Highlight for equestrian sports: Equestrian World Championships 2026 will take place in the Aachen Soers. This was decided by the international umbrella organization for equestrian sports (FEI) at its general meeting in Mexico. Equestrian teams from 32 nations and 500,000 visitors are expected in Aachen for the Equestrian World Championships.
In addition to the Olympic sports of dressage, jumping and eventing Aachen will also host competitions in vaulting, driving and para-dressage at the 2026 Equestrian World Championships. This made Aachen the only organizer that could offer several disciplines.
The four other applicants only wanted to organize title fights in one discipline each. Boekelo (Netherlands) and Burghley (England) were hoping for the eventing World Championships, while Al Ula (Saudi Arabia) and Samorin (Slovakia) were hoping for endurance riding. The World Cup endurance riding will now be held in Al Ula in 2026.
Aachen prevails over four competitors
The concept of the World Equestrian Games with all equestrian sports in one place no longer exists. Since 1990, several organizers have had financial problems – in contrast to Aachen. Only the World Equestrian Games in the Imperial City in 2006 were able to take place to cover costs and are still considered one of the most legendary championships in equestrian sport. At the World Championships in their own country, the team of German dressage riders, among others, won the gold medal.
Aachen: well-known stage for international Equestrian events
The 2006 Equestrian World Championships will be hosted by the Aachen-Laurensberger Rennverein (ALRV) in cooperation with the German Equestrian Association (FN). The ALRV has been active in equestrian sports for over 100 years and is known for the Aachen CHIO. The CHIO attracts 350,000 visitors every year.
The President of the ALRV, Stefanie Peters, sees herself and her team well prepared for the upcoming World Championships. “We can draw on the experiences from 2006, but of course we will start planning for the summer of 2026 immediately, because the world has changed in the meantime,” said Peters.
The form in which the CHIO will take place in the same summer is still being decided. But one thing is certain: there will be two huge international horse events in Aachen in 2026.
We will also report on this topic on November 19th, 2023 on the WDR radio news and on the television “WDR aktuell” at 12:45 p.m.
Our sources:
- Aachen-Laurensberger Racing Club (ALRV)
- Material from the news agencies dpa and SID
