AACHEN, Germany--The U.S. rose from sixth after dressage to fifth after cross country and then posted three super clean rounds in show jumping on Sunday, Aug. 26 to rise to third and win the bronze medal at the Eventing World Championship.
Will Coleman on Diabolo (Photo by Allen MacMillan)"We didn't get off to the greatest start, but we just kept chipping away at it," said Will Coleman, who finished fourth individually on his dressage score of 30 peanlties on the 14-year-old Diabolo.."We tried to make each day count."
Great Britain won the gold medal on 84.0 penalties, with host nation Germany winning silver on 95.6 and the United States bronze on 113.5.
Individually, Michael Jung of Germany on fischerChipmunk FRH brought the house down with a clean round to win the World individual gold on 23.0 penalties.
Rosalind Canter of Great Britain on Lordships Graffalo won silver on 23.4, with compatriot Laura Collett on London 52 winning bronze on 28.0.
COLEMAN and Boyd Martin on Cooley Nutcracker were both clean in show jumping, and Phillip Dutton on Denim was clean with just 1.2 time faults over a very diffiult show jumping course that had just 13 riders, 22% of the field, leaving every fence standing and finishing inside the 91-second time allowed.
Boyd Martin on Cooley Nutrcracker (Photo by Allen MacMillan)Martin finished 13th individually on 37.3, Dutton finished 27th on 46.2, Caroline Pamukcu was eliminated on cross country, and individual rider Tamie Smith on Lillet 3, who was eighth after dressage and 18th after cross country, withdrew before the final horse inspection.
"The day was absolutely fantastic," said chef d'equipe Leslie Law."It was such good show jumping. Those boys rode to the standard we knew they could ride. They came up with the bronze and made the day. We were quietly confident that we could pull it off today."
"Diabolo was such a star," said Coleman."He was incredible. He's never jumped in an atmosphere like this. Kentucky is one thing, but Aachen is another I knew he was going to do everything in his power to leave the rails up, and he did."
"He's got a nice, big stride, so I felt like we could make the time," said Coleman. "You can''t get into the show ring enough, show jumping has gotten to be such a critical element. Lucky for me, I love show jumping.."
Phillip Dutton on Denim (Photo by Allen MacMillan)"The medal says a lot about this group," said Coleman. "Everybody kept a cool head all week. I had a lot of fun. I can't remember ever laughing as much during an event. It felt loose, we just wanted the team to succeed. We were all rooting for each other, we didn't care who came out on top."
To prove Coleman's point, Martin joked his way through the entire press conference, saying of competing in Aachen that in his 20s he'd fallen in love with a German girl, but that her mother had never liked him and he'd never felt accepted.
"I stood on the podium today and looked up, ans she was smiling at me, and I finally felt accepted in Germany," said Martin.
"Denim jumped really well," said Dutton. "He tried really hard."
"We don't get to practice over big, open courses like this," said Dutton of competing over the course spread over the huge Aachen main arena, "It's a bit different galloping to fences and having to hold the horse off the front rail."
USA Eventing Team Bronze on the Podium, left to right, Will Coleman, Boyd Martin,Caroline Pamukcu, Phillip Dutton and Leslie Law (Photo by Allen MacMillan)"It's a great thing to be here," said Dutton. "Nothing compares to being in Aachen."
Dutton was one of seven who had also ridden in the World Games in Aachen 20 years ago.
"Thanks for reminding me of my age," said Dutton. "Boyd's been reminding all week of how long I've been doing this."
The British team's final score of 84.0 penalties is the best-ever team finishing score at an Olympic Games or World Championship, surpassing Great Britain’s previous record of 86.3 set at the Tokyo (JPN) 2020 Olympic Games.
The British team's final score of 84.0 penalties is the best-ever team finishing score at an Olympic Games or World Championship, surpassing Great Britain’s previous record of 86.3 set at the Tokyo (JPN) 2020 Olympic Games.
"It was the emotional culmination of a week in which Great Britain had led from start to finish," said individual bronze and team gold medalist Collett who rode the 17-year-old London 52,
“We came here to win a team gold medal, and we’ve done that and added a couple of extras just for a bonus,” she said. “All the horses, all the people and all the team have been phenomenal all week, and we’re just very lucky to be part of one hell of a team.”
Michael Jung Fischer on fisherChipmuck (Photo by Allen MacMillan)"It was relief,exultation, all the emotions rolled into one," said individual silver and team gold medalist Canter. "These horses truly love what they're doing."
Great Britain has now won team gold at four of the past five Olympic Games and World Championships, triumphing at Tryon in 2018, Tokyo in 2020, Paris in 2024 and now in Aachen 2026.
For fischerChipmunk FRH, the win adds another gold to an exceptional collection of accolades for the 18-year-old gelding.
The reigning Olympic champion is also a two-time European individual silver medalist, in 2019 and 2025, while victory in Aachen finally settled unfinished business from Pratoni 2022, where he and Jung led until the final fence.
Chipmunk has finished the cross country in five championships without a jumping or time fault.
“I’m speechless. Chipmunk is unbelievable,” said Jung. “He’s doing great Dressage, running fast Cross-Country and Jumping like a Jumping horse: careful, powerful and athletic. It’s a dream to ride him.”
The seven highest-ranked teams, excluding host nation USA, secured their places, with Great Britain, Germany, Ireland, Switzerland, New Zealand, Sweden and Belgium booking their tickets to LA28.
