Vote now for the 2026 FEI Awards—three German equestrians are among the nominees

The 2026 FEI Awards will be presented in four categories. Seventeen potential winners have been nominated, with five candidates vying for votes in the “Best Young Athlete” category. Here is an overview of the nominees in all categories:

Peden Bloodstock Best Athlete

This category honors equestrians (not just riders) who have distinguished themselves on the international stage through exceptional achievements. The nominees:

• Steve Guerdat—the world champion show jumper, who is now one of the few riders in his field to have won every individual title the sport has to offer. The Swiss rider is an Olympic champion, a world champion, and a former European champion. However, he is the only one to have also won the Show Jumping World Cup three times. On top of that, he has stood on the podium countless times. A truly unique record!
  
  Guerdat has been nominated multiple times as FEI Best Athlete, but has so far always come away empty-handed at the FEI Awards.


• Alice Layher—the German vaulting athlete has been a regular at championships since her youth and has never returned home without a medal. But the 2026 season eclipsed all others: first a World Cup champion, then a world champion —and twice over, as she claimed the title both in the women’s individual event and with the German Nations Cup team.


• Nina Mallevaey—at 26, this French rider is not only the youngest rider in the world’s top ten, but also the only woman. And she has held this position consistently for many months. She is currently ranked eighth in the world. Helena Stormanns’ student has earned this position through victories in the Nations Cups at La Baule and St. Tropez, as well as triumphs in the Grand Prix events at Williamsburg and Deauville, in addition to various other outstanding placings. At the World Championships in Aachen, she placed eighth in the individual competition.


• Kate Shoemaker—the American para-dressage rider who works as an equine veterinarian alongside her sporting career—stole the show with her mare Vianne at the World Championships in Aachen. She won three gold medals and set two world records: one in the Grand Prix A, where she claimed her first individual gold medal, and the second in the freestyle. In the Grand Prix B, the pair broke the 80 percent mark.

Longines FEI Rising Star

This award recognizes the best young rider, driver, or vaulting athlete of the year. Candidates must be between 14 and 21 years old. Here are the 2026 nominees:

• Lukas Heitmann— although the 17-year-old is still a junior by age, he has already made waves in the senior divisions this year, winning the individual title at the Aachen replacement tournament in Warendorf and also becoming German champion. In the junior division, he won gold at the European Championships. It was his fourth consecutive medal since he turned 14. These successes are no fluke. Heitmann’s vaulting is breaking new ground. He is the first to perform a one-and-a-half turn on horseback.


• Prins Lejeune—the 15-year-old Belgian—won the European Junior Single Horse Championship title with his horse Hector, working his way up from fourth place after the dressage, to second place after the marathon, and finally to the top.


• Teresa Leowald – The 17-year-old from Rodderberg comes from a true equestrian family. Show jumping instructor Karl Schneider is her uncle. Her mother, Cordula, is part of the coaching staff at Rodderberg in Bonn. The location alone gives a hint as to where Teresa’s passion lies: in the cross-country course. In recent years, she has been among Germany’s top pony eventing riders with the mare Pearl, who had previously carried Anna Lena Schaaf, among others, to countless successes. Alongside her pony riding, Teresa trained the gray DJ Continus, transforming the former show jumper into an eventing horse—not just any horse, but the one that will take her to two gold medals at the European Junior Championships, her first competition among the “big leagues.” Teresa’s biggest dream: to compete at the very top one day and win medals for Germany. She has what it takes.


• Greta Lepratti – Italian up-and-coming show jumper Greta Lepratti (21) caused a minor sensation when she won individual gold for Italy at the European Young Riders Championships this summer. In total, she has represented Italy at five European Championships, from the Children’s category through Juniors to Young Riders. She is already competing at the very top level in the senior division. Among other achievements, she placed fourth in the individual standings at the 1.60-meter Global Champions League event in Rome. In addition to her sporting career, she is studying business administration.


• Jiayi “Dina” Yu— the Chinese dressage rider has since turned 22, but was still 21 at the time of her nomination. A student of Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour, she emulates her mentor’s style in terms of contact and lightness. Riding her gelding Jackpoint, she was part of the gold-medal-winning team at the Asian Games; she also placed second in the Prix St. Georges, won the Intermédiaire I, and placed second in the freestyle.

Cavalor Best Groom

This FEI Award puts the spotlight on the people without whose tireless efforts behind the scenes the entire sport would not function: the grooms. These are the four nominees:

• Shahrouk Khan (IND) – Shahrouk Khan is the groom for dressage rider Gabrielle Thompson, who competes for the United Arab Emirates. He comes from a small village in India, where educational opportunities were limited. But he has always loved horses and managed to become an international groom, learning English and Arabic and traveling the world. He has never stopped furthering his education and is now in high demand when it comes to biomechanics, behavior, nutrition, and horse welfare.


• Romuald Le Goff – Groom for the French vaulting team. Romuald was just four years old when he realized that horses are the most fascinating creatures in the world. He actually comes from a background in show jumping and dressage. He didn’t discover the world of vaulting until later and founded his own facility near Saumur, where he has since devoted himself entirely to training vaulting horses. At the World Championships in Aachen, two of his charges were among the medalists: Estado and Sir Sensation.


• Alizée Olivier – Alizée is the groom for French show jumping and eventing rider Gaspard Maksud. She has been caring for his horses for three years, including Superstar Zaragoza.


• Victoria Riskalla – afreelance groom for dressage and para-dressage from Brazil. She comes from a family of horse people and started riding at the age of three. Her brother is Paralympics competitor Rudolpho Riskalla. She has also worked for Norbert van Laak, Wolfram Wittig, the Schafhof Stud, Yuri Mansur, Ellen Whitaker, Patrik Kittel, Isabell Werth, and Michael Klimke, among others.

FEI Inspire

This award honors individuals who, with the help of horses, assist others in finding their path in life—or those who themselves had to overcome some difficulties before they could live their dreams. The nominees are:

• Julia Battams of Equine Pathways Australia, “EPA”—Julia Battams’s calling is to introduce people with disabilities to horses. That’s why she founded Equine Pathways Australia (“EPA”) and guides people with disabilities from their first encounter with horses through their first competitions all the way to international para-sports.


• Fazenda Educadora— as the name suggests, Fazenda Educadora, founded in 2020, is a type of agricultural training center in Brazil where children and young people aged 6 to 18 live and learn. Interaction with horses plays an important role in this program. Children from low-income families have the opportunity here to participate in vaulting and take riding lessons once a week. And if they show talent, they receive further training. As a result, two children from Fazenda Educadora are now members of the Brazilian junior vaulting team.


• Horse Rangers Association – Led by Laura Griffith,the Horse Rangers Association is based in London and is one of the most well-established youth organizations in the British capital. Here, children participate in programs that include not only horse care but also volunteer work, caring for others, and leadership roles. The goal is to use horses to equip children and teenagers with the skills they’ll need later in life. The program is so popular that parents are already putting their newborns on the waiting list to participate.


• Tegan Vincent-Cooke – Vincent-Cooke is a para-dressage rider who competes for Jamaica. She was the first athlete from her country to compete in the World Championships, which took place this year in Aachen. She was born with cerebral palsy—a permanent disorder affecting posture and movement—as well as dystonia, a neurological movement disorder with similar effects. Riding originally began as a form of physical therapy. She made her way into international competition with Coco, a former eventing horse, who also accompanied her to the World Championships. As a Black woman with a disability, Tegan Vincent-Cooke wants to advocate for underrepresented communities and show what is possible when talent and determination meet opportunity and community support.

Vote now!

You can now vote for one of these nominees. The equestrian community’s opinion accounts for 50 percent of the decision. The other 50 percent of the decision is made by a jury that includes FEI President Ingmar de Vos, FEI Dressage Committee Chair Diana Al Share, and FEI Regional Group IX Chair Gigi Mathias, who represents a number of African countries from Angola to Zimbabwe. The panel also includes Shilai Liu, Vice President of the Chinese Equestrian Federation, as well as representatives from the sponsors Longines, Peden Bloodstock, and Cavalor.

But first and foremost, all of our votes count. You can cast your vote right here.

The awards will be presented on December 5 during a festive ceremony at the gala evening held in conjunction with the FEI General Assembly in Jiangyin, China.