Newsletter Editorial, August 10, 2026: Celebrity Judges in Verden, or What the World Championships for Young Dressage Horses Have to Do with Lewis Hamilton

A Look Back at the World Championships for Young Dressage Horses: Celebrity Judges, or Lewis Hamilton and a Car with Three Tires

Opinion 11.08.2026

from Jan Tönjes

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Thoughts on Judging at the World Championships for Young Dressage Horses—and What That Has to Do with Lewis Hamilton.
Every Monday, Jan Tönjes shares his thoughts on current events and offers his commentary in the EQUI PAGES newsletter. Here is the editorial from August 10, 2026.

Fancy playing a little game? Just imagine—a beautiful car, polished to a shine, leather seats, air conditioning, everything your heart desires. But just as you’re about to drive off, you realize: It won’t work—a tire is missing. Just as you’re about to consult the experts, a superstar driver steps out of the car—say, Lewis Hamilton. You’re just about to ask the team of experts what they think of the car with this obvious problem when you hear the little group staring after Lewis Hamilton with shining eyes say, “A great car, almost perfect.”

The Overall Impression/Perspective

“But,” you might be about to object, “that’s all well and good, and Lewis Hamilton was just sitting in it, but there’s something very important missing!”

Does that sound strange?

But that’s exactly how it was in Verden at the World Championships for Young Horses, where once again the big names focused not on the horse (which, one would think, should be the subject of evaluation at the World Championships for Young Horses), but on the name of the rider in the saddle. The result: fundamental weaknesses in a basic gait were scored lower, but still far too high. And on top of that, despite the weakness, there was a really high score for “potential.” To stick with the car analogy: “Once the fourth tire is in place, it’ll run just fine,” the experts might argue. So, a magnificent prospect!

But what if the tire just isn’t included in the package? What options do you have then? ADAC? They can help—but not in the dressage arena, when the rhythm—the foundation of the training scale—is simply missing.

Celebrity Judging—in 2026, people hoped that this would finally come to an end. But it hasn’t. We can only hope that won’t be the case at the World Championships in Aachen. It could lead to exciting, close decisions. Hopefully, it will be as it should be: Regardless of who’s in the saddle, the horse best presented according to the principles of classical dressage training will win.

We can still dream about it. We’ll know more the day after tomorrow, when the first medals are awarded in Aachen—the team dressage competition.

The World Championships Special

By the way: During the World Championships—that is, over the next two weeks—our EQUI PAGES newsletter will be sent out every morning. It’ll include updates on what’s coming up that day and a recap of what happened the day before. If you know anyone who doesn’t know this yet but would surely enjoy finding out in the morning what else has been happening: Here’s the link to sign up for the newsletter

If you have any questions—we’ll be there, so feel free to contact us by email or on social media. We’re excited to hear what you’re most interested in!

By the way: We’ve written a number of new biographies of riders and horses over the past few days to provide some background information. Feel free to take a look—or did everyone already know that Marcus Ehning will be competing in his seventh World Championship starting next Tuesday?

With that in mind, best regards and see you tomorrow—because the EQUI PAGES newsletter will be sent daily from Aachen during the World Championships. Know what’s coming up first thing in the morning!

Jan Tönjes