2026 European Eventing Championships in Segersjö: Germany Wins All Four Titles

Mathies Rüder and Hjoptimus won the individual title in the Young Riders division with a dressage score of 23.7 penalty points. Rüder entered the final show jumping competition trailing his teammate Carl Voigt, who had been in the lead until then, by just 0.1 points on DSP Descansado. Rüder kept his cool. His eight-year-old Swedish gelding completed a clear round.

Then it was Voigt’s turn, riding the son of Matthias Alexander Rath’s former squad dressage horse, Destacado. A clear round would have meant European Championship gold on their first try in the Young Riders category for the pair. But things turned out differently. Two bars came down, and they incurred time penalties. As a result, the pair not only lost the gold but also missed out on a medal altogether. Fourth place is still a huge success in their first year competing in the Young Riders category!

Silver went to Britain’s Elizabeth Barratt riding Ride For Thais Chaman Dumontceau (26.0), and bronze to German team rider Pita Schmid riding Favorita V, for whom this was also her first year in the Young Riders category (30.4). They completed the course without any penalties for speed, only incurring a few time penalties, and were able to celebrate their first individual medal in addition to the team gold.

Rüder’s Swede, who’s raking it in in Sweden

Rüder arrives in Segersjö with an impressive record in youth competition: junior individual gold in 2022, team gold in 2023, and fifth place individually and team bronze in 2024 at the Young Riders Championships. Most recently, he won the German Young Riders Championships with Hjoptimus in Luhmühlen in July. Speaking about his eight-year-old Swedish Carambole son, Rüder says: “He’s only eight years old, but he makes me feel like I’m riding an experienced horse. That’s why I was able to ride so well this weekend. He makes it possible.”

The Story Behind Silver

Elizabeth Barratt and her horse Ride For Thais Chaman Dumontceau have a moving story. The 14-year-old gray was the great hope for the future of the talented French rider Thaïs Méheust. The 22-year-old dreamed of competing in the Olympics with this horse. In 2019, however, the two were involved in a terrible accident—Thaïs died. Her parents decided to make the gelding available to Stéphane Landois, who rode him for Thaïs at the Paris Olympics and won silver there with the French team. Afterward, Chaman Dumontceau was transferred to Barratt—he kept his name. The British rider touched the last jump but cleared it—0.4 time penalties ultimately resulted in a silver medal.

Team: Overwhelming Victory for the Young Riders

In the team competition for the Young Riders, Germany was out of reach. Team manager Karl-Heinz Nothofer fielded four strong pairs, including the two individual medalists and the fourth-place finishers Voigt Silva Kelly and Calypso, who, although they provided the team’s lowest score, also brought the team’s total to a close. In the end, the team had only 86.9 penalty points—30.8 fewer than the British team, which took silver (117.7). France fought its way up from fifth place after the cross-country to claim bronze (120.1) with three clear rounds in show jumping.

Leowald: Gold in His Debut

In the junior division, Teresa Leowald and DJ Continus set the standard—and they did so in their very first year as juniors. They led the individual standings from the dressage test right through to the final whistle and finished the championship with a dressage score of 25.8 penalty points. Until last year, the 17-year-old was still riding ponies. Her horse, DJ Continus—a son of Diacontinus—had previously been a pure show jumper. He joined the Leowald family only about 18 months ago, and she retrained him as a cross-country horse.

The situation heading into the jumping was thrilling: Leowald’s teammate Iliane Hannalisa Hein on Akeby’s Quemiro Silla (26.1) and Ireland’s Maeve Deverell on Annaharvey Dunowen (26.8) were neck and neck. They couldn’t afford a single mistake—and they didn’t make one. All three rode clear rounds and finished the championship with their respective dressage scores—an outstanding performance, both athletically and mentally!

“It was a very difficult situation for me to be the last rider to enter the course. But the conditions here are perfect, and we had a brilliant round,” said Leowald. He added, “It was like a dream. My first Junior European Championships—and then two gold medals.”

Junior Team: Gold Already in the Morning

The

junior

team had

already

secured its victory that

morning

: With 84.8 penalty points, Leowald and Hein, along with Pia Sophie Schreiber riding Cliemann (seventh, 32.9 penalty points) and Milla Staade riding Christ William (27th, 40.5), to take gold ahead of Ireland (94.4) and Great Britain (104.0).

Team Manager Nothofer, who has known Segersjö since 2021, summed it up: “This year, we knew we had a strong team. I’m glad we stuck together until the very end. The key to success is a strong support team behind the athletes and horses—coaches, veterinarians, everyone working together. And we need the mothers, fathers, and siblings—the entire support network.”

Individual riders also excelled

Just how well this worked is evident from the fact that not only the team but also the

individual riders

performed exceptionally

well

. In the junior division, Lukas Wilhelm Sühling and Allnightparty finished their first European Championship in a strong fourth place, with just 0.4 time penalty points added to their dressage score.

Jona Isabell Heine and Chantilly did not add a single fault to their 31.7 penalty points in the dressage arena, finishing in sixth place.

Okay, in the Young Riders division, Liv Noe Hartmann and her horse La Diva—who finished seventh after yesterday’s cross-country—had certainly hoped for a better show jumping result than 18 penalty points, but at least they were still in the middle of the pack in 21st place.

Ella Krüger and Königsblauer xx had a rider pass them by in the cross-country event yesterday, which cost them their strong dressage placement (eighth). Today, they picked up six penalty points on the course. Despite that, they were able to move up from 34th to 30th place.

You can find all the results here.