Aachen is on!
The vaulters have had their turn, the show jumpers are underway, and the drivers, dressage riders and eventers are waiting in the wings.
Well, the eventing wait is almost over as it all trots off tomorrow (Thursday) with the first horse inspection at 5pm German time – that’s 11am EST / 4pm BST.
Flying the flag for the US in the 4*-S are Will Coleman and Off the Record, Phillip Dutton and Z, Liz Halliday-Sharp and Miks Master C, and Tamie Smith and Mai Baum. Dan Kreitl and Carmango go as the US individual combination.
For team GB we have Yasmin Ingham and Banzai du Loir, Tom McEwan and JL Dublin, Gemma Stevens and Flash Cooley, and Kirsty Chabert and Classic VI. Riding as an individual for Great Britain is Hector Payne with Dynasty.
The center line sees the action start on Friday at 8:30am / 2:30am EST / 7:30am BST, when the teams will be aiming for the lowest possible score to start off their Aachen campaigns. How low can they go? With such quality across the field, it’ll be an exciting start, that’s for sure.
After a morning of dressage, the competitors will be back in the ring on Friday evening for the show jumping phase, which starts at 5:45pm / 11:45am EST / 4:45pm BST. There may well be a shake up of the standings as the combinations strive to leave the colored poles in their cups. Who will keep their cool? It’ll be all to play for at this point.
And Saturday is – as it mostly always is – cross country day, with the first horse leaving the start box at 10am / 4am EST / 9am BST. Coming as the third phase in this 4*-S competition, we’re guaranteed a thrilling morning of cross country action as the teams battle it out to take home the spoils – which they’ll do at the prize giving which starts at 3pm / 9am EST / 2pm BST
If you need just a bit more Aachen eventing after all that, you’re in luck as you can catch the Combined Eventing Jumping and Driving competition on Saturday evening from 9:30pm / 3:30pm EST / 8:30pm BST. Keep your eyes peeled for some familiar eventing faces and tails.
EN has Tilly’s boots on the Aachen ground, where she’ll bring us ALL the news from the event. Keep up with the EN coverage and follow @goeventing for all the ins and outs of the show.
Over the course of the week, Aachen will host over 300 participants from 32 countries and 1,000 horses. In case you’re wondering what kind of resources are needed to keep all those people and equines content – it includes 18,000 kg of hay and 34kg of ketchup.
Go eventing!
CHIO Aachen: [Website] [Entries] [Schedule] [Timing & Scoring] [Live Stream] [EN’s Coverage]
U.S. Weekend Preview
Chattahoochee Hills H.T. (Fairburn, GA) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]
Inavale Farm HT (Philomath, OR) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]
Summer Coconino H.T. I (Anthem, AZ) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]
Twin Rivers Summer H.T. (Paso Robles, CA) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]
Wednesday News and Reading
Attention all college students! Do you love social media? Athletux is on the hunt for a social media intern! This is an incredible opportunity to work remotely for one of the longest running, most established marketing firms in the equine industry! Gain valuable hands-on experience, boast your resume, and even obtain school credit where applicable! Interested applicants should submit a cover letter and resume to [email protected] along with a sample social media reel!
It’s horseshoes for the stars on this Walk of Fame. Take a trip along Aachen’s Walk of Fame where tributes to some of the world’s most famous horses are embedded in front of the CHIO Aachen offices – “Thus it is clear to every Aachen visitor that the red carpet will be rolled out for horses first”. From dressage stars Valegro and Bella Rose, to show jumping’s Big Star and eventing master Hale Bob OLD, this sure is a who’s who of the horse world. [Star Studded]
How do you stop distractions from keeping you from your goals? Try turning your phone off. As a vintage Nokia kind of girl, I very much don’t get notifications on my phone. I also only answer calls or messages when I want to – just because a phone’s ringing, it doesn’t mean you have to answer it. Here’s why this busy amateur rider keeps her barn time phone free. [Call Waiting]
A comprehensive guide to the fascinating world of breeding horses. Whether you’re broody for a baby horse but not sure you’ve got the know-how for homebreds, or an experienced foal momma who’s thirsty to delve deeper, Jeanette Gower’s guide is for you. Written with the benefit of more than 50 years’ experience in the horse breeding industry, there’s everything you need to know and then some. ‘The Thinking Horse Breeder – A comprehensive guide to successful horse breeding’ is available from June 30th. [What to Expect When You’re Expecting]
A jockey shares his story of the accident that changed his life, and the twist of fate he’s come to see it as. It was ‘another day at the office’ for Jacob Pritchard Webb. He’d been stuck in traffic on the way to work, but made it just in time – something he sees as lucky one day, unlucky the next. When he was legged up onto his ride before the race, he had no idea that his day would end in a French hospital. Or that he would be at the beginning of a long and painful journey. This candid piece explains. [The Life I Now Have]
Do you have an eventing #CobsCan in your barn? Super cob Star X’s display at the Badminton Grassroots Championships has inspired British Eventing to put out a call for eventing cob owners to share photos of their own super cobs doing their thing. [Hairies Go Eventing]
In other news… Glastonbury festival happened over here in the UK last weekend, incidentally coinciding with National Camping Month. Scrolling through the media from the event, I came across this guy’s answer to a stiff back in the morning. So if you see a large IKEA box balanced precariously over a wheelbarrow being ferried across the carpark towards the campsite at Badminton next year, you know what I’m up to. [Bed Head]
Sponsor Corner
Photo courtesy of Ocala Horse Properties.
Brick. Circles. 1960’s.
That summarizes everything you need to know about this listing on Ocala Horse Properties. Join me on a ‘60s-themed field trip to the world of Dream Horse Farm.
Video Break
Here’s a taste of some of the vaulting action that’s been happening in Aachen where Team Germany 1 were victorious in the grand final.
