News
Aachen 2026: Day one of the Para team competition
- Written By: British Dressage
- Published: Sat, 22 Aug 2026 06:00
Mari Durward-Akhurst and Jemima Green kicked off the team competition with two fantastic scores, leaving Great Britain in a strong position for the final two riders.
Jemima Green was our British pathfinder for the Grand Prix B team event, kicking off the day as the first one down the centre line in the Grade II division. Jemima and Fanta produced a harmonious and forward-thinking test to come away with 74.033%, leaving them sitting in fourth individually. This pair produced a fantastic individual campaign, producing a personal best of 75.421% to bring home a bronze medal. Today they were trending on 76%, which would have left them on another personal best, however a spook during the free walk proved extremely costly, dropping them to their final score. Jemima recovered well from the spook to finish off the test with super marks overall, impressing judges Marc Urban (E – BEL), Kristi Wysocki (H – USA), Marco Orsini (C – GER), Anne Prain (M – FRA) and Kjell Myhre (B – NOR).
Throughout the test, Fanta remained fantastically on Jemima’s aids, producing crisp and clean transitions between the paces. Their medium trots showed brilliant ground cover and expression, and their leg yields were accurate and well balanced. “I felt it [the test] was more confident, it had more energy than the previous test. It was so unfortunate to have that little spook, I was very quick to keep my cool, take a breath, look for my line, get my reins and keep going! What was amazing about him, was that he came straight back to me. He was still a little bit focused on that corner, but I just went ‘stay with me’ and I think I was more prepared for it then because it literally came out of nowhere… he just decided to have a little extra move but it was very expensive as it did affect two of our movements. So, it was frustrating, but the way of going compared to the other day… we had more energy and he was on me so that was positive.”
When asked if Jemima knew what it was that Fanta spooked at, she quite simply said “No! He just thought there must have been something in there even though he’d already been past it loads of times… but he is still young and sometimes he just thinks he has seen something and he just reacts. What I’m very lucky with Fanta is when he does have a spook or a reaction like that, he doesn’t go on further with it and I whistle to him, which is my queue to him to come back to me, which he did.”
Speaking on what it felt like to be both the British and competition pathfinder, Jemima explained that “I have to say I felt really good when I first woke up, and then I got here and I really got nervous. I had the shakes, the adrenaline, a bit of an emotional moment and went a bit ‘oh my god!’, I think it all just hit me at once, which I wasn’t prepared for. We took some deep breaths, and had some chats, and then watching Fanta in the warm-up made me feel better and calmer so that helped. The team around us are so strong, and they know us so well so it’s so fortunate that you have that support team with you, then they can keep you calm, talk to you and tell you something you want to hear, or something a bit jokey, just take your mind of it and be able to go: ‘what do you want? What can we get you?’. I think that really, really helps.”
And at the complete opposite end of the day, Mari Durward Akhurst (pictured) was the last rider down the centre line in the Grade I division, producing yet another brilliant test with Athene Lindebjerg to score 74.583% to leave her in second place individually. Mari produced a fantastically harmonious and supple test, showing fabulous accuracy and swing through the walk. They showed a brilliant free walk circle, with a good stretch, and a cracking halt over the centre line at X.
Reflecting upon her test, Mari commented that “It wasn’t our best test. She [Athene] was really hard work, but I managed to keep her and get her to do what she needed to do. She didn’t have as much energy as she did on the first day. I think because she has been in there once, she was a bit ‘oh it’s the same arena, same thing!’”
However, when comparing it to her Individual test from Wednesday, Mari explained that “it was a smoother test compared to the first test, but it was hard work. She’s not an easy mare; she makes it look really easy but she makes you work for every little bit. She doesn’t say ‘oh, here you go!’, it’s more like ‘come on, Athene!’.
“It’s always an honour to be on the team, I dreamed of it for so long and now that I have done it successfully for a number of years it I just amazing.” Mari then went on further to talk about the overall morale of the team, explaining that “after Sophie’s success yesterday, and all of us medalling we are really on a high”.
Congratulations go to the riders and the team for their success today. We now look forward to the second half of the team competition, with Sophie Wells kicking off the action at 09:21 BST for the Grade V competition. Nicola Naylor will be rounding off the campaign at 11:00 BST, as the final fight for the team medal is on! Keep up to date with the live results in our Aachen Hub:
Results – top five
Grade II Grand Prix B
1. Fiona Howard and Diamond Dunes, 79.300% (USA)
2. Heidemarie Dresing and Poesie 143, 77.733% (GER)
3. Katrine Kristensen and Goerklintgaards Quarter, 76.167% (DEN)
4. Jemima Green and Fantabulous, 74.033% (GBR)
5. Felix Gomez González and Merlin, 68.233% (ESP)
Grade I Grand Prix B
1. Mari Vonderheyden and Fan Tastico H, 76.375% (USA)
2. Mari Durward-Akhurst and Athele Lindebjerg, 74.583% (GBR)
3. Sara Morganti and Bond Girl 18, 84.083% (ITA)
4. Annamarieke Nobel and Doo Schufro, 73.708% (NED)
5. Laurentia Tan and Hickstead, 72.875% (SGP)
