Denmark has named its dressage and show jumping teams, as well as an individual rider, for the World Championships in Aachen

Following the Nations Cup tournament in Falsterbo, Denmark has named its teams for the World Championships in Aachen. In dressage, nothing less than defending the title is at stake. In 2022, the Danes made history as hosts of the World Championships in Herning by winning team gold in dressage, with the lineup at the time consisting of Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour/Vamos Amigos, Nanna Merrald/Blue Hors Zack, Carina Cassøe Krüth/Heiline’s Danciera, and Daniel Bachmann Andersen/Marshall-Bell. The team for these World Championships isn’t much different.

The Team: Background Information

Carina Cassøe Krüth is once again riding Heiline’s Danciera, the most successful daughter of Fürstenball, who passed away over the weekend. Danciera is now 15 years old and is looking forward to her fourth championship following the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, the 2022 World Championships in Herning (team victory, 12th place in both the Special and Freestyle), and the 2023 European Championships (bronze in the team competition, tenth place in the Special, and eighth in the Freestyle). They had been in the running for the 2024 Olympic Games but withdrew after videos surfaced of the mare’s training sessions in which Cassøe Krüth strikes her with a whip on the instructions of her trainer, Andreas Helgstrand.

Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour is the most important woman on the team, as she impressively demonstrated in Falsterbo. Herning’s partner, Vamos Amigos—who also won two silver medals in the individual competition at the World Championships—went to live with his owner, Annabella Pidgley, after the World Championships; she placed fourth yesterday in the freestyle at the U25 European Championships (riding Gio, not Vamos Amigos). That had been the plan from the start. But in the 17-year-old Hanoverian Fidertanz daughter Mount St. John Freestyle, Laudrup-Dufour has a horse that is also well-suited for an individual title. So far, they’ve been beaten every time by Justin Verboomen and Zonik Plus (2025 European Championships, Top 12 Final in Frankfurt). But it was close every time, and when the mare performs like she did in the Falsterbo Grand Prix, even Zonik Plus has a hard time, as was already evident in the Grand Prix at the European Championships in Crozet.

Daniel Bachmann Andersen seems to have a knack for pulling a new talent out of thin air right before major championships. With his Herning partner Marshall-Bell, he was just on the verge of reaching his peak when the gelding was sold to Nicola Ahorner even before the World Championships. Bachmann Andersen was still allowed to ride him in Herning, however, and subsequently helped Ahorner get the hang of the chestnut. Since then, though, things have gone quiet around him. But for the 2023 European Championships, “DBA” already had his next talent in the starting blocks: Vayron NRW, with whom he helped secure the team bronze in Riesenbeck and the silver medal at the 2024 Olympic Games—his first. Afterward, the Vitalis son went to Ingrid Klimke. Now it’s the highly talented Flash Gordon who is accompanying Daniel Bachmann Andersen to the championship—a 12-year-old who has only a handful of CDI starts under his belt, but who, if he continues on this path, could also become a contender for an individual medal. Maybe not this year, though.

The only completely new World Championship pair—though they had already contributed to a bronze medal at the 2025 European Championships—are Nadja Aaboe Sloth and Favour Gersdorf. For the 33-year-old and her 13-year-old Foundation son, the European Championship in Crozet marked their championship debut. But both before and after that event, they have repeatedly proven that they consistently achieve scores above 70 percent.

The first alternates are Anna Zibrandtsen and Quel Filou. Karoline Rohmann and Jakas Don Louvre were named as the second alternates.

Comment from the Team Manager

Team manager Susie Dannemand makes no secret of the fact that she has high hopes for this team: “We have high expectations for this team, which will defend the gold medal it won in Herning in 2022 at the World Championships in Aachen and represent Denmark. At the same time, the World Championships are an important step toward our long-term goal of securing Denmark’s team qualification for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. We are convinced that this team can perform at the very highest level, and we also expect Denmark to play a decisive role both in the battle for team gold and in the competition for individual medals in the Grand Prix Special and the Grand Prix Freestyle. We are confident that three of our riders will qualify for the events following the team competition.”

In the run-up to the World Championships, there will be another training camp at Stutteri Ask/Blue Hors from July 27 to 28.

Two “Stühli horses” in show jumping

Denmark’s chances of winning a medal in show jumping aren’t quite as strong. But the Danes shouldn’t be underestimated, as we saw yesterday with Andreas Schou in the Rolex Grand Prix at Falsterbo.

National team coach Bo K. Møller, together with the selection committee—composed of Swedish show jumping champion Rolf-Göran Bengtsson and team veterinarian Jonas Rasmussen—has named the following pairs.

The Nominees

As mentioned, Andreas Schou and Napoli Vh Nederassenthof put on an impressive performance in Falsterbo and have also already gained Olympic experience in Paris. Schou is Denmark’s number one show jumper. He competed in his first championship in 2009 at the European Championships in Windsor. In 2023, he placed fifth at the World Cup Final with his impressive Darco son, Darc de Luxe.

Caroline Rehoff Pedersen, 25, who works as a model in addition to her equestrian career, really made a name for herself in Germany when she took second place in the German Show Jumping Derby in 2023. Last year, she competed in her first senior championship at the European Championships in La Coruña. For the World Championships, she’s counting on the 11-year-old Belgian horse Polonis L, whom she acquired from Patrick Stühlmeyer, who had previously ridden him.

Rehoff Pedersen isn’t the only Danish rider to saddle a horse that previously enjoyed success with “Stühli.” Joining her on the team is Zascha Nygaard, who has taken over Stühlmeyer’s Selle Français stallion Drako de Maugre, with whom the Schockemöhle rider won the German Championship, among other titles. In the meantime, the Kannan son also competed under U.S. rider Paris Sellon. Nygaard has been riding him since the beginning of the year and has placed in show jumping competitions at the Global Tour stops in Mexico, Madrid, and Cannes, among others.

Søren Møller Rohde competed in two European Championships, in 2019 and 2025. Evolution Ask , a son of Zirocco Blue, is only ten years old, but this year he has already placed in the Grand Prix at the World Cup tournament in Bordeaux with two clear rounds and competed in Nations Cups for Denmark.

At 24, Laura Baaring Kjærgaard is the youngest member of the team, but she has a wealth of experience from European Youth Championships—ranging from the Children’s division through Pony Riders and Juniors all the way to Young Riders. Qarisma van’t Roosakker is also only ten years old, but together the pair has already placed sixth in the Grand Prix at the CSI3* Kessel/NED this year, achieved a double clear round in Eindhoven, and more.

Comment from the National Team Coach

“We have a strong group of pairs, many of whom have already gained valuable experience at previous championships. This puts us in a good position. We’re looking forward to an exciting World Championship and hope to translate the progress we’ve shown throughout the season into strong performances in Aachen.”

Individual riders in eventing

For eventing, Denmark has nominated Peter T. Flarup as an individual rider with two horses. The 50-year-old has competed in three Olympic Games and has participated in four World Championships and eight European Championships, the first of which was in 1997. He therefore has a wealth of experience.

His first horse is the ten-year-old Zangersheider gelding H.Carald Z by Herald. He and his rider know each other inside and out. In fact, Flarup is also the breeder of this Heraldik xx grandson, and he has competed in five-star eventing competitions with the horse’s dam, Calista E. With H.Carald Z, Flarup has completed two World Championships for young eventing horses, placed highly with him in CCI4* competitions for young horses, and this year finished two CCI4*-S events without any jumping faults in the cross-country.

His other ace up his sleeve is the 12-year-old Holsteiner mare Game Girl Impe. She is by Chico’s Boy and was also brought onto the international stage by Flarup. Among other achievements, the pair won the CCI4*-L in Sopot last year. Their most recent competition, however, was in Marbach, where they withdrew after two refusals on the cross-country course.

Kerstin Dallmann, team manager for eventing at the Danish Equestrian Federation, says: “Peter has extensive experience competing in European Championships, World Championships, and the Olympic Games, and he seems very well prepared. We are therefore very much looking forward to this year’s World Championships in Aachen, where Peter will compete against some of the world’s best eventing riders.”