Mikka Roth wins "Golden Saddle" 2026 in Leipzig

The final result of 35 points may have been wafer-thin, but it was enough for Mikka Roth to win the Golden Saddle. The twenty-year-old achieved an average score of 8.75 in the medium (M) level show jumping competition with horse exchange, relegating Emma Bachl from Bavaria to second place. The 18-year-old was in the lead after two rounds. She was the only one to achieve a 9 in front of the decimal point on two horses, A Lovely Boy by Paul Fischer and Design by the eventual winner Roth. The judges, national coach Otto Becker, show jumper Marco Kutscher and judge Stephan Hellwig, awarded A Lovely Boy a 9.0. The round on Design was awarded the best score, a 9.2. Emma Bachl had an 8.9 on her own horse Yoshimi, but she made a jumping mistake on June Karliner’s horse from Schleswig-Holstein (7.8). In the end, she was 0.1 points short of victory. “I was incredibly happy to be able to ride in front of the Leipzig crowd again,” said Bachl after the ride. Last year, she made her debut at five-star level in the exhibition hall of the Saxon metropolis.

Winner Mikka Roth got on well with all the horses. His best score was a 9.1 on A Lovely Boy. His rider Paula Fischer came fourth in the end (33.8). Third place went to June Karliner (34.6) from Schleswig-Holstein, the youngest of the top four at 17. The rides in the exhibition hall in Leipzig were just as impressive as the scores. All four mastered the task with aplomb. National coach Otto Becker paid tribute to them: “I particularly like how harmoniously the four riders rode and how much confidence they gave the unfamiliar horses. We need the next generation. This test is an important part of their training and a valuable experience for young riders.

The Golden Saddle goes back to the initiative of Hans Günter Winkler. The show jumping competition is sponsored by the Stiftung Deutscher Pferdesport.