68.944 percent at World Championship was not enough to qualify for the “Special”
Full results of Aachen 2026 available here
Luxembourg’s dressage rider Nicolas Wagner Ehlinger was unable to replicate his exceptional results from last year’s European Championships in Crozet, France. The unique atmosphere of the Aachen stadium caused his Hanoverian gelding, Quater Back Junior, to be a bit too hot-headed and display too much tension in some movements, ultimately costing him too many points to qualify for the Grand Prix Special. Instead of 68.944 percent, he would have needed more than 70.714 percent to place among the top thirty. As a result, the world number 67 had to settle for 40th place and was eliminated after just one test.
Wagner-Ehlinger: “At seventeen, you’re aware that he can’t go on forever”
“You needed almost 71 percent to qualify for the Special. Because of the slight tension created by the atmosphere, he didn’t stay still at the end. I couldn’t switch off that energy. Actually, given his age, that kind of energy is a positive. The fact that he’s still so fresh and full of energy at seventeen suggests he’ll be competing for a quite some time yet. At a certain age, you start to wonder how much longer he’ll last, and then he’s back in really good shape and you think he might still be able to compete for another two or three years. You get emotional; I’ve been working with this horse since he was five. At seventeen, you’re aware that he can’t go on forever. But for his age, he’s still really fresh; he’ll keep going for a while. I’ve already experienced so many highlights with this horse,” Wagner Ehlinger described his impressions of his participation in the World Championships last Wednesday.
Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour won the Grand Prix on Mount St. John Freestyle with 82.376 percent, ahead of Justin Verboomen with Zonik Plus (80.885%) and Charlotte Fry on Glamourdale (80.311%). The host nation, Germany, took team gold ahead of Great Britain and Denmark. Last Friday, Fry and Glamourdale won the Grand Prix Special (82.295%), Laudrup-Dufour (DK) and “Freestyle” came in second, and Katharina Hemmer and Denoix (Germany) finished third (80.866%). Saturday evening’s Freestyle saw a very close competition: Fry and Glamourdale won with a very strong 91.907 percent, just ahead of Laudrup-Dufour and “Freestyle” (91.236%). Isabell Werth (GER) and Wendy de Fonataine took bronze (88.650%).
Translated from German by AI and adjusted by Paul Krier. Original article will also be published in the “Lëtzebuerger Bauer” weekly newspaper.
