With musical accents from the South, fiery dancers, fast-paced carriages and of course plenty of horses, the staging of the classic “Horse & Symphony” concert in the Dressage Stadium radiated a wealth of Mediterranean flair and whisked the spectators off onto a temperamental journey full of momentum and joie de vivre on Friday and Saturday evening.

It already got off to an elegant start: Two noble horses from the Córdoba Ecuestre, who had travelled to Aachen especially from Spain – this year’s partner country of the  CHIO Aachen – guided artistically on the long rein, moved in line with century-old tradition and paid impressive homage to Spanish horsemanship – which is characterised by pride, elegance and harmony. Accompanied by the melody of “Danse Bohème” from George Bizet’s Carmen Suite No. 2, played live by the Aachen Symphony Orchestra and the spectators were already in the midst of this year’s staging of the Horse & Symphony concert classic, which certainly lived up to its motto “Summer in the city”.

This first act was followed by  – under the baton of the General Music Director Christopher Ward – several of the most popular works of classic history: From the legendary “Radetzky March” by Johann Strauss, to the fiery paso doble “España cañí” by Pascual Marquina Narro and Amadeo Vives’ “Fandango”, through to well-known tunes from “The mask of Zorro” and enthralling hits by Miley Cyrus. These were enhanced by fascinating show performances – which alternated between graceful, action-packed and historical.

The siblings Lisa and Matthes Röckener celebrated the special partnership with their horses in an impressive demonstration of liberty dressage; the Working Equitation European Champion, Mirjam Gall, and her team gave a performance based on the riding style of herdsmen from Spain and Portugal; whilst the junior team of the vaulting club, Köln Dünnwald, enchanted the crowd with their fascinating acrobatics. And at the latest when Laury Tisseur conquered the hearts of the spectators with his breath-taking and risky interpretation of the “Hungarian Post” in full gallop, the entire crowd was on its feet: Standing on two horses, leading further steeds on long reins, the French artist performed daring manoeuvres – including even jumping over obstacles. A goosebump moment that was rewarded with standing ovations.

Jérôme Sefer and Kevin Ferreira, two pioneers of free vaulting were equally impressive. Without saddles or bridles the two French athletes performed acrobatic exercises on and over their horses – a further thrilling experience. And finally, before following tradition all of the participants returned to the Dressage Stadium carrying burning torches, the crowd were able to enjoy the final magical show act: Britta Rasche-Merkt’s show team and the dancers of the Ferberberg Natalie Jungschlaeger Ballet School, immersed the Dressage Stadium in Aachen in a sea of atmospheric lights in the national colours of Spain. That was magical!