AACHEN, Germany, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- Chinese rider Alex Hua Tian and Chicko completed the dressage phase of the FEI Eventing World Championship at the FEI World Championships Aachen 2026 on Friday, picking up 32.5 penalties ahead of Saturday's cross-country test.

China's Alex Hua Tian riding Don Geniro competes in the equestrian's eventing team and individual cross country during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Sea Forest Cross Country Course in Tokyo on August 1, 2021. (Photo by Yuki IWAMURA / AFP)

Hua Tian and the 16-year-old Chicko received an average score of 67.50 percent. They were provisionally 23rd on the live leaderboard at 12:28 p.m. local time, with the second day of dressage still underway.

Germany's Julia Krajewski and Uelzener's Nickel led on 22.0 penalties at that point, followed by Britain's Laura Collett and London 52 on 22.8. Overnight leader Tom McEwen and JL Dublin sat on 26.6.

Saturday's cross-country is expected to bring major changes to the standings. Designed by Italy's Giuseppe Della Chiesa, the 5,600-meter course has an optimum time of nine minutes and 50 seconds and features 42 efforts on the direct route. With Aachen's relatively flat terrain, much of the difficulty comes from technical combinations, turns and alternative routes that force riders to balance speed and risk.

Cross-country has been one of Hua Tian and Chicko's strongest phases. The pair finished fourth at the five-star event in Pau in 2024 and sixth there in 2025. They also completed the cross-country at Badminton earlier this year before returning to winning form with a CCI4*-S victory at Aston-le-Walls in July.

The cross-country competition will take place on Saturday, before the championship concludes with show jumping on Sunday.