Britain Claims World Championship Bronze In Aachen

A Second Straight Team Bronze

Britain secured team bronze at the showjumping World Championships in Aachen, Germany, confirming qualification for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics at the first opportunity. The result came on 21 August 2026 under Aachen's floodlights, with the British quartet finishing on 12.98 penalties behind gold medallists Germany (4.48) and silver medallists Belgium (11.69).

Ben Maher rode Point Break, Harry Charles partnered LT Holst Freda, Adrian Whiteway was aboard Chacco Blue and Scott Brash completed the quartet on Hello Mango, the four adding four faults between them to take the podium spot. It marked a second successive world team bronze for Britain.
Brash and Hello Mango, owned by Charlotte Rossetter and Pamela Wright, opened the British effort with a clear round. "It doesn't happen very often but he was absolute perfection for me this evening," Brash said. "I'm very proud of him and my team. It's a long long road to get these horses from a young horse all the way to this level."

Charles Finally Gets His Clear

Brash said the stallion's inexperience under lights had not been a concern going in. "He hasn't jumped under lights too much but I knew his quality would come through with the different lighting this evening, and it was about keeping him brave and relaxed," he said. "He went in and he gave me the exact plan, the exact ride I had planned and visualised. When that happens, there's not a lot to say really."

Harry Charles went second for the team and produced a clear round on LT Holst Freda, a partnership less than four months old. He described the course as tough, as expected of a championship final, with the floodlights adding to the pressure. "The atmosphere is amazing, and I'm very happy to get a clear, finally," Charles said. "She's not knocked a jump all week, it's been me, so I felt a lot of relief after the finish line."

Charles said he had given the mare an easier morning before her third day of jumping, unsure how she would cope. "I left her a little bit fresh this morning, not knowing quite how she'd be on a third day of jumping, and she just came out; I had double handfuls the whole way round," he said. "I just sat quiet and said whoa to her, and she just ate it."

The clear followed a difficult individual round the previous day. "I had to get over myself, to be honest," Charles said. "It was a pretty low day. I've knocked jumps down plenty of times, but yesterday really sucked." He added that opportunities like Freda do not come along often. "You never know when you're going to get a horse that good, if ever again, so you want to come here," he said. "All year, I've just been dreaming of this championship."

The Lindt Oxer Bites Back

Adrian Whiteway, riding Deborah Cox's Chacco Blue, had no luck with the Lindt oxer, the fence that fell more than any other during the round. Whiteway rode the combination well but the first element of the double came down, and the second followed, leaving him with time-faults on a score that had to be the drop score for the team.

That left the pressure on Brash again, and the Lindt fence fell for him too, with the rain-softened ground perhaps a factor by that stage of the competition. He recovered to jump clear for the remainder of the round, a result that delivered Britain's bronze. Chef d'equipe Di Lampard praised the setting and the display. "It's an absolute delight to be in Aachen, there's no place like it," Lampard said. "To bring this team forward and be on the podium and with Olympic qualification we're very pleased."
Charles said he had not expected to compete in Aachen before the mare became available earlier in 2026. "In May, I wasn't even planning on coming, I didn't have a horse, then Freda kind of showed up," he said. He added that he intends to look after the mare carefully going forward. "And I've got a very special horse for the next few years, and I'm just going to take really good care of her," he said.

Lampard also thanked the hosts and rival nations for the week's competition. "Congratulations, Germany and Belgium, it's been great sport all week, and the organisation has been fantastic," she said. "So we're very happy."