My trip to The Aachen Horse Show
	by Jessica Rizzi During my trip I quickly realized that Aachen is the place to be! What impressed me the most were the spectators. The support for the competitors was obvious by the huge crowds in the bleachers. They grew to be so large that you would have to push and shove your way to your seat. Everybody wanted to be involved and once the scores were totaled and displayed on the billboard, the fans either cheered or booed the results. On Friday night there was a Quadrille competition and all of the teams were from Germany, one of which was from Aachen. You knew that immediately because as the riders entered, there was an uncontrollable burst of noise and cheering. This was the sign of pride. My dream is that someday there will be an Aachen-like atmosphere in the states. I want to create that support with an enormous group of American spectators who love the sport of dressage. Germany has good food, good shopping, great friends, and fabulous riders. Some of my favorites were Michael Klimke, Imke Bartels, and Ulla Salzbeger. Imke impressed me because she was just recently a very successful European Advanced Young Rider. She also rode an older mare named Gestion Barbria who was exactly my type: hot and elegant. Ulla Salzbeger and Rusty were breathtaking to watch perform and Michael Klimke rode like a master trainer. He was picture-perfect but also always stayed calm in moments of errors. Another observation I made was that Monica Theodorescu and Isabel Werth were two of the most confident competitors I have ever witnessed. Carrie Shopf and Lisa Wilcox were the two American riders competing. I was so thrilled to see how well they rode that it made me proud to have them representing our country. I was not familiar with either of them and it surprises me that my first experience with the two riders from my country was at a European show. I hope to see a lot more of them both and would love to have them riding for the United States at the next Olympics. Another fascinating feature of the show was that during intermissions they entertained the crowd with a diverse selection of events. There were horse auctions, mare and foal displays, demonstrations of their Junior and Young Rider Champions, Gypsy shows, miniature ponies, child folk dancers, and a lot more. It was really exciting and impressive. To observe the publicity that the sport of Dressage receives there was fascinating because I consider it to be one of the least popular sports in the U.S. That made this experience even more special and inspiring. Not only was the Dressage amazing, but the Show Jumping Stadium was astonishing as well. The course was like no other I have ever seen before. The size and conditions were incredible and it intrigued me so much that at one point I considered changing my ticket stubs. No wonder it captures so much attention! Not only did I have these experiences during the days while I was at the horse show, but the support and coverage of the show continued into the evenings when I was in my room surfing through the television channels. I loved my trip to Aachen and hope every person will receive an opportunity for a similar experience at some point. I now dream of the day that I’ll compete there with my idols on a Team for the USA.
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