The showjumping World Championship is designed to reward not a rider who has one brilliant afternoon, but a combination that can perform over an entire week.In Aachen, Germany on Sunday, the 2026 title was decided over five rounds: Wednesday’s speed competition, in which time penalties became the first part of the individual score; two rounds of the team competition on Thursday and Friday, whose individual penalties were carried forward; and, finally, Sunday’s two-round individual final. The 25 best combinations after the first three rounds returned on Sunday, with the top 12 from round one advancing to the decisive round two.By the end, Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat had done what the format demands and what his entire career had led up to.Riding Dynamix de Belheme, Guerdat won individual gold on 0.86 penalty points, never lowering a rail in the five-round competition. Thibeau Spits of Belgium took silver on 5.60, while Great Britain’s Harry Charles won bronze on 7.17.For Guerdat, 44, it was the missing piece to a glittering career.“I don’t have the words,” he said. “I’m just coming down now. My team right deserve this medal as much as I do, and my horse.”Guerdat won on 0.86 penalty points (Uwe Anspach/picture alliance via Getty Images)He had begun the week fifth after the speed round, carrying 0.86 penalties. After the next two rounds he climbed into a share of the lead, tied with Germany’s Daniel Deusser. He remained unbeaten through both rounds of Sunday’s final – Daniel eventually finished joint seventh after picking up faults.The numbers hardly convey what Guerdat had been carrying in his head.