Kaposvàr (HUN) 25 July - 28 July 1996

Individual titles

As was now customary, Germany finished at the top of the individual placings with Tanja Benedetto winning the honours in the female category whereas Christoph Lensing was the champion in the male category. This was a second title for Benedetto, who had been the individual champion at the FEI World Equestrian Games™ (WEG) in The Hague (NED) two years before and a third for Leng, who had earned individual gold in 1988 and 1922 and individual silver in 1990 and 1994.

Strong Americans

Strong American showing was one of the notable features of this edition. Indeed, Kerith Lemon won silver aboard Prominus in the individual female category whereas Devon Maitozo was awarded individual male bronze with Domingo.

Kerith Lemon, one of the USA’s most prominent vaulters, had already been awarded silver at the 1994 WEG and would go one to win another silver at the following WEG edition in 1998 in Rome (ITA). She was in bronze at the FEI Vaulting World Championship 2000.

Kerith Lemon, who was US Women’s National Champion for nine consecutive years from 1992 to 2000, went on to become a remarkable writer, producer and director. Her directorial debut, the short film A Social Life, premiered at the Canberra International Short Film Festival in 2016, where it was awarded the prize for Best International Actor. It won Best Ladies First Short at the Lady Filmmakers Festival in Los Angeles and Best Short Film at the Monarch Film Festival in Pacific Grove, CA (USA).

Team honours

Germany also won team gold ahead of Switzerland and Sweden.