Road to Lanaken 2026: Young Horse Qualifiers Confirmed and Avantea Wild Cards Awarded
The line-up of Italian young horses set to compete at the 2026 FEI WBFSH Jumping World Breeding Championship for Young Horses, taking place in Lanaken, Belgium, from 16 to 20 September, has now been confirmed. Horses have qualified through the FISE and MASAF pathways across the five-, six- and seven-year-old divisions, alongside combinations awarded wild cards made available by Avantea.
Among the five-year-olds selected by FISE are Faunelle SR Z with Elisabetta Cantaluppi, La Toya de Riverland with Roberto Nocerino and Foxy C with Alessandro Colombo. They will be joined by Hunter della Caccia with Francesca Ciriesi and Verona Ter Leydonck with Gregorio Spinelli, both heading to Lanaken thanks to Avantea wild cards.
The Italian contingent of five-year-olds is completed by the horses that qualified through the MASAF circuit: Skyler della Quemada with Giovanni Consorti, Comme L’Amour with Alessandro Colombo, Forbidden D Grisandoli with Simone Zaraffi, Kawasaki with Graziano Tazzi and Emmeral with Giuseppe Bagalà.
In the six-year-old division, FISE has selected Exclusive Z with Roberto Previtali, Picabella with Alessandro Colombo and Nairobi Z.G.Z. with Paolo Adorno, while Alleberry Destiny’s Z and Rebecca Schiaratura Ceccarelli will compete at the World Championship thanks to an Avantea wild card. The MASAF qualifiers are Soleil with Giuseppe Felici, Ferdinando M&M with Giovanni Consorti, Lucky Golden Boy H.P. with Daniele Cuva, Kiss & Fly with Matteo Riva and Ellen with Francesca Ciriesi.
Italy will also field a substantial contingent in the seven-year-old division. FISE has selected Jamais Deux Sans Toi with Alice Eulisse, Copacabana G with Edoardo Ingrà and Candy Crack G, also ridden by Edoardo Ingrà. Juwel Irrach with Filippo Bassan will travel to Lanaken on an Avantea wild card. The horses qualified through the MASAF circuit are Jaguar Star del Fontanile with Marco Ciucci, Onlyou di Villagana with Filippo Sertori, Ustica Baia with Daniele Cuva, Arthakena Furie with Lorenzo Sciacca, Archie Boy with Edoardo Feroli and Ulfo di Castelbarco with Davide Fenili.
Within this extensive Italian representation, one figure stands out in particular for Avantea: seven of the horses heading to the World Championship were born through its assisted reproduction techniques.
In the five-year-old division, Faunelle SR Z, selected by FISE with Elisabetta Cantaluppi, will be joined by Hunter della Caccia, who will compete with Francesca Ciriesi after receiving one of the Avantea wild cards.
In the six-year-old category, Kiss & Fly, ridden by Matteo Riva, and Eljen, ridden by Francesca Ciriesi, qualified through the MASAF Circuit and will bring another example of the work carried out in the field of assisted reproduction to Lanaken.
Avantea’s presence is even more prominent among the seven-year-olds. Candy Crack G and Copacabana G, both ridden by Edoardo Ingrà, earned their places through the FISE selection process, while Onlyou di Villagana with Filippo Sertori secured qualification through the MASAF circuit.
The presence of these six Avantea horses, reaching Lanaken through three different qualification pathways, carries significance beyond the numbers alone. It provides tangible evidence of how assisted reproduction techniques can form part of a long-term breeding and sporting programme, with the results becoming visible years later as these horses progress to compete on the international stage.
This achievement also complements Avantea’s direct commitment to the FISE Young Horse Circuit, of which it is title sponsor, as well as its support for emerging combinations through the allocation of wild cards for Lanaken. Scientific research, breeding and sport will therefore converge in Belgium, where Italy’s young horses will compete alongside some of the finest representatives of their generation from around the world.
Ph Chira Studio (photo 1 Francesca Ciriesi su Hunter della Caccia)
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