22 FODs and Counting: Willy Be Dun Goes for the Record in Tokyo

 

Ashish Limaye and Willy Be Dun sit sixth individually after two phases at the Asian Games in Tokyo. India's reigning FEI Asian Champion scored 35.50 in the dressage today (Tuesday morning), then jumped clear inside the time in the afternoon to hold that score going into cross-country tomorrow.

And with that, Willy Be Dun sits one clear XC round inside the time away from breaking the all-time record for the horse with the most amount of FODs.

He has 22, the most by any horse in international eventing since records begin in 2008, level with Vassily de Lassos. A 23rd puts him clear on his own.

FOD A Finish on Dressage means the horse completes without adding anything to its dressage score, jumping clear and inside the time across both cross country and show jumping. It takes a fast, accurate horse. In 2025, fewer than 8% of international results were FODs and only one horse in five recorded a single one.

The all-time list

#	Horse	FODs
=1	Willy Be Dun Ashish Limaye 19, Sacha Hourigan 3	22
=1	Vassily de Lassos Andrew Hoy 15, Thomas Carlile 6, Jean Lou Bigot 1	22
3	Altair De La Cense Calvin Bockmann 18, Ben Leuwer 1	19
4	SAP Hale Bob Old Ingrid Klimke 17	17
=5	fischerRocana FST Michael Jung 14	14
=5	La Biosthetique Sam FBW Michael Jung 14	14
=5	Mr Bass Laura Collett 14	14
=5	Pica D'Or Maxime Livio 10, Phoebe Locke 4	14
=5	SAP Escada FRH Ingrid Klimke 12, Andreas Brandt 2	14
=5	Sursumcord'Or Julie Simonet 12, Karine Larrazet 2	14

All international levels, records from 2008 to 22 September 2026. Rider names show how each horse's FODs are split, most first. The flag is the nation of the rider who recorded the majority of FODs.

A career FOD total has proven to rarely be made by one partnership. Willy Be Dun recorded three of his under Sacha Hourigan between 2019 and 2021, before Ashish Limaye took the ride. Vassily de Lassos has a wider split, with seven of his 22 coming under French riders before Andrew Hoy took over in 2017.

Five years at the top for Vassily de Lassos

Vassily de Lassos reached the top of the all-time list at Pratoni del Vivaro in November 2020, his 16th FOD taking him level with SAP Hale Bob Old, and he has not been passed since. He moved to the outright top of the list the following June and stayed alone at the top for five years, until Willy Be Dun drew level at Arville in July.

Willy Be Dun in 2026

Seven starts before Tokyo. Five completions, and every one a FOD.

Event	Dressage	Result	HPR
Asian Games Tokyo, Sep	35.5	Prov. 6th XC to come
Hamm CCI3*-S, Aug	32.5	Withdrawn
Arville CCI2*-S, Jul	30.1	1st FOD	93
Westerstede CCI1*-U, Jun	27.8	Withdrawn
Sopot CCI3*-S, May	32.6	4th FOD	86
Strzegom CCI3*-S, Apr	33.0	5th FOD	88
Montelibretti CCI2*-S, Mar	32.0	3rd FOD	90
Montelibretti CCI1*-U, Feb	29.5	2nd FOD	94

Both withdrawals came before cross country. In a FOD the final score is the dressage score, so the numbers above are also his finishing scores.

HPR High Performance Rating measures the true quality of a single performance, weighing the strength of the field, the winning margin and the difficulty of the day. Higher is better.

Six in a season, and a new name on the list

Six FODs in a single season is the other record in play. Until this year four horses had managed it, Willy Be Dun among them in 2025. A fifth joined them in August.

Germany's Iliane Hannalisa Hein and Akeby's Quemiro Silla reached six at Segersjö on 26 August, taking individual silver at the FEI Eventing European Championship for Juniors on their dressage score of 26.1. It was their sixth FOD from seven starts this year.

Year	Horse & Rider	horse Age	FODs
2026	Akeby's Quemiro Silla Iliane Hannalisa Hein	14	6
2025	Willy Be Dun Ashish Limaye	13	6
2023	Giovanni Giorgio Samantha Cesnik	8	6
2022	Blarney Monbeg Pepper Sian Coleman	7	6
2018	Altair De La Cense Calvin Bockmann	8	6

Records since 2008. No horse has ever reached seven.

A sixth for Willy Be Dun in Tokyo would do two things at once. It would make him the first horse to record six FODs in a season twice. And it would make 2026 the first year in which two horses have reached six.

What happens in Tokyo

The Asian Games eventing runs in a hybrid format, with dressage and jumping at CCI3* level and cross country at CCI2*-L. Limaye and Willy Be Dun posted 35.50 in the dressage, their weakest international test of the year, then jumped clear inside the time to add nothing. They sit sixth.

One clear cross country round inside the time gives them a 23rd career FOD, a sixth of the season, and the all-time record outright.

There is a symmetry to where it would happen. Vassily De Lassos recorded one of his most impressive FODs at this venue, at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021. Andrew Hoy and Vassily took the  individual bronze medal by being the only combination to finish on their dressage score. They were the only combination in the entire field to finish on their dressage score. Five years on, the record built in Tokyo can be taken off him at the same venue.

The last time they came to an Asian Games they led the dressage at Hangzhou in 2023 on 26.9, the best score of their career at the time, but were ultimately eliminated on the cross-country. That is one of only two cross country eliminations in the horse's career. Since Hangzhou they have completed 16 of their 17 cross-country rounds and recorded 11 FODs. They have spent three years proving they can do this. Tomorrow they have to do it once more.

When to watch Cross country starts 10:00 on Wednesday 23 September at the Equestrian Park in Tokyo. 02:00 Wednesday in Ireland and the UK. 21:00 Tuesday on the east coast of the United States.

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