24 August '26
Impress-K van 't Kattenheye Z is vice-World Champion!
© 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 Belgian rider Thibeau Spits and his black gem, Impress-K van ’t Kattenheye Z.
What a World Championships, and above all, what a finale 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 breeding product of Tony and Mieke Raman got off to an excellent start at their World Championship on Wednesday with a strong clear round in the speed class. A day later, during the first round of the team competition, they delivered a dazzling performance once again, although they saw the very last pole hit the ground. During the team final on Friday, another clear round followed, allowing the Belgian combination to finish the qualifiers with a total of 5.60 penalty points and prepare for the individual final on Sunday. Spits and Impress-K van ’t Kattenheye Z started their hunt for an individual medal from 15th place.
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 incurred faults, they kept their cool and climbed from 15th to 5th 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 once again. Spits and Impress-K van ’t Kattenheye Z completed another clear round, maintaining their total of 5.60 penalty points on the scoreboard. This put all the pressure on the pairs who were still 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 from 5th to 2nd place and secured a brilliant individual silver medal!
“I would never have dared to dream that this was still possible”
“This is truly incredible. I never would have dared to dream that this was still possible,” said 25-year-old Thibeau Spits afterwards. “After the second day, when we knocked down 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 go into the individual final without any pressure and I mainly just tried to enjoy it. Impress gave me an enormous amount of 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 keeps 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 be possible, of course.”
