The cross-country of the eventers at the CHIO Aachen is spectacular and action-packed, and now you can get an ever closer impression of it all – thanks to the top Australian rider, Paul Tapner, who set out on the 4 kilometre long track with a camera fitted to his riding hat. Tapner who had saddled Kilfinnie delivered fascinating images, which gave a small impression of how the riders experience the cross-country course and the sport. Experience it now here.

McLain Ward wins on Rothchild

Zero faults, 55 seconds: That secured the American rider, McLain Ward, the victory with his 10-year-old Artos son, Rothchild, in the “YAGEO Prize”, a penalties/time competition.

The 35-year-old McLain Ward, who lives in New York, won team gold at the Olympic Games in 2008. He ranked seventh at the 2010 World Championships in Kentucky.

Second place also went to the USA: Margie Engle jumped clear with the 11-year-old Indoctro/Uptown son, Indigo, in a time of 55.85 seconds. The Brazilian rider, Alvaro Miranda, finished third on Ad Wilbert Z (56.01). The best German rider was Ludger Beerbaum (Riesenbeck) with Couleur Rubin. The pair came seventh (0/ 58.78).

American victory for Laura Kraut in the Final of the Sparkassen-Youngster-Cup after two rounds

She steered her 8-year-old KWPN gelding, Woodstock O, around the course clear in the fastest time: 43.84 seconds – none of the ten riders, who had qualified for the second round, managed to match her time. So the US American show jumper, Laura Kraut, won the Final of the Sparkassen-Youngsters-Cup.

Second and third place went to the host country: Philipp Weishaupt (Riesenbeck), who rides for Ludger Beerbaum, came second with the 7-year-old Holsteiner mare in a time of 44.05 seconds, followed by Lars Nieberg (Homberg/Ohm), who finished third with the 8-year-old Hanoverian Cento/Landadel mare, Coco Mademoiselle (44.46 seconds).

The 45-year-old rider, Laura Kraut, has represented the American team at many major Championships – she was a member of the Olympic team in both Sydney and Hong Kong. In 2008 she won team gold at the Olympics.

Petit Prince, who had previously won both qualifiers under Hans-Dieter Dreher (Eimeldingen), didn’t reach the second round because they picked up four faults in the first round.

Ludger Beerbaum wins the “Prize of the AachenMünchener”

It was his turn at last: Ludger Beerbaum (Riesenbeck) celebrated his first victory at this year’s CHIO Aachen 2011, World Equestrian Festival. He won the Prize of the AachenMünchener, a jumping competition with a jump-off, on the KWPN stallion, Chaman. He reached the finish line clear in the fastest time (42.19 seconds). “The jump-off was brilliant, I wouldn’t manage that every day,” reported Beerbaum, who has been riding the Baloubet du Rouet son for approximately a year. “This horse was previously ridden by Luciana Diniz, but they had problems with water jumps. He wasn’t very courageous when I got him, he was a bit shy. We have found top form together and it is great fun riding him, because he has recently also become very competitive too.“ The Swedish rider, Rolf-Göran Bengtsson, finished second on the Holsteiner stallion, Casall La Silla (42.73 seconds), ahead of the American rider, Laura Kraut (42.80 seconds) with the KWPN mare, Teirra .

Beerbaum commented that the Totilas hype has certainly not made the jumping sport any less popular. “I don’t really notice it much, my job is here in the jumping stadium, I haven’t even seen Totilas here in Aachen yet. But of course Totilas is good for the overall sport, let’s hope the people get used to such prices,” he said with a wink. But for him one thing is clear: “I wouldn’t sell Chaman for ten million Euros.“ He is nevertheless not planning to ride the 12-year-old stallion at the European Championships, but he will saddle the Goldfever daughter, Gotha, instead. “A horse that has a problem with water jumps is not a safe bet for a team competition. If he were to make a mistake in a competition with me as an individual rider, I can live with it, but I wouldn’t like to endanger a team result.” After deliberating for a long time he has also opted to ride the chestnut mare in tomorrow’s Rolex Grand Prix, the Grand Prix of Aachen.

“We have seen fantastic sport so far. 119,000 spectators visited the Soers on Saturday including tonight’s evening dressage  programme, which is sold out,” the Show Director, Frank Kemperman, reported. “Straight after the show we will have a meeting with some of the competitors to find out what we can do better. We are always grateful for proposals and criticism.“

Kristina Sprehe and Desperados win the “Prize of the Liselott and Klaus Rheinberger Foundation” – U 25s convinced with good performances in the Grand Prix

It is not always easy for the young riders to make the break up to the highest level in sport, this applies equally for both jumping and dressage. In order to make the move up to Grand Prix dressage level easier, the Liselott and Klaus Rheinberger Foundation created an award for talented U25s, the Piaff Young Talents Award, which is very popular in Germany. In Aachen the U25s competition is being held at international level for the second year in a row, first of all there was an Intermédiaire II as a warm-up competition, followed by a Grand Prix today.

Kristina Sprehe (Dinklage) triumphed in the Grand Prix. The 24-year-old who is studying economics won the competition on Desperados with a score of 71.512 percent, ahead of the Spanish rider, Mirgan Barbancon (71.349), who had taken the victory in the Inter II with Painted Black the day before, ahead of Sprehe. The Spanish dressage rider took over the 14-year-old stallion from the Dutch Olympic gold medallist, Anky van Grunsven. Third place went to Hedda Doege (Osnabrück). The 24-year-old student was awarded 69.326 percent for her performance on the 13-year-old Florestan daughter.

Kristina Sprehe started her riding career on ponies. She won team gold at the European Championships of the Pony Riders (2001), Juniors (2004) and Young Riders (2006). She also collected two bronze medals in the individual classification in 2004 and 2006 – to mention but a few of her victories. Among others, Sprehe also came second in the Piaff Young Talents Award in Hagen and in Balve with the 10-year-old Hanoverian stallion Desperados, a De Niro son out of a Wolkenstein dam.

Michael Brauchle wins the Wohnwelt Pallen Marathon. The Australian Boyd Exell wins the Prize of the Richard Talbot Family. The Netherlands is currently heading the team classification ahead of Germany

Michael Brauchle is just 21 years of age and although he might not have gained as much experience as his fellow-drivers it didn’t stop him from repeating his victory of 2009. He completed the Wohnwelt Pallen Marathon on a score of 89.36 penalty points ahead of the Australian driver, Boyd Exell (90.76) and the Dutchman, Ijsbrand Chardon (92.97).

“Things went extremely well for me here, there were no really tricky spots in the Marathon,” summed up a very satisfied Brauchle, who comes from Baden-Württemberg. “Things didn’t run as smoothly for me in 2010, I had different horses in my team that year. I wasn’t completely satisfied with the dressage this year either, the horses didn’t work in harmony, which was rather unlucky for me.” The holder of the gold riding medal comes from a family of driving sport enthusiasts and already started driving at the age of five. Then, he lost interest for a while and dedicated his attentions to riding. However, when his father Franz handed him the reins of four horses, his interest was quickly aroused again. First of all Brauchle completed an apprenticeship as a metal worker, but since 2006 he has been concentrating on four-in-hand driving. Two years later he was nominated for the national squad and won team silver at the World Championships.

Boyd Exell won the combined classification, comprising of the dressage, obstacle driving and Marathon competitions, on a total score of 126.73 penalty points, which meant the victory in the Prize of the Richard Talbot Family for him. “There are no championships for us this year, so Aachen is the highlight of the season for most of the drivers,” commented Exell, who has thus won the Driving Grand Prix for the third time in succession and for the fourth time overall. “Ijsbrand Chardon and Michael Freund have celebrated many more victories here and I’d like to add a few more to my list too,” he added confidently.

The Dutch driver Ijsbrand Chardon, who has won the combined individual classification eleven times in total, had to make do with second place this year (133.73 points). “The Marathong course wasn’t as difficult as last year, but I didn’t have three of my best horses with me. At first I didn’t think I was going to be able to compete here in Aachen, but then Baron von Buchholz said I could have his horse Tyron for my team, which was great,” reported Chardon. Toby, as Tyron is called at home, normally belongs to the team of the Vice President of the ALRV.

Third place in the “Prize of the Richard Talbot Family“ went to the American driver, Chester Weber (137.76). “I drove two of Jane Clark’s horses in my team, and it worked very well, we are experimenting to see which combination is best, because Boyd and Ijsbrand certainly won’t be standing still,” said Weber, who came 7^th in the Marathon.

Germany is currently one point ahead of the Netherlands in the interim standings of the “Fendt Nations Cup“, followed by Hungary. The combined team classification will be decided on Sunday after the final competition, the “Prize of the Coca-Cola-Erfrischungsgetränke-AG“, the obstacle driving competition with a jump-off.

Irish double victory in the “Prize of the Sparkasse”: Shane Breen and Magic Fox speed over the course with banks and ditches in the fastest time and wins ahead of Denis Lynch

The spectators love the “Prize of the Sparkasse”, after all one doesn’t often have the chance to see riders and horses pacing over a course with banks and ditches these days. The Irish show jumpers seem to be particularly good at the hunting competition with natural obstacles, because they celebrated a double victory: Shane Breen finished first on the 11-year-old Holsteiner Magic Fox after jumping clear in a time of 75.21 seconds ahead of his fellow-countryman Denis Lynch, who took 75.83 seconds to finish the course on the 12-year-old gelding, Night Train.

Three riders were in fact faster than the Irish duo, however the British rider, Guy Williams on the 15-year-old Belgian-bred Skip Two Ramiro (77.90), the Irish rider Dermott Lennon (78,31) on the only 9-year-old Irish-bred mare Loughview Lou-Lou and the US American show jumper Beezie Madden (78,69) on the 12-year-old KWPN mare, Prima, all picked up four penalty seconds after knocking down a pole.

For the first time this year the hunting competition over banks and ditches was open for both show jumpers and eventers. Ingrid Klimke (Münster), who took Olympic gold in 2008 in Hong Kong with the German eventing team, took this opportunity to enter the young Trakehner, Parmenides, (7). However, after collecting 12 faults she only ranked 15^th in the “Prize of Sparkasse”.

He did it again: The American Steffen Peters wins the Intermédiaire I with Weltino’s Magic

„It was a great feeling,“ said the German-born American happily after his performance with the 9-year-old Weltino son, Weltino’s Magic. „I didn’t take any risks up until the first pirouette, then everything felt so right, that I started to risk a bit more,” commented Peters, who scored 74.947 percent. The rider grew up in Rhineland, but at the age of 21, he fulfilled his dream and emigrated to the United States. Since then he has been living in California, where he runs a dressage stables in San Diego together with his wife Shannon. “Weltino’s Magic was our family project, we acquired him as a four-year-old. At first he my wife rode him, before I took over,” the 46-year-old rider.

The Danish rider Andreas Helgstrand came second with 71.895 percent. He had saddled the 9-year-old Oldenburger Fürst Heinrich/Aletto gelding, Famaso, but unfortunately he got points deducted for making an error: “I got mixed up and rode the flying changes at every 2^nd stride instead of every 3^rd stride,” Helgstrand reported. “It is a fantastic horse and I am totally satisfied with his performance. It’s a shame that I made that error,“ commented Helgstrand, who has been riding Famaso since last year.

Hubertus Schmidt’s newcomer Imperio, an 8-year-old Trakehner stallion, finished third on a score of 71.368 percent. The beautiful Connery/Balfour xx son won the National Young Horses Championship as a six-year-old and he moved to Schmidt’s stables in Borchen-Etteln six months ago. “This is only his third ever advanced level competition,” reported Schmidt. “He was extremely tense in the St. Georges, and he was tense today as well. He has got to mature a little bit, but I think he has got great potential.”

Isabell Werth (Rheinberg) came sixth with the Oldenburger Dormello/Sion son, Der Stern.

The German photographer Julia Rau wins the “Silver Camera”

They are usually stood behind the camera  – but on Saturday evening the three equestrian sport photographers were in front of the camera for a change: Arnd Bronkhorst (the Netherlands), Caren Firouz (Iran) and Julia Rau (Germany) had been nominated for the best international equestrian sport photo. And the winner is…. Julia Rau. She convinced the judges with her photo “head over heels”. Second place went to Caren Firouz, and Arnd Bronkhorst took third place. The prize is jointly organised by the Sparkasse Aachen and the Rhenish Savings Bank and Giro Association in cooperation with the ALRV. The winner receives 2500 Euros, and there is 1000 Euros and 500 Euros prize-money for second and third place, respectively.

Hans Peter Minderhoud achieves the first Dutch victory in the Philips Prize, Grand Prix Freestyle

Hans Peter Minderhoud was “very happy” after his freestyle with the KWPN-mare Exquis Nadine. “She performed superbly and was fully concentrated,” the team World  Champion of 2010, said happily. The 16-year-old chestnut mare that descends from the Trakehner TCN Partout achieved a score of 76.025 percent for her performance in the Philips Prize, the Grand Prix Freestyle.

Nobody was able to match this result. The British dressage star, Laura Bechtolzheimer, came second behind Minderhoud on a score of 74.975 percent. “My horse Andretti went really well and it was great fun riding here in this super atmosphere.” Monica Theodorescu (Sassenberg) also enjoyed her ride. Her score hardly differed to that of Laura Bechtolzheimer: She and her 13-year-old Welt Hit I son, Whisper, were awarded 74.925 percent by the judges: 3^rd place. “I was so pleased that my horse performed so well even though it was already so late in the evening. I always enjoy riding the freestyle and I think the crowd love it too. It was a great ride,” Monica Theodorescu commented.

Uta Gräf (Kirchheimbolanden) also enjoyed her premiere in Aachen. “It was fabulous riding here. It is a totally different to other shows and I was given a really warm reception as a newcomer. I thought at first that the whole atmosphere would be a bit tense here in Aachen, but everyone is so friendly and relaxed, it was great fun,” reported Gräf, who finished in fifth place with the Holsteiner stallion, Le Noir (72 percent) behind Anabel Balkenhol and Rubins Royal (72.675 percent).

The Irish national anthem was played once again in the jumping stadium at the end of the day: Dermott Lennon wins the “Cellagon Prize”

It was almost midnight when the Irish national anthem was played once again in the jumping stadium: Dermott Lennon won the “Cellagon Prize” on the 11-year-old Zangersheide-bred gelding, Hellmark Elite. The Irish rider, who won the World Championship title in 2002, achieved a score of 65 in 53.69 seconds. He not only achieved the highest possible score, but he also completed the course built by Frank Rothenberger in the fastest time. The British show jumper, Michael Whitaker, took only 0.09 seconds longer to reach the finish line with the 8-year-old Dutch-bred mare, Big Star. Simon Delestre (France) came third with the KWPN-bred mare Whisper in a time of 55.04 seconds. The best German rider was Lars Nieberg (Homberg/Ohm) in sixth place on Quiletta du Domaine, who also had a final score of 65 points (57.02).

The “Cellagon Prize“ called for quick addition skills: In the progressive jumping competition with a joker the riders score increased with every clear jump. It was possible to score 45 points in the regular course – and then came the joker, which added a further 20 points to the score, if the pole didn’t fall. However, if it did 20 points had to be deducted from the score, as was the case with Dirk Demeersman (Belgium)  and Cicero Z van Paemel. The same thing happened to a row of other riders too, which meant they all finished at the back of the field on a score of 25 points.

World Champion Michael Jung leads in the DLH Prize after the dressage. Australia in 1^st place in the team classification ahead of Germany and New Zealand

Michael Jung is not riding for the German team with his World Championship horse, La Biosthetique-Sam FBW,  the 11-year-old Stan the Man xx/Heraldik xx son, he is competing as an individual rider. The pair was awarded  a score of -32.30 points and thus achieved the best dressage result of all 41 competitors in the DHL Prize Dressage.

Jung is instead  nominated for the German team with Leopin, a 12-year-old Legal Legend xx son. He scored -44 points with the Sachsen-Thüringen-bred gelding and currently ranks 18^th. After the dressage Ingrid Klimke is lying second with FRH Butts Abraxxas. She is also competing as an individual rider, she replaced Dirk Schrade at short notice, after he broke his hand. Klimke had also been injured, but she now feels that she has recovered enough to compete at the Aachener Soers. Third place is occupied by the Italian eventer, Stefano Brecciaroli with the Belgian gelding Apollo van de Wendi Kurt Hoeve. The eventing national coach, Hans Melzer was “satisfied” with his team’s performance. “This year we were allowed to enter ten riders, double the normal amount, which I am personally delighted about. If we had been allowed, we would have entered a second team,” reported Melzer. In addition to Jung and Leopin, the German team comprises of Andreas Dibowski with FRH Fantasia, Andreas Osthold with Franco Jeas and Kai Rüder with Leprince des Bois.

Everyone’s attentions are currently focused on the imminent Eventing European Championships in Luhmühlen in August. Winning a gold medal at the European Championships is namely missing from the German eventers’ list of victories. “Luhmühlen is going to be a home game for us, so we hope to do really well.”

This evening the jumping competition of the eventers is on the agenda, before they set off on the cross-country course tomorrow morning. Australia is currently heading the team classification on a total score of -116,80. Their squad comprises of Sam Griffiths/Happy Times, Clayton Fredericks/Bendigo, Lucinda Fredericks/Flying Finish and Christopher Burton/Holstein Park Leilani. The Belgian rider Lara de Liedekerke was most unlucky. Her mare Nooney Blue suddenly went lame in the middle of the dressage test and the pair had to withdraw.

Small bundles of energy in the driving stadium

Normally it is the drivers who speed around the driving stadium with their carriages. Today, a “small” exception to the rule was made, because at the NRW Riding Pony Day, the riding ponies took over control. Around 100 ponies from all over North Rhine-Westphalia performed among others quadrilles and dressage tests and the drivers of carriages drawn by one, two and four ponies also showed their skills.

During the show and breeding program the ponies demonstrated that they not only look very sweet, but that they are also real bundles of energy. They presented the three disciplines jumping, eventing and dressage, the last in the form of a wonderful dressage pony quadrille with 6 FEI ponies that were ridden by young riders, who all belong to the national squad.

The focus of the event lay on breeding. Among others 3-4 year-old mares, stallions up to 8 years as well as mares with foals at foot were presented. The highlight of the event was the farewell ceremony for the 20-year-old riding pony “Dornik“, who retired from international sport. He has won everything there is to win on the international equestrian sport circuit. In future he will continue to serve as a stud stallion.

Enthusiastic spectators, among them many families, stood at the fences of the driving stadium or sat on the stands in the bright sunshine and enjoyed the entertaining program.

Dablino’s scan reveals a slight haematoma

It came as a shock for the German dressage team yesterday morning: during the first training Dablino had been totally fit, just like when he was warming up for the Grand Prix. But then Anabel Balkenhol’s World Championship horse must have knocked itself before riding into the dressage arena. The gelding went slightly lame and had to be withdrawn.

"The scan revealed a small haematoma," her father and trainer, Klaus Balkenhol, reported after the veterinary examination. "The leg itself is not swollen. We trotted Dablino on the hand today and he wasn’t lame." The CHIO Aachen is nevertheless over now for Anabel Balkenhol and Dablino.

As soon as the haematoma has receded, the 11-year-old Hanoverian will be X-rayed again just to be on the safe side. "But I am optimistic that it is nothing serious," Klaus Balkenhol stated. The injury is doubly unfortunate, because his daughter Anabel (Rosendahl) had almost made it into the European Champion team with Dablino and will now have to wait and see if she will be nominated for the Championships in Rotterdam in mid-August.

The skiing star, Maria Höfl-Riesch, visited the World Equestrian Festival, CHIO Aachen, today together with her husband, Marcus Höfl. They were guided round the traditional showgrounds and experienced the unique atmosphere of the Aachener Soers while watching the “RWE Prize of North Rhine-Westphalia” in the main stadium.  On the invitation of the German Savings & Deposit Bank Association, Maria Höfl-Riesch then discussed the significance of major sports events together with the two-time Olympic gold medallist, Hinrich Romeike; Michael Mronz (General Manager, Aachener Reitturnier GmbH); Munich 2018 CEO, Bernhard Schwank and DOSB General Director, Dr. Michael Vesper. Among others Maria Riesch won two gold medals at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver 2010, has won the World Cup and was World Champion in 2009.

Anky van Grunsven’s former top horse IPS Painted Black wins the Prize of the Liselott & Klaus Rheinberger Foundation for Spain

The Intermediaire II is exclusively open to riders under 25. Morgan Barbancon acquired the Gribaldi/Ferro son from the Dutch Olympic gold medallist, Anky van Grunsven, and today she rode him to victory with a clear lead with a score of 72.026 percent.

Second place went to the German rider, Kristina Sprehe, with the stud stallion Desperados. The pair were awarded a score of 68.816 percent. The 10-year-old De Niro/Wolkenstein II son, Desperados, winner of the German Dressage Derby 2010, was already a premium stallion when he was graded in 2004, he won bronze at the National Championships twice and has enjoyed a constantly successful career to-date.

The Dutch rider Danielle Heijkoop came third with the Gribaldi son, Siro, on a score of 68.763 percent.

Helen Langehanenberg and Damon Hill underline their ambitions for a place in the equipe by winning the “Lindt Prize”

The duo could without doubt be more than just a reserve for the German European Championship equipe: After the Grand Prix of the CDI Tour on Wednesday evening, Helen Langehanenberg (Havixbeck) and Damon Hill also won the Grand Prix Spécial, the  “Lindt Prize“ this evening. “Damy really fought for me. The fact that he had to relieve himself in the middle of the flying changes cost us a lot of points, but he must learn to carry on reliably with the changes even under these circumstances,” the 29-year-old commented. She rode the 11-year-old Westphalian stallion to victory with a score of 74.125 ahead of Isabell Werth (Rheinberg/72.250) on the 15-year-old Hanoverian, Warum nicht, and Hubertus Schmidt (Borchen/71.854) on the 9-year-old, Dutch-bred Valentino.

“Warum Nicht wasn’t concentrated enough, he was distracted. It all started with the fact that the starting times were delayed and we entered the dressage arena 10 minutes later than expected. Then, the lady who was cleaning up the dung from the arena irritated him. But things like that happen, and one just has to get on with it,” reported Isabell Werth.

Hubertus Schmidt was also distracted at the start of his test. “I didn’t hear the bell and all of a sudden I only had a few seconds left to enter so I had to shoot down the long side in canter, which wasn’t exactly the perfect start,” commented Hubertus Schmidt, who has only been riding the Ferro son, Valentino, for fourth months. “My tempo was a bit too accelerated today.”

The winner, Helen Langehanenberg, who runs a training yard in Havixbeck together with her husband Sebastian, is the first reserve behind the team from Aachen for the European Championships in the middle of August in Rotterdam. At the German Championships in Balve in mid-June, the 29-year-old came fifth behind the quartet in all three competitions with Damon Hill, who up until a year ago was under the saddle of team Olympic gold medallist, Ingrid Klimke (Münster). The dressage rider has come under the closer scrutiny of the national coach, Holger Schmezer and the Dressage Committee here in Aachen after the withdrawal of Anabel Balkenhol’s Dablino, who injured himself on Thursday while entering the dressage arena.

Fabienne Lütkemeier  has only been riding the 11-year-old De Niro son, D’Agostino, who he came fourth with, at Grand Prix level since six months ago. “It was a wonderful feeling being able to ride here Aachen. At first I was a bit frightened that he wouldn’t concentrate on my aids properly amid such an atmosphere, but he did and I am very pleased with his performance. And coming fourth here is a fantastic result for me,” the 21-year-old said with joy.

The 8-year-old Westphalian wins the first qualification in the Sparkassen-Youngsters-Cup under Hans-Dieter Dreher

He descends from the famous Pilot bloodline on both the sire and dam side – and the Pilot offspring normally make good jumping horses: Like this 8-year-old Westphalian gelding, Petit Prince, who won the first qualification in the Sparkassen-Youngsters-Cup under Hans-Dieter Dreher (Eimeldingen). The pair jumped to victory with a clear round in a time of 63.31 ahead of Marcus Ehning (Borken; 0/63.76) on the 8-year-old Oldenburger mare, Appearance, and Rene Tebbel (Emsbüren, 0/65.04) on the also 8-year-old Dutch-bred gelding, Warrior. The Sparkassen-Youngsters-Cup gives the international show jumpers the opportunity to let their top aspiring young horses gain some experience at the highest level. Countless, internationally successful horses have jumped their first rounds in Aachen in the Sparkassen-Youngsters-Cup – such as the unforgettable E.T., who won the “Grand Prix of Aachen” in 1998 under the Austrian rider Hugo Simon.

Petit Prince is a Pilotdino son, whose sire Pinocchio is a direct descendant of the outstanding famous Westphalian stallion, Pilot. His dam also descends from Pilot. His rider, Hans-Dieter Dreher, is competing for the first time at the CHIO Aachen. The 39-year-old show jumper from Baden-Württemberg lives and trains at the Grenzland Stud in Eimeldingen, where Petit Prince’s sire, Pilotdino, is at stud.

“Prima performed prima and she is absolutely prima” – is what Beezie Madden would say if she could speak fluent German (Prima = great, fantastic). Prima is the Latin word for “the first” – and true to her name the 12-year-old Dutch-bred mare, Prima, did come first in the “Prize of the Handwerk” today. The duo jumped to victory with a clear round in a time of 62.19 seconds. The British rider, Guy Williams, and his Belgian-bred gelding, Skip Two Ramiro, reached the finish line in a faster time, but he had to have 4 penalty seconds added on because he knocked a fence, which meant second place with a final result of 64.19 seconds, ahead of the Venezuelan rider, Pablo Barrios, who steered the 12-year-old Dutch-bred gelding, G&C Sinatra, round the course in a time of 64.75 seconds.

The best German rider was Frederik Knorren in fourth place. The 24-year-old rider from Aachen, who had saddled the 12-year-old Hanoverian, Esquire, also jumped clear (66.77). Knorren is only permitted to compete in the so-called Speed Tour with the Escudo son – and his first appearance was certainly impressive.

Chester Weber relegates Boyd Exell to second place in the “Prize of the Martello Immobilienmanagement GmbH & Co. KG.” The Dutch team is in the lead ahead of Germany in the interim results of the Nations Cup

They have swapped places: Whereas Boyd Exell was heading the field in the individual classification after the dressage competition yesterday, Chester Weber achieved the best result in the “Prize of the Martello Immobilienmanagement GmbH & Co KG” today. With a score of 78.3 percent the US-American overtook the Australian driver Boyd Exell (76.8 percent) and the Dutchman, Ijsbrand Chardon, who drove into third place with a score of 75.7 percent. The best German driver was Christoph Sandmann (Lähden), who ranked fourth with 72.7 percent. The “Prize of the Martello Immobilienmanagement GmbH & Co. KG” also counts towards the team classification of the Nations Cup.

The reigning World Champion, Boyd Exell, who lives in England, has already won the Driving Grand Prix of Aachen three times, most recently last year. However, the current record holder with ten victories between 1987 and 2008 is the Dutch driver, Ijsbrand Chardon, who came second at the World Championships in Kentucky.

After the “ZENTIS Prize“, an obstacle driving competition with a jump-off on Friday, the combined individual classification will be decided on Saturday after the final competition, the highlight of the driving sport, the “Wohnwelt Pallen Marathon”. In the combined team classification, the results of the Marathon and the obstacle driving competition with a jump-off, the Prize of the “Coca-Cola-Erfrischungsgetränke“ still have to be awaited.

French victory in the Prize of the H&T Automotive Components: Simon Delestre wins with VDHL Vancouver

The French rider jumped clear in 55.34 seconds with the 9-year-old KWPN Pacific/Wellington stallion. The 30-year-old Simon Delestre won the Prize of the H&T Automotive Components at the World Equestrian Festival, CHIO Aachen 2011, ahead of the German rider Hans-Dieter Dreher on Constantin B. The show jumper from Baden-Württemberg reached the finish line with the 9-year-old Contendro/Espri son in a time of 55.34 seconds. Dreher drew attention to himself earlier this year with victories in Italy and Balve.

Third place went to the Brazilian rider, Alvaro Miranda, who jumped clear on the Zangersheide-bred Picasso Z/Numero Uno son, AD Wilbert Z.

The Netherlands win the Mercedes-Benz Prize, Part of the FEI Nations Cup. Three nations tied in second place, including Germany

After a nail-biting second round the Dutch team took the lead with a total score of twelve penalty points. If Ludger Beerbaum had jumped clear in the second round, Germany could have taken the victory, but unfortunately his mare Gotha picked up eight faults. “The weather conditions made it very difficult for all of the horses here, a lot of horse picked up faults in the second round,” commented Marcus Ehning, who did not compete in the Nations Cup, because he is expecting his second child any moment. “As soon as my wife goes into labour, I will leave the CHIO,” explained the rider, who was the winner of the Grand Prix of Aachen in 2006.

Each with a final overall score of 16 penalty points, three nations tied in second  place: Germany, Ireland and Great Britain. The Dutch team comprising of Eric van der Vleuten on VDL Group Utascha SFN, Gerco Schröder on Eurocommerce New Orleans and Jeroen Dubbeldam on BMC van Grunsven Simon was very strong. The scratch result was Jur Vrieling on VDL Bubalu.

The best German rider was Carsten-Otto Nagel on the Holsteiner grey mare, Corradina. The pair that won team bronze at the European Championships in 2009 and team gold at the 2010 World Championships in Kentucky, jumped clear in both rounds. The only lady in the team, Janne Friederike Meyer, who had saddled her ambitious gelding, Cellagon Lambrasco, jumped clear in the first round and picked up four faults at the last obstacle of the second round. The pair from Holsteiner were members of the gold-winning German team at the 2010 World Championships in Kentucky, won the Grand Prix in Frankfurt and came third at the German Championships earlier this year. Like Ludger Beerbaum and Gotha, Christian Ahlmann and the 11-year-old KWPN stallion, Taloubet Z, whom he rode to victory in the World Cup Final in Leipzig in 2011, also collected twelve penalty points in total. Taloubet Z is the son of the also internationally successful stallion Galoubet – Team World Champion in 1982 in Dublin and three-time Champion of France. The graded stallion, Taloubet Z,  not only won the World Cup Final in 2011, but he also triumphed in the Grand Prix in Hanover and Helsinki in 2010 and won several World Cup qualifications.

Gotha’s sire is no stranger to the three-time Olympic team gold medallist: Goldfever was the outstanding horse, with whom Beerbaum won the Grand Prix of Aachen two years in a row in 2002 and 2003. Gotha came first in the World Cup in Stuttgart in 2009, won the Riders Tour and came second in the World Cup Final in 2010. “She used to be very difficult, but today she is a little star,” Beerbaum commented about the Hanoverian mare.

The Netherlands is currently leading in the FEI Nations Cup series on 39.5 points, ahead of Ireland (30 points) and Germany (27 points). Aachen was the fifth venue of the series.

To put it bluntly, one person’s misfortune is often someone else’s luck. However, for Dirk Schrade (Haßlinghausen) the whole matter is very painful: The eventer, who had intended to compete at the CHIO Aachen on Friday and Saturday in the DHL Prize with his horse King Artus, had to withdraw from the event today. The 33-year-old namely broke his right hand while training a young cross-country horse in Warendorf. I tried to see if I could still ride, but unfortunately it is not possible,” stated Schrade.

Ingrid Klimke is taking his place. The 43-year-old had actually decided not to compete at the CHIO Aachen this year, because she hadn’t totally recovered after an injury. In the meantime though the team Olympic gold medallist of 2008 is back in the saddle and will be setting off for Aachen immediately. A special highlight: The eventer will be saddling Abraxas for the DHL Prize, she has also entered the eight-year-old Trakehner, Parmenidis, for the jumping competition over ditches and banks on Saturday evening. For the first time ever this competition, which is very popular with the spectators, is open to both the jumpers and eventers. In addition to Ingrid Klimke, the World Eventing Champion, Michael Jung (Horb), will also be riding against the show jumpers in the speed competition over ditches and banks.

The Mercedes-Benz brand messenger will be the Soers’ guest on Thursday

Boris Becker will visit the World Equestrian Festival, CHIO Aachen, on Thursday, July 14th. He is going to take part in a talk round together with the show jumper Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum at 2.30 pm at the Mercedes-Benz exhibition stand. The two popular Mercedes-Benz brand messengers are both considered to be the personality of their respective sport. After the discussion round both will be available for an autograph session. Then, in the evening Mr. Becker will watch the Mercedes-Benz Prize, Part of the FEI Nations Cup live in the stadium.

German victory in the Grand Prix CDI: Helen Langehanenberg underlines her ambitions with Damon Hill by winning the HAVENS Pferdefutter Prize

The team that is competing in Aachen will – as long as the riders and horses remain fit and healthy – also be the equipe that are to represent Germany at the European Championships in Rotterdam in August. However, Isabell Werth, Anabel Balkenhol, Christoph Koschel and Matthias Alexander Rath will not be able to rest on their laurels regarding their performance, because a young pair is close at their heels: With three fifth places Helen Langehanenberg (Havixbeck) and Damon Hill already stood out behind the quartet at the German Championships in Balve in the middle of June. This evening the pair underlined their ambitions to win a place on the team with a victory in the HAVENS Pferdefutter Prize, the Grand Prix of the CDI Tour.

Langehanenberg triumphed with a score of 73.106 percent ahead of Isabell Werth (Rheinberg/72.915) and the Dutch team World Champion, Hans Peter Minderhout (71.994) on Exquis Nadine. Vice World Champion, Laura Bechtolsheimer (Great Britain/71.447) on Andretti ranked fourth ahead of Nadine Capellmann from Aachen (70.681) on Elvis in fifth place.

“The riders in the CDI Tour at the CHIO Aachen still have the chance to qualify for a ticket to the European Championships,” the national coach, Holger Schmezer, had announced in the run-up to Aachen. After Ulla Salzgeber announced that she is taking a time-out for private reasons, Helen Langehanenberg is the first reserve behind the quartet from Aachen. “If I am nominated as a reserve, I will be delighted, but of course I wouldn’t say no to more,” the 29-year-old from Westphalia commented. “In any case we will fight till the very last.” Langehanenberg completed her training at the stables of the Eventing Olympic gold medallist, Ingrid Klimke. She won the World Championships of the Young Horses in 2005 with the meanwhile 11-year-old Donnerhall son, Damon Hill, who was brought on by Ingrid Klimke.

Irish victory kicks off the jumping competitions – Dermott Lennon wins the NetAACHEN Prize – local hero Thomas Weinberg and David Will as best Germans joint fourth

At precisely 9.30 am the first rider, Luciana Diniz (Portugal), kicked off the opening jumping competition, the NetAACHEN Prize. She tested the challenge that the course designer, Frank Rothenberger, had set the riders with the Hanoverian stallion, Lacontino. She took the course at a steady pace and after a clear round she finished 22nd in the overall listing of 90 show-jumpers, who competed in the NetAACHEN Prize. The rider, who was born in Brazil, then put the experiences gained from her first ride to good use with her second horse, Licapo, with whom she jumped clear in a time of 62.39 seconds, which meant second place. The Irish rider, Dermott Lennon, who knocked 0.48 seconds off her time, won the competition on a 9-year-old Irish mare with the melodious name, Loughview Lou-Lou. The US-American, Laura Kraut, ranked third with Dona Evita, also clear in a time of 62.77 seconds.

Dermott Lennon comes from Bandridge, Northern Ireland, where he runs a training and sales yard. The 42-year-old’s biggest victory to-date was winning the 2002 World Equestrian Games in Jerez de la Frontera with Liscalgot.

The best German participants were Thomas Weinberg on Escobar and David Will (Pfungstadt) on Lenny Kravitz, who came joint fourth after both jumping clear in a time of 63.15 seconds. Thomas Weinberg, son of the internationally successful show-jumpers Peter Weinberg and Helena Stormanns, had the shortest journey to the Soers. He lives in Kohlscheid, just a few kilometres away from the showgrounds, where the 24-year-old rider runs a training and sales yard together with his father, Peter. Thomas Weinberg won individual silver at the European Championships of the Young Riders in 2008 with the meanwhile 12-year-old gelding, Escobar.

The correct tip came from Laura Kraut: The Brazilian rider, Alvaro Miranda, wins the STAWAG Prize with the fastest clear round. Ludger Beerbaum best German in fifth place

“When Alvaro entered the ring, I said to our Chef d’Equipe, Georg Morris, this is the winner.” Laura Kraut should have placed a bet, because her tip was dead right. The Brazilian rider, Alvaro Miranda, won the STAWAG Prize on Ad Norson. Behind the Irish show-jumper, Billy Twomy on Tinka’s Serenade, came Laura Kraut (USA) on Teirra. Last year’s winning pair from Switzerland, Steve Guerdat and Jalisca Solier ranked fourth, followed in fifth place by the best German rider, the reigning German Champion, Ludger Beerbaum (Riesenbeck) on his 12-year-old stallion, Chaman.

“The course built by Frank Rothenberger was nice to ride. And Ad Norson is indeed a very fast horse,” said the Brazilian rider, who was overjoyed about his victory in the STAWAG Prize, which is endowed with 42,200 Euros in prize-money in total. Furthermore, the competition is a qualifier for the Prize of the AachenMünchener on Saturday, as well as for the Rolex Grand Prix, the “Grand Prix of Aachen”, on Sunday. Europe has long since become the home of the Brazilian rider, who now lives in the Netherlands. “I moved to Europe in 1995 because the equestrian sport opportunities are much better here than back home in Brazil. It wasn’t easy at the beginning, because my family still lives in Brazil. But in the meantime I love my life here in Europe,” commented Miranda, who is married to the Greek show-jumper, Athina Onassis.

He has been riding the 12-year-old stallion, Ad Norson, for five years. “He was brought to me as a 5-year-old and I have trained him up to Grand Prix level myself,” reported Miranda. Ad Norson descends from the best French bloodlines, his sire is Quidam de Revel and his dam’s sire is Grand Veneur. The duo reached the finish line 0.22 seconds faster than Bill Twomey (Ireland), who had saddled the 14-year-old Anglo-European mare, Tinka’s Serenade, and 1,01 seconds faster than Laura Kraut with the 11-year-old KWPN mare, Teirra. In total 26 of the 61 competitors jumped clear in the STAWAG Prize.

Without further ado, the Main Stadium at the Aachener Soers was turned into a wild arena: Roman chariots, the Cavalieri di Marenna (mounted herdsmen from Tuscany) and the Pariglias (stunt riders on horseback). Italy, the partner country of the World Equestrian Festival, CHIO Aachen 2011, presented a fun show program full of joie de vivre at the official Opening Ceremony, presented by airberlin, on Tuesday evening.

The proud Carabinieri in their gala uniforms on their grey horses, the magnificent stilt walkers in Italian costumes as well as 100 Vespas and Lambrettas paraded over the “Holy Grass”: 37,500 spectators celebrated the spectacular show of the guests from Southern Europe. The three Appassionante sopranos from Rome filled the arena with a goose bump atmosphere. They brought wonderful Italian melodies to Aachen with them including Italian classics such as “Funiculi, Funicula” or “Nessun Dorma”.

Furthermore, Carl Meulenbergh, President of the Aachen-Laurensberger Rennverein e.V. greeted two special guests, who wrote equestrian sport history at the Soers in Aachen more than half a century ago: Piero d’Inzeo from Italy, who with four victories in the Aachen Grand Prix is still the sole record holder, and Hans Günter Winkler. They were driven around the stadium in a carriage together.

Top sport, a magnificent Opening Ceremony and plenty of glamour

The World Equestrian Festival, CHIO Aachen, has long since established itself as a social event. As such numerous guests from the sports and media, political, show business and financial circles attended the traditional “Media Night” on Tuesday evening at the famous showgrounds at the Aachener Soers.

The World Boxing Champion, Wladimir Klitschko, who visited the Aachen Soers as a ambassador of the long-lasting CHIO-partner Warsteiner, was deeply impressed by his visit: “It is fantastic to have such an event here in Germany,” the 35-year-old stated. He added that he felt completely at home at the showgrounds, he had arrived long before the Media Night began. Namely, Klitschko awarded the media prize “The Silver Horse“ together with the Federal Minister, Ursula von der Leyen, in front of a crowd of 37,500 spectators. As well as Mrs. von der Leyen, the Federal Minister Peter Ramsauer, who had also brought his wife Susanne with him, and Daniel Bahr had also travelled to Aachen, where they met up with the former national handball coach, Heiner Brandt, the former Federal Minister, Hans-Dietrich Genscher, the football trainers, Christoph Daum and Lothar Matthäus and the CEO of Air Berlin, Joachim Hunold. The guests celebrated in the Champions’ Circle until late into the night.

2006, FEI World Equestrian Games in Aachen – the scene is unforgettable. Three dainty female riders have to jump the World Championship course with Cumano. And the white stallion, who in the run-up had been classified as being the most difficult horse in the final with a rotation of horses, allowed himself to be led round the course with a light hand by all three ladies, Beezie Madden (USA), Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum (Thedinghausen) and Edwina Alexander (Australia). In the jump-off Cumano also prove under his normal rider, Jos Lansink, that he can jump the obstacles in a fast time too. The duo won, so the Belgian rider claimed the World Jumping Championship title. It is thus no surprise that Lansink chose the venue of his biggest triumph for Cumano’s last appearance: On Saturday evening the meanwhile 18-year-old stallion will be retired from active sport before the winning round of the “Best of Champions” jumping competition.

“Cumano is fantastic.” Jos Lansink is radiant when he talks about Cumano. “He is an incredible fighter, he has never let me down. He has amazing jumping potential, he has competed at the most difficult jumping tournaments in the world.“ However, the grey stallion, with whom besides winning team gold in 1992 at the Olympic Games in Barcelona (on Egano and at the time still riding for the Netherlands) he celebrated the biggest victory in his jumping career, has not always made things easy for the 50-year-old rider. “He wanted to be the boss, after all he is also a stallion. But Cumano quickly accepted the fact that I am the boss in the ring and he always fought for me with his whole heart.”

Cumano, born in 1993, is a son of the stallion Cassini I, who was successful under Franke Sloothaak. His mother descends from Landgraf I and also has Holsteiner blood in her veins via Caletto II. The stallion already made a good impression in his young years thanks to his harmonious appearance, light-footed canter and incredible jumping ability, which in his case is also paired with a perfect jumping technique. Cumano not only won World Championship gold in 2006 with Lansink, he also claimed the silver medal at the European Championships in Mannheim in 2007. Furthermore, the pair won the Grand Prix in Calgary in 2004, which is endowed with high prize money. Lansink and Cumano were already on the Belgian team at the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004 (individual ranking 28), in 2008 the pair ranked 9th at the Olympics in Hong Kong and in 2005 the duo narrowly missed winning a medal at the European Championships in San Patrignano, after coming fourth.

In future Cumano will exclusively be used for breeding purposes. The stud stallion has already sired a whole series of good offspring for the jumping sport.

“Horse and Symphony” conveys the Italian way of life in the sold-out Deutsche Bank Stadium.

Exceptional sport meets Italian music and that on a mild summer evening at the Soers in Aachen. A unique show program, accompanied live by the Aachen Symphony Orchestra, impressed the 4,600 spectators in the sold-out Deutsche Bank Stadium. Venetian carnival, Roman chariots, the Italian dressage star, Valentina Truppa, and of course scores of horses radiated Italian flair for several hours at the Aachener Soers.

Una Notte Italiana – following this motto the individual groups took the spectators on a journey through the whole of Italy. The emotional musical accompaniment was provided by the Aachen Symphony Orchestra, for the first time under the direction of the chief conductor and deputy musical director, Péter Halász. Solo performances by the soprano Michaela Maria Mayer and tenor Louis Kim left everyone in the arena with goose bumps. They also sang a duet together: “Brindisi” (a drinking song) from the opera “La Traviata” by Giuseppe Verdi. However, the highlight of the evening was the appearance of the current top Italian dressage rider, Valentina Truppa. She performed a freestyle routine that was choreographed especially for the event to an Italian medley. Proudly and most accurately, 6 riders and 6 stallions from the Warendorf State Stud demonstrated a quadrille. In contrast the stilt walkers of the “Ensemble Finesse“ – a wonderful composition of Italian costumes, Venetian masks, fans and elegant fabrics – were extremely colourful and majestic. Six pony riders from the Rhineland let off steam to the Allegretto moderato from the ballet “La Boutique Fantasque” by Ottorino Respighi. We now also have proof that as well as being able to make horseshoes, blacksmiths also have a good feeling of rhthym, mastering the instrument they usually use for their work as blacksmiths: the anvil. Yesterday, this item was turned into a musical instrument to accompany music from the opera “Il Trovatore“ (the troubadour) by Guiseppe Verdi. Things got fast and furious with the three chariots of the Excalibur Horse Show: To the film music of Ben Hur – what else – the three chariots each drawn by four horses sped around the arena in “Roman chariot race” style. Then, Patric Looser, the World Vaulting Champion, impressively demonstrated his artistic skills on a free-running horse. His freestyle routine was accompanied by the love theme from the film “The Godfather” and by the Charleston from the film “Giulietta Degli Spirit”.

But what would Italy be without fashion? So, a special catwalk was assembled in the Deutsche Bank Stadium yesterday. The female and male models were all on horseback and they presented imaginative riding fashion wear sponsored by “Animo Italia”. However, there are other ways to move around the Deutsche Bank Stadium other than on horseback, for instance on wheels. As demonstrated by the spectacular performance of the group from Ticino, “Offroad Kjöring”: The skaters who were fitted out with special offroad rollerblades were pulled around a course complete with skater jumps by mounted horses to “Tarantella”.

Following tradition, part of the proceeds of the “Horse & Symphony” are donated to the UNICEF. Yesterday evening the sum amounted to 11,250 Euros, which will go to children in Nepal. Carl Meulenbergh, President of the Aachen-Laurensberger Rennverein, presented the cheque to Anne Lütkes, a member of the Executive Board of UNICEF Germany.

Inventive displays promote the partner country Italy

This year the shop-window competition that is always held in the scope of the CHIO Aachen, is celebrating its 20th anniversary. The number of participants reflects how popular the campaign is: 97 shops got the region in the mood for the CHIO Aachen with their shop-window displays. And of course they were flying the flag for Italy, this year’s partner country of the World Equestrian Festival. The Lord Mayor, Marcel Philipp, praised above all the creativity of the individual shop owners and stressed how important the shop-window competition is: “The CHIO Aachen is a messenger for the City of Aachen, you as the participants of the shop-window competition are messengers for the World Equestrian Festival.”

Today, on Soers Sunday, the winners of the shop-window competition were honoured at a champagne reception in the Soers Tent. Mr. Philipp, ALRV supervisory board member Hans Kauhsen and Manfred Piana, CEO of MAC, presented the prizes. The beloved CHIO mascot, Karli, called in at the Soers Tent as well. The participants had the opportunity to win prizes in two different categories: In the jury competition and in the Public Choice Award. The expert jury assessed the shop-windows based on the criteria creativity, entertainment value, relevance to the CHIO Aachen and decorative skills.

In the competition decided by the judges one shop convinced in particular: The goldsmiths Thomas Giesen won the first prize. The proprietor Thomas Giesen entered the window dressing competition straight away when he heard that Italy is this year’s partner country of the CHIO Aachen. He quickly turned his goldsmiths into a pizzeria, at least optically speaking. At the moment there are pizzas decorated with jewellery and necklaces made out of pasta on display in his shop-windows. “Italy has been me and my family’s favourite holiday destination for years and we visit the CHIO Aachen every year too. So we found the combination especially exciting this year,” the winner commented.

8,000 people voted for their favourite in the Public Choice Award. The opticians “Brille am Jahnplatz” received the highest number of votes. Katharina Hick and her team came up with a unique idea for their shop-window: “What reminds one of Italy apart from pasta and pizza? The Vespa of course, which is why I borrowed my son’s Vespa and for my shop-window display.”

The shop-window competition is jointly organised by the ALRV, the Zeitungsverlag Aachen (newspaper publishing company), the City Market and Campaign Committee e.V. (MAC) and the City of Aachen. The decorated shop-windows will be on display throughout the entire duration of the CHIO Aachen 2011 (July 8th-17th).

The winners and the prizes:

Jury Competition:

1st place: Thomas Giesen goldsmiths

2nd place: NOS flower shop

3rd place: Dückers flower shop

4th place (2x): Frankenne office centre/Nobis Printen at Münsterplatz

5th place: Geduldig Herzogenrath flower shop

6th place: Spielmix GmbH

Public Choice Award:

1st place: Brille am Jahnplatz

2nd place: Roswithas flower shop

3rd place: Strasser cafe

The Japanese rider Taizo Sugitano wins a ticket for the London Olympics

As well as the show program, top sport also attracted visitors to the CHIO Aachen on Soers Sunday. 38 show-jumpers from 12 Eastern European and Asiatic countries took part in the qualifier for the 2012 Olympic Games in London, nine national teams competed. “We saw an interesting field of participants, it was an exciting competition right up until the last minute, which enabled us to offer the visitors a special attraction on Soers Sunday,” Frank Kemperman, Chairman of the Aachen-Laurensberger Rennverein, said with delight.

After the two rounds Katharina Offel, who rides for the Ukraine, headed the field with her horse Vivant (1 fault/163.71 seconds), and thus won a wild card for the CHIO Aachen 2011. Her fellow-countryman Björn Nägel came second on Niack de L´Abbaye (2 faults/162.89 seconds), Jamal Rahimov from Azerbaijan finished third on Warrior (3 faults/170.97 seconds). The Ukrainian team took first place, which means they too will be competing at the Olympic Games. Turkey came second, followed by Poland. The Japanese rider, Taizo Sugitano, earned himself a ticket for the Olympic Games as a competitor in the individual classification. The victory of the Ukrainian team came as no big surprise: The team finished fourth at the FEI 2006 World Equestrian in Aachen.

The overall results list can be found here.

Monday at the marketplace: Aachen welcomes Italy to the CHIO Aachen 2011

“benvenuta Italia – welcome Italy!” A delegation of 70 horses and 100 people will be making an appearance at the Opening Ceremony on Tuesday. But Italy will already be presenting itself with a colourful program at the market square in Aachen on Monday evening. All of Aachen’s citizens are invited to welcome the partner country from 5.30 pm onwards in front of the beautiful setting of the historical Town Hall. This splendid event has become a regular date in the diaries of many of Aachen’s residents. It is certainly worth visiting the market square this year too. Among others the mounted fanfare corps of the Carabinieri a Cavallo, Roman chariots and the Pariglias, an Italian stunt group on horseback, will be performing. But the program is not just for horse lovers: Stilt walkers in Italian costumes and Vespa scooters will be taking part in this reception and radiating Italian joie de vivre in the town centre of Aachen.

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The World Champions Patric Looser (Switzerland) and Joanne Eccles (Great Britain) in the lead after day 1

Team Germany I ahead of Germany II – the hosts dominated the field on the first day of the CHIO Aachen in the Albert-Vahle Arena. After the compulsory test in the “Prize of the Sparkasse” the two teams have a clear lead (7.395 and 7.228 points respectively) over the team from Austria that currently ranks third with a score of 6.693.

Team Germany 1 is made up of the vaulters from Neuss-Grimlinghausen, who won the gold medal at the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games in Aachen. VV Ingelsberg, the vaulters behind team Germany II, won the World Championships in 2008 and became Vice-World Champions in 2010 at the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky. In the year 2011 the battle for supremacy between the two top teams has long since been decided: Neuss-Grimlinghausen already left the vaulters from Bavarian miles behind in the “Prize of the Best” in Warendorf in May. The team from the Rhineland, which also clearly won the Rhineland Championships at the weekend as expected, also delivered the best performances at the tournament in Wiesbaden. Last year the vaulters from Neuss weren’t able to put a team together for the CHIO Aachen because several members were injured, instead they joined forces with their rivals from Team Wintermühle of the JRG Cologne, who were also suffering from “personnel shortages”, so that they could enter a team for the Soers. Last year Ingelsberg had already earned their ticket to the World Championships very early on, in the same way that Neuss-Grimlinghausen secured itself a place in the European Championships right from the start this year.

However, it is still not clear who will be representing Germany at the European Championships in the individual classification. The decision will be taken this weekend in Aachen. The national coach, Ursula Ramge, and the Vaulting Commission have nominated four men and four women, who will be battling it out for a place at the European Championships. “They are all young vaulters, who have however in some cases already won medals and titles as Juniors,” explained Ramge. The national coach namely has had reason for concern this year, because she has had to make do without some of her experienced vaulters: Vice World Champion, Kai Vorberg (Cologne), is still recovering after an operation on a slipped disc, it is still not sure whether he will return to the active sport. Daniel Kaiser (Delitzsch), who won the “Prize of the Best”, had to end his season prematurely due to injury. And among the ladies‘, both Simone Wiegele, who won the bronze medal at the World Championships in Kentucky, and Antje Hill cannot compete. The two ladies are members of the team from Neuss-Grimlinghausen – “and as far as I am concerned the team nomination takes priority over the nominations for the individual classification.” So the younger vaulters are having to help out.

After day Tag 1 the British top favourite, Joanne Eccles, who took the gold medal in Kentucky, is clearly in the lead. After the compulsory test and the freestyle, the World Champion, who is coached by her father John Eccles, is heading the field with a score of 8.194 ahead of the Danish vaulter, Rikke Lauman (7.901) and Sarah Kay (Sörup/7.834), who has already won the Junior European Championship title twice.

The US-American, Mary McCormick (7.808), who currently lies fourth, is followed closely by Kristina Boe (Hamburg/7.802) and Pia Engelberty (Cologne/7.798). The vaulter from Cologne is the high flyer of the season.  She won both trials so far and also sovereignly took the Rhineland Championship title last weekend as well. The fourth girl in the alliance is Regina Burgmayr (Ingelsberg/7.674), who currently ranks tenth.

As expected in the men’s competition, the World Champion Patric Looser, who lives in Cologne and trains with Kai Vorberg, currently tops the rankings. With a score of 8.428 the Swiss vaulter lies ahead of the Frenchman, Nicolas Andreani (8.159), who won bronze at the World Championships. At the tournament in Wiesbaden in June, the Swiss vaulter was surprisedly beaten by the Czech athlete, Lukas Klouda, who also trains with Kai Vorberg. After day 1 Klouda (7.989) lies behind Jannick Heiland,  (Maschen/7.997), who is currently holding on to fourth place and who, similar to Engelberty, is clearly climbing his way up to the top of the men’s rankings. The German vaulters are rounded off by Viktor Brüsewitz (Garbsen/7.895) currently in fifth place, Thorben Hoppe (Kriftel/7.555) who ranks 8^th and Torben Jacobs (Delmenhorst/7.498) in tenth place.

In fact Jacobs is competing twice: In the Pas de Deux Jacobs and his mixed team partner Theresa-Sophie Bresch (Delmenhorst/Tübingen) are leading the field after the first freestyle with a score of 8.131 ahead of Florian und Anna Kraft, who are brother and sister, (Essen/7.905) and the British duo Joanne and Hannah Eccles (7.874), who are also sisters. As well as contesting the victory in Aachen, the duos are also battling it out for a ticket to the European Championships.

Every year more than 350,000 spectators visit the World Equestrian Festival in Aachen. The satisfaction of the visitors is a matter of great importance to the organisers of the CHIO Aachen.

In line with this a survey will be carried out among the visitors during the tournament this year for the sixth time in succession. The Institute for Sport Sociology of the German Sport University is responsible for conducting the survey under the direction of Dr. Hans Stollenwerk.

On the basis of the public survey it has already been possible in the past to improve many areas, such as for example the competitions and the infrastructure. The survey will continue to form an integral part of the CHIO Aachen in the future too. The questionnaires will be handed out at the showgrounds.

AGCO/Fendt is getting further involved in equestrian sport sponsoring this year. Fendt will be represented at the CHIO for the first time in 2011 as the official product partner for agricultural machinery. More than 1,000 “AGCO/Fendt” horsepower will be in use at the huge showgrounds from July 12th-17th, 2011. The excellent technology of the innovative agricultural engineering company will be showcased at its 250 m² exhibition area.

The diligent volunteers of the CHIO Aachen will be carrying out a wide range of different tasks with eight Fendt tractors, such as maintaining the “holy grass” in the main jumping stadium or helping to build the courses. The agile tractors have between 70 and 90 horsepower and thus represent the smaller 200 Vario series of the comprehensive Fendt product range comprising of tractors with up to 390 horsepower and harvesting machinery. The sister brand Massey Ferguson – which is also grouped under the umbrella of the agricultural engineering group AGCO Corporation – will also be providing 19 MF Bulls for use during the event. These practical commercial vehicles with a flatbed are indispensible for fast transport tasks around the vast grounds. “We are delighted to be able to implement this state-of-the-art agricultural machinery. The high quality of the brand Fendt fits in perfectly with our top-class event,” commented Frank Kemperman, Show Director of the CHIO Aachen.

The tractors can be inspected carefully in Fendt’s 250 m² exhibition area. Fendt will be presenting its latest innovations right through to the 900 Vario in the CHIO Village. The elaborately designed stand has an inviting effect on visitors, which will be further enhanced by the opportunity of receiving professional advice from the experts of Fendt and their sales partner, RWZ Cologne.

Fendt’s presence at the CHIO Aachen will be rounded off by 90 metres of perimeter advertising in the main jumping stadium, perimeter advertising in the dressage and driving stadiums and by the AGCO/Fendt obstacle in the cross-country competition of the eventing discipline.

WDR broadcasting live – Ursula von der Leyen and Wladimir Klitschko to present the media prizes

The Opening Ceremony of the World Equestrian Festival, CHIO Aachen 2011, presented by airberlin, is promising to be spectacular. The performances of the almost 300 participants and 90 horses start at 5 pm on Tuesday, July 12th, 2011 in the Main Stadium.

The CHIO partner country, Italy, will be setting the tone of the Opening Ceremony – and a very special guest is going to make an appearance: Piero d´Inzeo is not only an old rival of the German equestrian sport legend, Hans Günter Winkler, but also with four victories the record holder in the Grand Prix of Aachen, the Rolex Grand Prix. He will no doubt feel completely at home, because the expected 35,000 guests will be able to experience plenty of “bella Italia”. With around 100 Vespa scooters and Roman chariots, mounted Carabinieri and Italian herdsmen on horseback – the Opening Ceremony is going to offer an entertaining show program and a great deal of Southern European enthusiasm. Following tradition the most famous media prize in the field of equestrian sport will also be presented during the ceremony: The “Silver Horse“ is awarded to exceptional journalistic contributions in the categories TV, Print and Radio. Once again this year in addition to the awards the prize-winners can also look forward to famous patrons: Federal Minister Ursula von der Leyen and the old and new Boxing World Champion Wladimir Klitschko will be handing over the trophies. Klitschko is visiting the Soers in his capacity as brand messenger of the long-standing CHIO Aachen partner, Warsteiner. Tickets are still available here or via the hotline +49-(0)241-917-1111. Anyone who doesn’t make it to the stadium, can watch the ceremony, which is being broadcast live by WDR, on TV.

Together with the Aachen newspaper publishers, the City Market and Campaign Committee e.V. (MAC) and the City of Aachen, the Aachen-Laurensberger Rennverein e.V. (ALRV) organises the traditionally contest on an annual basis in the run-up to the CHIO Aachen.

The competition is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, which means that we are all the more delighted about the tastefully decorated shop-windows.

Approx. 100 shops from Aachen and the surrounding region took part in the shop-window competition. The 20 most creative shops have been carefully inspected once again by the main jury. On July 10th, the three winners will be announced at the prize-giving ceremony in the Soerser Zelt (Soers Tent). The shops that didn’t manage to make it under the top twenty still have the chance to win the Public Choice Award.

The current World and European Champions will be there, the Olympic gold medallists and the athletes who top the world ranking lists won’t be missing either. When the World Equestrian Festival, CHIO Aachen, starts on July 8th, all of the equestrian sport superstars will be present.

“I was overwhelmed, I will never forget that moment, an extraordinary feeling,” is how the German Jumping Champion, Janne Friederike Meyer, described her premiere in the Mercedes-Benz Prize, Part of the FEI Nations Cup™, last year. She will competing for the German team again this year too together with Marcus Ehning, Ludger Beerbaum, Christian Ahlmann and Carsten-Otto Nagel. This was announced during a press conference prior to the start of the CHIO. Matthias Alexander Rath and Totilas will be members of the dressage team. They will be facing strong international competition for the first time in Aachen. Rath is however quite calm about it all, “we don’t have to win every competition, even if that is what some people expect,” commented Rath.

Of course the Show Director, Frank Kemperman, is delighted that Aachen will be welcoming the world elite from the jumping, dressage, cross-country, driving and vaulting disciplines: “We will experience top sport and the unique Aachen atmosphere,” the Dutchman stated. Because the absolute superstars of the eventing scene including Michael Jung, William Fox-Pitt and Andrew Nicholson will also be travelling to the traditional showgrounds at the Aachener Soers. And when the event kicks off with the vaulters on Friday – headed by the Swiss World Champion Patric Looser – the crème de la crème will be fighting it out.

The demand for tickets is correspondingly high. Even if certain days are already sold out, “we can still offer tickets for some of the top competitions and also for the Opening Ceremony on Tuesday,” said Michael Mronz, General Manager of Aachener Reitturnier GmbH. Mronz also made reference to a slightly increased budget of 10.5 million Euros (previous year: 10.3 million), the overall prize money totals 1.79 million Euros this year. Moreover, the most famous international equestrian sport event has won over the following new business partners: Fendt, Cellagon, the Metro AG, Samsonite and Tank & Rast GmbH. Together with Tank & Rast the CHIO organisers will be offering a real CHIO speciality: Blueberries with vanilla cream. This culinary delight will no doubt also be available at the European Championships in 2015 – if the CHIO organisers win the bid for their new concept with five disciplines. The organisers are intending to impress the spectators, sponsors, media and equestrian athletes with the slogan “be part of it”.

Of course the weather will be fantastic too – at least that is what Carl Meulenbergh, President of the Aachen-Laurensberger Rennverein is promising. “After all Italy is this year’s partner country, so who would dare doubt the weather,” grinned Meulenbergh. As well as plenty of sun, good food and Mediterranean charm, the Italians will also be bringing their most famous athlete with them: The in the meantime 88-year-old Piero d`Inzeo, fought out legendary duels with Hans Günter Winkler in the 1950s and 1960s – “it is wonderful to have such an old warrior here with us.”

Piero d`Inzeo (with four victories the most successful competitor of all time in the Grand Prix of Aachen, today known as the Rolex Grand Prix) will most certainly also be travelling to the stadium in one of the vehicles of the Mercedes-Benz limousine service. Mercedes has been a partner of the event since 1954, the service organised has 40 vehicles at its disposal. Matthias Hindemith, Director of the Aachen Subsidiary brought a small selection of vehicles with him to the marketplace in Aachen, Janne Meyer was picked up from the airport in one of them: “I didn’t even want to get out of it,“ she laughed.

The photo shows from left to right: Frank Kemperman, Matthias Alexander Rath, Janne Friederike Meyer, Matthias Hindemith, Carl Meulenbergh, Marcel Philipp.

Manfred Kutsch from the Newspaper Publishing Company Aachen is well-known to Aachen’s audience as the man who is conducting the interviews in the CHIO stadium. Now, after many years and numerous talks with the protagonists of equestrian sport, he has interviewed his first horse. The answers came from rider Matthias Alexander Rath though – horse Totilas was too busy grazing.

The video of the interview you can find here.

This year 79 hostesses will be supporting the CHIO Aachen, in addition to the girls there’s going to be one lucky man, a so-called host, whose job will be to control entry to the Champions’ Circle. At the weekend the hostesses already received instruction at the ALRV offices regarding their duties during the CHIO. The hostesses will be implemented in different areas during the tournament, i.e. at the information desk in the lobby, as hostesses for the prize-giving ceremonies, as receptionists in the entrance area or looking after the guests sat at the tables on the stands. Carolin Ifländer and Hanni Wegner will both be working as hostesses at the CHIO Aachen 2011, in the Champions‘ Circle: Carolin will be stationed at the entrance, where she will be distributing the entry wristbands and providing information, Hanni Wegner will be on stand-by to provide additional support.

Many thanks to SinnLeffers and Hermès for the hostesses’ outfits.

The nominations for the Silver Camera 2011 were announced a week ago. In total photographers from 15 nations submitted 97 equestrian sport photos. “All of the entries were of the highest quality, so choosing the nominations for the three best photos was not an easy task,” commented Frank Kemperman, Chairman of the Aachen-Laurensberger Rennverein e.V. The expert jury comprised of the Spanish dressage rider, Beatriz Ferrer-Salat, Anke Fleig of the photo agency Sven Simon (last year’s winner), Nele Toye (Marketing Director, Zeitungsverlag Aachen), Erich Timmermanns (Sparkasse Aachen) and CHIO Aachen Show Director, Frank Kemperman. The winner of the prestigious “Silver Camera” will be announced during the CHIO Aachen 2011.

All of the submitted entries can be viewed immediately here, where you will no doubt find your own personal favourite.

There’s a touch of Hollywood at the Soers two weeks before the World Equestrian Festival starts: The CHIO Aachen now has its own “Walk of Fame”. And would one expect anything else in Aachen? It is of course the names of horses that shine underneath the stars.

Not a footprint, but instead a horseshoe belonging to the respective four-legged superstar is embedded inside the star. There are many top names among them: “Halla” and “Gigolo”, “E.T.” and “Ratina Z”, “Totilas” and “Hickstead” – they include 17 names of jumping and dressage horses, all of whom have either won the Deutsche Bank Prize, the Dressage Grand Prix of Aachen or the Rolex Grand Prix, the Grand Prix of Aachen. The Show Director of the CHIO Aachen, Frank Kemperman, came up with the idea of this special “Walk of Fame”. It took a year to put the idea into practice: “We tried out a lot of things before finding a way of embedding the horseshoes into the plaques,” commented Kemperman. The plaques are being cemented into place at the moment. The “Walk of Fame” can be found on the showgrounds, right next to the entrance of the CHIO Aachen offices.

Aachen. During the German Championships in Balve, the German Equestrian Association (FN) decided that it will support Aachen as the venue for the European Championships 2015. Frank Kemperman, Chairman of the Aachen-Laurensberger Rennverein e.V., didn’t forget to thank their fellow German applicant, Hamburg, for its “fair interaction”. The organisers from Aachen will now concentrate over the coming weeks on finalising the concept so that it can be submitted to the world association, the FEI, before the deadline at the end of July 2011. “This concept will be attractive regarding the sporting aspects as well as financially sound,” commented Michael Mronz, General Manager of the Aachener Reitturnier GmbH. Furthermore, Mronz announced that together with the exceptional crowds in Aachen the intention is to already boost the enthusiasm for staging the European Championships 2015 in Germany at the coming CHIO Aachen (July 8th-17th).

16 days before the CHIO Aachen 2011 starts, some of the stars are already feeling quite at home at the Soers: 4 ponies and one foal had travelled to the showgrounds to set the mood for Riding Pony Day on Friday, July 15th.

In fact they even included a world star, the 20-year-old Dornik. “Dornik has won everything there is to win on the international pony equestrian sport circuit and he is the most successful dressage pony of all time. He is a living legend and his status in the riding pony scene is comparable to that of Hans Günter Winkler’s successful horse, Halla,” raved Martin Spoo of the Rhineland Studbook. He will retire from the international equestrian sport at the NRW Riding Pony Day. On July 15th, the spectators can look forward to an exciting program comprising of show and breeding elements in the Driving Stadium. 100 ponies from all over North Rhine-Westphalia will be performing spectacular quadrilles and first-class dressage tests, the most successful mares, foals and stallions will also be presented as well as single harness horses, two-horse and four-in-hand driving teams. Riding ponies make ideal partners for children, their good-naturedness creates a basis of trust and the small riders can be gently introduced to the equestrian sport. Many of the professional athletes, who compete in the big stadiums of the CHIO Aachen today, took their first riding lessons on a riding pony.

This was reason enough to dedicate a day of the CHIO Aachen 2011 to the small bundles of energy. Frank Kemperman, Chairman of the Aachen-Laurensberger Rennverein shares this opinion: “This year we are going to put the small stars in the limelight. We are convinced that the riding ponies will impress many thousands of spectators. This is a wonderful highlight especially for families with children – CHIO and ponies, that harmonises perfectly.” Martin Spoo agrees. The Managing Director of the Rhineland Studbook is immensely looking forward to the little superstars at the big CHIO: “It is fantastic that the pony sport is being given the opportunity to present itself in this exceptional setting. We will be demonstrating the entire spectrum of the pony sport and breeding programmes.”

You don’t have to buy an extra ticket for the Riding Pony Day. Anyone, who purchases a ticket for the dressage or jumping competitions on July 15th, is additionally entitled to watch the show and breeding program in the Driving Stadium. Tickets are available here or from the hotline: +49-(0)241-917-1111.

According to the famous saying a picture expresses more than a thousand words. If the photographer shoots the picture at exactly the right moment, a single photo can tell a whole story. A panel of judges has just selected the best international equestrian sport photo of the year. The “Silver Camera” for the best equestrian sport photo will be awarded during the World Equestrian Festival, CHIO Aachen 2011 (July 8^th-17^th).

The jury has nominated the following photographers (in alphabetical order): Arnd Bronkhorst (the Netherlands), Caren Firouz (Iran) and Julia Rau (Germany). 97 pictures by photographers from 15 nations took part in the photo competition this year. It certainly wasn’t an easy choice for the jury, which comprised of the Spanish dressage rider, Beatriz Ferrer-Salat; Anke Fleig from the photo agency Sven Simon (last year’s winner); Nele Toye (Marketing Manager, Zeitungsverlag Aachen); Erich Timmermanns (Sparkasse Aachen) and CHIO Aachen Show Director, Frank Kemperman.

“Many of the most famous international equestrian sport photographers entered the competition, we had to decide between countless exceptional entries,“ Frank Kemperman commented. The award will be presented to the winner on Saturday evening, July 16^th, 2011, during the jumping competitions in the Main Stadium. The winner receives 2,500 Euros, the runner-up wins 1,000 Euros and third place carries off 500 Euros. All of the entries will be posted online at www.chioaachen.de soon.

The CHIO Aachen 2011 is going to present dressage fans with a top selection of dressage stars, the best in years. In addition to the new pair, Matthias Rath and Totilas, the fans can look forward to watching many more of the world’s most successful dressage horses: Besides Totilas, Ravel (with Steffen Peters), Mistral Hojris (with Laura Bechtolsheimer) and Parzival (with Adelinde Cornelissen) will be travelling to Aachen. The attractiveness of the dressage discipline has been continually increased over the past few years in Aachen, which has led to a boom in the demand for tickets this year.

“We have already been able to sell well over ten thousand tickets solely for the Deutsche Bank Prize on Sunday. The question most frequently posed to the ticket hotline is currently why the dressage can’t be staged in the Main Stadium like at the 2006 World Championships,” commented Michael Mronz, General Manager of the Aachener Reitturnier GmbH. This won’t be possible during the CHIO 2011, however “if we are given the opportunity to organise the European Championships in 2015, we can safely confirm that the dressage competitions will once again be held in the Main Stadium.” Most of the dressage competitions in the Deutsche Bank Stadium are already sold out, tickets are still available for the Thursday, when all of the top stars will be competing with their best horses in the Prize of the Teschinkasso, Grand Prix CDIO. Tickets can be ordered here or from the hotline on +49-(0)241-917-1111.

All of the top names will be competing against each other for the first time this year at the CHIO Aachen 2011, including of course Matthias Rath with Totilas, the super stallion. The pair has got off to a good start, however in Aachen they will have to battle it out against several of their top level rivals: For instance Laura Bechtolsheimer and her Mistral Hojris, whose nickname is “Alf”. The three-time silver medallist from Kentucky has been in excellent form for months. Adelinde Cornelissen from Holland, who recently won the FEI World Cup Final, also has good chances of riding to victory at the Soers. She came second with Parzival in the Deutsche Bank Prize in 2010. Steffen Peters from the USA, who won at Aachen in 2009, has also confirmed his participation. “I am particularly looking forward to him,” Frank Kemperman, Show Director of the CHIO Aachen, stated, “because Steffen hasn’t competed in Europe since winning here in Aachen in 2009, and Aachen is the only tournament he is entering in Europe in 2011.” So anyone who wants to see Steffen Peters in action with Ravel will have to visit the CHIO. Peters has shown consistent sporting success with “Ravel” and they claimed the bronze medal at the World Championships in Kentucky last year. We are also curious to see how Isabell Werth performs and of course who is going to ride for the German team. What’s more, there is going to be an interesting reunion in Aachen: It will be the first time that the Dutch dressage rider, Edward Gal, encounters his ex-horse Totilas.

They come from Rome, look stunning and have got beautiful voices. The three sopranos from “Appassionante” will be performing at the “CHIO Aachen Opening Ceremony, presented by airberlin”, which starts at 5 pm on July 12th, in the Main Stadium.

There is hardly a more fitting musical accompaniment for the Opening Ceremony of the CHIO Aachen 2011. As the official partner country Italy will be setting the tone for the magnificent ceremony. The splendid mounted Carabinierei, horse herdsmen from Tuscany and the stunt group “Pariglias“ will be giving spectacular optical performances and now the musical highlights are also going to be originally Italian. The three singers Stefania Francabandiera, Mara Tanchis and Giorgia Villa, who have all completed a classical education, have already promised to bring famous Italian melodies to Aachen with them. Whether “Funiculi, Funicula“, “Nessun Dorma” or a Verdi medley – the spectators can look forward to hearing genuine classics. Of course, the official airberlin song “Wings” will also be on board.

The spectators can also look forward to experiencing an Italian show-jumping legend: Having rode to victory in the Grand Prix of Aachen four times between 1952 and 1965, Piero d`Inzeo is still the sole record holder. He will be taking part in the opening celebrations together with his old rival, Hans Günter Winkler.

Tickets are still available for the Opening Ceremony. They can be purchased online, from the hotline (+49-(0)-241-917-1111) or from the showground offices. They cost between 6 and 35 Euros. The tickets are of course also valid for the Main Stadium for the whole day. The programme starts at 9.30 am with the NETAACHEN Prize, followed by the STAWAG Prize at 1.30 pm. So you can enjoy top sport before the spectacular Opening Ceremony show. All of the top national and international show-jumpers will be competing in the two competitions.

For tickets click here.

Ticket hotline: +49-(0)-241-917-1111

"The Silver Horse 2011" media award: First-class contributions have been nominated

Which article is the most exciting and liveliest? Which radio report is the most informative, which was the best TV programme and which story was researched best? “The Silver Horse” media award has developed into a famous distinction. The best three current contributions in the categories print, TV and radio published during the preceding twelve months are nominated for the prize. Each of the awards in the three categories are endowed with 2,600 Euros and they will be presented during the official CHIO Opening Ceremony, presented by airberlin, on July 12^th by the German Riders and Drivers Association e.V. in cooperation with the Aachen-Laurensberger Rennverein e.V. (ALRV).

The nominations include (each in alphabetical order) in the category Print: Maik Großekathöfer (DER SPIEGEL), Dr. Roger Repplinger (kicker Sportmagazin) and Jan Tönjes (St. Georg), in the category TV: Ulla Lachauer (WDR), Barbara Luzi (NDR) and Kerstin Wrage (NDR), finally in the category Radio: Silke Frenzel (ARD) and Kirsten Lemke (Deutschlandradio).

It is going to be gripping right up until the last minute, because the three winners won’t be announced until the prize-ceremony at the CHIO Aachen Opening Ceremony on July 12^th. First-class and highly interesting contributions have been submitted in all three categories – ranging from interviews through to documentaries. The jury’s decision is based on criteria such as the choice of topic, how efficiently the topic is communicated, the research involved and the overall journalistic performance.

The jury comprised of the following seven judges: Last year’s winners Christina Hucklenbroich (winner in the category Print 2010), Anja Nehls (winner in the category TV 2010) and Marcus Tepper (winner in the category radio 2010) as well as Nadine Capellmann (former double World Dressage Champion), Dr. Ute Gräfin Rothkirch (Executive Board member of the German Riders & Drivers Association), Wolfgang Brinkmann (President of the German Riders & Drivers Association) and Michael Mronz (General Manager of Aachener Reitturnier GmbH).

Nominations for the “Silver Horse 2011” media award
(in alphabetical order)

Print

• Maik Großekathöfer for “The Dancing King”, appeared in “DER SPIEGEL” on March 14^th, 2011
• Dr. Roger Repplinger for “Black Gold”, appeared in “kicker Sportmagazin” on February 14^th, 2011
• Jan Tönjes for “Germany, a Winter-(Schulze) Fairytale”, appeared in issue 1/2011 of “St. Georg”

TV

• Ulla Lachauer for “How equestrian sport made its way to Westphalia”, broadcast on WDR on September 24^th, 2010
• Barbara Luzi for the 2-part documentary on “The mounted police – Hamburg’s new mounted squadron”, broadcast on NDR on November 11^th and 25^th
• Kerstin Wrage for “Winners, Stallions, Schockemöhle“, broadcast on NDR on October 22^nd, 2010

Radio

• Silke Frenzel for the radio series “CHIO – a future for aspiring talents”, broadcast on ARD’s radio station in July 2010
• Kirsten Lemke for “After the ‘Big Bank’ in ‘Pulvermann’s Coffin’”, broadcast on the station Deutschlandradio Kultur on May 13^th, 2010

Organisers of the World Equestrian Festival present their innovation initiative

Ultra modern and emotional – that’s the apt description of the new website of the World Equestrian Festival, CHIO Aachen. The brand-new www.chioaachen.de is the focal point of an innovation initiative that the organisers of the most famous equestrian sport event in the world have just presented.

Large format photos form the central element of the new pages. Whether they depict the sport, a concert or a gala evening: Emotions are conveyed on a big scale and the many facets of the CHIO Aachen are clearly underlined. Navigating through the website occurs almost intuitively, the contents can be selected directly via the big photos. “Most people are already familiar with this ‘touch-character’ from their modern Smartphones,” commented Frank Kemperman, Chairman of the Aachen-Laurensberger Rennverein (ALRV). This so-called “Cover-Flow” is enhanced by six navigation points: Tickets, Program/Sport, Service, CHIO & Co, News and Fan Shop. “This guarantees that all necessary information can be found fast,” explained Kemperman.

“A lot of the big international sport events”, said Michael Mronz, General Manager of the Aachener Reitturnier GmbH (ART), “have not reached the age of digital media yet.“ Furthermore he stated that innovations are essential in all areas in order to assert oneself at top level. After the infrastructure of the traditional showgrounds at the Aachen Soers have been extensively expanded and renovated over the past years, money is now also being invested in the new media sector. Besides the new Internet site Mronz additionally presented a new cutting-edge ticket system as well as a press Intranet. This Intranet allows all information to be placed directly onto the notebooks of the journalists without delay, moreover the media representatives will be provided with extensive background information.

The website is hosted by NetAachen GmbH, who has been the official telecommunications service provider of the CHIO Aachen since the year 2000. Hence, the company’s CEO, Andreas Schneider, is familiar with the peculiarities of the event and the resulting demands: “During the event the server has to cope with over 35 million clicks and parallel to this the results of 5 disciplines have to be displayed online,” said Schneider, stating just two of the challenges.

The Aachen-based agency, “Power & Radach GmbH”, which was able to convince the CHIO organisers with its concept in advance, was responsible for the layout and programming of the new Internet site. “The multimedia presentation of the leading international equestrian sport event is a wonderfully diversified task that we are investing a lot of creativity and ambition in, but which is at the same time proving to be great fun," commented the company’s CEOs, Bernd Steinbrecher and Carlo Blatz .

The dressage star Matthias Rath donned a helmet and coat of armour exclusively for the new CHIO Aachen Magazine. He was photographed by Holger Schupp together with his partner, Franziska Eisenmann, and the outstanding horse Totilas. The result is an exceptional photo series.

The next issue of the CHIO Aachen Magazine appears in mid-June. It can be ordered per email (conny.muetze@chioaachen.de).

Making of.