WORLD EQUESTRIAN FESTIVAL
CHIO AACHEN

To be eternalised on the winners’ board next to the entrance of the Main Stadium at the Soers – this dream came true today for Gregory Wathelet when he opened a new chapter in the history of the Rolex Grand Slam after riding to victory in the Rolex Grand Prix of the CHIO Aachen 2017.

Two veterans secured themselves the victory in the SAP Prize earlier today: the two-time team Olympic gold-medallist McLain Ward and HH Carlos Z.

Team Oranje was unbeatable again in the Nations’ Cup of the four-in-hand drivers. Boyd Exell drove to victory in the Prize of the Talbot Family for the eighth time. And the Prize of the Heitkamp & Thumann Group went to Exell’s protégé, who could be decisive for the future of the driving sport.

It is always said that dressage is complicated. When Isabell Werth won the Deutsche Bank Prize at the Aachen Soers for the eleventh time today, she made the fascination of dressage tangible with her Oldenburg-bred mare, Weihegold.

Cheering can be so nice! Even when captured on a photograph, one can still feel the short moment of triumph, the second in which one knows: Mission accomplished! One has reached the top! The photographer from New Zealand, Libby Law, perfectly captured such a moment.

Despite the pouring rain, it was of all people the Southern Europeans who triumphed in the LUMILEDS Prize, the Grand Prix Freestyle of the I-Tour this evening. First and foremost, the bronze-medallist from the 2015 European Championships, Beatriz Ferrer-Salat.

It is a good job that equestrian athletes aren’t football players, wimps, or pansies! Namely, this evening the Lavazza Prize turned into a water fight. And it was fantastic fun!