Ireland concluded its participation in the 2026 Aachen Eventing World Championship with a result of huge importance for its sporting future. The Irish team finished in fourth position in the team standings and secured its first qualification spot for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
The team stayed in the fight for the medals until the final stages of the competition, but the priority objective also involved securing one of the available Olympic tickets in Aachen. The fourth position allowed Ireland to achieve that goal and leave the World Championship with qualification for LA28 already secured.
Aoife Clark and Full Monty de Lacense were the highest-placed Irish combination individually, finishing in eleventh position. Austin O’Connor and Colorado Blue finished 19th, while Padraig McCarthy and MGH Zabaione took 24th place.
The Irish representation at Aachen also featured Georgie Goss and Kojak, who finished 28th, and Ian Cassells with Millridge Atlantis, who concluded in 29th position. For the team result, Horse Sport Ireland highlighted the performances of Cassells, Clark, McCarthy and O’Connor.
The fourth place in the world takes on even greater importance considering that Aachen has been the first major Championship under the leadership of high performance manager Sam Griffiths. The result also comes following the silver medal won by Ireland at last year's European Championship, providing continuity to a period of good international results for Irish Eventing.
Although the medal was close, the overall result for Ireland is especially positive. The country not only finishes among the top four nations in the world, but also becomes one of the first teams to secure its place in Eventing at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
Qualification also represents recognition of the joint work of male and female riders, horses, owners, trainers and the entire team that has accompanied the Irish delegation during the World Championship.
With the Olympic goal achieved, Ireland leaves Aachen with its sights already set on Los Angeles 2028 and with a result that confirms the continuity of its strong international form in Eventing.
