David Will and his seven-year-old Holstein-bred gelding, Dax, were the first to go in today’s second class, the Sparkassen-Youngsters-Cup. As the last horse crossed the finish line, the pair were still in the lead.

The course designer, Frank Rothenberger, had built an alternative for the riders in today’s course in the Sparkassen-Youngsters-Cup: They could either ride parallel to the pond over Aachen’s double water jump or take the longer route with a wider turn into the final combination. David Will didn’t have think about which track he was going to take with his seven-year-old Holstein Dinken son, Dax, for long – the shorter route, of course! The clock stopped at 60.28 seconds. And because the pair’s ride looked so relaxed, nobody realised at the time how quick they really were. As it turns out, they crossed the finish line three seconds faster than the pair that came second – the French rider Megane Moissonnier and her Westphalian-bred mare Safira S Gold by Stakkato Gold. They took 63.67 seconds. Third place went to the Netherlands to Kim Emmen and the eight-year-old KWPN mare, Kandiama by Andiamo Z (64.55 seconds).

Other riders had also tried to ride the fast line, but many horses were still quite impressed by the two water obstacles and then the pond next to them. Dax doesn’t mind such things, says David Will: “This horse simply makes everything possible. He gallops into the Soers in Aachen, feels at home, jumps over a double water as if it were the most normal thing in the world. For his seven years, that’s really extraordinary.” This primal confidence is no surprise. Will reports further, “He’s a true family horse. He’s my brother’s, and we’ve had him since he was a foal.” Will is convinced that Dax has everything a jumper needs for the big sport. “He has absolutely the right attitude and phenomenal potential!”