Horse Hound – 20 August 2026

Summary

Lottie Fry and Glamourdale defend their world title on the cover of Horse & Hound 20 August 2026 (Volume CXLII Issue 33), and Britain comes home from Aachen 2026 with six medals including three golds. The issue carries 47 pages of World Championship analysis.

Ros Canter (Lordships Graffalo), Laura Collett (London 52), Tom McEwen (JL Dublin) and Gemma Stevens (Flash Cooley) took eventing team gold, with Canter adding individual silver and Collett bronze. Fry then won grand prix special and freestyle gold on Glamourdale for a historic double double, while the dressage team of Fry, Carl Hester (Fame), Becky Moody (Jagerbomb) and Fiona Bigwood (Donna Bella) took silver behind Germany.

Heat shaped the week: 34°C on Thursday and 35°C on Friday pushed the FEI to start the special more than two hours early at 8:30am and insert a long break from 12:45pm to 3pm. Burghley closes entries on 17 August with an irrigation network of 4,500m of pipe installed about 26 years ago, and Westgate Labs finds 27% of horses over the treatment threshold.

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Content Guide

▸ World Championships

p.32 · Eventing summary
Britain won eventing team gold at Aachen 2026 through Ros Canter on Lordships Graffalo, Laura Collett on London 52, Tom McEwen on JL Dublin and Gemma Stevens on Flash Cooley. Canter took individual silver and Collett individual bronze, with individual gold described as only a whisper out of their clutch. Read the team's split before you plan your own championship season.

p.70 · Special — Fry shines
Lottie Fry and Glamourdale won the grand prix special, starting a week in which she successfully defended the title she took four years earlier. The special ran earlier than planned because of the heat. Watch the special test and note where the marks came from.

p.76 · Freestyle — double glory
Fry and Glamourdale completed a historic double double by winning the freestyle as well as the special, retaining both titles. The result made her the rider of the championships. Watch the freestyle and compare it with the special for where the difficulty sits.

p.42 · Dressage — early leaders, with Bettina Hoy's analysis
The dressage report covers the early leaders and carries Bettina Hoy's analysis of the tests. Team silver went to Fry, Carl Hester on Fame, Becky Moody on Jagerbomb and Fiona Bigwood on Donna Bella, behind the host nation Germany. Read Hoy's analysis before you judge your own test.

▸ News and Welfare

p.4 · Britain triumphant
The news lead reports Britain's first-week haul of six medals including three golds, setting up the rest of the championships. Team results shape funding as well as pride. Follow the team's next championship cycle from this result.

p.8 · How rider personality affects bond with horses
This news piece reports research into how rider personality shapes the bond with a horse. Personality is usually discussed as opinion rather than measured. Ask yourself what your own personality does to your horse before blaming the horse.

Worm testing — Westgate Labs findings
Westgate Labs urges testing every 8 to 12 weeks after analysing more than 50,000 worm egg counts from last autumn and winter, finding 27% of horses over the treatment threshold against 21% in 2024/25 and 18% the year before. Small redworm has a life cycle of four to six weeks. Book a worm egg count every eight to twelve weeks rather than dosing on a calendar.

▸ Burghley

p.6 · Burghley on course
Entries for Burghley closed on 17 August, and the cross-country course is fenced all year with an underground irrigation network installed about 26 years ago, carrying 4,500m of pipe from a computer-controlled pump by the lake. Director Martyn Johnson spoke at the media day on 11 August, with Philip Herbert as clerk of the course and Bill Henson a former director. Walk the course on foot and find the lake pump before the irrigation matters.

▸ Reports and Regulars

p.110 · Rydal hound show — the Blencathra once again come out on top
The Rydal hound show report finds the Blencathra coming out on top again, closing the hunting section. Hound show results are the purest form of the discipline. Visit one hound show and judge the hounds yourself rather than taking the card.

p.24 · Training aids — A vet's view on the biomechanics
The vet clinic looks at training aids from a biomechanics standpoint, asking what they do to a horse's body. Aids change movement whether the rider understands them or not. Remove one aid from your horse this week and see what changes.

p.18 · H&H interview — The brothers behind Faultless
The brothers behind Faultless give the People and Horses interview, one of the issue's owner stories. Producers rarely get the space their horses do. Ask who produced your horse before you judge its record.

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Editor's Take

The 47-page World Championship analysis earns Horse & Hound 20 August 2026 its place, and the detail carries it: 34°C and 35°C forcing an 8:30am start and a 12:45pm to 3pm break, Ros Canter, Laura Collett, Tom McEwen and Gemma Stevens named with their horses, and Fry's double double on Glamourdale. The worm testing numbers are the best non-championship page, with 27% over threshold against 21% and 18% in previous years giving owners a reason to test. Weakest is the middle of the reports section, where Hickstead, Dublin and Hartpury results run as lists, and the property advertising sits oddly beside a championship issue. Buy this for anyone following Aachen 2026; the reports alone do not justify it.

Strengths
• Heat figures and schedule changes are reported
• Team members named with their horses
• Worm testing gives 27% against 21% and 18%
• Burghley irrigation gives 4,500m and 26 years

Weaknesses
• Reports section runs results as lists
• Property advertising sits oddly in a champs issue

Verdict: Essential — the only full record of Britain's Aachen medals you will need.