As the reports in Aachen all say, "All roads lead to Rome - most of them by way of Aachen." This is true for the majority of the world’s leading dressage and jumping riders as well as four-in-hand drivers. Aachen’s CHIO, known as the "World Equestrian Festival," will be the dress rehearsal for the World Equestrian Games in Rome in the fall.

The major countries competing in dressage include, of course, the all-powerful Germans, winners of every dressage nations cup at Aachen for the past twenty years. The major contenders for this team are Isabell Werth on "Gigolo," Karin Rehbein on "Donnerhall," Nadine Capellmann-Biffar (an Aachen native and daughter of horseman and past president of the Aachen Laurensberger Rennverein, Kurt Capellman) on "Gracioso," and Ulla Salzgeber on "Rusty." This is the same team that won the European Championships in Verden last year. The top contender on this team is still Isabell Werth, winner of the Grand Prix of Aachen six times in a row, two time Olympic champion, and two time World and European champion.

At the last World Equestrian Games in Holland, there were two separate championships, one for the classical tour of the Grand Prix and the Grand Prix Special, and one for the freestyle tour of the Grand Prix and the Grand Prix Kur. In Rome they will now be combined into one championship.

The neighboring Netherlands is also strong with Anky van Grunsven on "Bonfire," freestyle world champion and several time winner of the dressage World Cup and Sven Rothenberger on "Weyden" who was third at the Atlanta Olympics. In the 1997 Aachen Grand Prix Anky was only 0.65 point behind Isabell.

Sweden’s Louise Nathhorst on her Hannoverian "Walk On Top" won this year’s World Cup and helped her team to take third in the dressage Nations Cup. The knowledgeable dressage world gives her a chance against Werth and van Grunsven.

The Spanish dressage team with Ignacio Rambia Alganin on his grey Andalusian stallion, "Invasor" reached 6th place in the Nations Cup last year and the French with Margit-Otto Crepin (winner of the dressage Grand Prix in 1987 and 1989 on her Holsteiner "Corlandus") were 4th last year.

The Russians who were Germany’s major competition in the 70’s, capturing gold at the Munich Olympics in 1972 are sending a dressage team after a longer absence. In 1991 the Russian team won silver at the European Championships in Donaueschingen where Nina Menkowa won bronze in the freestyle.