Royal Windsor Horse Show Confirms World-Class International Carriage Driving Field For 2026
Royal Windsor Horse Show has confirmed a superb line-up for its CAIO4* FEI Driving World Cup™ Qualifier, with 24 drivers from 10 nations set to compete. Featuring many of the discipline’s most accomplished names, alongside a strong British contingent, this year’s entries promise three days of top-class international competition across the Dressage, Marathon and Cones phases.
Australia’s Boyd Exell returns as defending champion after securing an extraordinary fifteenth Royal Windsor victory in 2025, underlining his remarkable record at the Show. Belgium’s Glenn Geerts and Dries Degrieck, who finished second and third respectively at Royal Windsor last year, are both set to return, while Sweden’s Fredrik Persson and America’s Chester Weber – fourth and fifth in 2025 – add further strength to an already formidable line-up.
Among those expected to feature prominently is Belgium’s Dries Degrieck, who arrives in strong form having won the FEI Driving World Cup™ Final in Bordeaux earlier this year. The Dutch challenge, meanwhile, is led by Bram Chardon, who was crowned European Four-in-Hand Champion for a record fourth consecutive time in 2025, and is further reinforced by the vastly experienced Ijsbrand Chardon and Koos de Ronde. Germany is also strongly represented by Christoph Sandmann, Anna Mareike Meier and Georg von Stein, ensuring fierce competition from across Europe’s leading Carriage Driving nations.
Home interest will be considerable, with four British drivers entered: Karen Bassett, Peter Bennett, Daniel Naprous and Robert Wilkinson. Bassett, Naprous and Wilkinson all represented Great Britain at the CAIO4* at CHIO Aachen in 2025, while Wilkinson also competed at the FEI European Driving Championships later that season. He arrives in strong form, having finished third at the CAI3*-H4 international driving competition in Exloo earlier this season. Bennett, meanwhile, was part of the British team that secured silver at the FEI World Championships for Horse Pairs in Beekbergen, Holland, in August 2025. Their presence gives the home side a strong and experienced representation against some of the sport’s biggest international names
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