At the Grand Prix Spécial on Saturday (July 1st, 2023) the dressage riders will not only be able to place themselves but also win the Aachen Nations Cup. The results of the Grand Prix last Thursday are already included in this rating. The German team is in the lead.
At the Grand Prix on Thursday, double Olympic champion Jessica von Bredow-Werndl and her mare Dalera won with over 82 percent. The second best placement for Germany was achieved by Frederic Wandres in fifth place with the gelding Bluetooth. Record winner Isabell Werth came eighth with the stallion Quantaz. Sönke Rothenberger, who replaced Ingrid Klimke in the German team, finished 26th with the gelding Fendi.
The German dressage team faces competition on Saturday mainly from the British riders. Charlotte Dujardin secured second place in the Grand Prix with the gelding Imhotep. Charlotte Fry, the double world champion, was third with the stallion Everdale.
Duel between von Bredow-Werndl and Fry
In the run-up to the CHIO Aachen 2023, the question arose as to who would win the duel between double Olympic champion Jessica von Bredow-Werndl and double world champion Charlotte Fry in dressage. Von Bredow-Werndl did not compete in Aachen last year because of her pregnancy. During Bredow-Werndl’s maternity leave, Charlotte Fry won two world championship titles with the stallion Glamourdale and moved up to first place in the dressage world rankings. Von Bredow-Werndl is now back at the top of the rankings.
In Aachen Charlotte Fry has to do without her world champion horse Glamourdale this year. The stallion is “too busy in breeding at the moment,” said Fry in an interview with WDR. Her Olympic horse Everdale, a half brother of Glamourdale, traveled with her instead.
Eventing riders and four-in-hand cross-country
On Saturday morning, the eventing riders start off-road. It is the third and last partial test after dressage and jumping for the rider-horse pairs in eventing. Whoever wins will be decided in the Aachen Soers. The off-road course ends with an obstacle course in the main stadium.
Last year’s winner, the German rider Sandra Auffarth, is again at the start this year with her gelding Viamant du Matz. In 2022, Michael Jung, the three-time Olympic champion from Germany, on the gelding Chipmunk was the winner after crossing the finish line. However, he subsequently received penalty points and ultimately fell back to eighth place. Michael Jung and Chipmunk are also competing in Aachen this year and are in third place after the first part of the dressage test, which is the best German placement at the time.
marathon exam for four-in-hand
Things will also get serious for the four-in-hand on Saturday in the cross-country. The marathon test starts there in the afternoon. Their placements, together with the results of the dressage test on Thursday and the still outstanding obstacle driving on Sunday, result in this year’s individual and team evaluations of the teams.
The German team is currently in third place in the team ranking. The team from the Netherlands took first place. The American Chester Weber leads the individual classification, followed by the Australian Boyd Exell, who won the individual classification last year. The best German placement at the moment is Mareike Harm in fifth place.
Jumping of the best placed
After the decision in eventing, the show jumpers will return to Aachen’s main stadium on Saturday afternoon. The best-placed riders from previous competitions meet there for a test with a winning round.