The collected walk had a good, clear rhythm even though her black horse gets peacocky in front. The extended walk had a very good V-moment in the rhythm, but the canter half passes lacked polish and there was a bobble in the right pirouette. If they stay clear in the freestyle they have clear medal chances. 

After winning the Prix St Georges, Korean silver medal winning team rider Dongheon Nam (KOR) and the 10-year old KWPN bred Leonidas (by Trafalgar x Alexandro P) dropped to seventh place with 68.147%. As penultimate pair to go they were the biggest challengers for Yu's winning score, but could not deliver. The bay gelding is the better mover compared to Jackpoint, but does not present as light and easy as a frame. While the bending and elasticity were far superior in the trot lateral movements, it went awry in the rein back, where the horse reversed crooked and hit the fence. It startled Leonidas, who threw the tongue over the bit and continued the trot tour with the tongue coming out of the mouth. In the walk part the horse was able to put its tongue back into place and the contact got restored, but the extended walk did not really happen. However,  in canter the mouth was quiet again but nerves seemingly got the better of the rider. Nam could not entirely keep his cool in the canter work, The horse has an amazing, uphill canter and produced super tempi changes and pirouettes but all were ridden "on edge."

Take Note

Korean team mate Myeong Seok Lee and the 18-year old Danish warmblood Rossetti (by Romanov x Midt West Ibi Light) put the pedal to the mettle and rode full gas. The tall bright bay gelding looked so fit and fresh despite his age and showcased amazingly ground covering trot extensions which Lee could barely sit. The horse was very supple on both reins in the lateral trot movements, showed super straight tempi changes even though the rider did not sit quiet lyin the saddle and delivered tiny pirouettes although the balance was lost a bit in the left one and the right one did not have enough bending. If Lee can present an overall more quiet, "lighter" silhouette the scores will go up. Today it was 67,971% for 8th place. 

India's best scoring rider today was Hriday Chheda on the 19-year old Oldenburg gelding Dono di Maggio (by Dimaggio x Santander). Six weeks ago the pair switched trainers from Hubertus Schmidt to Dono's former rider, British OIympian Emile Faurie, and finished 10th today in the Intermediaire I with 67,706%. Chheda is joined in the freestyle final by Indian team newcomer Jai Sud on the 15-year old KWPN gelding Goofy la Perle (by Belissimo M x Jazz), trained by Ton de Ridder.  Unfortunately Gaurav Pundir and his talented 10-year old mare Milli (by Millennium x L'Espoir) were rung out when the mare reared heavily in the rein back. Indian Grand Prix rider Shruti Vora and her 14-year old Oldenburg Magnanimous (also by Millennium x De Niro) dropped to 35th place with 61,882% because the horse threw the tongue over the bit and curled himself in the neck the entire test, but did not make any major technical mistakes.

Indonesian Audirania Amanda Putri made a very good impression on the 12-year old Westfalian gelding For Future (by Furstenball x Samarant). The black gelding achieves huge overtrack in the trot extensions and is very secure in the rhythm in trot, although he crosses the jaws at times. The walk part was not optimal in rhythm but the care produced a confident canter tour capturing a place in the kur finals with a 12th place in the Inter I on 67,176%. Interestingly, Indonesia's two best scoring horses (For Future and Fayette K) are both sired by Furstenball.

The UAE saw two riders Bianca Schutz and Ali al Jahouri qualify for the Kur to Music finals. The pair qualified for the Asian Games team while training with Belgian Olympian Jorinde Verwimp, but recently moved to The Netherlands to work with Kirsten Beckers at the Games in Tokyo.

The Individual Freestyle final begins on Sunday 27 September at 09:30 local time in Tokyo. The scores from the qualifying competitions will not be carried forward, meaning the Individual medals will be decided entirely by the performances in the Freestyle to Music.

- Photos © Astrid Appels/Eurodressage - No reproduction allowed - NO SCREENSHOTS FOR SOCIAL MEDIA

Related Links
Eurodressage Coverage of the 2026 Asian Games
Scores: 2026 Asian Games