Equestrian Sports NZ is excited to launch the Fly the Fern fundraising initiative that aims to raise money to fly all discipline horses to the 2026 FEI World Championships.
ESNZ high performance general manager Jock Paget says it is exciting times for the sport. “This coming together is a reflection of the work that has gone into building an end to end pathway and base across all our disciplines.” As well as the ‘all-in’ initiatives, each discipline will also raise their own funds separately which will remain in their purses. Aachen (GER) will host the championships for eventing, dressage and jumping, with endurance heading to Al Ula (KSA).
ESNZ chief executive Julian Bowden says 2026 is gearing up to be a cracker. “It is fantastic to be launching our funding campaign with a goal of getting horses to championships. “With a number of combinations showing excellent form locally, we can expect a number of horses to be making the long journeys north. We are all looking forward to seeing world class performances from our athletes and horses on the biggest stage outside the Olympic Games.”
With each discipline at different levels of depth, each has its own performance goals at the World Championships.
For eventing, who won team and individual bronze medals at the last Champs, those aspirations are high. “We are targeting a team podium as a priority,” says Jock. “Secondary to that will be individual medals and placings. By default, if we achieve that we will qualify for the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028.” Everyone agrees Aachen is an incredible venue to host the Championships. “It is hard to imagine anywhere better,” says Jock. “It is a brilliant venue and the organisers are excellent at delivering a top show. It is always a real honour for anyone to compete in the Aachen arena and there’s no doubt the atmosphere will be electrifying at the Champs.”
Eventing scored an historic double victory at Aachen this year with the team winning gold in the hotly contested Nations’ Cup and Tim Price taking the top individual crown.
“Aachen was a targeted event for us this year, as was Boekelo, which was a development opportunity for combinations needing more team experience. Between now and the World Championships our focus is on working backwards from the demands of the event with individualised plans for each combination.”
As wonderful as Aachen was as a venue, it was also very challenging. “The path to true readiness will vary for each horse. Our approach is to give each combination the flexibility to tailor their competition schedule while still demonstrating form and readiness.”
High performance jumping manager Tom Tarver says the goal is for the team to make the final round, but he knows that will be a big ask. “It will be great to gain experience as a team and build towards the Olympic qualifier in 2027. I would love to see us get a couple of great individual performances and qualify for the final, but the team is always first.”
For jumping, Aachen is considered one of the greatest venues in the world to compete at. “To have the chance to represent your country there will be amazing,” says Tom. “We have seven combinations with their MER (a qualification which makes a combination eligible for selection) and we’re hopeful to get a few more in the New Year.”
The disciplines need help to get riders based in New Zealand and in Australia further offshore which would give selectors more choices and the nation more chance of fielding a competitive team. “We want to build experiences through Nations’ Cups which are our best chance to get invitations and opportunities at decent shows to gain experience. For us, funding travel, show invitations and entries are our biggest target to help fund this.”
High performance dressage manager Christine Weal says a team at the World Championships would give a solid building block for the future, including giving New Zealand its only chance of qualifying a team for the 2028 Olympic Games. “It is a big goal,” says Christine. “If we don’t quite get there (with a team) we hope to have one or two riders there competing. We currently have three combinations qualified and hopeful of a couple more. It is important for us to try and give these combinations the confidence to take the next steps.”
But expense and time to gain international experience was challenging. “The number of CDI competitions in New Zealand is very limited which makes qualifying very hard.”
Plans are afoot to take a team to the Sydney CDI mid-year which Christine says will be a great opportunity to bring the team closer together. She feels the combined fundraiser will be of huge benefit to all. “It will help grow the other disciplines to work alongside eventing who have been (to World Championships) many times before and from whom we can gain valuable knowledge and insight.”
Endurance are this week at their FEI Endurance World Championships test event in Al Ula. “We know it is going to be technical and state of the art, along with being a little bit unknown at this level. It will be everything you want in a championship and certainly command much respect,” says high performance endurance manager Ursula Keenan.
She too sang the praises of all coming together to fundraise for horse transport. “The foundation this sets for endurance feels really inclusive and cohesive,” she says. “We saw this start at the off horse camps and it is awesome for it to flow through into the campaigns.”
Endurance has four combinations with their MERs, with more expected over the coming months. “Our support is spread between getting those qualified who still need to while flowing through to those who already have. We are working with the full high performance team to offer these athletes stability and structure in their plans for the next 12 months.”
For the latest news on the Fly the Fern campaign and the journey to the FEI World Championships, keep an eye on the website where there will be a dedicated page with all you need to keep across.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW MORE ON THE FEI WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
By Diana Dobson
26th November 2025
