Report from Aachen

Wednesday, July 12, 2000, 5:01pm

Hi from Aachen,

It is now 10:00 PM Wednesday and still very light out. When I woke up at 6:00AM it was bright, sunny, and not a cloud in the sky. By 7:30 the clouds were growing and soon the rain began and we had a second day of pouring rain -- I mean moments of heavy downpours. The poor jumpers and four-in-hand drivers -- the Dressage was moved into a wonderful indoor hall with grandstand seating on two sides and a restaurant overlooking the third.

The good thing about the weather was that it gave people a great excuse to go shopping. The Aachen show shopping arcade is famous. Raincoats, umbrellas, and sweaters were doing a great business. I had on a a heavy knit sweater and jacket and my lined raincoat and was just barely warm enough in the arena.

Today we watched a morning of Prix St. Georges and an afternoon of Intermediare II. Here are some random thoughts: the scribes for all five judges were older distinguished-looking men. There was one scorer per judge so scores were ready after the next horse left the ring. The riding area was probably 90' X 220', so riders could barely get around the outside and several had mild shying problems. Monica Theodorescu's horse stopped dead at the end of one circle for several seconds (she sat totally quietly, patted, him, and then proceeded). The turnout of the competitors was impeccable -- beautiful boots, riders hair either very short or in neat little buns. Very few horses had tape in their braids and most of them had very few braids - 10 to 12. Several horses had these metal or jeweled browbands that tend to sag; none of us liked them. There is background music for every ride that is put together specifically for each test with walk, trot, and canter music with
the transitions at the right places. I fell in love with the Spanish Lusitanos and Andalusians with their great expressions, expressive movement, and HUGE necks. The oldest PSG horse was 12

Overall I have to say the performances were not impressive. To compare with the US there were no BAD rides; the lowest were like 62% The winning PSG was 71% and the winning Int II was 67%. Michael Klimke was riding a stallion owned by Hilltop Farm that didn't go very well - very tight and green; a bit overwhelmed. Lisa Wilcox of the US had a unique way of riding the trot lengthenings - subtly holding the bucking strap on the front of the saddle! One of the younger riders received nods from her coach every time she was facing him. Kyra Kyrklund's ride was very disappointing. I'm deciding that she teaches a lot better than she rides. Overall wonderful leg positions, but a lot of flat hands, especially from the younger riders. The horses show good activity and overall obedience to light leg and quiet hands. Some fabulous extended to collected transitions -- some you were very away of collecting others just became shorter -- by magic! Overall you don't see aids to whoa or go (and we were sitting very close). Legs hang very quietly at side, hardly ever saw a leg move, and seldom saw a hand take back (much less PULL back) Axel Steiner (who is judging our NEJrYR Champs) is one of the judges. I've run into Terri Miller (the photographer), the Faircloughs (US drivers) are in our hotel, Pierre St. Jacques (Pam Goodrich's husband), plus the 30 + people in our group who are from all over the US.

The city of Aachen is wonderful. There is a huge tower built in the first half of the 12th century right outside our hotel. It is amazing to think that 80% of the city was destroyed during World War II, yet the Cathedral from Charlemagne' time and the town hall are intact. The entire town is decked out for the show. Every kind of shop has horse things in the window. Anyone interested can go to www.CHIOAachen.com. More tomorrow. Below are notes form Jess. She has an amazing ability to make friends with anyone and is having a blast.

Lendon

Hello Everybody,

Aachen is terrific and the people are extremely friendly. We've made
many friends in the stands and in the shops.
The show is fabulous, there have been some great rides but even some not
so great rides. A lot of the people I've watched I have never heard of and
certainly don't recognize. I really enjoyed seeing Michael Klimke, Isabel
Werth, Monica Theodorescu, and a man I've never heard of before named
Hubertus Schmidt. Hubertus Schmidt and his Danish horse Atoftens Volanti had
the nicest ride all day. I felt that the horse was also the nicest horse I
had seen (he would have fit me much nicer!).
The shopping at the show is a lot of fun and the prices are phenomenal.
I purchased a very nice double bridle for around $150.00. There are an
outrageous number of vender tents.
The city of Aachen is very pretty and I feel that I have seen every
corner of it, therefor my remark is legitimate. I have probably been walking
around LOST for a quarter of the time I have been here. They really should
label their streets better.
I miss everyone and as much as I'm enjoying the trip I will be incredibly
inspired to return home and experiment with what I've been watching.
Thank you so much everybody,

Love Jessie