Elia Kompatscher and Jan Gasser: three-time world champions in Switzerland.

Jan Gasser is Reining World Champion

Jan Gasser, 16, from Eppan, won the Reining World Championship in Givrins, Switzerland. He also won the team title with Italy – as did Elia Kompatscher from Welschnofen.

July 13, 2025

From: pm

No one could have predicted this: Three world championship titles have gone to South Tyrol at this year's "World Reining Championships" in Givrins near Geneva. For Jan Gasser and Elia Kompatscher, who both train at Luis Kompatscher's stables in Deutschnofen, qualifying for the World Championships and also for the Italian team was already a success – but then things got even better at the Schumacher family's CS Ranch (that of former Formula 1 world champion Michael Schumacher).

16-year-old Jan Gasser from Eppan made the exclamation mark. Riding his horse "Hug a Spark," he won the World Championship title in the "Junior Riders" category with an impressive 223 points, leaving Dutch rider Pascalle van de Watering and teammate Edoardo Milani far behind.

Gasser is now double world champion

The day before, Jan Gasser had already placed himself among the favorites: In the team competition, he achieved the day's best score of 222 points, thus playing a key role in helping the Italian team celebrate the World Championship title. Jan Gasser can now call himself a double World Champion.

Elia Kompatscher, 19, also won the World Championship title with Team Italy in the "Young Non-Pro Riders" category, ahead of hosts Switzerland and France. Kompatscher achieved the fourth-best score of the day with 215,5 points on "X Da Vinci Code," bred by Karl and Magda Pardeller in Nova Levante. In the individual competition, Elia Kompatscher even improved his score to 217,5 points, securing fifth place at the World Championships.

The World Reining Championships take place every two years. Reining is considered the pinnacle of Western riding. It involves executing prescribed maneuvers with the utmost precision. Horse and rider must have complete trust in each other and cannot afford any lapses in concentration. Sloppy execution and the slightest inaccuracies are penalized by the judges with negative points.