24 August '26
Impress-K van ’t Kattenheye Z is the World Championship runner-up!
© FEI - Benjamin Clark
The FEI World Championships Aachen 2026 provided plenty of unforgettable moments last week. On the hallowed turf of the Soers, the world’s finest riders and horses gathered for a championship attended by thousands of spectators, where the tension was palpable from the first day right through to the last. The blue and yellow colours of Zangersheide also made their presence felt on several occasions, with the absolute highlight being the individual silver medal won by the Belgian rider Thibeau Spits and his black gem, Impress-K van ’t Kattenheye Z.
What a World Championships and, above all, what a climax for Thibeau Spits and the 11-year-old stallion Impress-K van ’t Kattenheye Z (Indoktro-K van ’t Kattenheye x Vagabond de la Pomme). Spits and the home-bred horse by Tony and Mieke Raman got off to an excellent start to their World Championships on Wednesday with a strong clear round in the show jumping course. A day later, during the first round of the Nations Cup, they once again delivered a dazzling performance, although they did knock down the very last rail. In the team final on Friday, they produced another clear round, meaning the Belgian pair concluded the qualifiers with a total of 5.60 penalty points and qualified for the individual final on Sunday. Spits and Impress-K van ’t Kattenheye Z started the individual final in 15th place, beginning their quest for an individual medal.
Impress and Spits make a big leap
The first round of the final immediately shook up the standings, as only six of the twenty-five finalists managed to complete the basic course without any faults. One of those six pairs was Spits and Impress-K van ’t Kattenheye Z, who made a huge leap up the rankings as a result. Whilst several higher-ranked pairs made mistakes, they kept their cool and climbed from15th to5th place. This secured them a place amongst the top twelve and, consequently, a ticket to the very final round of the championship.
From the top five to World Championship silver
During that decisive second round of the final, featuring the top twelve, the standings were shaken up yet again. Spits and Impress-K van ’t Kattenheye Z once again rode clear rounds, keeping their total at 5.60 penalty points on the scoreboard. In doing so, they placed all the pressure on the pairs who were yet to take to the arena after them. Of the four riders who started after them, three ultimately failed to keep their cool, with two pairs even committing a jumping fault at the very last fence. As a result, Spits and Impress-K moved up from5th to2nd place and secured a brilliant individual silver medal!
“I would never have dared to dream that this was still possible”
“This is truly unbelievable. I would never have dared to dream that this was still possible,” said 25-year-old Thibeau Spits afterwards. “After the second day, when we knocked that last rail, I was really disappointed for a moment. It was a mistake that really shouldn’t have happened. However, after winning the team medal on Friday, I was able to start the individual final without any pressure and I mainly tried to enjoy it. Impress gave me so much confidence during this final. Day after day he felt better, even during the warm-up. I could tell he was feeling more and more at ease and that he was absolutely ready.”
“What he’s done for me so far is truly incredible. I started riding him when he was just three years old and we’ve come all this way together. Everything he’s taught me… He’s simply fantastic. He’s got so much power that no obstacle seems too high or too difficult for him. And he always has his head in the right place. I therefore feel incredibly lucky to have him by my side so early on in my career. Without him, none of this would, of course, be possible.”
