Three Massa Horses Honored at the 2026 FEI World Championships in Aachen

Among the approximately 90 horses entered in the FEI World Dressage Championships in Aachen (August 11-15, 2026), three bear the “de Massa” affix and will be the sole representatives from a single French breeding program. This presence on one of the world’s most prestigious arenas illustrates nearly half a century of work dedicated to the selection, breeding, and development of dressage horses.

Three Massa horses at the global event:

• Come Back de Massa, 14 years old, will compete with Denielle Gallagher-Legriffon as part of the Canadian team. The pair has established itself at the highest international level and was notably among the combinations qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

• Jedaï de Massa, 12 years old, will defend Belgium’s colors with Wim Verwimp. The pair is renowned for its consistency and performances at the highest international level. In 2026, Jedaï de Massa and Wim Verwimp won the title of Belgian Champions, thirty-two years after the Belgian rider’s first national title.

• Carpe Diem de Massa, 14 years old, will compete with Micah Deligdish under the colors of Israel. Steadily progressing, the pair achieved their best international score in May 2026, just weeks before the Aachen event.

Three trajectories. Three riders. Three nations. One origin: Élevage Massa.

A French breeding program ranked second worldwide

According to Hippomundo, which compiles and analyzes the results of horses and breeding programs in international competition, Élevage Massa currently holds the second position worldwide in dressage for the number of horses from its breeding engaged on the international circuit. This position was already reached in 2019, 2020, and 2024, then confirmed in 2025 and 2026. The breeding program also ranks second worldwide for the number of starts of its horses in international competition.

Behind these figures lies a fundamental reality: the ability of a French structure to produce horses capable of consistently performing at the highest level, with riders and teams of different nationalities.

“We do not think in terms of the number of foals, but in terms of the number of good decisions. A breeding program is not judged over one season: it is judged on what a bloodline is still capable of producing forty years after the choice of the first mare,” emphasizes Sylvain Massa, founder of the breeding program in 1979.

A history of bloodlines spanning nearly half a century

This philosophy takes on its full meaning when tracing back to the origins of Élevage Massa. In the late 1970s, even before the official creation of the breeding program, Sylvain Massa acquired Pezuda Oco in Portugal, a filly born in 1978. This founding choice would profoundly mark the history of the breeding program. Pezuda Oco notably gave birth to Galopin de la Font, born at Élevage Massa in 1994, and Vendetta SMA, the origin of another major branch of the Massa selection.

Nearly half a century later, the influence of this founding mare is still found in horses that have reached the highest levels of international dressage.

Galopin de la Font notably transmitted his genetics to Nevado de la Font, a stallion born at the breeding program and partner of Justin Verboomen in his ascent to international Grand Prix. He is also the grandfather of Jedaï de Massa, who will represent Belgium this week in Aachen. Among Galopin’s offspring are also Come Back de Massa, now competing for Canada, as well as Malcolm X de Massa, crowned French Champion in 2025. Galopin de la Font himself excelled at the highest international level, participating in the World Cup Final in Las Vegas and then the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

From the other branch descended from Pezuda Oco is notably Jibraltar de Massa, a reserve member of the French team for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Thus, from a mare chosen in the late 1970s, bloodlines were born that continue, nearly fifty years later, to produce horses present at the greatest international events.

From Pezuda Oco to Galopin de la Font, from Nevado de la Font to Jedaï de Massa, from Vendetta to Jibraltar de Massa, this continuity alone tells the story of 47 years of selection.

A selection built for the long term

This continuity between generations illustrates a selection built over time, with the same ambition: to produce horses capable of evolving sustainably at the highest level. This approach is also based on a mastery of the breeding environment. On over 400 hectares in the Crau plain, Élevage Massa produces AOP-labeled Crau hay for its horses and accompanies them from birth to their sports career.

“Seeing three horses born with us gathered in Aachen under the colors of three nations is an immense source of pride. But behind each of them, there are years of hard work, trust, and commitment. Our gratitude naturally goes to the riders, owners, and all the teams who support them and enable them to reach this level,” emphasizes Anne-Sophie Massa, manager of Élevage Massa.

See you in Aachen

The team Grand Prix will be held on August 11 and 12, followed by the Grand Prix Special on August 14 and the Freestyle on August 15. For five days, Aachen will gather the world’s dressage elite. And on this legendary arena, three names will bear the signature of a single French breeding program.

About Élevage Massa

Founded in 1979 by Sylvain Massa, Élevage Massa specializes in the production of high-level dressage horses in Provence. Nearly half a century of selection has led to the creation and recognition of the French Dressage Horse (CDF), recognized by the Ministry of Agriculture in 2020. Chaired by Sylvain Massa, the studbook has been a full member of the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses since October 2024.

Élevage Massa currently has around 500 horses, with 80 to 100 births per year, and produces much of the feed for its horses on over 400 hectares in the Crau plain. Massa horses are now present in about twenty countries. Some have joined major French institutions, including the National Riding School of Saumur, the Republican Guard, the Military Riding School of Fontainebleau, and the equestrian brigade of the Lyon Police.

Since the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, horses born at Élevage Massa have competed on the Olympic, world, and continental stages under the colors of seven nations: Portugal, Switzerland, France, United Kingdom, Belgium, Canada, and Israel. Others have distinguished themselves in national championships and international events for France, Denmark, and the United States. Today, over 100 horses born at Élevage Massa compete outside France. From Provence to the greatest international arenas, the same ambition has guided the breeding program since 1979: to breed the horses of tomorrow.

Conclusion

The presence of three Massa horses at the 2026 Aachen World Championships is a culmination that honors the breeding program’s legacy and its vision of global excellence.