Tuesday, 07 April 2026
Spring is finally here, which can only mean that it’s time for the best in the worlds of showjumping and dressage to come together for the FEI World Cup Final. This year, the action heads to Fort Worth in Texas, USA from 8–12 April.
Becky Moody and Jagerbomb will be flying the flag for Great Britain in the Zen Elite FEI Dressage World Cup FinalTM, so we’ve rounded up everything you need to know about the competition and how you can catch all the action.
Located to the west of Dallas in North Central Texas, Fort Worth is the 11th largest city in the United States. It’s a city steeped in Western traditions, having been an important trading post for cowboys travelling on the Chisholm Trail during the 19th century. Today, the Fort Worth Stockyards host regular rodeos and a twice-daily cattle drive – the only one in the world – alongside the world’s largest ‘honky tonk’ - a legendary live music and dance venue.
Downtown Fort Worth is a lively hub, centred around the 37-block Sundance Square district with restaurants, nightlife, and outdoor plazas. Just steps from Dickies Arena and the Will Rogers Memorial Center, the city’s Cultural District offers world-renowned museums, the serene Fort Worth Botanic Garden, and the celebrated Fort Worth Zoo, making the city a destination for both culture and adventure.
The Dickies Arena – which sits adjacent to the 120-acre Will Rogers Memorial Center public entertainment, sports and livestock complex – plays host to this year’s FEI World Cup Final for dressage and jumping. It’s a 14,000-set multipurpose venue, built in 2019 by the City of Fort Worth, and hosts concerts, sporting events and family entertainment, including the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo.
Wednesday 8 April
Thursday 9 April
Friday 10 April
Saturday 11 April
Sunday 6 April
The FEI World Cup Finals are the culmination of the FEI World Cup Series, which includes leagues from across the globe. British athletes will usually contest the Western European League in both jumping and dressage, unless they are based elsewhere in the world.
Four leagues covering Western and Central Europe, North America and the Pacific offer qualification for the FEI Dressage World Cup Final. The Western European League consists of 11 legs, starting in Herning, Denmark in October and finishing with ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands in March. Athletes can compete in as many legs as they choose and achieve ranking points based on their placings in the Grand Prix Freestyle, with their four best scores counting in the overall standings. Across the various leagues, 17 combinations have qualified and will contest the Final in Texas. This does not include reigning champion Lottie Fry, who has chosen not to bring forward her Olympic bronze medallist Glamourdale, despite winning two qualifiers and finishing a close second in their third. Patrik Kittel of Sweden will be among those keen to monopolise on their absence, after losing the crown to them in Basel last year.
There is a total of 13 leagues that offer qualification for the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup Final. The Western European League consists of 14 legs across Europe, starting in Oslo, Norway in October and ending in Helsinki, Finland in February. Athletes can compete in as many legs as they choose and achieve ranking points based on their placing, with their seven best scores counting in the overall standings. Across the various leagues, 36 combinations from 18 countries have qualified for the Final in Fort Worth. While last year’s champion Julien Epaillard has chosen not to defend his title for France, previous winners Steve Guerdat and Martin Fuchs of Switzerland and Daniel Deusser of Germany will all keen to get back on the top step of the podium.
Dressage
Becky Moody and Jagerbomb: Becky is contesting her first FEI World Cup Final, after securing qualification with her own and Jo Cooper’s Jagerbomb from just three legs of the series. This is merely the latest step in their meteoric rise to the upper echelons of the sport, which began with a late call-up to Team GB for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, where they won team bronze. A team silver medal and fourth in the Grand Prix Freestyle followed at last year’s FEI Dressage European Championship.
Their World Cup campaign began in Lyon in October, where they finished second with 85.175% behind European Champions Justin Verboomen and Zonik Plus of Belgium. Next came a trip to the London International Horse Show in December, where they again finished second – this time, behind compatriots Lottie Fry and Glamourdale – with a score of 86.410%. Their final outing was Amsterdam in January, which gave them a hat-trick of podium finishes after securing third place with a score of 85.310%. This consistency was enough to secure qualification for the Final, which had eluded them the previous season.
Full list of dressage starters
No qualified British athletes have chosen to take up a place at the Final this year. However, the talented international field should still provide three thrilling rounds of competition.
Grand Prix: All combinations ride a prescribed series of movements, which are scored out of 10 by seven judges spread around the competition arena. Additional marks are given at the end for the general impression. The final scores are tallied up and divided to form a percentage – the highest percentage wins. To decide the running order, athletes are divided into two groups based on their respective placing in each standing. Lottie and Glamourdale have been drawn 12th in the starting order for this round.
Grand Prix Freestyle: All combinations who scored at least 60% in the Grand Prix will qualify for the Grand Prix Freestyle. For this test, athletes choreograph their own routine, based on a list of required movements, that's set to music of their choice – the aim is to create a floorplan that highlights their horse’s natural movement and showcases his personality. The scoring is the same as in the Grand Prix, with additional marks awarded for artistic merit and the degree of difficulty. In groups of five (or three for the first group), athletes compete in reverse order of merit as per the placings from the Grand Prix.
Qualifying round one: Combinations tackle a course of fences with a maximum height of 1.60m. Each fence down adds an additional three seconds to the time it takes them to complete the course – the faster the time, the better the placing heading into the second round. Any combinations who are eliminated or retire won’t continue to the next round. Robert and Vermento are 11th in the drawn order for this round, while Ben and Point Break will be the 27th combination to get underway.
Qualifying round two: Jumping in reverse order of merit, combinations ride against the clock over fences measuring up to 1.60m. Any jumping or time penalties accrued will determine their ranking, while any clear rounds will go through to jump-off to decide the final standings. Robert and Vermento will be the 24th combination to start in this round, while Ben and Point Break will be the penultimate pairing.
Scoring in round one and two: Based on penalties accrued, the winning combination in each of the first two rounds is given one more point than the number of starters at the beginning of the competition. The second-placed combination in that round gets two points less than the winner, the third-placed combination gets three points less, and so on. After the first two rounds, these points are transformed into penalties – the highest placed combination will have zero penalties, while the other competitors will receive penalties based on the difference between their points total and that of the leading combination.
Final rounds one and two: The 30 best-placed combinations after the two qualifying rounds will jump in reverse order of merit over a Grand Prix course with a maximum height of 1.60m. Based on any accrued penalties added to their total from the previous two rounds, the top 20 will progress to jump again over a course of similar length but with an increased level of difficulty. The winner is the combination with the fewest penalties – a jump-off against the clock will be used as a tie-breaker for first place.
All competing start times and results are available via Longines Timing.
All the action will be broadcast live and with English commentary on FEI.TV via ClipMyHorse.TV – you’ll need a subscription to tune in.
At this time, the FEI have not confirmed if any of the early rounds will be available to stream on their YouTube channel – this page will be updated if this changes. However, some highlights will be available to stream, plus you can also watch all the winning rounds from the World Cup Series.
You can also keep up to date with how our British combinations are getting on by following our social media channels, or those of British Dressage.