Zara Tindall Opens FEI World Championships in Aachen, Joined by Queen Mary and Princess Amalia
Zara Tindall gave the official starting signal for the 2026 FEI World Championships at Allianz Park in Aachen, Germany, on 11 August 2026, returning to the venue where she won individual eventing gold exactly twenty years earlier (Hello!).
Tindall, 45, is the daughter of the Princess Royal and a mother of three. She won individual eventing gold at the same Aachen venue in 2006, and took a team eventing silver at the 2012 London Olympics. In 2020 she became a patron of World Horse Welfare, the equine charity whose president is her mother, Princess Anne (Hello!).
She was not the only royal in the parade. Queen Mary of Denmark, 54, and Princess Amalia of the Netherlands, 22 — first in line to the Dutch throne — attended the opening festivities alongside her. Infanta Elena of Spain was also listed among the European royals set to attend the ceremony (Hola!).
Three royal stables — representing the Netherlands, Denmark and Great Britain — paraded historic carriages during the ceremony, each carriage symbolising its respective dynasty (Hello!). The opening was promoted by the Aachen organising committee as "an evening for the history books" and features a James Bond-themed evening programme (CHIO Aachen).
The championships, the FEI's global equestrian competition, run from 10 to 23 August 2026 across six disciplines: driving, eventing, dressage, para dressage, jumping and vaulting (FEI). German broadcasters WDR and ARD are carrying live coverage from the Allianz Park (CHIO Aachen).
For equestrian fans, the event carries weight beyond medals: the FEI Dressage World Championship Grand Prix Team Final and Individual Qualifier is scheduled from 20:15 to 21:45 CEST on 11 August (Olympics.com). The championships also serve as a qualifier pathway toward the LA 2028 Olympic Games. Followers can track athletes, horses and full results through FEI.org, which lists every participant and competition statistic.
For Tindall, the Aachen return closes a neat twenty-year loop — from competitor to ceremonial opener, on the same ground.
