From 27 to 31 August, Crozet in France will welcome 63 horses and athletes ready to contest the European titles. With several strong teams entered and a highly competitive field of individuals, the medals are well and truly up for grabs.
All participating combinations and teams have now been confirmed, meaning the battle for the nine medals on offer can commence when the team competition in Crozet unfolds on 27 and 28 August, followed by the individual competition in the Grand Prix Special on 29 August and the Grand Prix Freestyle on 31 August.
Nations and defending champions
Fourteen countries will field teams, including reigning European Champions Great Britain, who took gold in Riesenbeck, Germany in 2023. Two members of that winning team return this year: Carl Hester with Fame, and Charlotte Fry with the black stallion Glamourdale – the current world number ones in the FEI Dressage World Ranking. They are joined by Becky Moody with Jagerbomb and Andrew Gould with Indigro.
The silver and bronze medallists from Riesenbeck 2023 – Germany and Denmark – will also be lining up in Crozet. Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland complete the list of team nations.
Individual representatives will compete from Cyprus, Estonia, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Norway and Türkiye.
Experience and fresh names
With no qualification slots for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games at stake, many nations have opted to send a blend of experienced combinations alongside new names and talented younger athletes. For those debutants, Crozet provides the perfect stage to gain valuable championship experience, and perhaps even deliver a breakthrough performance.
The key question remains: will Great Britain again claim team gold, or will Germany reaffirm its long history of dominance at European, World and Olympic level events?
German strength
Germany brings exceptional depth to Crozet. Isabell Werth, the most decorated athlete in the history of the sport, will compete with Wendy de Fontaine, the Olympic silver medallist from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Frederic Wandres with Bluetooth OLD adds further experience, having already collected team medals at the Paris Olympics and at Riesenbeck 2023. Ingrid Klimke, an experienced rider with Championship appearances in both Dressage and Eventing, brings forward the imposing Vayron NRW. The horse already competed at the FEI Dressage European Championships 2023 and at the Paris Olympic Games under Daniel Bachmann Andersen of Denmark. The fourth member of the German squad is newcomer Katharina Hemmer, with the eye-catching chestnut Denoix PCH.
Danish mix of experience and debutants
Denmark’s team includes Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour with her partner Mount St John Freestyle. Although the duo has only competed sparingly this season, their Grand Prix scores over 80 percent and Freestyle marks beyond 90 establish them as serious contenders for both team and individual medals. The team includes Andreas Helgstrand with Jovian, while making their debuts are Nadja Aaboe Sloth with Favour Gersdorf and Rikke Dupont with Grand Galliano.
Belgium on the rise
Belgium’s squad is certainly one to watch. Having shown strong form this year in the FEI Dressage Nations Cup series, they arrive in Crozet as an ambitious team. Championship experience comes from Charlotte Defalque, Domien Michiels and Larissa Pauluis, while the biggest sensation is newcomer Justin Verboomen with Zonik Plus. Their victory over Isabell Werth and Wendy de Fontaine at CHIO Aachen confirmed their place among the ones to beat.
The Netherlands, a medal-winning nation in past championships, will be represented by Dinja van Liere with Hermès, a combination that took double bronze at the FEI Dressage World Championships 2022 in Herning, Denmark. Marieke van der Putten and Thamar Zweistra bring younger, less experienced horses, while the fourth team member is the 20-year-old Rowena Weggelaar, making her Championship debut.
Sweden will also present a blend of experience and fresh faces. Patrik Kittel and his FEI Dressage World Cup-winning Touchdown are joined by Tinne Vilhelmson-Silfvén with Hyatt, Sofie Lexner and Maria von Essen. For host nation France, Alexandre Ayache, Pauline Basquin, Bertrand Liegard and Anne-Sophie Serre will carry the tricolour in front of their home crowd.
A new champion to be crowned
One thing is certain: Crozet will see the crowning of a new European Champion, as Jessica von Bredow-Werndl’s TSF Dalera BB, the winner of the 2021 and 2023 Championships, has been retired. This leaves the individual contest wide open.
Past championship individual medallists such as Werth with Wendy de Fontaine, Fry with Glamourdale and Van Liere with Hermès could likely be among the frontrunners,but challengers include Laudrup-Dufour with Freestyle, Belgium’s rising star Verboomen with Zonik Plus, Isabel Freese of Norway with Total Hope OLD – third in this year’s FEI Dressage World Cup Final in Basel, Switzerland – and FEI Dressage World Cup Final 2023 winner Patrik Kittel of Sweden with Touchdown.
This post-Olympic year provides the perfect mix of established stars and new challengers, ensuring that the competition for the European crown remains as unpredictable as ever.
A stage set in Crozet
The stunning Jiva Hill Stables in Crozet, France will serve as host venue. Just 15 minutes from Geneva Airport, surrounded by French countryside and framed by the mountains, it offers a truly spectacular setting for the Championship. After staging two CDI5* events in recent years, Crozet will welcome its first FEI Dressage European Championship. Tickets are available via www.crozet2025.com.
Catch all the action via FEI.TV and ClipMyHorse.TV.
Source: FEI press release by Bettine van Harselaar
