Hi Kyra Beth and friends,

I have been trying for two days to get back on the internet to send you more about Aachen. I think that AOL must be at capacity here in Aachen. I will try to find another method tomorrow.

The opening ceremony on Tuesday after the jumping was great fun. The theme was about ponies and young riders. In one corner a group of young children, dressed in costumes like carousel horses, performed a quadrille in trot and canter as if they were actually riding horses. There were ponies of every size and breed with children of all ages. There was one fat little black pony with a wild mane with a tiny kid on his back that looked right out of a Thelwell book.

The riding ponies that are bred in the Rheinland would make many a dressage rider drool. A group of 18 teenagers on these ponies performed a dressage quadrille at a good Level III with shoulder-in, half passes, and extended trots that would put many a big horse to shame. Also part of the program were various gaited and Baroque horses. They had an American Saddlebred who racked on around that big jumping field in fine style along with Paso Finos, Islanders, and of course Friesiens with their manes down to their knees and high stepping Andalusians. Then they had a sulky race with little kids driving ponies all dressed in racing silks with numbers. You had to give these kids credit for having the courage to drive those ponies around that big field. Some of those kids couldn’t have been more than about 5 years old.

This morning I went early to watch the four-in-hand dressage. If you think it is hard to ride your horse in a nice round volte, with the proper bend and at a steady even gait, try it with driving four horses, one handed, so that they perform a volte in a collected trot, with the proper bend, on the bit, and then come out of it going in the opposite direction before picking up the reins in two hands again. Ijsbrand Chardon from Holland did a super job. You could almost feel the horses thinking with him. They were in complete harmony, relaxed, and sooo elegant.

The dressage started today with Prix St. Georg and the Intermediare II. I went to watch some of the Prix St. Georg and have to admit that every one of the horses that I saw would put most of our Canadian riders trying out for the Pan Ams to shame. I hope that our riders prove me wrong in the next few weeks.

After the dressage I stopped in for lunch in the area set aside for the riders, drivers, and press. Everything is supplied by the ALRV down to desert (I chose a big piece of strawberry torte), coffee, ice cream, fresh fruit, a variety of drinks from coke to wine, and even cookies and individually wrapped filled chocolates. I sat at a table with Amber who is reporting for the "Chronicle of the Horse" and some cameramen for the WDR (West Deutsche Rundfunk) who were broadcasting the Grand Prix of Europe in the Afternoon.

After lunch, we all went up to the press grandstand over the offices in the judges house to watch the jumping. Nona Garson from the USA and her horse Rhythmical were the first clear round. Then came Peter Leon with Legato with the second clear. It looked at first like it might be a sure win for the US, but John Whitaker for Great Britain, Franke Sloothaak for Germany, Xavier Caumont for France, and the reigning World Cup winner, Rodrigo Pessoa for Brazil also had clear rounds. Nelson Pessoa, Rodrigo’s father, was also still competing in this class and had one unlucky rail in the first round. I lost a bet of 1 DM to a German reporter. I bet on Nona who came in fourth with a clear round, but Rodrigo blazed over the course and beat out John Whitaker by fractions.

One rider was conspicuously missing from the line up. His name was already on the start list but he was not allowed to start and has been sent away. I feel so bad for him, but he did a really stupid, dumb a......, thing that has totally ruined his career for the next while. Maclain Ward, who has tried so hard to crawl out from under his father’s shadow (Barney Ward who was one of the people convicted of the horse killings and spent jail time for his part in it), was caught with spike boots on a horse. They are very critical in Aachen and will not allow anything that is not totally according to the rules and in the horse’s best interest. I just cannot understand how Maclain could have thought that he could get away with this or even that he needed such a crutch to compete here, and where was the equipe chef? I doubt if Maclain will ever be able to go on the start at the Aachen World Equestrian Festival again and he may be banned from any recognized competitions. I will try to get more precise details tomorrow.