The selected Australian combinations include William Matthew and Faye 43 (Fuerst Heinrich x Aljano 2), Lyndal Oatley and Forever Young HRH (Fuerst Fugger x Don Bosco), and Warwick McLean and Le Special (Grey Flanell x Sir Oldenburg).
Lyndal Oatley and Forever Young HRH
For Lyndal and Forever Young HRH, Lier will mark their first competition since Lyndal’s injury in March, when a young horse injured her foot while being handled on the ground. The pair already have two solid FEI World Championship qualifying scores in the Grand Prix of 69%+ (as per Australia’s selection policy) and will be looking to build further consistency at the level, while also beginning to fulfill the Grand Prix Special component of the competition criteria.
Read more: AUSSIES PUSH FOR AACHEN TEAM PLACES – Equestrian Life April 2026
Warwick McLean and Le Special
A new combination to Grand Prix level, Warwick and Le Special achieved a World Championship FEI MER (66%+ in the Grand Prix) at the recent Aachen Dressage Days, and made their Grand Prix Special debut for 66.553% to finish twelfth.
Warwick will also contest the CDI1* Small Tour with Abtwald’s Goetterfunke (Kastel’s Grand Galaxy Win x Sando Prinz). Warwick has ridden the gelding since he was four years old, producing him through the levels and the pair impressed in the six-year-old classes with scores of 81.600%. More recently, they claimed victory in the Prix St Georges at Aachen Dressage Days with 70.294% and were also second in the horse’s first-ever Inter I with 68.627%.
William Matthew and Faye 43
Another young Grand Prix horse, 11-year-old Oldenburg mare Faye 43 has contested a handful of CDIs with Will to date – their best result also at Aachen Dressage Days, where they received an FEI MER score of 67.0223% in the Grand Prix.
Nine countries to contest Nations Cup
The Australian combinations will face strong international competition in Lier, including current European Champions Justin Verboomen and Zonik Plus, who remain undefeated this season and continue to improve on their scores.
Other combinations in the current FEI rankings top 10 include Belgium’s Larissa Paulius riding Flambeau (#8) and Dutch rider Marieke Van Der Putten and Kuvasz RS2 (#10).
Other nations with teams include Belgium, Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
Lier is the third leg of the 2026 FEI Nations Cup series, which kicked off in Wellington, Florida, and then went to Fontainebleau, France in April.
For full list of competitors, click here.
To stream the action live on ClipMyHorse.TV, click here.
