U.S. Draws First as Stage is Set in Fort Worth

Eiken Sato (JPN) and Chadellano JRA during the first horse inspection at the FEI World Cup™ Finals 2026 in Fort Worth (USA) ©FEI/Liz Gregg

The United States will lead the way in front of a home crowd Thursday as competition kicks off at the FEI World Cup™ Finals in Fort Worth, TX (USA).

All 54 horses—36 slated for the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final and 16 for the Zen Elite FEI Dressage World Cup™ Final—passed inspection at the spectacular Dickies Arena Tuesday, with no one needing to appear for re-inspection.

At Wednesday evening’s draw in downtown Fort Worth, Aaron Vale (USA) and Julio Mendoza Loor (ECU) were selected as the leadoff athletes in their respective jumping and dressage competitions.

Strength in Numbers

The United States is well represented in the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final, with nine athletes in the lineup. Nine could be the magic number, as it’s been nine years since a rider from the nation stood atop the podium in this event. Vale will give his compatriots early feedback on the opening round’s speed test set by Anderson Lima (MEX). Vale, a Texas native now based in Ocala, Florida (USA), will bring his best horse forward in the 13-year-old gelding Carissimo 25 for this homecoming and will be the first athlete through the gates in Fort Worth.

The highest placing American at least year’s Final in Basel (SUI), Katie Dinan is back for more with Out of the Blue SCF. The pair won the final round of competition in 2025 after producing the only double-clear effort on the day, ultimately finishing eighth overall. They will jump 22^nd in the order.

The most eyes, however, are likely to be on World No. 2 Kent Farrington, who is returning to the Final after a one-year hiatus with his powerhouse duo of mares, Toulayna and Greya. Farrington brought the same pair forward when he finished fourth at Riyadh (KSA) in 2024. Since then, he climbed to the World No. 1 spot for nine months between May 2025 and January 2026, recording wins at the highest level of sport with both mares. He will jump 15^th Thursday with Toulayna, the speed specialist.

Kaitlin Campbell, Lillie Keenan, and Skylar Wireman all return with promise following strong outings at the Finals over the course of the last two years, while Mimi Gochman and Jacob Pope will make their respective debuts at this event after successful seasons on the North American League. World No. 10 Laura Kraut will be the final U.S. athlete to jump, as she comes forward 32^nd with her winning partner from Washington (USA), Tres Bien Z.

Switzerland may pose the greatest threat to a hometown victory for the U.S., as the country sends forward an incredibly strong pair of previous champions.

Steve Guerdat (SUI) has won these Finals on three previous occasions, all within 10 years of each other. Should he capture a fourth in Fort Worth, he would become the first athlete in history to achieve the feat. He will bring forward Albfuehren’s Iashin Sitte for the task; the 12-year-old gelding carries great form to Texas, having won two qualifiers on the Western European League at Helsinki (FIN) and Leipzig (GER) since January. Guerdat will jump just before the midway point of competition Thursday, in the 18^th position.

Directly following him is his Swiss teammate, Martin Fuchs. Fuchs, who won these Finals in 2022 at Leipzig, will bring forward Lorde for the 11-year-old gelding’s first championship start.

Adding further depth to the jumping field are World No. 3 Richard Vogel and 2014 Champion Daniel Deusser, both from Germany, who will jump 26^th and 29^th, respectively with Gangster Montdesir and Otello de Guldenboom. Willem Greve (NED), who won three qualifiers on the Western European League with Pretty Woman van’t Paradijs N.O.P., received an early draw and will jump second.

Kevin Staut (FRA) and Visconti du Telman are the highest placing pair from the 2025 Finals to return in 2026. After finishing third at Basel, they will begin their quest for a second straight podium jumping in the fifth position.

Thirteen nations will be represented as competition kicks off at 1pm CST with the opening round, a speed test with a faults converted format.

Touchdown in Texas

A different kind of touchdown will be scored this week in Texas, one of the most popular states in the country for the sport of American football.

Patrik Kittel (SWE) and the 14-year-old gelding Touchdown will look to capture their second Zen Elite FEI Dressage World Cup™ Final victory after taking the title at Riyadh in 2024. The experienced Touchdown will be competing in his fourth global championship, having also contested the 2024 Paris Olympics (FRA) and 2022 FEI World Championships in Herning (DEN). He will trot down centerline 13^th in the order in Thursday’s FEI Grand Prix test.

Becky Moody (GBR) and Jagerbomb also boast championship experience, having brought home a team bronze medal from the Paris Olympics (FRA), but the pair will make their first World Cup Finals appearance in Fort Worth. They drew the 14^th position in the order.

The American contingent received mostly early draws, with Kevin Kohmann and Ben Ebeling set to come forward third and fourth with Duenensee and Ballena, respectively. This will mark Kohmann and Duenensee’s third consecutive appearance at these Finals.

But it’s 23-year-old Christian Simonson that may hold the greatest hope for the home nation. He and the 13-year-old stallion Indian Rock were victorious in three qualifiers on the North American League and have won six straight events leading up to their Fort Worth venture; the partnership drew ninth in the order in their championship debut.

Mendoza Loor will complete the first test of the evening with Jewel’s Goldstrike after earning a place at the Finals based off his FEI Dressage World Ranking, while Raphael Netz (GER) and DSP Dieudonne will finalize the standings as the final and 18^th combination to compete.

With 13 nations represented, dressage action will take place as Thursday’s primetime event, with at 7pm CST start.

The FEI World Cup Finals run 8-12 April at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth.

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