The “Concours d`Elégance”, the magnificent convoy of carriages, ended in a triumphant parade through the streets of the city at lunchtime and in the afternoon on Saturday. At the market square the 21 historical carriages were welcomed by the Lord Mayor Marcel Philipp, ALRV Vice President Baron Wolf von Buchholtz and hundreds of spectators. The Swiss historian and carriage expert Andres Furger and Aachen’s town spokesman Bernd Büttgens cheerfully hosted the programme that lasted around two hours.

In this way, the World Equestrian Festival, which is being organised at the Aachen Soers this weekend, gave a perfect foretaste of the FEI European Championships Aachen 2015 this August. The Lord Mayor was delighted about this exceptional parade in the heart of the imperial city: “It is a wonderful attraction, being able to experience the historical carriages of the Concours d’Elegance on the marketplace. This underlines the close relationship to our equestrian show.” Baron von Buchholtz described the close cooperation between the City and the ALRV as being “unique worldwide”.

All of the carriages that drove over the cobblestones were at least 100, some even 200 years old. The spectators were impressed and applauded ecstatically as the wonderful parade past by. Especially since the carriage drivers and their grooms were dressed in traditional attire. This journey through time on wheels was made possible by Siegward Tesch. He is not only a long-standing partner of the CHIO Aachen, but also a passionate driver himself – in the past at competitions, in the meantime exclusively as a traditional hobby driver. He collects the historical carriages and has a carriage museum in Wiehl, Germany that is called “Kutchenremise“ (Coach House), which is open to the public. Part of the collection from this museum is on show at the Soers up until Sunday, an exhibition that is well worth visiting.