Lähden, Germany – It’s officially a hat trick for Tracy Bowman and Albrecht’s Hoeve’s Lars after they secured an individual silver medal at the 2025 FEI Para Driving World Championship. The pair will add their silver to a collection that includes individual gold medals from the championships in 2021 and 2023.
Bowman (Martinez, Calif.) and her 2009 Welsh Pony gelding were part of the U.S. Para Driving Team that also included Diane Kastama (Arroyo Grande, Calif.) with Freedom, a 2010 gelding owned by Koos De Ronde, and Deborah Marcuccilli (Honeoye Falls, N.Y.) with Tjibbe, a 2004 gelding owned by Koos De Ronde. The team finished in fourth place.
Bowman and Lars started strong, placing first in the dressage phase for Para Equestrian Grade I. The pair had a solid marathon day, completing all obstacles cleanly to finish in fourth in the second phase. A skillful cones round earned them another fourth-place finish for the phase and secured them the silver medal on a final score of 142.59.
Lars typically spends part of the year in Europe and part at Bowman’s home base in California. This year, he’s been in Europe since February, and Bowman had the opportunity to compete at several events in para and able-bodied competition.
“Lars has been completely undefeated in dressage all season long, even in the two-stars,” said Bowman. “That’s kind of his specialty. I would say he’s probably equal in all three phases, but he’s really known for dressage.”
Bowman had intended to bring Lars to the spring competition at the championship venue in Lähden, but had to reconfigure her preparation events when the event filled.
“We’d heard how nice the venue was, and it definitely lived up to the hype,” said Bowman. “The obstacles were massive timber. It was really nice. The routes were super technical, and that proved the downfall of many—I’ve never seen so many balls down. Only four para drivers went clean, and luckily, I was one of those.”
Jacques Poppen (NED) and Horses2Fly Anniek were the Grade I gold medalists. Bowman shares a friendly rivalry with the Dutch driver who is expected to retire his horse from top competition after this championship.
“The very first time I went to the world championship [in 2018] was with another pony, and it was just to go and experience it. Then Lars came into the picture,” said Bowman “At Schildau [in 2021], nobody knew me because I hadn’t shown a lot, and it was great. [Winning the gold medal] was such a surprise, not only for me, but for everyone. And then at Exloo [in 2023], I definitely felt the pressure, like the target was on my back a little bit, but still in a friendly way! And this time, I knew Jacques wanted it so bad, and his mare is so nice. And he went for it, and he did it.”
Bowman had high praise for the venue at Lähden, which hosted the FEI Driving European Championship alongside the FEI Para Driving World Championship this year.
“It was a great venue, and they really did right by the para-athletes,” she said. “The facilities were all accessible. The Sandmanns, who own the place, did a really great job and had a great show.”
In the team competition, the U.S. contingent finished in fourth place. Kastama and Freedom finished in 10th place in the Grade I, and Marcuccilli — in her first World Championship appearance — and Tjibbe finished 10th in the Grade II. Both drivers were competing with borrowed horses.
“The Para Driving World Championships are the most special of shows,” said U.S. Para Driving Team Chef d’Equipe Marcie Quist. “The positive energy and joy of seeing the drivers excel is the best part. Bringing home a silver medal is the icing on the cake!”
Results | Event Website | Livestream
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