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Aachen doesn’t just deal in top-end equestrian sport – it’s a display of theatrics, as well. From the novelty ride and drive class, which teams up showjumpers, eventers, and combined drivers under the lights in the cavernous main arena to the opening and closing ceremonies, it’s all designed to be a spectacle. • Instead of leaving after the eventing wrapped, I stuck around for the final day of the show – after all, who can resist the opportunity to stand in that main arena for the Aachen Grand Prix, one of the most coveted prizes in showjumping? Not could I resist the inherent madness of the closing ceremony, in which dozens of excitable competition horses are piled into the arena and everyone – riders and spectators alike – is given a hanky to wave in order to bid the show farewell for another year. Truly odd but absolutely excellent. • Honestly, when I finally cork it – probably as a result of too much caffeine, too little sleep, and a wildly overexciting five-star result – chuck a handful of my ashes out at Aachen. And then tip a free mojito over them, just for good measure. • (Worth noting, I think, that Aachen provided plenty of worthy additions to “To All the Sausages I’ve Loved Before”, though I did find I was starting to base my diet around increasingly ludicrous-looking bratwurst. The jewel in Aachen’s culinary crown was surely the half-metre of meat tube, a sausage so visually repellent that I sent photos of it to approximately everyone I’ve ever met, before merrily wolfing it down – avoiding eye contact, of course.) • #chioaachen #tillygetshergrooveback #justhashtaggedmyselfinthethirdperson #someonestopme #journoontour #eventinglife #nikond500 #eventersofinstagram
A post shared by Tilly Berendt (@tillyberendt) on Jan 4, 2020 at 3:56am PST
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