Dressage World Championships 2022

The dressage World Championships in 2022 were held at Herning in Denmark, from 6 to 14 August. The venue also hosted the showjumping World Championships, para dressage World Championships and vaulting World Championships at the same time.

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The city holds an annual qualifier for the FEI dressage World Cup. In 2013 it held the European Championships for showjumping, dressage and para dressage.

Between 1990 and 2018, the dressage World Championships were hosted as part of multi-sport World Equestrian Games (WEG). The previous occasion they were held as a standalone championship was in 1986, at Cedar Valley, USA.

The 2022 World Championships served as qualifiers in showjumping, eventing, dressage and para dressage for the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics.

Britain’s Lottie Fry and Glamourdale won two individual gold medals, for the grand prix special (82.51%) and the grand prix freestyle (90.65%). Britain won team silver after being pipped to the team gold by Denmark, with Germany taking bronze.

Britain’s record at dressage World Championships

Britain has a strong record at dressage World Championships in recent years, althought it is yet to win team gold.

The first British medal to be won at a dressage World Championship was individual bronze won by Jennie Loriston-Clarke and Dutch Courage on home soil at Goodwood in 1978. This was Britain’s first senior individual medal.

World championship medals eluded British riders for more than three decades following Jennie’s success. It wasn’t until the Kentucky WEG in 2010 that British riders made the podium at the world championship. There, Laura Tomlinson (née Bechtolsheimer) led the team to silver – Britain’s first team medal at a world championships. Laura and Mistral Hojris also claimed two individual silver medals in 2010.

British riders have brought home team and individual medals from all of the dressage World Championships held since. At the 2014 WEG in Caen, France, Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro dominated to lead the team to silver, and also win two individual gold medals.

At 2018 WEG in Tryon, USA, it was again Charlotte Dujardin who dominated, this time riding Mount St John Freestyle. She won team bronze alongside Carl Hester, Spencer Wilton and Emile Faurie, and also won individual bronze in the grand prix special. The grand prix freestyle was cancelled due to Hurricane Florence.