News
Aachen 2026: Golden finish for Wells and World Championship bronze for Naylor on Day Two
- Written By: British Dressage
- Published: Thu, 20 Aug 2026 16:48
The Para riders enjoyed another outstanding day at the FEI World Championships, with Sophie Wells securing Grade V individual gold and Nicola Naylor claiming a superb Grade IV individual bronze medal.
Sophie Wells concluded the British Para Individual campaign, bringing home another gold medal with Emma Blundell’s MSJ Gold Standard. The pair produced a combination personal best to finish on 74.949% in front of judges Marc Urban (E – BEL), Katherine Lucheschi (M – ITA), Anne Prain (H – FRA), Marco Orsini (B – GER) and Kristi Wyscocki (C – USA). The Governor-sired chestnut mare impressed judges with her complete relaxation in the arena, harmonious and balanced lateral trot work, and willing attitude throughout the test.
“Waiting to be the last rider in the team to go was really hard! You would have thought that having done it loads it would get easier, but it doesn’t get any easier waiting! Especially when you want to crack on and get started, so I was definitely more nervous today than I thought I would be. She is such a good girl – every test that we go and do, the scores just get that little bit better. She has been super chilled since we got here, which I expected because she is just that type of horse. But you never know until you put them in this kind of environment what they are going to be like, but I am so really proud of her. Our partnership is still quite new, so I want her to trust me in there. My big goal coming out here was to give her a good experience in the arena and enjoy it. […] The last couple of horses that I have had have been a bit more on edge so I’m quite glad that she is like this. I have to do more to keep her fresh and keep her willing, so at home she hacks and jumps… I have to try and keep it quite fun and light-hearted for her”
Reflecting on the best parts of her test, Sophie explained that her second medium canter was her highlight: “I didn’t want to rev her up too much today, because you don’t know if they will get a bit tight going in there and I didn’t want tight mistakes, rather than excited mistakes.” In response to being asked about pushing for more in the team test, Sophie confidently replied “Oh 100%. There’s loads more in there for her, and hopefully we will both be a bit more chilled over the next couple of days… well I will be more chilled over the next couple of days while we wait to go again!”
Upon finding out about her gold medal, Sophie was “very emotional… which is quite rare! I’m over the moon, really really happy. It’s quite special, I lost my Dad last year… and he would have been thrilled so… yeah, it’s amazing. […] It sounds a bit dramatic, but I almost didn’t think I would make it back to the top again. It’s been a tough few years between the horses and things in my personal life, so I get up every morning and aim to be the best person I can be for my horses. It was a bit of a hairbrained idea to join up with Emma Blundell and Mount St John last year to see if we could get Gracie here, and she has been amazing. She is the coolest horse you could wish for. […] Her brain sets her apart if I’m being honest. She goes around this sort of an environment on the buckle, and she is the most relaxed, accepting horse of the environment… as long as she has got food and love she is happy!”
Nicola Naylor kicked off the morning as the first rider down the centre line for the Grade IV Grand Prix A with her own Humberto L. This established combination produced a fantastically harmonious and active test to finish on 73.861% and bring home a brilliant bronze medal at Nicola’s first World Championships. Nicola was originally meant to be riding her own Moulin Rouge, however made the decision to switch to her more established partner Humberto L just before she left the UK. Owned by herself and Rosalind Emery Kay, the bay gelding put his best hoof forward to produce a lovely test that defended their 2025 European Championship bronze medal from Ermelo.
Their test was soft and fluent, impressing judges with their active trot and canter work despite a small spook in the trot work. Their medium trot’s showed excellent lengthening of the frame and active groundcover, whilst still being able to relax and show good swing through the back in the extended walk circle. Their canter work was a true highlight, scoring 8.0s across the board for the extended canter circles. Speaking after her test, Nicola described her test as “fabulous”, explaining that “when you are the first to go, and it is my first time at a World Championships, I can’t say that I wasn’t a bit nervous and of course Humbo was a bit nervous but I’m just super pleased. I really felt like we had a good partnership in there, and he actually really trusted me. I could feel when we went in that he [backed off a bit] and then he just settled and felt super on side… canter is his super pace, so once he got going, he was on fire. He felt super good […] He gets super excited in that bit [medium canter circle] and just goes! He covers the ground, and he has a really big bouncy canter and you can feel that he is just happy.”
“Julie called my test, and she is also Humberto’s groom so whenever we go to international competitions, Julie is his ‘away’ groom. She has a great relationship with Humberto because she is with him 24/7 when we are away, but Julie has also taken on the role of calling the letters, because it is really important that Sarah [Millis] my trainer is at the side and can absorb everything that is going on so that we can better prepare for the next test. You have to be so focused when you are calling the letters that you really do need a separate person… so Julie got asked.”
When explaining her first experience at the World Championships, Nicola simply described it as “amazing”, going on to reflect about how she is the first Grade IV rider for Great Britain since 2012: “it feels like a real step forward, which is great. It’s even more amazing because it is at Aachen, which has always been a dream place for me to come.”
Speaking after her she found out about her medal, Nicola described herself as feeling “Incredulous!”, going on further to explain “I’m really proud. I’m really proud of my pony, and I’m actually really proud of the whole team because it really is a team effort because it is never one person: it’s the whole team.”
Congratulations go to all of the riders over the past two days, and their teams who support them. We now look forward to the team event, which begins tomorrow at 08:00 BST as the British team compete for team medal glory.
Results – top five
Grade IV Grand Prix A
1. Kate Shoemaker and Vianne, 78.889% (USA)
2. Anna-Lena Niehues and Vive l’Amour, 74.639% (GER)
3. Nicola Naylor and Huberto L, 73.861% (GBR)
4. Vladimir Vichon and Pegase Mayenne, 73.000% (FRA)
5. Lotta Wallin and Questionmark, 71.917% (SWE)
Grade V Grand Prix A
1. Sophie Wells and MSJ Gold Standard, 74.949% (GBR)
2. Britney de Jong and Caramba N.O.P., 73.154% (NED)
3. Regine Mispelkamp and Highlander Delight’s, 72.974% (GER)
4. Lena Malmström and Fabulous Fidelie, 72.359% (SWE)
5. Mira Antonsen Hjelle and Atterupgaards Dora, 71.487% (NOR)
