Classic Eventing Nation

Andreas Ostholt and So Is Et Continue German Domination

By on Jun 28, 2013 5:28 am -

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!

All Things Aachen: [Website] [Ride Times] [Live Scores] [Leaderboard] [Live Stream] [Virtual Course Walk]

Germans Steal the Show at Aachen CICO3*

By on Jun 28, 2013 3:52 am -

Michae Jung and Halunke FBW are tied for the lead on a 39.

Good morning from Aachen! After the first 11 horses and riders have performed their dressage tests, we have a German tie for the lead, as Michael Jung and Halunke FBW and Benjamin Winter and Revenue 12 both scored a 39. Michael and Halunke FBW are fresh off a win in the Luhmühlen CIC3* and really stepped up today in front of an elated German crowd. Benjamin Winter and Revenue 12, a chestnut Westphalian mare, looked equally fantastic to tie Ze Terminator. This is the first time I’ve seen this mare in person, and she is a real show stopper who seemed to thrive off the atmosphere. Benjamin and Revenue 12 are not competing as part of the German Nations Cup team, but they still gave the crowd plenty to cheer about. Niklas Jonsson and First Lady, a lovely black Swedish Warmblood mare, put in a very strong test for the Swedish team, scoring a 45 to sit in third place.

Benjamin Winter and Revenue 12 are tied for the lead on a 39.

It’s a very chilly 50 degrees here, and while it rained this morning before the dressage started, we just have cloudy conditions right now. That said, the cold temperatures and wind are making for a tense atmosphere for the horses, and we’ve seen some bobbles because of it. Ingrid Klimke and Hale Bob 3 had some uncharacteristic trouble right off the bat when the horse swapped leads in the collected canter down center line. He also took a step forward before the rein back; they scored 49.6 to sit in fourth place. While Clark Montgomery struggled to keep Universe relaxed at Badminton — due in large part to a horse throwing a rearing fit right as Buzz was entering the ring to start his test — the horse looked brilliant today to score 50.6 to sit in fifth place. Clark talked to me at Badminton about how Buzzy is slowly developing the muscle memory to stay relaxed in tense situations, and his performance today shows a lot of progress.

Niklas Jonsson and First Lady are in third place on a 45.

Germany currently leads the team competition, with Sweden in second and the U.S. in third place. We’re on a 15-minute break right now, and Tiana Coudray and Ringwood Magister will kick off the second group at 10:03 local time. It’s going to be a long, action-packed day here at Aachen, so be sure to stay tuned to EN all day for updates. The dressage goes through 3 p.m. local time (9 a.m. EST) and show jumping starts in the main stadium at 6:15 p.m. local time (12:15 p.m. EST). The dressage is being held in the smaller Deutsche Bank Stadium, and it’s going to be a major change tonight for the horses to jump inside the massive main stadium, which seats 40,000. It’s going to be a very exciting day!

Ingrid Klimke and Hale Bob 3 are in fourth place on a 49.6.

I have to apologize for the total absence of Aachen updates yesterday. I had intended to arrive in Germany very early yesterday morning with plenty of time to walk the course, catch up with our U.S. contingent and take photos of the first horse inspection. But intense thunderstorms in the midwest and on the East Coast ended up delaying my flight out of Harrisburg, which caused me to miss my connection in D.C. to Brussels, which meant I had to ultimately connect through Heathrow in England, making for 23 hours of total travel by the time I reached my hotel late in the afternoon. I arrived too late to make the inspection and accomplish much of anything else aside from passing out from sheer exhaustion. But I’ll be doing my best to make up the lack of coverage yesterday by bringing you every second of the action today!

Clark Montgomery and Universe are in fifth place on 50.6.

My adventures continued this morning when I dutifully parked my car exactly 1.1 kilometers away from the competition venue in my assigned parking lot. I know this precise distance because I read in my press kit that the shuttle service would conveniently take me all the way into the center of the venue. So you can imagine the look of horror on my face when a kind volunteer saw me standing at the shuttle stop only to inform me that it was not due to start pick-up service until 8:30 a.m. — the exact time Clark and Universe were set to ride their test as the first pair to go today. Cue me sprinting the entire 1.1 kilometers all the way to Deutsche Bank Stadium in the rain. By some miracle, I made it just as Clark and Buzz were entering the arena. Go eventing, and stay tuned for much more from Aachen.

All Things Aachen: [Website] [Ride Times] [Live Scores] [Leaderboard] [Live Stream] [Virtual Course Walk]

Friday News & Notes from FLAIR Nasal Strips

By on Jun 28, 2013 12:33 am -

Will & Ernie looking dapper at the CHIO Aachen inspection yesterday (photo courtesy of USEF High Performance)

Happy Friday, Eventing Nation! Today is exciting because it’s officially the start of CHIO Aachen for Eventers from around the world, and the U.S. is proudly represented for the very first time by a whole team in this CIC3* competition! Dressage is well underway by the time you’re reading this, as there is a +6 hours time difference between Aachen and EST, so be sure to check out the scores, and of course keep an eye on the USEF High Performance FB page (“like” it if you haven’t already) for photos and updates on the action! Jenni will be reporting live on all things Aachen, so try not to be too jealous of her vagabond equestrian lifestyle.

Aachen Links:

[Website] [Entry List] [Live Scores] [Live Stream] [Virtual Course Walk]

Events This Weekend:

Groton House HT: [Website] [Ride Times/Entry Status]

Horse Park of NJ HT: [Website] [Ride Times/Entry Status]

Other News:

Groton House is hosting a FABULOUS silent auction to raise money to send their Young Riders to Kentucky this summer!  Items include (but are not limited to) a Hit Air Vest, a SmartPak bridle, a Dover cooler, custom painted jump standards, lots of different cross country schooling locations and several lessons from noted upper level riders! Even if you aren’t at Groton House this weekend, you can email your bid to the organizers, so check it out! [Send Area I Young Riders to Kentucky!]

U.S. Dressage team did us proud on Wednesday, kicking some serious butt to place third in the team competition at Aachen CDIO5*. The U.S. Team of Steffen Peters, Tina Konyot, Jan Ebeling and Shelly Francis earned a third place finish on a team total of 217.298. Steffan & Legolas 92 looked particularly fantastic, placing 5th individually with a 75.298%. Germany of course took the first place and Denmark was second.  [US Dressage Storms Into 3rd]   [Germany Wins Aachen Dressage]

Boyd & Silva Martin hosted their first schooling jumper show this past weekend, and to huge success! Marc Donovan designed the course, and Boyd, while still on the mend from his surgery, played DJ all day and provided the crowd with very loud tunes! [Windurra Throws A Jumper Party Show]

The Kiwis are the ones to beat this weekend in Aachen for the Eventing crowd. Not only do they have world number one Andrew Nicholson on their team riding his recent Rolex winner Quimbo, but they also have Badminton winner Jock Paget riding Clifton Lush. Jonelle Richards is riding The Deputy and Clarke Johnstone rounds out the team with Incognito II.“Aachen is a key part of our bigger picture to dominate as a team at the 2014World Championships in Normandy.” says NZ high performance director Sarah Harris. [NZ Got Their Game Face On]

I know I’m not the only one who’s had to enforce the use of the “fat paddock” with all this ridiculously lush grass due to the rainy spring season. Nyls is so not excited about his every other night in the dry lot, but it’s necessary to maintain a reasonable amount of weight on him, and to keep me from having to gallop him every single day. Be careful with the delicious fields! [Green Grass Worries]

SmartPak Product of the day goes out to all you flies out there that are driving me ABSOLUTELY CRAZY!!! Seriously, get out of my barn and my life. I’ve got pretty good control over the fly situation in my barn, completely due to the fact that I use Fly Predators every single year. It keeps their numbers down, and helps my horses not go insane while hanging out in the barn. If you haven’t already ordered some, I don’t know what you’re doing. [SmartPak Fly Predators Totally Rock]

Best of Blogs: Kristin Carpenter tells us about “Writing New Chapters” with her old upper level horse and her exciting new prospect

 

Kasey Mueller: Photos from FRVPC

By on Jun 27, 2013 3:04 pm -
Kasey Mueller kindly sent us a few photos from Fox River Valley Pony Club Horse Trials last weekend.  It was a long, hot, muddy, rainy weekend with tons of schedule changes. The volunteers were wonderful and smiled through all of it.   Here are some snapshots of the CCI* and CIC* winners.  [FRVPC Results]

Lisa Borgia on Frodo of the Shire in the CCI*. Photo by Kasey Mueller.

Lisa Borgia on Frodo of the Shire. Photo by Kasey Mueller.

 

CCI* winner Lisa Borgia on Frodo of the Shire. Photo by Kasey Mueller.

 

CIC*Winner Aisling Carroll on Fluff. Photo by Kasey Mueller.

Thursday Video: Show Jumpers in Aachen

By on Jun 27, 2013 1:30 pm -

While we have to wait until tomorrow for Eventing to begin at the CHIO Aachen, several other disciplines have already begun their championship competitions. Show jumpers had a few classes today, and Olympic gold medallist Ben Maher started out well by winning a 1.55m jumping class with a €76,000 prize! Congrats to Ben, and start getting excited for the Eventing portion of Aachen!

 

Lower-Level Event Rider Profile: Nicku from California

By on Jun 27, 2013 11:30 am -

 

Your Name: Nicku

Age: 31

Location: Livermore, CA

Primary horse’s name: Pongo (show name: Appy Hour)

Age, breed, pertinent info: Pongo is a six-year-old Appaloosa gelding out of the Confetti Farms line of Appaloosas (his grandsire if Choklate Confetti). I purchased him as a yearling and trained him up patiently over the past few years myself with the help of a couple of fantastic coaches.  He spent last season (his first season out) showing at Beginner Novice level.

Level currently competing:  Novice



Short term goals this spring/summer:  Pongo came out guns blazing for our first cross country schooling of the year at Twin Rivers this year.  He decided that Novice too easy and ending up playing over most of the Training level course with ease and courage!  However, our short term goals are to compete in one or two Novice events this Spring.  We want to continue improving upon our strong dressage scores and layer on a little speed cross country (safely of course!) so we can move up to Training.

Year-end goals:  Complete our first Training level event.

Overall goals?  I would love to take Pongo up to the Preliminary level.  We’ll see what life brings us and if we can get there!  I believe any day where I have a sound and happy and healthy horse is a blessed day, so we take it one ride at a time.

What’s the best thing you’ve learned recently?  Any big epiphany or light-bulb moment?  What are your strengths/weaknesses?  I’ve spent some time clinicing with Hawley Bennett-Awad recently and she truly challenged me to expect more out of myself and my horse.  He’s not a baby anymore, but a powerful horse who really can be trusted to do his job and do it well.  Our weakness is Pongo is a little bit big for me (I am 5’2″ and he is a hunky 16.3). It’s important that I am strong and in shape so I don’t get pushed around as he gains strength and confidence.  I have to really hold my upper body up tall and back and keep my leg strong and on to be effective up there. Our strengths are our trust for one another.  Having trained him myself, he’s pretty ‘customized’ to my style (for better and for worse, ha!) and we have a bond that is unlike any I’ve ever shared with another horse which definitely helps us out on course, it’s pretty special.

Favorite eventing moment/story?  (can be anything, something you did, felt, witnessed, realized…?) Hands down, finishing our very first cross country course at Ram Tap.  I teared up as I realized the little spotted baby horse I plucked out of a field in upstate New York had just completed his very first event with bravery, gusto and a clean go around to boot!

Check out Nicku’s blog HERE!

EN’s Got Talent: Tamra Smith and Fleeceworks Cinco

By on Jun 27, 2013 9:00 am -

We hear all the time about horses at the top of the sport, but what about the next generation of equine talent? EN’s Got Talent introduces the future superstars of the sport, interviewing riders about how they’re tackling training with these youngsters. Have you spotted a spectacular young horse at an event you think should be highlighted in this column? Tip me at [email protected].

Cinco & his silver bucket (photo by Tass Jones)

Tamra Smith was on the hunt for a young event prospect to produce when she met Fleeceworks Cinco at Kristi Nunnink’s farm. Kristi had purchased the then 3-year-old Holsteiner gelding (Cascani x Kawas Joy) from October Hill Farm in Texas. “You kinda forget where they started from when you’ve been riding them for so long,” Tamra said.

“He didn’t really know how to steer or go on the bit. He couldn’t turn and he would bulge his shoulder and keep going straight instead of turning.” But Tamra saw the potential in Cinco. While she’d already put together a syndicate to buy a young horse, Judith McSwain of Fleeceworks ended up buying him outright, and the horse become Fleeceworks Cinco.

Cinco turned 4 in May of 2011, and Tamra started entering him in Young Event Horse competitions on the West Coast. He won his qualifying event at Rebecca Farm and went on to win the YEH 4-year-old West Coast Championships at Twin Rivers later that year.

As a 5-year-old, Cinco won each of his three YEH qualifying events at Twin Rivers, Galway Downs and Rebecca Farm, where 30 horses competed in the division. He then capped off an amazing season by winning the YEH 5-year-old Championships at Twin Rivers. “He also holds the highest score in the history of the Young Event Horse series,” Tamra Said. “He scored a 92.43 as a 5-year-old at Twin Rivers.”

Cinco dominating the dressage (photo by Libby Everett)

Tamra has been a big supporter of the YEH series and has spoken to judges at her area convention to learn more about how the scoring works at the events and what the judges want to see. “The judges always want to see a horse they’d like to ride,” Tamra said.

“On the flat, Cinco’s a very extravagant mover, but he’s also very smooth. He has a super uphill trot and canter, a great walk and an exceptional mind. When you see him go, he just looks very fun to ride. I have a smile on my face in most of the pictures of me riding him because he really is just a joy. In his first real competition, he had a stop in the show jumping because I just enjoy riding him so much that I forgot he’s a baby and he’s still asking questions.”

After a stellar conclusion to his 5-year-old season, Tamra moved Cinco up to preliminary at the beginning of this year. He was third in his first preliminary start at Galway Downs in February. Tamra took him to Twin Rivers the next month, but knew right away that something was wrong when Cinco started his cross-country trip.

“He was winning the dressage by a large margin, but he didn’t feel right to me on the cross country,” Tamra said. “I had my vet look at him, and we decided he’s going through a weird growth spurt where he’s awkwardly built all of a sudden. We decided to give him some time to get through the growth spurt and not keep pushing him.”

Next week on EN’s Got Talent: Cinco is unique in that he’s the first horse I’ve featured in this series who isn’t actively being campaigned right now. But the message Tamra is sending about giving a horse time off when he needs it is such an important one. Next week we’ll hear more about why Tamra made this decision, as well as her plans for Cinco’s return to competition later this year.

“The good thing about it and why it’s unique for me is I’m really lucky because I have a lot of nice young horses right now,” Tamra said. “That helps because you take out the selfish part of yourself competing and you really focus on what’s best for the horse.”

Thursday Reader from Devoucoux

By on Jun 27, 2013 12:33 am -

So of course the big world news from yesterday is that the Defense of Marriage Act was officially repealed by the Supreme Court. Created in 1996, the act prevented the federal government from recognizing same sex marriage, and was an enormous cause of issues in the unions if either partner wanted to receive health care, visit the spouse in the hospital, or even benefit from a spouse’s will. I am personally very happy to see DOMA go, and I say don’t let the door hit ya on your way out! Anyway, now for the horsey news!

Aachen Links:

[Website] [Entry List] [Live Scores] [Live Stream] [Virtual Course Walk]

Events This Weekend:

Groton House HT: [Website] [Ride Times/Entry Status]

Horse Park of NJ HT: [Website] [Ride Times/Entry Status]

News From Around the Globe:

Legendary New Zealand race horse Phar Lap is the most recent equine to have his DNA sequenced. What does that mean? Well, since they still have Phar Lap’s full skeleton, they are looking to do some tests to see how his DNA is similar or disimilar to that of the modern race horse. No other southern hemisphere horses have ever had their DNA mapped out, however it’s quite popular in Europe, where horses such as Eclipse have been studied. The information will be used in current Faculty of Veterinary Science research such as international studies to understand the basis of genetic diversity in different breeds of horses, the structure of the thoroughbred breed and the genetics underlying the physiology of exercise across all horse species. [Phar Lap DNA]

It’s summer…which means it’s almost time for NAJYRC!! One of my favorite events of the year, Young Riders always has the excitement and enthusiasm that comes from the young folk competing at a championship level competition. Check out Alexa Ehler’s blog for FLAIR Nasal Strips as she chronicles her journey to YR’s with her 17 year old gelding, Mitch. [Road to Young Riders]

The Kentucky Horse Park Foundation is proud to introduce the inaugural Battle in the Saddle Celebrity Team Penning Event! The event will be held on Sunday, July 14, 2013, in the covered arena. All proceeds from the benefit event will support the Kentucky Horse Park Foundation, something all of us Eventers can get behind. The idea is that two amateurs are teamed up with a celebrity rider and tested on their penning skills. Celebrity riders include Calvin Borel, Buck Davidson, Chris McCarron and Sam Shephard, along with many others. Check it out! [KHP Battle in the Saddle]

Bareback puissance winner Caroline Martin has an impressive string of horses, along with an impressive style of riding. Her spring season makes me seriously wonder about exactly how many audiobooks she has in her possession, because it sounds like she does nothing but travel up and down and all around. This spring, she went from Ocala, to Pennsylvania, to New Jersey, to Georgia, then to France for Saumur, then back to North American soil for Bromont in Canada. And that’s just for the FEI events! Check our her blog for FLAIR Nasal Strips to see exactly what she’s been up to lately. [Caroline Martin Hits The Road]

Looking for a really awesome summer event but forgot to plan ahead? You’re in luck. The Cosequin Stuart Horse Trials is still accepting entries! The late fee will be waived for all entries received before July 1st! If you want to send a late entry please enter using xEntry or send an email to [email protected].

Opening Ceremony from CHIO Aachen!

 

 

Your Aachen CICO3* Preview

By on Jun 26, 2013 3:00 pm -

Universe is all settled in at Aachen! Photo via Clark Montgomery's Facebook page.

Aachen — it’s a legendary horse mecca with a 115-year history as one of the most prestigious equestrian events in the world. While show jumping, dressage and driving have long served as the backbone of the competition at Aachen, eventing joined the festivities in 2007, with vaulting following in 2008. All five disciplines now host Nations Cup competitions at Aachen. This year, there will be 375 riders and 535 horses competing from 30 different countries for 2.78 million Euros in prize money. More than 350,000 spectators are expected to flock to Aachen and file in and out of the grandstands over the course of the competition, and more than 600 journalists will be there to bring you every second of the action.

I’m lucky enough to be one of those journalists, and I still can’t quite wrap my head around the fact that the main stadium at Aachen seats 40,000. To put that into perspective, the Rolex stadium seats around 10,000. The eventers will be lucky enough to show jump in the grandeur of the main stadium, and I’m so excited to be your boots on the ground for Team USA’s first trip to the Aachen CICO3*. There are 10 nations, 40 riders and 43 horses competing in the eventing. Our U.S. riders contesting Aachen are Tiana Coudray on Jatial LLC’s Ringwood Magister, Will Faudree on Jennifer Mosing’s Pawlow, Clark Montgomery on Jessica Montgomery’s Universe and Marilyn Little and Raylyn Farms Inc.’s RF Smoke on the Water.

The U.S. team for Aachen was chosen based on their performances at Rolex and Badminton, and riders had to apply to be placed under consideration for the team. Buck Davidson and Cassandra Segal’s Ballynoe Castle RM were initially named to the team, but Reggie suffered a bone bruise on his right stifle that left him enjoying some time off in the pasture instead of preparing to compete in Germany. Buck assured me that Reggie is doing great and will be back in action soon when I spoke to him early this month, so fans of this pair can rest assured that this isn’t a major cause for concern. Thankfully, team alternates Marilyn Little and RF Smoke on the Water were able to step up to fill out the U.S.’s first ever Nations Cup team for Aachen.

The entry list for Aachen is packed with top horses and riders, and many pairs are competing this weekend for the first time since Badminton. While William Fox-Pitt is notably absent from the entry list, we will be seeing Michael Jung and his unicorn La Biosthetique-Sam FBW in their first appearance since Badminton. We’ll also be seeing Andrew Nicholson and Quimbo in their first outing since winning Rolex. There are numerous other exciting pairs to watch, and I’m particularly excited to see Sandra Auffarth and Opgun Louvo, who I think are on track to be the world’s next superstars. Team USA will be competing against teams from Australia, Great Britain, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand and Sweden. Germany took home the team win at last year’s Nations Cup competition at Aachen and will be looking to defend their title on home turf this weekend.

Since the addition of eventing to Aachen in 2007, some big names have brought home the prestigious win. Frank Ostholt and Air Jordan won in both 2007 and 2008; Andreas Dibowski FRH and Serve Well won in 2009; Andrew Nicholson and Nereo won in 2010; Michael Jung and Sam won in 2011; and Chris Burton and Underdiscussion won last year. The U.S. has sent a very strong team to challenge the world’s best, and it’s going to be an exciting competition. My flight for Germany leaves tonight — and I’m actually typing this from the airport — and I’ll be on the grounds in Aachen tomorrow to catch up with our U.S. team and bring you exclusive interviews and a cross-country preview. Stay tuned for much more, and go Aachen!

All Things Aachen: [Website] [Entry List] [Live Scores] [Live Stream] [Virtual Course Walk]

Aachen Schedule:

Dressage @ 8:30 a.m. Friday local time

Show jumping at 6:15 p.m. Friday local time

Cross country at 10 a.m. Saturday local time

Wednesday Video from Kentucky Performance Products: CHIO Aachen

By on Jun 26, 2013 1:03 pm -

Well, the festival of equestrian sports that is known as CHIO Aachen has already gotten underway with the Vaulting competition this past weekend, but our interest lies in this upcoming weekend, as this is the first year that the U.S. has been able to field a team for CICO3* competition. Our Eventing team will be Tiana Coudray  with Ringwood Magister, and Will Faudree (Hoffman, NC) makes a return to the venue of the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games having represented the U.S. at those championships; in 2013 he rides Jennifer Mosing’s Pawlow. Marilyn Little (Fredrick, MD) will ride her Raylyn Farms Inc. and Phoebe and Michael Manders’ RF Smoke on the Water. Rounding out the American effort is Clark Montgomery (Wiltshire, UK) and Jessica Montgomery, Carole Montgomery, Janet Higgins, and Elizabeth Smith’s Universe.

Click HERE to learn more about Aachen.

Jenni will be along shortly with a preview of the action, but let’s just take a moment to see what CHIO Aachen 2012 looked like, and precisely how jealous we should all feel that she is going over to see the action in person, flown by Chinchilla Air.