119 athlets form 24 countries will arrive to Olomouc for the European Dressage Championship

119 riders and horses from 24 countries will arrive for the European Dressage Championship for Children and Juniors, hosted by the Equine Sport Center Olomouc. The competition will take place from July 15th to 19th, while representatives from Germany and the Netherlands will be trying to defend the most medal positions.

The organizers of the European Dressage Championship for Children and Juniors from the Equine Sport Center in Olomouc are counting down the final days until the participants' arrival. There will be 46 participants from 14 countries in the Children category, and 73 from 23 countries in the Juniors category.

Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Italy, Hungary, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Austria, Spain, Ukraine, and Great Britain will be represented in both parts of the championship. Slovakia is sending only one participant to the Children's competition, whereas riders from Denmark, Georgia, Croatia, Ireland, Lithuania, Norway, Greece, Sweden, Switzerland, and Turkey will have an exclusively Junior squad. Ten Children's teams and seventeen Junior teams will fight for team medals.

„We are already very much looking forward to all the participants of this peak event, and we will try to provide them with the best possible facilities to showcase great sporting performances,“ said Barbora Hubáčková, the event president.

At last year's championship, the Czechs finished sixth among the Children and ninth among the Juniors. A year ago in Le Mans, riders from Germany and the Netherlands won medals in both categories. Germany took home two golds at the time, while the Netherlands secured silver and bronze. German representatives also dominated the individual categories, although the winners themselves will not be competing in Olomouc this time. However, Children's champion Laura Kohoutek will certainly be well represented in the junior category by her sister Clara, who is two years older. Hannah-Katharina Dearing-Schumach from Austria, who finished seventh in 2025, has also already moved up to the Junior category. From the junior top 10, Rikke Maria Schoubye Johansen from Denmark, Britt Kikkert-van der Linde from the Netherlands, and Isla Sully from Great Britain are all reporting a return to the European Championship.

The Czech Republic will be represented in the Children's competition by Mia Bobeková with Belize, Jasmína Vášáryová with Friday I’m In Love (who finished fifteenth in last year's final Individual Test), Adéla Selyben with Baileys, and Adriana Šmatláková with Furst Weilberg. Competing for the Juniors will be Eliška Vandasová and Roncevall, who participated in last year's European Championship in Le Mans, along with Alice Hubáčková with Dieu D´Amour, Anna Marie Křížová with Best For Me, and last but not least, Tereza Malá with Secret Dancer.

The sporting program of the European Dressage Championship for Children and Juniors takes place at the Equine Sport Center starting Wednesday, July 15th. On the first competition day, the first half of the children will ride their tests first in the so-called preliminary round, followed from 1:00 PM by the first group of juniors in the Team competition. Thursday will follow a similar scenario, with the medal ceremony for the Junior Teams taking place after 6:00 PM. From Friday, the order of the categories will swap, and the juniors will open the morning sessions with the individual competition. The children will face their Team Test. The second half of the starting field will follow on Saturday, when shortly after noon we will know the Junior Individual medalists, and in the afternoon we will find out who ranks among the best Children's teams. The top eighteen pairs (meaning horses and riders) advance to Sunday's Children's final, from which the Individual champion will emerge. For the Juniors, the climax will be the Freestyle to music, for which the top eighteen from the Individual competition will qualify.

Entry to the venue is free on all competition days, so we hope that fans of dressage, equestrian sport, and horses in general will arrive in large numbers to create a unique atmosphere,' said Kristýna Bundilová, the director of the Equine Sport Center Olomouc, inviting visitors to the venue. A live broadcast of the competitions will be available to watch throughout all competition days via Czech Television's online platform, ČT sport Plus. International viewers will be able to watch the stream on FEI TV. Anyone interested can find full information about the event program on the website www.escolomouc.cz.