Canada’s lone eventing representative, Jessica Phoenix with Fluorescent Adolescent, bred by Kelly Plitz and owned by Sharon Hall and Makayla Rydzik, got their FEI World Championships off to a strong start Thursday in Aachen, scoring 35.1 penalties for a five-star personal best in the opening dressage phase.
Phoenix and Fluorescent Adolescent sit 25th in the field of 43 entries heading into Saturday’s cross-country.
At the top of the team standings, New Zealand and Great Britain are locked in a tight battle for gold-medal position, both sitting on 55.9 penalties, while Germany holds third on 59.9, keeping the pressure on ahead of the jumping phases.
Individually, Britain’s Tom McEwen and JL Dublin have set the early standard with a leading score of 26.6. McEwen, a former world number one, is known for his consistency at championships, while JL Dublin has become one of the most reliable dressage performers in the sport.
Tom McEwen (GBR) riding JL Dublin leads after the day 1 dressage phase at the FEI Eventing World Championship 2026 in Aachen. (FEI/Leanjo de Koster)
Hot on his heels is New Zealand’s Janelle Price aboard Senor Crocodillo, sitting second individually after a polished test that continues her strong run of form at major championships.
France’s Alexis Goury and Je’vall round out the top three on 28.6, with Goury emerging as one of the rising talents in French eventing and building momentum on the senior championship stage.
Phoenix was delighted with the performance from the experienced mare, who appeared to relish both the grass arena and the Aachen conditions.
“Incredibly pleased with that,” Phoenix said. “Lacey went in there and was all business, and everything that she could do, she did, and I was so proud of her being so confident and so relaxed and so accessible. We really enjoyed it.”
The 35.1 was the pair’s best-ever score at the five-star level and one of Fluorescent Adolescent’s lowest dressage scores in international competition.
Phoenix credited much of their improvement on the flat to the work she has been doing with US Olympic dressage rider Ashley Holzer.
“We started working with Ashley Holzer a couple of years ago, actually right after the last Olympics, and that has really been a game-changer,” Phoenix said. “She was actually able to be here in person with us today, which is the first time that’s happened at a major games or an international event.”
Phoenix said Holzer has helped her better understand how her own position affects the horse’s balance and has given her greater control over the small details that can make a significant difference in a dressage test.
“Ashley has really helped me understand where I need to be with my own position to help the horses balance themselves better, and she’s just helped me get control over a lot of those little things where it just gives me and the horses so much confidence when we’re in the ring executing the movements,” Phoenix said.
That work was evident when Fluorescent Adolescent became a little too forward or began to lose her balance.
“I was able to just calmly put her back together, and then she’s such a beautiful mover. She can really shine when she’s in the right balance.”
The grass footing may also have worked in the Canadian pair’s favour. Phoenix said Fluorescent Adolescent has historically performed particularly well on grass, including at Will O’ Wind Farm, site of the eventing competition at the 2015 Toronto Pan American Games.
“She loves grass,” Phoenix said. “I think it’s just a little bit less pressure for her with the footing, emotionally, and she really feels at home.”
Phoenix was particularly pleased with the mare’s walk, which she described as “one of her best walk tours of her entire life.”
Fluorescent Adolescent showed just enough exuberance to remind Phoenix that dressage is merely the prelude to the mare’s favourite part of the sport.
“She sometimes does that, but today she kept that to a minimum, so that was awesome. And hopefully she scoots the whole way around cross-country on Saturday.
“We put up with the rest so that we can go cross-country,” Phoenix joked. “It’s Christmas morning for her.”
Saturday’s cross-country is expected to significantly reshape the standings. Phoenix, competing at her fourth World Championships, described the Aachen track as one of the more demanding championship courses she has encountered.
“It looks intense,” she said. “I’ve done a lot of World Equestrian Games, and just the way they’ve designed this course, the questions that they’ve asked, the turns that they’re asking the questions on, I think will be a real game-changer.”
While the challenge is considerable, Phoenix believes the course could play directly to Fluorescent Adolescent’s strengths.
“She’s such a sports car. She’s so smart thinking and so quick in her mind, and she’s so fast. She’s so efficient over the ground. She loves tight turns. So this is really a well-suited course to her, and I can’t wait to get up there on Saturday.”
Phoenix also credited the Canadian eventing support team with helping Fluorescent Adolescent remain competitive at the highest level, singling out the team’s veterinarians, physiotherapist, farrier and the people responsible for putting the program together.
For Phoenix, the experience of representing Canada has not diminished despite this being her fourth World Championships.
“There’s obviously more confidence in my own riding and my own preparation and the team of people that we have around us,” she said. “But there’s nothing that simulates riding for your country. Every time you do, it’s overwhelming. Just the people that are behind you, the people that have gotten you to this place. It’s an amazing thing.”
Results here.
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