Verden. “Looking back, we know that we staged a successful and financially sound World Championship in 2025,” explains Wilken Treu, Managing Director of the Hanoverian Society. “This year we’ll be going the extra mile; we’re making further improvements to the spectator area in particular.”

Preparations are in full swing for the 19th edition of the FEI WBFSH Dressage World Breeding Championship for Young Horses in Verden. From 5 to 9 August, the Horse24 Arena will once again welcome the world’s best young dressage horses. The equestrian town has long since rolled up its sleeves to once again offer horses and riders a magnificent World Championship stage. “Going the extra mile” – this is how the seating capacity in the Food Mile will be literally “boosted”. “We’re going to build a two-storey covered event terrace,” says Treu enthusiastically. “From the upper level, you’ll have a complete panoramic view of our World Championships grounds.” As was the case last year, the sporting focus at the Horse24 Arena will clearly be on the World Championships competitions. All World Championship qualifiers for five-, six- and seven-year-old dressage horses will be held in the main stadium, the Horse24 Arena, as will the small finals and, of course, the World Championship finals.

The Co-Lo Trans Arena, not far from the main stadium, is reserved for three- and four-year-old riding horses and Hanoverians. “This went down very well with spectators and participants last year,” emphasises Treu. “People were shuttling back and forth between the main stadium and the riding horse arena and really enjoyed this combination.” A change awaits the four-year-old riding horses. “We are three weeks ahead of the Bundeschampionat in terms of timing,” says Treu. “That is why we have adapted our format for the four-year-olds to match the new one for the Bundeschampionat. This means: the four-year-olds will first compete in a riding horse class as usual, but from this year onwards, the finalists will then compete in a Class A dressage horse class; this will be exactly the same for our Bundeschampionat qualifier. This way, the candidates can view their start in Verden as a dress rehearsal for the Bundeschampionat.”

Last year, it was Germany (two medals), KWPN (four medals), and Danish Warmblood (three medals) that shared the nine medals between them (for 5-, 6-, and 7-year-old horses).

While the German World Championship candidates gather for the first selection round from June 8–10, the selection process has already begun in the Netherlands. From April 21–23, the Dutch young dressage horses were evaluated by the experts, and 52 horses were invited to advance to the next round.

In Danish Warmblood, the first selection will take place in connection with the Danish Dressage Championships at Randbøl Dressage Academy from May 27–30. Final registration for the Young Horse World Championships has closed, and currently around 70 horses are entered.

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