Andreas Ostholt and So Is Et lead on a 33.8.
It didn’t seem like anyone would step up to challenge the two-way German tie for the lead in the second group at Aachen as we neared the second to last ride and still hadn’t seen anyone come close to that 39 score. But Andreas Ostholt and So Is Et, a Westphalian gelding, answered back with a 33.8 to move into a dominating lead at the halfway point of dressage in the Aachen CICO3*. This pair left nothing on the table today, throwing down to challenge Ze Terminator in a very impressive test. The stands have begun to fill more now in the Deutsche Bank Stadium, and the German crowd gave Andreas a lot of love as he left the arena. Dirk Schrade and Hop and Skip continued the German domination with a score of 41 to move into fourth place. This pair finished second two weekends ago in the Luhmühlen CIC3* and performed another very solid test today. This horse seems really cool to ride and has a very workmanlike, obedient attitude about him.
Dirk Schrade and Hop and Skip are in fourth on a 41.
Gemma Tattersall and Chico Bella P are the highest-placed pair not hailing from The Home Land of Ze Terminator and are sitting in fifth place on a 41.2. This Oldenburg mare is another horse that stayed very calm and collected throughout the test, and I feel like I have to give a shout out to girl power here. We have four mares in the top 10, including Revenue 12, who is currently tied for first. Tiana Coudray and Ringwood Magister are our best placed American pair so far, sitting in sixth on a 43. Finn really knows how to pull out all the stops in the ring, and Tiana handled him beautifully. As Tiana told me at Badminton, Finn can be very excitable in the ring, and we did see just how good he felt today when he demonstrated a lovely passage the entire way out of the ring. But Tiana held him together extremely well and puts herself in good position going into the show jumping tonight. I know Tiana was very disappointed to pull two rails at Badminton, where she would have finished in sixth place had those poles not fallen. They’ll be looking for redemption tonight.
Tiana Coudray and Ringwood Magister are in sixth place on a 43.
The Swedish team added another excellent score to their total when Frida Anderson and Herta, a Swedish Warmblood mare, earned 47.2 to move into ninth place. The mare gave a tiny buck during one of the flying changes, but otherwise looked very obedient. Frida and Herta earned an appreciative cheer from the crowd, and Frida looked thrilled with the test, giving the mare big pats after her final salute. Aidan Keogh and Master Tredstep round out the provisional top 10 on a score of 49. After the second group, the team results remain the same, with Germany leading, Sweden in second and the U.S. holding third place. Nicky Roncorni and Trig Point lead off the third group at 11:30 local time, and Marilyn Little and RF Smoke on the Water will ride at 11:52 local time. For those of you up and about at this early hour back in the States, I just checked the live steam and am very pleased to report that it appears to be working very well. Click here to follow along with all the live action in the live stream. Go Aachen!
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