8 June 2023

World Pair Championships 2025 awarded to Beekbergen

The FEI Driving World Championship for Pairs 2025 is coming to the Netherlands! On June 6th, the Fédération Equestre Internationale, our international governing body, announced the decision to award the FEI Driving World Championships for Pairs in 2025 to the organization of the international driving show ‘Paardenspektakel’ in Beekbergen, held late August at the Riant Equestrian Centre.

Paardenspektakel CAIO Beekbergen, a major driving competition, has been organized at the Riant grounds in Beekbergen for almost 40 years. “My father Bertus set up this event at the time. It is the crowning glory of his work that we will be able to organize the FEI Driving World Championship for Pairs in two years time”, said an enthusiastic Mieke van Tergouw, Organizer of Paardenspektakel and owner of Riant Equestrian Centre. “During COVID, we as an organization made a plan for the future with a goal for a World Championship. The fact that we have been awarded the Championship is not only fantastic news, but a testament to the event that we have organized every year with the ‘Paardenspektakel’ in Beekbergen and confirmation that we organize a top event’, said Mieke, who was crowned FEI Driving World Champion for Pairs in 1995. “First of all, I am proud of my family, who together we made this dream come true. But of course, also of the team that we managed to do this, supported by the Province of Gelderland, the municipality of Apeldoorn, the Geldersch Landschap and our loyal sponsors, competitors, and spectators. It’s a feast each year, and we can’t wait to reach new heights and impress the world in 2025!”

Leading Nation

The FEI Driving World Championship for Pairs, which is held every two years, will be hosted in Le Pin au Haras in France this summer. The Netherlands is a leading country in combined driving and the Royal Dutch Equestrian Sports Association (KNHS) is enthusiastic that the FEI Driving World Championships for Pairs will be held again in the Netherlands, the last time they took place in the Netherlands was in 2021 in Kronenberg, Limburg. “In Beekbergen all ingredients are present to organize a great competition. The allocation of the World Championship is a nice confirmation of that. I look forward to welcoming the best pair drivers back in the Netherlands. Of course, I hope for a lot of medals for the Dutch delegation,” says KNHS director of high-performance Iris Boelhouwer.

Paardenspektakel 2023

Each year, Mieke van Tergouw and her organizing team work hard to raise the international competition to a higher level. For the first time the event has been rewarded with the ‘O’ status and will be hosting the Driving Nations Cup of the Netherlands. This extra competition will be sure to attract the absolute top of drivers to Beekbergen and be a welcoming preview to the FEI Driving World Championship. The team is currently busy preparing for the Paardenspektakel 2023, held 27 to 30 July. In addition to the Driving Nations Cup, Paardenspektakel 2023 will be hosting the Dutch Four-In-Hand Driving and Para-Driving Championships. Paardenspektakel 2023 offers top competition, a family friendly atmosphere with vendors, food, and drinks, pony rides for children, a dinner to raise funds for charity, lively parties, and a welcoming VIP pavilion – all the ingredients for a top event that can’t be missed!

Other Championships 2025

Besides the FEI Driving World Pair Championships, the FEI also allocated the following Championships for 2025:
– FEI Driving World Championship for Ponies Four-in-Hand /Pairs/Singles,
Haras du Pin (FRA), September 2025
– FEI Driving World Championship for Young Horses, Haras du Pin (FRA),
September 2025

Photo: Karolina Swärdh