Eventing World Championships 2022

The eventing World Championships in 2022 will take place at Pratoni del Vivaro, Italy on 15-18 September, which will also host the World Driving Championships on 22-24 September.

Pratoni del Vivaro was confirmed as the venue for these championships after the FEI board held an in-person meeting in Moscow, Russia on 16 November 2019. It has previously hosted the 1998 World Equestrian Games, the driving World Championships for singles in 2006 and 2010, and was one of the venues used for the Rome 1960 Olympics.

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

Between 1990 and 2018, the eventing World Championships were hosted as part of multi-sport World Equestrian Games. The 2022 fixture in Pratoni del Vivaro will be the first time the eventing championship has happened as a stand-alone event since the 1986 World Championships in Gawler, Australia. That year, there was also an alternative worlds held at Bialy Bor, Poland, because many countries could not afford to send combinations to Australia.

The eventing World Championships have been held on a four-yearly cycle since the first one at Burghley in 1966.

Britain’s record at eventing World Championships

British riders have a strong record for winning world medals in eventing.

Five Team GB riders have won individual gold medals at eventing World Championships – Mary Gordon-Watson (1970 in Punchestown riding Cornishman V), Lucinda Green (1982 in Luhmühlen riding Regal Realm), Ginny Elliot (1986 in Gawler riding Priceless), Zara Tindall (2006 in Aachen riding Toytown) and Ros Canter (2018 in Tryon riding Allstar B). Ginny also won the 1986 alternative World Championships in Bialy Bor on Night Cap.

Britain has also won the world team six seven times – 1970 in Punchestown, 1982 in Luhmühlen, 1986 in Gawler (plus team gold at alternative championship at Bialy Bor), 1994 at The Hague, 2010 in Kentucky and 2018 in Tryon.

The team members in Britain’s victorious assault on the most recent championships, in 2018, were Gemma Tattersall (Arctic Soul), Ros Canter (Allstar B), Piggy March (Quarrycrest Echo) and Tom McEwen (Toledo De Kerser).

On that occasion, the showjumping was held on Monday after an emergency day’s rest on the Sunday was added to the schedule because of the threat of Hurricane Florence.