Eventing Nation
Red on right, white on left, insanity in the middleWednesday News & Notes from Loch Moy Farm 9 Jul 2025, 12:23 am
There is still time to submit your application for a $1000 grant toward competing from the Waredaca Eventing Foundation! The Jimmy Wofford Legacy Fund was started to support riders who are aiming at a USEA Classic Three-Day, and riders can use the scholarship funding to support their competition expenses. The deadline is August 1 to apply for a scholarship to compete at Spokane Sport Horse Farm, Hagyard Midsouth, the Waredaca Classic Three-Day or Ram Rap. Click here to learn more, submit your application or donate to the scholarship pool.
U.S. Weekend Preview
Summer Coconino HT and Western Underground, Inc. TR,N,BN 3 Day Event (AZ): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times/Scoring] [Volunteer]
The Maryland Horse Trials at Loch Moy Farm (MD): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times] [Scoring] [Volunteer]
Genesee Valley Hunt H.T. (NY): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times/Scoring] [Volunteer]
Huntington Farm H.T. (VT): [Website] [Volunteer]
News & Reading
We’re paying our respects to Iris Winthrop Freeman, an instrumental founding member of the sport who was instrumental in expanding its growth within the U.S. Iris passed away in May and leaves behind a lengthy legacy not only within our sport as a founding member of the USCTA, persuading her fellow Americans to take up the sport and carry its baton to grow the sport on this side of the Atlantic. Read a beautiful memorial piece for Iris here.
What is driving good employees away from the equestrian industry? Survey says: compensation, lack of job security, poor leadership and communication, and little opportunity to progress are just a few reasons why people are leaving jobs in the industry to go elsewhere. What can be done about this? Where do we go from here? Read more in a deep-dive on the state of the industry here.
It’s National Farriers Week, and the USEA has some tips on summer horse care from this week’s spotlighted farrier, Chris Martelli. Summer hoof care starts long before you set foot in the show ring, and with harder, dryer ground typically featuring during this time of year, there is much attention that should be paid to your horse’s feet to ensure they are healthy and able to do their job. Read more of Chris’ advice here.
Sponsor Corner: Loch Moy Farm
Want a chance to get up close and personal at this weekend’s Maryland Horse Trials at Loch Moy Farm? There are several volunteer opportunities still available to help out the event and get yourself the best seat in the house. Volunteers at Loch Moy Farm benefit from free lunches and your choice of voucher/gift certificate/prize on completion of your shift. Click here to see what’s available and sign up.
Video Break
How well do you know your equine biosecurity ins and outs? Get some tips in the latest Ride iQ Ask an Expert episode with Dr. Holly Helbig:
Germany Names Long List for 2025 FEI Eventing European Championships 8 Jul 2025, 8:30 am
Julia Krajewski and Nickel. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Following qualification events at Luhmühlen and CHIO Aachen, Germany has named its long list of riders from which it will eventually select its team and individual representatives for the FEI Eventing European Championships. This year’s Europeans will be held at Blenheim Palace, September 18-25.
The long list is as follows; the final team will be named after the CCIO4*-S event at Arville running August 15-18.
- Nicolai Aldinger with Timmo (Owners: Cornelia & Dieter Aldinger and Jutta & Michael Spethmann; Breeder: Ole Lehmann)
- Arne Bergendahl with Luthien (owner: Helmut Bergendahl; breeder: Heinrich Bergendahl)
- Calvin Böckmann with Altair de la Cense (owners: Simone, Jason and Liam Böckmann; breeders: Diego & Filipa Horta E Costa) and The Phantom of the Opera (owners: Simone, Roger, Jason, Liam & Calvin Böckmann; breeder: Peter Fick)
- Emma Brüssau with Dark Desire GS (Owner: Dr. Jürgen Andreas Brüssau; Breeder: Bernd Gehrdau-Schröder)
- Malin Hansen-Hotopp with Carlitos Quidditch K (Owner: Dr. Bodil Ipsen; Breeder: Miriam Kühl)
- Heike Jahncke with Mighty Spring (Owners: Carsten Küst and Heike Jahncke; Breeder: Jörg Bätje)
- Michael Jung with fischerChipmunk FRH (Owners: Sabine & Klaus Fischer, Joachim Jung and the DOKR; Breeder: Sabine and Dr. Hilmer Meyer-Kulenkampff)
- Pauline Knorr with Aevolet MAF (owner: Ute Thümler; breeder: Marco Fischer)
- Julia Krajewski with Nickel (Owner: Prof. Dr. Bernd Heicke; Breeder: Hindrick Stüvel)
- Libussa Lübbeke with Caramia (Owner: Annelie and Dr. Martin Lübbeke; Breeder: Annelie Lübbeke)
- Jérôme Robine with Black Ice (Owner: Dorothea von Zedtwitz; Breeder: Judith McClelland)
- Anna Siemer with FRH Butt’s Avondale (owner and breeder: Prof. Dr. Volker Steinkraus)
- Christoph Wahler with D’Accord FRH (Owner: Hendrik von Paepke & Stefan Haupt; Breeder: Christa von Paepke)
Tuesday News & Notes from Kentucky Performance Products 7 Jul 2025, 11:01 pm
In just a few days, tailgating will go on sale for this year’s MARS Maryland 5 Star, presented by Brown Advisory! This is one of the best ways to take in cross country days with your barn family, friends or even your non-horsey circle, and the tailgating does tend to sell out so you’ll want to make sure you’re ready to pick the best spot once sales open on July 14. You can find more information here.
U.S. Events Opening Entries Today
Huntington Farm H.T. (VT); Bouckaert Equestrian International (GA); Hunters Run H.T. (MI);
U.S. Events Closing Entries Today
Millbrook H.T. (NY); Hunt Club Farms H.T. (VA)
News & Reading
Packing for ANY trip is a bit of a chore, but packing for a horse show — especially when you’re competing often, or if you haven’t competed for awhile — can be even more daunting. You don’t want to forget anything, you don’t want to OVERpack, but what if your horse needs that one specific thing? If packing gives you a bit of anxiety, you can find some advice on making the most of it here.
If you’re considering importing a horse from Europe, you may want to take some time to think about their nutritional needs as they make the trip and transition to life in a new country. Different countries feed and manufacture feed differently, so take some bits of insight from this article to help you navigate this scenario.
Here’s a big question we’re always asking: do you need to be wealthy to participate in equestrian sport? Most will say yes. Is there another side to this argument? Equerry/Co tackles the topic here.
Sponsor Corner: Kentucky Performance Products
When pastures dry up, your horse’s health might be at greater risk than you think. Drought-stressed grass accumulates sugars, while weeds not only become more tempting—they also become more toxic. Add in the lack of fiber, and suddenly that “barely there” grazing can lead to a perfect storm of colic, laminitis, and nutrient deficiencies.
🟢 What can you do?
Start by supplementing with quality hay—and don’t forget what your pasture may be missing: essential vitamins and antioxidants like vitamin E.
That’s where Elevate® Natural Vitamin E steps in.
Helps limit the damage caused by oxidative stress
Supports healthy muscles and nerves
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Especially when pasture quality takes a hit, Elevate keeps your horse’s nutritional foundation strong. Because thriving—not just surviving—is the goal, no matter the weather.
Learn more at KPPusa.com.
Video Break
Watch show jumping icon Martin Fuchs win the $1.2M Rolex Grand Prix at CHIO Aachen with Leone Jei:
Weekend Winners: Coconino, Bouckaert, & Mile High 7 Jul 2025, 8:30 am
It was a quieter weekend, with three events running: Coconino, Bouckaert, and Mile High. We saw plenty of Eventers making their way to these events, and we’re taking a minute to celebrate the successes we saw!
Congrats to all on great outings, with a special shout out to our Weekend Winners, and an extra special shout out to the winner of our Unofficial Low Score Award, Jennifer Achilles and Ballymurphy Cillian, who won the Beginner Novice Open division at Coconino on a 22.8!
Summer Coconino H.T. I (AZ): [Website][Scoring]
HT-Intermediate-Open: Sean Worrall and Osito (25.8)
HT-Preliminary-Open: Lauren Lambert and FE Zardet (33.4)
HT-Modified-Open: Elle White and Biscotti (26.2)
HT-Training-Open: Jessica Higgins and Ogue Verdi (29.1)
HT-Training-Rider: Jessica Higgins and Billie Jean Queen HH (33.3)
HT-Novice-Open: Anastasia Keyser and Heros Quest (26.1)
HT-Novice-Rider: Jacquelines Spalding and Excel Star Silver Lining (30.0)
HT-Beginner Novice-JR: Mary Louise Snyder and Seaside Smooch (31.3)
HT-Beginner Novice-Open: Jennifer Achilles and Ballymurphy Cillian (22.8)
HT-Beginner Novice-Rider: David Timchak and Over Easy (30.9)
Starter A: Laura Bentley and Popcorn (27.0)
Starter B: Joanna Casson and Sweet Chile Pepper (31.7)
Starter C: Carrie Matteson and Maestro De La Nuit (24.0)
Bouckaert Equestrian H.T. (GA): [Website][Scoring]
Open Intermediate: Lucienne Bellissimo and Qatar M (29.2)
Open Preliminary: Michelle Koppin and Wheelagower Gold (37.5)
Preliminary Rider: Lily Barlow and Spiderman (31.8)
Modified Rider: Rayna Williams and Storm Surge (30.3)
Open Modified: Charlotte Collier and Loughtown Cici ZA (29.8)
Junior Training Rider: Hannah Fatehdin and Things To Ponder (33.3)
Open Training: Lucienne Bellissimo and Killer Queen (28.9)
Senior Training Rider: Leah Jill Goff and HH Pax (34.2)
Junior Novice Rider: Maylee Franco and Ramble On (36.8)
Novice Horse: Lexi Scovil and Bourbon Clearance (31.7)
Open Novice: Michael Pollard and Lautner du lys (31.7)
Senior Novice Rider: Maris Bobitt and Dipped in Ink (46.6)
Junior Beginner Novice Rider: Abigail Zimmer and Wynthrop (32.7)
Open Beginner Novice: Elle Snyder and Giant Red (30.3)
Senior Beginner Novice Rider: Ellie Bollich and Indy (36.5)
Starter A: Grace Ambrose and Fernhill For Treasure Z (30.4)
Starter B: Liz Kast and Sesame (32.7)
Mile High H.T. (CO): [Website][Scoring]
Open Training: Rochelle Costanza and Eye Candy (24.4)
Open Novice JR: Lauren Fedorczyk and Galicia (33.3)
Open Novice O: Autumn Sorensen and Ms Battlefield (30.8)
Open Beginner Novice A: Brittany Packard and Carrera (31.9)
Open Beginner Novice B: Cayla A. Stone and Antiope (Opie) (32.8)
Starter JR: Raven Rockwell and To B In Silver (28.1)
Starter O: Jessica Dallow and Zoffany (35.3)
Monday News & Notes from Futuretrack 6 Jul 2025, 11:01 pm
Ready to mix things up this summer? 
Fair Hill International’s fan-favorite DerbyCross is right around the corner! This fun, low-pressure schooling opportunity blends the best of cross country and show jumping into one fluid course—complete with an optional water jump and no pressure (it’s untimed and unjudged!). Whether you’re building confidence or just looking for a good time, this $45/round experience is a can’t-miss.
Sign up + details here.
Major International Events
CHIO Aachen: [Website] [Results] [Live Stream Replays] [EN’s Coverage]
U.S. Weekend Preview
Summer Coconino H.T. I (AZ): [Website] [Scores]
Bouckaert Equestrian H.T. (GA): [Website] [Scores]
Mile High H.T. (CO): [Website] [Scores]
News & Reading
It’s time to make plans for this year’s USEA Annual Meeting and Convention in New Orleans, LA! This year’s meeting will take place December 11-14, and it’s a great chance to learn from your fellow events, attend seminars, committee meetings and lectures and explore a new city if you haven’t been before. Click here to learn more about the convention.
Should you be counting calories for your horse like you do with yourself? Maintaining an optimal body condition requires some diligence, but with some knowledge of what horses require in terms of caloric intake and nutritional makeup can set you off on the right path. Click here to learn more on this topic.
We know volunteers are the heart of our sport. Volunteering also represents a way to get involved with horses and equestrian sports even if you aren’t an active rider or trainer, and the truth is that we always need more volunteers, especially at the grassroots level of any sport. Click here to read a piece on the value of volunteers and the importance of building them up.
Video Break
Learn a few things from a rider fall analysis with Landsafe’s Danny Warrington and Ride iQ:
Karin Donckers Calls Time on Legendary Career of Fletcha van’t Verahof 6 Jul 2025, 8:30 am
One last time. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
“How do you know when to retire a horse?” Kentucky 5* winner Tamie Smith mused in a text conversation recently, speaking of her horse of a lifetime partner, Mai Baum (who, speaking of, will retire after one last fun run at Rebecca Farm later this month). The truth is, I don’t think there’s a tangible answer to this — not when the horse is sound, enjoying his or her job, still producing competitive results.
It’s a question any rider would love to be lucky enough to consider. The responsibility of producing and maintaining a horse at the top levels of sport is a large one. It requires empathy. Patience. Dedication. Trust. Awareness. Respect. And that same responsibility comes again when it’s time to bid farewell to a legacy career.
Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Last summer, Belgium’s Karin Donckers left Fletcha van’t Verahof — 20 years young this year — at home for the Paris Olympics, having been selected on his full brother, Leipheimer Van’t Verahof for her seventh Games. Fletcha, for his part, expressed his displeasure at being left home. “We left at 12:30 in the night with Leiphaimer,” she recalled. “I went to the stall of Fletcha and I looked in his eyes. He was really watching me, like, ‘come on, you’re gonna take me too!’ I know, I know, I thought. I still think so much about that moment.”
In her mind, Karin knew Fletcha’s tenure at the top of the sport would be drawing to a close soon. Every horsewoman or horseman wants to make that call at the right time — before the horse sustains an injury or begins to sour on the job. And Fletcha, who was bred in Belgium by Peter van Dame-de Smedt, had carried his age well.
Through her own dedication to her program of care and fitness, his body has stayed sound and his mind happy. When you think about the fact that championships run on four-year cycles (or for Europeans, every two years), for the horse to have done as much as he has is, well, astounding.
Karin Donckers’ Fletcha Van’t Verahof (BEL). Photo by Tilly Berendt.
“It’s a matter to keep him happy,” Karin said. “It’s a bit like me, I guess, because I’m 54 and that’s a bit the same for me. I love the passion for the horse, I love the passion for the sport, and that’s why I like to keep doing it. And that keeps me motivated, that keeps me fit. You know, when I came with the lorry [to come to Aachen], and I opened the lorry, he was like, ‘Oh yeah, wow!’ His eyes were popping out. And he was really like, ‘Yes, I did it again, over here again!’ So, you know, I’m sure that that’s the same for the horse.”
At home, Fletcha lives out, or in a big stall with its own attached outside paddock. Karin insists that once she felt she had the right approach to keeping him sound and happy, it was important not to make too many changes. Stick with what works, she says. “You just have to let him be a horse. You have to listen to them,” she continued. “I know him so well, and that’s what gives confidence. I guess that’s like in a good relationship with people too. You know what you have from each other. You know that you can count on each other. You don’t need much; you grow this path together in the last 13 years. That’s a special bond you have, and so much respect you have for each other. That makes it special.”
Karin Donckers and Fletcha van’t Verahof (BEL). Photo by Leslie Threlkeld.
“I think I have to follow what he what I always said, and what he deserves, you know?” Karin told me after she finished cross country, clear with time, at Aachen on Saturday. “You want to finish on a good way. And Aachen is something really, really special for the horses, and I think he deserves to finish here.”
To be sure, it wasn’t always a definite path for Fletcha (who is owned by Karin along with Carl Bouckaert and Joris de Brabander), who wasn’t the easiest to produce. “This horse was definitely not the easiest one in the beginning — way too bold and taking strides out and when really way too ambitious,” Karin explained. “It took me almost until he was 11 or 12 before he became easy to ride.”
Photo by Tilly Berendt.
And so, after another successful Aachen (his fifth time competing here, and the first time he’d been back since 2017), the curtain closes on the career of a horse of a lifetime. An Olympics, two World Equestrian Games, four European Championships, 48 FEI completions. What emerges as Karin’s favorite moment?
“I think the WEG when he was nine years old,” she said after a moment of thought. “He finished the WEG in fifth place. So that was incredible. And then knowing that he did three World Championships, I think that’s also something that not many horses did in eventing, because the World Championship is only every four years. So that’s amazing. On his nine, on his 13, and on his 17.”
Karen Donckers and Fletcha Van’t Verahof. Photo by Jenni Autry.
Every horse leaves you with lessons, if you’re willing to listen. Karin’s taking what she’s been taught by Fletcha and taking it forward to produce the next generation. “Give your horse a chance and make sure that you give them good education. Also, when it’s not so easy in the beginning, don’t give up on them. Give them a chance. Because often, the very, very good horses are not the easiest ones in the beginning, you know? That’s definitely what I learned.”
Here, she used a Dutch term — pluk de vruchten — that doesn’t really have a direct English translation here — but after consulting with fellow Belgian Lara de Liedekerke-Meier, the meaning became clear: after exercising patience and nourishing something along, you can — if the cards fall your way — reap the benefit and reward.
Tears popping to her eyes, Karin pauses for a moment as we wrapped up our interview. “I’m so happy that I had done 6, 7, 8 years, where it was every time a dream to ride him in cross country, you know? And I’m so grateful. Thanks to my owners and sponsors, we had such a life together. I’m just so thankful that I got this journey with him.”
To see more coverage from CHIO Aachen, click here.
Sunday Links 6 Jul 2025, 2:00 am
We bid CHIO Aachen farewell after an incredible few days of eventing competition. Today, we wrap the entire festival up with the Rolex Grand Prix — one of the most prestigious show jumping competitions in the world — as well as the dressage Grand-Prix Freestyle finals to close the show. We hope you’ve booked your tickets to Aachen for August, when we’ll see the best in the world compete at the FEI World Championships — as well as a special edition of CHIO Aachen (dubbed TCHIO Aachen next year, for reasons we’re not quite clear on) in May.
To catch up on our coverage from Aachen this year, click here.
Major International Events
CHIO Aachen: [Website] [Results] [Live Stream Replays] [EN’s Coverage]
U.S. Weekend Preview
Summer Coconino H.T. I (AZ): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times/Scoring] [Volunteer]
Bouckaert Equestrian H.T. (GA): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times] [Scoring] [Volunteer]
Mile High H.T. (CO): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times] [Scoring] [Volunteer]
Links & Reading
Research In Action: Shedding Light On The Age-Old Mystery Of Early Pregnancy Loss In Mares
Dressage Yin-Yang: Suppleness and Impulsion
Thoroughbred Logic, Presented by Kentucky Performance Products: Three Ground Work Essentials
Five Ways to Live Your Best Adult-Ammie Life
Video Break
Team New Zealand claims Aachen gold!
The Clock’s The Key: Dispatches from Cross-Country Day at Aachen 5 Jul 2025, 2:42 pm
Tim Price and Vitali — your 2025 Aachen winners (and prizegiving chaos agents). Photo by Tilly Berendt.
As a seasoned Aachenite – this is my sixth time at the German high temple of horse sport – there are a few things I know to be true every year. The time will always, reliably, be nearly impossible to catch; the cumulative intensity of the track’s technical questions will make it even more of a challenge than most championships; and the STAWAG combination, just before horses and riders enter the main stadium to finish the course, will always be the heartbreaker of the day.
But when I got my first little glimpse of the course the other day, I began to second-guess myself. The STAWAG combination now sat tens of meters further from the arena, giving it significantly less visual intensity – would that translate into how it rode? Would riders see the space and feel less boxed in, less weighed down by the proximity of the finish line? Would it create some kind of strange and as-yet-undiscovered psychological pressure relief, making it just another pair of corners in just another field? And because this is the first course under the auspices of Italy’s Giuseppe della Chiesa, who took over from longtime designer Rüdiger Schwarz after last year’s competition, was this early glimpse indicative of a soft first year as he learned his way around the park?
Of course not. While this might be Giuseppe’s first Aachen, it’s certainly not his first rodeo – in recent years alone, he’s been at the helm of the World Championships at Pratoni in 2022 and was responsible for four iterations of Badminton, too, a decade ago. He knows how to design a track that’s both hard and fair on the day, but crucially, he also has a track record of creating courses that help to lay the landscape of the sport more broadly.
“We came with the idea to produce something for next year, but especially to produce a venue for the next 20 years,” he told EN on Thursday. “This was the thinking. I spoke with the organizer. [I asked] ‘What is your intention for the next 20 years — to go on with eventing or not?’ Yes? Okay, then we try to produce a venue that can give for the future a lot more possibilities of changing course, of getting an instance.”
So he didn’t come into his debut here buckling under the pressure, nor did he worry that the eyes of the world would be on his track to see how next year’s World Championships, set to be held here at Aachen, might stack up. He just set to designing.
The result? A course that does feel wholly new-look in a lot of ways, but in all the ways that count, continues to be all Aachen: intense, nippy, clever and tricksy in ways that aren’t always immediately obvious. It’s a track that’s always been more about architecting expensive time penalties or expensive, but non-injurious, drive-bys, because one of the primary goals at the venue – other than creating that annual unofficial CCI4*-S championship scenario – is to keep horses happy, healthy, and get them home with ears pricked, hungry for more.
43 starters, 40 finishers, and no horse falls later, it feels like a job well done.
If a completion rate of 93% feels like a dull day of sport to you, let’s recalibrate that notion. We might have seen most of our field through the finish flags (just rider falls for Germany’s Nina Schultes and Pauline Knorr, and for Sweden’s Frida Anderson, precluded a clean sheet), but that’s not to say that today’s cross-country finale didn’t make its mark on the leaderboard. And yes, even the clear rate was higher than average here: ten of the 40 finishers picked up jumping penalties, giving us a 75% clear rate, but – as is often the case at pressure-cooker Aachen – many of those penalties came from highly-placed riders, which saw half our overnight top ten plummet from the business end of the leaderboard.
The real story of the day, though, was the time. There’s been much discussion this week about the broad discrepancies in yesterday’s dressage judging, and the sometimes frustratingly harsh marking – but one notable thing that it did do was create incredibly tight margins, which first played their card in last night’s showjumping. Then, as today, the clear rounds were higher than normal – but the time was tight, and even a second over was enormously costly.
And then there was today. The optimum time was set at 6:35 for the 24 fence track, and not a single competitor would manage to catch it. Some would come close: New Zealand’s Monica Spencer added just one second to the clock with Artist, propelling the pair from 19th after showjumping to sixth in the final standings, and 2021 champions Will Coleman and Off The Record added just two seconds to move from 16th to fourth.
Beyond that, though? The clock kept on ticking and ticking and ticking away.
Tim Price and Vitali. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Fortunately for overnight leaders Tim Price and Vitali, who had jointly held the top spot after dressage and then took it over solely after co-leaders Jérôme Robiné and Black Ice had two rails last night, there was a little bit of a margin for them to fill – which they did, only barely, with 3.2 time penalties. That was 3.2 penalties that they certainly hadn’t had in hand at the start of the day, but a surprise mid-course 20 for second-placed Bubby Upton and Cannavaro, who faulted at the final element of the coffin complex, left them a snifter of breathing room to secure the win as the final pair on course.
“We’re going to take some time to let it soak in, because you’re just focused and there’s the team aspect, which is a primary thing, and so you’re just working away with getting through the competition,” says Tim, who also led the New Zealand team to its first Aachen victory since 2018. “I still wasn’t sure that I won when I came through — these people clap, whether you come second or whatever’s happened!”
Tim Price and Vitali. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
There’s something special about seeing 15-year-old Vitali (Contender – Heraldik) take a major victory with Tim, because it’s something they’ve come so close to so many times since winning their FEI debut together in the CCI4*-L at Strzegom in 2021. Sure, they’d won the British Open Championship a couple of years ago, taking the top honours in that Advanced-level class, but time and time again we’ve seen them come out dominant at the top level, only to relinquish their win on the final day when scattering poles (an average of three each time, if you’re counting). That meant that yesterday was a considerable question mark, and a challenge that they – bafflingly but brilliantly – rose to with aplomb, and today, they could come out swinging and focus on the gelding’s considerable strengths.
“He’s a very good cross country horse, and always has been,” says Tim. “He’s got a few chinks in his armor, particularly the show jumping, so yesterday was like a victory – to have a nice round in the stadium here. But today – what an exciting course and a really fun horse to have a go at jumping around on.”
Still, no matter how good a cross-country horse you’re on, Aachen still presents considerable challenges – particularly where the buzz of the zealous crowd is concerned.
“You could definitely pick up on the atmosphere from number one, actually, going past the water with the big stadium. It was really fun just to gallop past and not actually have a jump to jump in that moment, but it gave the horses the feel of the atmosphere, and it was [consistent] all the way around the course. It was a great number of enthusiastic spectators.”
Though that buzzy atmosphere meant that Tim had to make a quick dismount and rejoin the lap of honour on foot, it’s a moment he won’t soon forget – and a heartening bit of proof that all the time and effort and faith he’s put in the horse has been worthwhile.
“It’s a great result for New Zealand, and quite fun for our manager, Jock Paget, to take back to the guys in New Zealand, sitting at the desks, that he’s had to justify to all the times that we don’t do so well,” he laughs.
Tom McEwen and Brookfield Quality. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Tom McEwen was riding to defend his place on the podium with his Kentucky partner Brookfield Quality, and although he had a hairy moment at the Rolex water at 12B when ‘Norris’ chipped in a stride, the pair motored on home to add just 3.6 time penalties, not just securing them their third place, but moving them through the newly opened door into second.
“I’m absolutely delighted with Norris – he couldn’t have done any more,” says Tom. “It’s been a great learning experience. You don’t often get to come and compete under this sort of pressure: the team environment, which is fantastic to always be in, and the pressure of these amazing crowds and people watching us. And today was just great fun, to go down and ride around with so many people from start to finish, and the noise at the end. Norris is quite a character in himself, so just to actually come out, lay everything down as well as we could, is all we can ask for. He was super — we’re definitely delighted with him.”
This isn’t Tom’s first trip around Aachen, and he, like so many great riders before him, has previously been the unlucky soul to lose a top placing with a surprise run-out – but today, the plan came off, and he was thrilled with what he found in Giuseppe’s new-look, time-tight course.
“The course was amazing,” he says. “It flowed really well, and I actually really enjoyed riding around today, which is always quite good fun. The time was really quick, and honestly, sometimes you go back and think, ‘oh, I could take a bit more off.’ But I really don’t think I could have shaved too much more off there.”
Gemma Stevens and Flash Cooley. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Teammate Gemma Stevens had a frustrating start to her competition with a 33.2 dressage aboard the smart Flash Cooley, who has consistently been a mid-to-high 20s scorer on the flat but was left languishing in 13th yesterday morning. They made their intention to climb clear in the evening, though, delivering a faultless clear round that showed off the skills picked up in Gemma’s side hustle as a pure showjumper – and today, they were the third-fastest pair of the day to move up to a final third place after adding just 2.8 time penalties.
“He was absolutely amazing – he really gave his absolute best,” beams Gemma. “I couldn’t ask for more from him; he went as fast and as quick over the jumps as he can. He’s a super, super careful jumper, and sometimes he goes really high over the jumps, so we waste half a second here and there just being so wonderfully careful. I prefer that, though, than too low!”
Their quest to make the time was impeded by an odd incident as they approached the main water complex for the second time, where they had to face down the biggest drop on course.
“I actually lost a couple of seconds between the logs at the top [10 and 11] and the Rolex water [12ABC] because my air vest got stuck to my saddle,” she says. “So I was stuck [in the galloping position] in the saddle, and I had to slow down and rip it with all my strength before jumping into the huge drop into water. So I reckon I lost maybe three seconds there. But what a fantastic horse, and I couldn’t be prouder.”
Their efforts saw them climb from overnight ninth, not just on the strength of their performance – and Gemma’s impressive vest destruction skills – but due to further high profile dropouts from the top ten. Laura Collett’s Dacapo is well known for fluctuating between heartbreaker and hunk, and while Aachen is usually one of his venues of choice for maximum hunkiness, he channeled the man who ghosted you after a really great Tinder date and had a sudden, surprise stop in the Rolex water, dropping them from fifth down to 35th. Germany’s Libussa Lübbeke and her Kentucky top-ten finisher Caramia 34 also ran into trouble, though earlier on at the skinny at fence 7D, to relinquish sixth place. Eighth-placed Irishman Padraig McCarthy and his Blenheim eight- and nine-year-old champion MHS Zabaoine picked up 20 penalties at the second element of the Turkish Airlines complex at 7B, and another at the second SAP Tractor angled hedge at 16C, to further broaden the availability of the top ten.
Will Coleman and Off The Record. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
And so we saw the inexorable rise of Will Coleman and Off The Record, the 2021 champions, who – like Gemma and Flash Cooley – had had a particularly frustrating start to the week. Their 35.6 had them 24th at the start of the competition, and even a fault-free round last night could only push them as far as 16th.
But today, they were nearly unbeatable on speed, adding just two seconds and 0.8 time penalties – and that was enough to catapult them right up to fourth place.
“He was Timmy!” says Will with a grin. “He was his usual self — enthusiastic — but he’s just a machine, and he loved it, and we loved it, and we just felt like we were having fun out there.”
But do those two seconds rankle? Not really, says Will.
“I was pretty pleased. I gave him a few strides after the coffin to kind of get a little bit of a breath, so I probably had a second there, and then at the second last water [14], he sort of went a little bit of wooden on me, turning in there, so I probably got an extra stride there than I wanted. So that’s two seconds. You have to be pretty perfect to get the time, or be on an extraordinarily fast horse, and we were close, so I’m pleased. He gave me everything he had, and I can’t be disappointed in two seconds.”
Boyd Martin and Commando 3. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
His teammates Boyd Martin and Commando 3 also delivered a speedy round, though not quite on Timmy time, to add 3.2 time penalties and chase Will up the leaderboard into fifth place.
But, admits Boyd, “It wasn’t my best round, to be honest. He was very brave and bold, and he was taking on the jumps a little bit too much, and I lost my stirrup for about three jumps. I couldn’t find it, and I had to jump the jump in the water without a stirrup, and the double hedges. Luckily, I got it back, [but] it cost me time and energy – but he’s such a good horse. He’s very brave and honest, and it was good experience for him.”
It’s another exciting achievement to add to a CV that includes second place at Kentucky this spring, and helps to cement the former Louise Romeike ride as a serious team contender for the championships to come – particularly once Boyd can apply the nuanced bits of learning they’ve done together this week.
“It sort of just confirmed my belief,” says Boyd. “He’s a brave, gutsy horse, and these sort of twisty turny tracks are a little harder for him than the five-stars – I find it a bit easier at the five-stars, where you can get him to settle down a bit. But it was a good experience, and I think we finished in a respectable place, and so we’re heading back to America, still with a bit of work to do.”
Monica Spencer and Artist (and a bit of clever footwork!). Photo by Tilly Berendt.
The fastest pair of the day, Monica Spencer and Artist, demonstrated exactly what you need to do to challenge the clock at Aachen: you need to get up on your time as early as possible. When they raced past the crowds en route to fence two, they did so so quickly that they left a sea of Germans gasping in their wake, and all the way around, they were able to maintain their high cruising speed – even with a moment of seriously catlike footwork in the final water.
“He was amazing,” says Monica, who took sixth place. “It’s definitely the right day to be on a Thoroughbred. I felt more like a race car driver today than a show hunter, so good on me!”
Her plan of action before she headed out on course was simple, she continues.
“Just keep kicking! It’s my nature to get too sympathetic and be like, ‘Oh, he needs a rest,’ but I just needed to rely on that fitness that I know he has and trust that he’s got the stamina to gallop the whole way.”
Jérôme Robiné and Black Ice. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
2024 Pau champions Caroline Harris and D. Day made good on their Aachen debut – a competition that Caroline has been hoping to tackle all year for the young horse’s ongoing education – and added 4.8 time penalties to complete a two-day climb from first-phase 18th place. They finished in seventh place, one ahead of first-phase joint leaders Jérôme Robiné and Black Ice, who cruised home with 8 time penalties and the roar of German goodwill behind them.
“I thought I could be a bit faster, but I didn’t find the right forward distance on fence two,” reflects Jérôme, who had to manage the fine line between his horse’s enthusiasm and his carefulness as the course progressed. “Fence four, he jumped quite high up in the air, so I thought, ‘Okay, onto the next,’ and at fence 7ABCD, I wanted to just get it fluid, as he’s quite brave and quite honest for just going forward. But as I felt he was quite up in the air, [I thought] maybe I should not just always go for it! So there was a decision I had to take in the course. Then it felt better and better and better through the course. He still was amazing, and I think he’s probably the most honest horse.”
27-year-old Jérôme finishes the week as the best of the home nation, and the helmsman of the team of mostly up-and-coming riders, who slotted into fourth place in the nations standings behind Great Britain. It’s another result that makes it very clear that the Warendorf student is one of the keys to the future of German eventing on the world stage.
“It’s always incredible to ride here, so I will always come here and give my very best,” he says.
“I think over the years we produced a lot of good results, and I would say that now I’m part of team Germany. Of course, we are a lot of young athletes, but I think we already made our way a bit as a team and settled a bit. So I hope for the Europeans, and I hope for the World Equestrian Games here next year, so that’s the next aim.”
Clarke Johnstone and Rocket Man. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
New Zealand’s Clarke Johnstone followed up his fourth place finish in the CCI4*-S at Luhmühlen with ninth place with ten-year-old Rocket Man, who added 8.4 time penalties while learning the ropes of this championship trial-run.
“He was incredible, and it’s a step up again for him,” says Clarke. “He’s ten years old and this is a big atmosphere – I think there’s more spectators here than normal, because it felt like there was a huge crowd. But he just gave me everything, and I didn’t leave really a second out on course. He’s not the fastest; [he’s got] a little bit one pace. But he really tried all the way home for me, and I’m delighted with how he went.”
“The only thing I changed [from my plan] was he jumped very steeply into the water crossing at the second water. He just did a very neat pop in, so I actually ended up doing five strides to the duck [at 12B]. It just seemed like the right thing after he popped in quite carefully.”
And so, as the pair crossed the finish line, Rocket Man had leveled up again in his experience and confidence – and Clarke’s own relatively newfound confidence in him was further solidified.
“He showed me he’s got a lot of heart. It’s always a big ask, and he didn’t question anything. He just looked for the way through the flags and just went. He’s becoming very clever, I think, on the cross country, which probably would be not something I would have said about him a year ago. He was never looking to do anything wrong, but he was not looking where he was going and analyzing things quickly. So I think he feels now like he’s got his ears pricked and he’s really thinking and looking and I’m very proud of him.”
Jonelle Price and Hiarado. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
The top ten was rounded out by his teammate Jonelle Price and her Paris partner Hiarado, who cruised home with 6.8 time penalties to move up from 13th – and to seal the deal on the Kiwi team victory, which they took by a nearly ten-point margin.
Kiwis Crowned for First Aachen Victory Since 2018
You’d have to go back seven years in the results to find the last time New Zealand took home the team honors at Aachen, though they’ve certainly been figures here in Germany nearly every year. They also finished on the podium in second the following year, in 2019, but they’ve waited in the wings since then for another chance at the victory gallop.
It’s a team that’s been built around stalwarts Tim Price (who was also a member of the previous podium teams) and Jonelle Price as well as riders such as Clarke Johnstone and Blyth Tait. Despite their small acreage as a nation, the country continues to produce strong horses and up-and-coming riders to the mix. For team chef d’equipe Jock Paget, who understands well the pressures of team competition, the result this week is an important building block toward next year’s World Championships. Without the ability to participate in something like the FEI European Championships, Aachen becomes a close replacement.
“Aachen, to us, is European Championships, if you will, because we don’t have one,” Jock said. “So we treat it like that. It’s the biggest target for us this year. There’s Nations Cups and then there’s Aachen. This was a pin in the map for us this year, to come here with next year in mind.”
Jock, who has helmed the team through a variety of positions since he retired from active competition and took over as high performance manager for the Kiwis in time for the Tokyo Olympics. Since then, it’s been a building process toward the major championships; the efforts paid off with a team bronze at FEI World Championships in 2022, and the groundwork feels very much laid for a big run back to Aachen in just over a year’s time.
“With this group, we always look at what can be better next time, but we’ve had a lot of bad days,” Jock said. “This is a hard place to come and do well. Obviously, we were trying to be as competitive as we could be. So knowing that it’s very hard to have a plan go to plan when you get here, it went about as close as it could, I think, and we’re very happy. The effort that riders put in was awesome, very competitive, and very grateful to the owners to develop horses to be here.”
The U.S. took home another silver medal thanks to four clear cross country rounds today from Will Coleman, Boyd Martin, Phillip Dutton and Caroline Pamukcu. The team is newly-helmed by chef d’equipe Leslie Law and Eventing High Performance Advisor Karyn Shuter, who took their positions earlier this year. Christina Vaughn also took the role of Director of the Eventing Elite Program for USEF, a move Leslie expressed much gratitude for, as the pair had worked together closely when he was the development coach for the Americans.
“Christina has been developing under 25 for, I think, 10 years,” Leslie said. “And so the fact that she was able to join as team leader, that was definitely a huge asset for me, because we’ve worked together for so long. I believe we put a great program together there in the under-25 and the developing program. And I think the fact that Caroline [Pamukcu] has come through that, stepping up as a team rider, I think it shows that that program is in good shape. Like I said, to have Christina come along with me, I think that made the transition so much easier than for me to have somebody I knew. And then again, obviously having you know, somebody like Karyn, with her experience to come in and be able to bounce things off. It’s, quite honestly, made the transition pretty damn easy!”
In terms of the U.S. performance this week, Leslie’s feeling positive. “We felt it was an important competition for us, obviously, with the World Championships being here next year,” he said. “I think we’ve had a good run. I can’t thank the riders enough. They’ve really taken us on board and they wanted information and we’re trying to give them what we can. But I can’t thank them enough, because when they have your back it makes the job so much easier. It’s been an absolute pleasure to work with these professional riders. Every aspect of their horsemanship – we go to their farms, the professionalism is 100%, we all know it. It takes a village. They people they’ve got behind them, the girls that have been here this week looking after the horses, they’re 100% professional. We couldn’t have asked for a better team as far as looking after the horses. It takes a ton of people and we feel like we’ve gotten off to a really strong, positive start, and I couldn’t be happier.”
Leslie expressed hope that the riders aiming for World Championships will earn their qualifications by the end of the this year, making the task of culling down and selection that much better next year. “I think it allows us to then make individual plans for horses and riders and hopefully not trying to get having to get qualified next year with those individuals,” he explained. “There will be some exceptions to that, obviously, but I think that going forward for the rest of the year, that will be a priority.”
The Brits notched third position as a group, falling a couple of positions from their original lead at the start of the day but nonetheless looking ahead to September’s European Championships in addition to Worlds next year. The Brits are always bursting with talent — they could have fielded a completely different team this year at Aachen and likely had a similar result — and they’re a team to beat as they vie for the European title in just a couple months’ time.
And thus we’re off after a grand weekend at CHIO Aachen, already looking forward to returning next August. You can catch up on all of our coverage from the week here as well as on our Instagram here for more fun content.
Until next time, we’re off to see the Ride & Drive and perhaps a birthday cocktail or two. Go Eventing!
Sally Spickard contributed to this report.
CHIO Aachen: [Website] [Results] [Live Stream Replays] [EN’s Coverage]
Follow Along with the Action from Aachen: Live Blog from the Cross Country at CHIO Aachen 5 Jul 2025, 2:49 am
The finish flags beckon. Photo by Sally Spickard.
The eventing competition over in Aachen is well underway with both dressage and show jumping having taken place yesterday, meaning we’re in for one heck of a finale this morning as the international field take on course designer Giuseppe della Chiesa’s inaugural cross country offering.
Not only are the competitors duking it out for individual glory, but there’s team standings at stake too.
Here’s a look at how the leaderboards are looking as we head into the final phase of the competition:
1️⃣ 
Top of the class *with a clear show jumping round* is none other than will-he-won’t-he-oh-boy-how-many Vitali, who proved what Tim Price has been telling us along along when he left all the poles in the cups to hold onto his lead after dressage. They’re on a score of 27.3, just 1.8 penalties (4 seconds) ahead of the rest of the field.
2️⃣ 
Hot on their heels in second is Bubby Upton with her 18-year-old pal Cannavaro, who came back to the big time with a bang, posting a sub-30 dressage score and adding nothing over the colored poles to sit on 29.1.
3️⃣ A two-second smidge behind Bubby is teammate Tom McEwen and this year’s Kentucky 5* fifth-placer Brookfield Quality. They remain on their dressage score of 28.9.
Best of the US is Boyd Martin, who’s going Commando 3 in Aachen with his exciting Kentucky 5* runner-up. They’re in 10th, still on their dressage score of 33.8.
You’ll find the full individual leaderboard right here.
As far as the team competition stands, this is how things are looking:
1️⃣ Great Britain 91.2
2️⃣ New Zealand 94.4
3️⃣ 
Germany 101.1
4️⃣ 
USA 107.6
You’ll find the full team leaderboard right here.
It all kicks off today at 9:55am CEST / 3:55am ET when the US team will get their cross country campaign underway with pathfinders Caroline Pamukcu and HSS Blake. Huge shout out to any US eventing superfans who’ve peeled themselves from their slumber to follow along this morning – we salute you 🫡
While we’re waiting for the first countdown of the day, here are some links for your perusal:
▶️ [Dressage Report]
▶️ [Show Jumping Report]
▶️ [Cross Country Preview]
Before get down to business, a little ‘refresher’ on the no. 1 rule of following EN’s classic live blog: refresh, refresh, refresh – and all will be revealed.
If you’re catching up with this later and are the type to like things in order, scroll ⬇️ and read ⬆️. If going backwards is more your jam, have at it.
We’re double-booted over in Germany, with both Tilly and Sally living it large at Aachen and bringing you all the inside info. You’ll find all of EN’s Aachen crazy right here. Want even more eventing? Sally’s all over our Instagram channel @goeventing – check out her backstage antics here.
Will Tim take the title from the front or can the Kiwi be toppled? We’ll know in approximately 3 hours’ time when the current leader takes to the course as last to go.
Have a great ride and go eventing!
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CHIO Aachen: [Website] [Program/Entries] [Timing & Scoring] [Live Stream] [EN’s Coverage]
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And that’s over and out from Aachen.
Excitement at the end, bad luck for Britain, but really popular winners in Tim Price and Vitali, who looks delighted with himself, looking round at his fans as he’s led away and cooled down. It’s a Kiwi win all round 🥝
It was success for the States too with a silver in the team competition 🥈
Here’s a look at the leaderboard following what’s been a fab day of sport:
1️⃣ Leading the pack is Tim Price and Vitali who stormed round the track landing on a score of 30.5 and taking the win for himself and his team.
2️⃣ Tom McEwen and Brookfield Quality sure showed their quality and finish on a score of 33.8.
3️⃣ Rounding out the top 3 is Gemma Stevens and Flash Cooley who had a great round to end up on a score of 36.
4️⃣ Best of the US and just off the podium is Will Coleman and Off The Record who delivered the second-fastest round of the day to cross the line just 2 seconds over and finish up just a squeak off third on a score of 36.4.
You’ll find the full leaderboard right here.
In terms of the team competition:
1️⃣ New Zealand – 108.5
2️⃣ USA – 117.2
3️⃣ Great Britain – 134.1
You’ll find the full leaderboard right here.
Keep it locked onto the website for EN’s classic full report – coming soon.
Thanks for coming along for the live blog ride ENers, until next time, go eventing!
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Tim Price and Vitali (Team)
OK, Tim’s going for the win, both individually and for the Kiwi team.
He’s down on the clock as we catch up with him coming towards the corners at 18ab. He takes not a single chance there, clearly making the line happen. The crowd is really loud as he comes into the stadium with the clock still green. It’s green as he steps out of the water and goes red over the penultimate fence. He drives through the keyhole and he’s done it. 8 seconds over, 3.2 time.
TIM PRICE AND VITALI HAVE WON AACHEN.
NEW ZEALAND HAS WON AACHEN.
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FINAL COMBINATION OUT ON COURSE: Tim Price and Vitali (Team)
Score: 27.3
Place: 1
Here we go… Will Tim hang on to his lead and win the whole dang thing? We’ll know very soon…
I’ll pick up with Tim once we see him…
We’re back with Bubby and seeing a problem. She scoots out of the side of the skinny at 13c. That’s a 20. Britain are out of the mix. They continue on to complete their round and jump well through the corners at 18ab. She comes into the stadium and the clock is racking up. The horse is jumping really well at the end of the course. Bubby must be so disappointed. She shakes her head as she crosses the line, but is clearly delighted with her horse’s efforts and points to him for the applause from the crowd. 20 jumping penalties, 15.2 time.
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PENULTIMATE COMBINATION OUT ON COURSE: Bubby Upton and Cannavaro (Team)
Score: 29.1
Place: 2
We’re down to the penultimate combination of the day.
We see Bubby set out of the start box looking to mean business. This lovely 18-year-old has got his ears pricked and looks up for this. We see them make nothing of the hollow at 7ab.
We catch up with Tom as he comes to the SAP combination at 16abc. Tom works hard through there, leaving nothing to chance and holding his line clearly with his right rein, but there’s no question about it. Very smooth. He’s great through the corners at 18ab. He’s got 30 seconds left on the clock as he drives with his elbows on his way into the stadium. He flies the steeplechase at 19 and get a great step out of the water. He pushes for the last and stops the clock 9 seconds over, 3.6 time penalties. They go into the lead as things stand.
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NEW COMBINATION OUT ON COURSE: Tom McEwen and Brookfield Quality (Team)
Score: 30.2
Place: 3
Tom is very neat and tidy through the hollow combination at 7ab. The horse looks well up for this and it all seems very easy. He’s quick as he comes for the water at 9abc. No worries there for them.
J flies over the SAP House at 15 and looks to be in a great rhythm. He’s careful down the hill after 16a and so very, very straight through the tractors at b and c. Beautiful. We rejoin him in a very noisy and excited stadium. He clears the fences in there to the German cheers and they cross the line 20 seconds over, 8 time penalties.
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NEW COMBINATION OUT ON COURSE: Jérôme Robiné and Black Ice (Team)
Score: 31.3
Place: 4
Oh! Laura’s had a 20 at 9b, the Rolex corner in the water. They just slid out to the side there. They’ll become the drop score for Britain now and Gemma Steven’s score will count. That’s a shame. The live stream isn’t showing them, sadly, but there’s a question mark on the live scoreboard at 12c, back in the water. It’s gone pink showing a missed flag. I’ll update you as things are confirmed. They finish up with 20 jumping penalties, 15 for the flag and 20 time.
The live stream’s focusing on the German rider on course, Jérôme, who I’m going to refer to a ‘J’ as I just can’t type those accents quick enough, sorry. He’s having a great round and is clear through the coffin comination at 13abc.
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NEW COMBINATION OUT ON COURSE: Laura Collett and Dacapo (Team)
Score: 31.9
Place: 5
We’re into the top 5 now.
We’re not seeing Laura at the start of her round, sorry.
Libussa seems to have got things back together as we see her through the combination at 13abc. No worries with the skinny there. She comes round to the combination at 16abc and take the straight route through there. Really balanced and accurate, very nice. They’re good over the corner combination at 18ab and the stadium is already applauding as they come in. They splash through the water and scramble up the step slightly. They’re through the keyhole to a big cheer. 20 to add for that early run out and 22.4 time.
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NEW COMBINATION OUT ON COURSE: Libussa Lübbeke and Caramia 34 (Team)
Score: 32.3
Place: 6
Oops, we see Libussa picking up an early 20 at 7b. They just don’t have the stride there and the horse stops. That’ll have an impact on the team competition, which I’ll update you on as soon as humanly possible.
Clarke’s got a question mark over the flag at 18a but really, they look fine and yes, it’s now been taken off. He finishes up with 8.4 time penalties in what seems to have been a great round, although we didn’t really see a whole lot of it.
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NEW COMBINATION OUT ON COURSE: Clarke Johnstone and Rocket Man (Team)
Score: 32.4
Place: 7
We see Clarke through the water at 9abc looking really good.
We join Padraig over the house at 15. They look to be going really nicely. They’re good over the log at 16a but then it all goes wrong through the tractors. The horse goes right towards the biggest part of the brush, Padraig steers left but it’s too much and they drive straight by the c element. That’s another 20 for them to add to the earlier one. They continue on. They finish up 1 minute 10 over, 28 time penalties and those two refusals adding another 40. That’s not really a true reflection of the round as a whole, to be honest. There was a lot to like with this horse and lots more to come from him, for sure.
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NEW COMBINATION OUT ON COURSE: Padraig McCarthy and MGH Zabaione (Team)
Score: 33
Place: 8
Oh dear, we pick up Padraig as he has a drive by at 7b. They have to navigate the driving obstacles as they come back round, but they’re clear the second time of asking and continue on their way.
Gemma looks to be having a fab round as we briefly catch sight of her through the water at 12. She’s motoring on as she comes round to the SAP combination. They’re quick over the log and down the steep drop then straight as a die through the tractors at 16bc. She’s motoring on. She comes to the corners at 18ab and there’s no doubt there. Gemma’s crouching low as she comes into the stadium with 30 seconds still left on the clock. She’s pushing. She flies the steeplechase at 19 and then takes a little pull just to be safe. The clock’s still green as she jumps the penultimate fence. It’s red now, they’re through the last and over the line. 7 seconds over, 2.8 time penalties. She goes ahead of Will.
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NEW COMBINATION OUT ON COURSE: Gemma Stevens and Flash Cooley (Team)
Score: 33.2
Place: 9
We see Gemma get off to a very quick start before we join Boyd out on course…
They’re absolutely flying. They hop the house at 15 and then come round for the tractor combination. They’re clean over the log at the a element but then things are a bit dicey through the tractors at b and c. The horse stays really close to the bigger brush part and Boyd is rubbed through it. He holds the line but he’s looking back and down. He’s lost a stirrup. It takes him a hot minute to get it back. Agh, that’ll have wasted some time. We see him come into the stadium with the clock still green. It’s green as he steps out of the water. Now it’s red. Through the keyhole, over the line, 8 seconds over, 3.2 time penalties. He goes into second as things stand, behind Will Coleman.
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NEW COMBINATION OUT ON COURSE: Boyd Martin and Commando 3 (Team)
Score: 33.8
Place: 10
We don’t see Boyd start his round, sorry. I’ll pick up with him once we get eyes on.
Caroline has a better time through the SAP combination at 16abc, the horse has obviously lost no confidence after that mishap in the water. We see them come into the stadium and hop the steeplechase at 19. They’re still green on the clock as they splash through the water. It turns red just before the penultimate fence and they fly the last. 12 seconds over, 4.8 time penalties.
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NEW COMBINATION OUT ON COURSE: Caroline Harris and D. Day (Individual)
Score: 34.3
Place: 11
D. Day’s poking his nose forward as he comes to the first couple of fences as if to say, let me at ’em. So cute. Yikes, we see a real moment in the water at 12c. The horse drops down on the fence and scrambles over. Caroline’s pitched out of the tack. What a brilliant recovery there. They continue on.
We rejoin Karin at the SAP fences at 16abc. They’re around 20 seconds down on the clock but go straight through there neatly enough. Karin powers on away from that fence, really opening the horse up to try and claim back some of that time. There’s a little wiggle through the corner combination at 18ab and then they push on for the stadium. She sets up for the table at 20 and then splash through the water. They’re careful over the penultimate and then through the keyhole and over the line. Karin’s delighted with her horse. She takes an unofficial lap of honor with this special horse. Eight major championships, multiple Aachen performances. What a star.
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NEW COMBINATION OUT ON COURSE: Karin Donckers and Fletcha van’t Verahof (Individual)
Score: 34.3
Place: 12
We’re going in reverse order now. Buckle up…
We see Karin go very neatly through the Turkish Airlines combination at 7ab and then get an absolute flier over the big CAMPUS ditch at 8. They navigate the first water at 9abc, taking the flag at b but no worries there for them. They’re brave over the two big logs at 10 and 11, navigating the ups and downs of the bumps there before coming back to go through the water for a second time. She sits back for the drop in and then takes a very smooth curving line through the b and c elements at 12. All good so far for them.
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NEW COMBINATION OUT ON COURSE: Felix Vogg and Frieda (Team)
Score: 37.2
Place: 21
We see Felix have a real moment coming into the big log at 10. He obviously feels Frieda backing off and he pushes on. They make it over without issue but that was a bit heart in mouth. They continue on and we see them pop very neatly and easily through the tractor combination at 16bc. Things seem to have got back on track for them. We see them through the stadium at the end of their round and the horse looks confident and full of run. They finish 26 seconds over, 10.4 time penalties.
We catch up with Andrew at the tractor combination at 16abc. They’re very neat over the log and down the hill and then straight as you like through the tractors. They push on along the track. Andrew brings him back to set up for the corner combination at 18ab and all looks to be well but then the horse just dips out at the shoulder and they pick up a 20. They come back around and activate the frangible device. Andrew’s shaking his head as he gallops away and ends up going off route slightly before righting things and coming into the stadium. That’s a shame because the round was going really well. They finish with 20 jumping, 11 for the frangible device. We don’t have a time for them just yet, sorry.
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NEW COMBINATION OUT ON COURSE: Andrew Cooper and Sharvalley Thunder (Team)
Score: 34.9
Place: 15
We see Andrew through the water at 9abc and they’re very neat and confident through there. He makes his way back around to go through again for 12abc and they’re equally neat the second time of asking.
Phillip’s a little down on the clock as he goes through the corners at 18ab on his way into the stadium. He’s neat and tidy through the stadium questions and completes 22 seconds over, 8.8 penalties.
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NEW COMBINATION OUT ON COURSE: Phillip Dutton and Denim (Individual)
Score: 36
Place: 17
Phillip loses his shades as he sets off on track, throwing them off to the side. The sun does look to have gone in at Aachen. We see him through the hollow at 7ab and they look really good through there. Phillip’s riding as an individual this time around with Denim, having gone earlier for the team with Possante. Denim takes a look down the drop at 12a but there’s no trouble there and they’re quick through the b and c elements. They’re quick through the combination at 13, almost not even registering the ditch in the middle of there. They come round to the SAP combination at 16abc and are neat over the log at the top of the hill. It’s all very calm and smooth through the tractors, really straightforward through there for this pair.
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NEW COMBINATION OUT ON COURSE: Frida Anderson and Stonehavens Baby Blue (Individual)
Score: 55.3
Place: 43
Well sadly we’re not going to see much of Frida’s course. The horse doesn’t quite make the jump over the table at 7a and they take a tumble. The horse is straight up and Frida too. The vets and medics will be there checking them both out but all looked to be well.
Oh dear, we catch up with Ryuzo as he has a problem at the corner at 12c in the water. Ryuzo does really well to stay on as he’s tipped right out of the tack. He rights himself and they continue on, it came up as a 20 but has been changed to a flag question. They take on the straight route through the tractors at 16bc and look good as they continue on. We rejoin them as they finish with 18 time penalties and that 15 for the flag which will be under review.
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NEW COMBINATION OUT ON COURSE: Ryuzo Kitajima and Be My Daisy (Individual)
Score: 43.8
Place: 35
We see Ryuzo get his round underway. The horse looks keen and is jumping well at the start of the course.
We join Sammi at the SAP combination at 16. They’re dead straight through there and very, very quickly away. They’re around 15 seconds down on the time at this point. Sam brings the horse back for the combination at 18ab, taking no chances there. They come into the stadium and hurdle the steeplechase at 19. Ah. The frangible device at 22 goes as they drop into the water. That’s so frustrating in what was a great round. They continue on to complete and finish with 6 time penalties and 11 for the frangible device.
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NEW COMBINATION OUT ON COURSE: Samantha Lissington and Lord Seekönig (Team)
Score: 34.7
Place: 14
We catch up with Robin at the SAP House at 14 as he makes his way round to the combination at 16. Robin has to work hard for the line through the tractors at 16bc but the horse listens and gets a big pat as they gallop away. They come around to the corners at 18 and they look to be good but then the horse just ducks out of the b element. That’s a shame as they were looking to be a real challenge for the time. That was a shame for them. They continue on and clear the stadium fences really nicely. They cross the line 20 seconds over, 8 time penalties, and that 20 for the late refusal at 18b.
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NEW COMBINATION OUT ON COURSE: Robin Godel and Global DHI (Team)
Score: 39.5
Place: 29
Stephane’s horse is really cute as he makes his way through the straight route at 16abc. His ears are flicking back and to as if to say, this one? OK. He’s really jumping nicely. They’re quite down on the clock as they come into the stadium but the horse jumps well through the questions in there and they cross the line with 12.4 time penalties. A nice round overall for them with lots of positives to take forward for the horse’s career. He looks pleased with himself as he trots off course.
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NEW COMBINATION OUT ON COURSE: Stephane Landois and Gainsbourg de Bedon (Team)
Score: 43.7
Place: 34
We see Stephane fly over the CAMPUS Ditch at 8 before we head back to Kevin’s round. We rejoin them as they take a big jump over the log at 12a into the water, but the horse looks to be listening to Stephane and building confidence as he goes.
We catch up with Kevin as he gallops past the hospitality on his way to the the SAP House at 15. The horse has his ears pricked right through the flags as they easily go straight through the tractors at b and c. That was really nice through there. There’s a question mark on the live scoreboard at the first of the corners at 18, which we didn’t see, but we do see them cross the line 22 seconds over, 8.8 time penalties.
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NEW COMBINATION OUT ON COURSE: Kevin McNabb and Faro Imp (Team)
Score: 52.1
Place: 40
Sarah’s really quick as she clears the SAP House at 15 before the tractor combination. She’s neat over the log at 16a and steady down the hill. She goes straight through the tractors at b and c, making nothing of that straight route. The clock turns red for them just before they enter the stadium. Sarah hunts the steeplechase at 19, sitting well back, and they they’re quick through the water. They take a flier over the table and then they’re through the keyhole and over the line 41 seconds over the time, 16.4 time penalites.
Update to Jonelle Price’s score – the flag penalties have been taken away.
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NEW COMBINATION OUT ON COURSE: Sarah Ennis and Dourough Ferro Class Act (Team)
Score: 48.8
Place: 39
We catch up with Sarah at the water for the second time for 12abc. She’s tipped forward a little down the drop but is quickly back up and sailing through the b and c elements.
Will’s just a couple of seconds down on the time as we join him on his way to the corner combinations at 18ab. No worries at all for them there. They’re quick and smooth and galloping towards home. He might just make it. He’s got 25 seconds as he clears the steeplechase at 19 and then comes through the water and over the step. They’re close. They clear the last as the clock turns red. A superb showing from them. 2 seconds over, 0.8 penalties. So close, but so, so good.
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NEW COMBINATION OUT ON COURSE: Will Coleman and Off The Record (Team)
Score: 35.6
Place: 16
‘Timmy’ powers out of the start box and towards the first fence before the live stream cuts back to Lara.
Lara’s looking quick and confident as she comes through the water for the second time. The horse drifts a little over the corner at 12c and takes the flag. We see them come round to the SAP combination a 16abc and oh no. They were going really well and Lara had a good go at the straight route but there’s a fair bit of squirrelling back and to between the two tractors and they pick up a 20 at the b element. They continue on but there’s more trouble at the corner combination at 18ab. They activate the frangible device at the a element and then pick up a 20 at the b element. It looks like she puts her hand up but then we see her in the stadium and crossing the finish line. That’s disappointing for Lara but there will have been a lot of learning going on for the horse and he didn’t seem to have lost any confidence despite having some troubles. Education for the future, that’s what it’s all about. That’s 40 jumping, plus 11 for the frangible device and 20.8 time penalties.
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NEW COMBINATION OUT ON COURSE: Lara de Liedekerke-Meier and Kiarado d’Arville (Individual)
Score: 37.7
Place: 24
We seem them go very neatly through the hollow at 7ab. The horse looks to be up for the test today. They get a lovely curving line through the first water at 9 in front of the big German crowd.
We catch up with Jessie as she comes to the SAP complex at 15 and 16abc. They get a flier over the house at 15 and then pop the hanging log for 16a. Jessie holds the line through the two tractors and they’re neat through there. They look to be a bit down on the time at this point. We rejoin them as they come through the stadium and cross the line 27 seconds over, 10.8 time penalties.
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NEW COMBINATION OUT ON COURSE: Jessica Phoenix and Freedom GS (Individual)
Score: 39
Place: 27
Jessie is very neat and confident through the hollow at 7ab. The horse has a big look at the ditch at 8 but takes it on. They gallop on along the track.
Jonelle’s still quick as she comes round to the SAP combination at 16abc. She brings Hiarado back but they’re still fast and straight through there. Very impressive. They are great through the arena but there’s a flag question showing on the live scoreboard for the corner at 18a. They cross the line 17 seconds over, 6.8 time.
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NEW COMBINATION OUT ON COURSE: Jonelle Price and Hiarado (Individual)
Score: 34.5
Place: 13
We see Jonelle over the big log at 10. Hiarado is really keen and quick as she gallops on round to go back through the water at 12abc. She drops in and then makes nothing of the duck at b. They get a smooth curving line round to the corner at c and continue on their way. They look to be going really well.
We catch up with Nicolai and Timmo on their way to the corners at 18ab. They’re showing as clear on the live scoreboard but we sadly haven’t seen much of this lovely horse. There’s a cheer as he gallops into the stadium. Timmo’s running on nicely and is really jumping well at the end of the track. He gets a great show through the keyhole. 19 seconds over, 7.6 time penalties. Timmo looks very well as he trots off course.
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NEW COMBINATION OUT ON COURSE: Nicolai Aldinger and Timmo (Individual)
Score: 39.6
Place: 30
Calvin’s showing as having a question mark on the live scoreboard at 7b. We see him take the longer route at 16abc and they’re actually neat and tidy through there. He made the loopy line look quite economical and smooth. Things have calmed down as they come through the corner combination at 18ab very nicely and then they come into the stadium. The horse looks to have grown in confidence as he’s continued round the course. They’re good over the table at the penultimate fence and then through the keyhole. A better finish to the round for them, which is good to see. They finish 40 seconds over, 16 time penalties.
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NEW COMBINATION OUT ON COURSE: Calvin Böckmann and Altir de la Cense (Team)
Score: 36.5
Place: 18
Eek, Calvin has a moment at 7ab. The horse has a look at the table at a, they make it over and have a bit of an untidy jump at the b element. They continue on and then we pick them up banking the duck in the water at 9c. A little breath needed for this pair, perhaps.
Artist is bar far the quickest of the day as we see him and Monica make a fab job of the tractor combination at 16. He’s flying and jumping and loving it all. He flies through the finish the fastest of the day, just 1 second over. What a delight to see a Thoroughbred galloping like he does. Just 0.4 of a penalty to add for them.
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NEW COMBINATION OUT ON COURSE: Monica Spencer and Artist (Team)
Score: 36.8
Place: 19
Monica’s fast as she sets off on her round. We see her make a great job through the water at 9abc. They gallop away quickly and make the loop round over the two logs at 10 and 11 before coming back to the water. Artist has got his thoroughbred on and looks really quick.
Meanwhile Philip’s flown through the finish line 16 seconds over, 6.4 time penalties. He looks to have had a great round although we didn’t really get to see a lot of it, sorry.
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NEW COMBINATION OUT ON COURSE: Philip Ryan and Amansara (Team)
Score: 37.5
Place: 23
We see Philip through the Rolex complex at 9 through the first water. They’re neat and tidy through there and gallop away really quick.
We join Morgane as she flies over the SAP house at 15 and then comes round for the straight route through the combination at 16. The horse looks to lean through his shoulder between the tractors but Morgane’s got her eye on the ball and they glide on through. She takes on the steeplechase at 19 from her stride and they’re actually quick on the clock. The cross the line 21 seconds over, 8.4 time penalties.
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NEW COMBINATION OUT ON COURSE: Morgane Euriat and Fixin de Conde (Team)
Score: 44.9
Place: 36
We see Morgane through the fist water at 9. They don’t look to be super quick but all’s good through there for them.
Bill’s still quick when we pick him back up at the water at 14 and they come into the combination at 16 very confidently. Straight through there for them, no questions at all. Super. They’re still flying and they head on to the final stages of the course. The clock goes red just as they’re in the stadium. They waste not a second over the questions in there at the end of what’s been a really great round and finish 19 seconds over, 7.4 time penalties.
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NEW COMBINATION OUT ON COURSE: Bill Levett and Sligo Candy Cane (Team)
Score: 41
Place: 33
Bill’s gelding looks very keen as we see him through the water at 9abc. He’s fast and light on his feet and is really taking this track on. He was speedy in the show jumping yesterday and looks to be delivering more of the same today.
We catch up with Georgie as she splashes through the water before galloping on along to the SAP combination at 16. She’s straight and smooth through the tractors, really good through there. We see her come into the stadium and cross the line 41 seconds over the time, 16.2 time penalties.
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NEW COMBINATION OUT ON COURSE: Georgie Goss and Kojak (Team)
Score: 45.7
Place: 38
Phillip doesn’t look to be motoring when we pick him up on his way to the water at 9abc. He gets a good shot through the combination there and heads on his way round the loop before coming back to the same water. Will he go straight through the SAP complex? Yes. Smooth, straight and clear through 16abc. He’s actually looking good on the clock despite not looking to be chasing it. Possante is ears pricked and jumping really nicely. They get a great shot through the corners at 18ab and then Phillip does put his foot down. They gallop into the stadium and fly the steeplechase at 19. They’re the quickest so far. The water is neat. They’re round the corner to the keyhole. Phillip takes a long one. They’re over the line. 14 seconds over – fastest so far – 5.6 time penalties.
Antonia has crossed the finish line having added 18.4 time penalties to her score.
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NEW COMBINATION OUT ON COURSE: Phillip Dutton and Possante (Team)
Score: 38.2
Place: 26
Phillip is the first of the counting scores for the US as things stand. We don’t get to see him at the start of his round though, sticking instead with the German rider…
Antonia looks to be having a great ride. There’s home crowd cheers for them as they head on round the track. They take the loopy long route at 16abc, adding quite a few seconds, but they’re smooth and clear through there.
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NEW COMBINATION OUT ON COURSE: Antonia Baumgart and Ris de Talm (Individual)
Score: 45.1
Place: 37
Antonia gets off to a great start and the horse looks to be keen for the job. He’s jumping neatly at the start of the course and they’re wasting no time as they take on the first water at 9abc. They loop on back to go through the water again for 12abc. All good for them thus far.
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NEW COMBINATION OUT ON COURSE: Pauline Knorr and Aevolet M-A-F (Individual)
Score: 52.6
Place: 41
The live scoreboard is showing Pauline as clear through 12abc. We catch up with her as she goes with the German route at the combination at 16abc, looping around to each fence rather than heading straight through there. They come around into the stadium and the horse looks to be getting strong. Pauline asks him to come back for the table but he just catches it and she’s propelled out of the plate. Oh, that’s so frustrating so very close to home. The horse trots off to the finish and Pauline is soon up on her feet.
We join Nina as she makes her way round the driving obstacles on her way to the SAP fences at 15 and 16. She opts for the same longer route as Anna through there. It is considerable longer but definitely a safer line, although the ones we’ve seen go straight through there have made a really good job of it.
Oh no. They have troubles at the corner at 18. The horse seems to leave a leg and Nina tumbles out the side door. The frangible device breaks for safety. Nina’s quickly up and walking off leading her horse. What a shame so close to home.
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NEW COMBINATION OUT ON COURSE: Nina Schultes and Grand Prix iWest (Individual)
Score: 37.8
Place: 25
Nina is the first of the individuals we’ll see today. We’ll hopefully pick her back up later but she’s showing as clear through fence 12abc.
We stay with Anna and get to hear the German cheers as they motor around the track. Anna’s having a peach of a ride this morning. They’re up on the clock compared to the others we’ve seen but Anna chooses to take a longer route through the SAP combination at 16abc. It’s certainly a much safer line but takes up quite a few seconds. The clock’s still green as they come into the stadium and fly the steeplechase. The horse looks like he doesn’t want this to end just yet. They’re quick around the questions through the water and over the finale 20 seconds down on the clock, 9.6 time penalties.
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NEW COMBINATION OUT ON COURSE: Anna Siemer and FRH Butts Avondale (Team)
Score: 37.2
Place: 22
We get to see home crowd favorite Anna at the start of the course. They horse is so good through the hollow at 7, really smooth. This is a really experienced pairing and it sure shows. He’s locked right onto the flags through the water at 9 and really shows us all how it’s done. He jumps really big over the log at 10. He looks fab.
Melody’s showing as clear through to fence 15 on the live scoreboard as we see her splash through the water and over the SAP House at 15. Sadly we only rejoin her at the very end of the course. They finish 21 seconds over, 8.4 time penalties.
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NEW COMBINATION OUT ON COURSE: Melody Johner and Erin (Team)
Score: 54.3
Place: 42
We catch up with Luc at the SAP complex at 15 and 16abc. They’re showing as clear so far on the live scoreboard. They make a great job of the line through the two tractors at 16ab, really tight. Luc’s pushing on as he comes to the corner combination at 18 before coming into the stadium. Ooo, the horse is looking out and pointing his nose a little, but Luc’s on it and encourages him back on the line to the second of the corners. That was a bit chancy. They’re back together as they take on the fences in the stadium. They make nothing of the questions in there and complete with 14 time penalties.
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NEW COMBINATION OUT ON COURSE: Luc Chateau and Cocorico de l’Ebat (Team)
Score: 40
Place: 31
It looks like we’re going to see the second half of each round so I’ll catch up with the new starter once we get to see them properly.
We join Sammi as she makes her way to the SAP complex at 15 and 16abc. The horse looks to be loving his time out there on course. He drifts a little into the first tractor at b but Sammi keeps him on his line and they make nothing of that line. She pushes on for the stadium and the last few fences. They steady up for the first corner at 18 and then curve round to the b element before racing into the stadium. They’re still green on the clock as they take the steeplechase at 19 and then it turns red right before the water. They come on round to the finale and finish 19 seconds over, 7.6 time penalties.
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THIRD COMBINATION OUT ON COURSE: Samantha Birch and Finduss PFB (Team)
Score: 39.2
Place: 28
We don’t get to see the start of Sammi’s round but she’s showing as clear through to fence 14 on the live scoreboard.
Ian’s neat through the coffin complex at 13abc then gallops past the hospitality down to the water, splashing through before taking the SAP House at 15. The horse has really settled into this round and is looking very impressive. He’s straight as a die through the two tractors at 16 b and c – so good. He powers away from there trying to catch up a few seconds. He’s quicker than Caroline but doesn’t look like he’s going to make it. He’s going quick though. He gallops into the stadium and flies the steeplechase at 19. They’re giving it everything and are very fast through the water. He’s round to the keyhole finale and wastes no time. 23 seconds over, 9.2 time penalties. A superb round from them.
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SECOND COMBINATION OUT ON COURSE: Ian Cassells and Millridge Atlantis (Team)
Score: 37.1
Place: 20
Hoping for the luck of the Irish, Ian’s round gets off to a quick start and they make nothing of the first few fences and fly through the first combination at 7ab and head on to the water at 9. The horse is fighting a little, really keen for the job, but he’s jumping brilliantly.
He gallops on back around to the water for the second time and looks to be having a great ride.
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FIRST COMBINATION OUT ON COURSE: Caroline Pamukcu and HSS Blake (Team)
Score: 40.6
Place: 32
Caroline is away for the US! Blake looks up for it as he clears the first few fences and gallops off along the track.
She brings him back to set up for the Turkish Airlines complex at 7 and they make that look really simple. They get a flier over the CAMPUS Ditch at 8 and then come to the first water at 9. They get a great shot through the water, over the brush and then through the corner before taking on the duck for the c element. All good so far for this pair.
It’s a perfect day for cross country at Aachen and the course looks beautiful.
They come back round to the water for 12abc, dropping in neatly and then taking on another duck at b. They’re neat over the corner for c and then continue on. They’re tidy through the rail ditch skinny combination at 13 and then splash through another water before taking the SAP house out of their stride.
Blake does look to be enjoying his round, and looks a tad strong at times. Caroline’s getting him back for the fences though. They’re a bit squirrelly into the SAP combination at 16 and take the flag at the first tractor at b. She straightens him up though and they look to have been clear there. They are down on the clock at this point.
They gallop into the stadium to finish up their round. They have a great shot over the steeplechase fence at 19 and then set up for the gate into the water at 22 before stepping up out. They come around to the key hole for the finale and cross the finish line. 45 seconds over the time for 18 time penalties but a smooth round on the whole.
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CHIO Aachen: [Website] [Program/Entries] [Timing & Scoring] [Live Stream] [EN’s Coverage]
Saturday Links from World Equestrian Brands 4 Jul 2025, 11:01 pm
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Major International Events
CHIO Aachen: [Website] [Program/Entries] [Timing & Scoring] [Live Stream] [EN’s Coverage]
U.S. Weekend Preview
Summer Coconino H.T. I (AZ): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times/Scoring] [Volunteer]
Bouckaert Equestrian H.T. (GA): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times] [Scoring] [Volunteer]
Mile High H.T. (CO): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times] [Scoring] [Volunteer]
Links & Reading
Emergency rule change bans unnatural mouth foam as it’s ‘clearly against horse welfare’
Book Excerpt: Goodbye, Pyramid…Hello, Spiral!
Understanding Hindgut Problems in Horses
Stars of the future shine at Project Pony Aston-le-Walls
Better Post-Exercise Cooling of Horses
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Video Break
Sorry, not sorry, but too funny not to share!
It’s the Plot Twist Olympics: Tim Price and Vitali Lead After Tough Aachen Showjumping 4 Jul 2025, 4:29 pm
Tim Price and Vitali. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
When we last caught up with you, a scant few hours ago, we’d finished the dressage at the CHIO Aachen CCIO4*-S with a duo of leaders: Tim Price and Vitali found themselves head to head with 27-year-old German talent Jérôme Robiné and Black Ice after both men — and both little black horses — put a 27.3 on the board. But we knew a seriously influential showjumping course was to come this evening in the CHIO’s sprawling main stadium, and we knew the penalty margins were so tight that even a whisper of time could send competitors tailspinning down the leaderboard. We knew there’d be change. We knew there’d be poles. We knew there’d be heartbreaks and triumphs. We knew one of our leaders — sweet, frustrating Vitali — is prone to a succession of rails when the pressure (or the prize money) creeps upwards. So what would it be?
It would be, ultimately, Vitali’s gotcha moment. As the penultimate horse and rider in the ring, he and Tim followed 43 prior rounds, in which 33 rails had fallen down, sending the leaderboard into turmoil. But here, as Vitali has so often at much less atmospheric CCI4*-S competitions, he pricked his ears, lifted his toes, and made the whole exercise look like he was born to do it. Gratifying? Absolutely — for once, Tim will get to tackle the final phase of a major competition knowing that he’s in the lead and preparing to tackle the gelding’s strongest suit. But baffling? Totally — even, or perhaps especially, for Tim himself, who has spent years trying to figure out what exactly it is that makes showjumping such an uphill battle with the quirky little horse.
“He’s an athlete, and I know he’s a good jumper, and I don’t know what — I still haven’t worked out what it is at those big ones,” says a pleased but undeniably confused Tim. “This was, I thought, his biggest short format challenge to date, because of the atmosphere. I’ve always been concerned about the atmosphere at the big five-stars, but really, now, I have to maybe reconfigure it a little bit and really think about what it means to him: the way he tries around the big cross countries, and what it means to his body and everything for the next day. Because he’s a very sound horse, and he comes out feeling really good on a Sunday. But anyway, he jumped great today!”
Tim Price and Vitali. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
“I’ll work until the dying day of either of us, because he’s such a talented horse, and he’s a pleasure, and he can be so special. So I will happily — not happily — but I’ll go and try and try and try and try with him,” he continues.
Perhaps one of the game changers today has been a shift in the pair’s training for this phase: recently, they’ve been training with British-based Irish jumper Shane Breen, a previous winner of the Hickstead Derby among his many accolades.
“I think that the method of training, I’ve been improving and adapting it as time’s gone on. I’ve had a really useful bit of help over the years, but just recently with Shane Breen, who also we’re lucky enough to have him on the ground here. He’s a master at what he does. He kept me away from jumping too many fences today — he literally has a number, like eight fences [that I’m allowed to jump], and so we don’t use a single one that’s not required. There’s a plan every time and he just breathes some really good, nutritious stuff into me. It gives me the confidence to go and stick to the plan.”
Like any good athlete, Tim has also been interrogating whether he’s bringing something to the table that’s causing a hitch in the plan. But with so many successful showjumping rounds, both in eventing and pure showjumping under his belt, he’s certainly not short on valuable mileage.
“I’ve got a lot of good jumpers, but then you go through sort of ebbs and flows of all these different aspects of a horse and the talent and everything,” he says. “And so I think having good jumpers and going through the motions has got me in a really good place where I don’t focus on the wrong things. I know that I’m going to see a distance to number one. I’m not out here fretting; I just go around the corner and jump number one and ride on the line. That’s all through jumping lots and lots of rounds over the last eight years down in Sunshine Tour and everything else. It’s just time and experience.”
Tim Price and Vitali. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Today’s course, he explains, was built to challenge even the most capable horses and riders.
“It had quite a bit of variation in its height, which is maybe a little misleading to walk, because it can put you in a slight casual mindset, a little bit,” he explains. “But for the horse, it actually, I think, makes it more difficult in a way. Number four was quite small, but then the next one’s uphill, a decent oxer, and they have to try — and around the corner’s an even chunkier oxer to a short enough two strides, to a vertical that’s just sort of out of nowhere. A double to a double is very rare [for us]. We rolled down eight or nine strides downhill to another double that was this much longer. I don’t think I’ve done that before in the ring, and a few others have said that too. And then just a demanding last couple of lines. That big red oxer did jump well, but Shane was saying it’s caused quite a lot of problems in the other classes it’s been used in. It took a bit of leg, followed by a rail that’s three inches wide. And then the last line was the last line, it’s just a physically demanding last line. They’ve got to use themselves and try hard through there. The time, I thought, maybe could have been two seconds faster, even though I was only a second inside, but I knew I was flirting with that.”
Bubby Upton and Cannavaro. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
The pair will stay on their first-phase score of 27.3 going into tomorrow morning’s tight, twisty, technical cross-country course, on which the time is always achingly tight — but now, they’re not sharing that top spot with anybody. Jérôme and Black Ice, last in the ring, just tipped one rail in an otherwise impressive round, which drops them to fourth individually, below now-second-placed debutant Bubby Upton and Cannavaro, who jumped a stylish clear as pathfinders, and Tom McEwen and Brookfield Quality, who also added nothing to their scorecard. Previously third-placed Monica Spencer and Artist of New Zealand slid down to nineteenth after two expensive rails, further widening Tim’s leading margin to 1.8 penalties, or 4 seconds in hand tomorrow.
Tom McEwen and Brookfield Quality. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
The shift around on the leaderboard also changes the state of play for the eight teams in the Nations Cup competition. Great Britain now leads the way by a margin of 3.2 penalties, thanks to those excellent rounds from Bubby and Tom, plus clears inside the time for Laura Collett and Dacapo, now fifth up from first-phase sixth, and Gemma Stevens and Flash Cooley, who stepped up to ninth from thirteenth.
“Obviously, we’ve come here to be competitive,” says Laura of the British contingent. “All of us as individual riders are very competitive riders, and put us together on a team, and it makes us even more competitive. So we’re all here to try and get the job done, to be honest. We’re on quite experienced horses, and most of us have been here as riders before, so we kind of know what to expect, and that it’s not going to be a nice, easy, comfortable ride tomorrow. It’s going to have to feel a bit like a bit of a helter skelter, but hopefully we can stay where we currently are. Every time you come here, it feels like a bit of a mini Championship in itself; it’s super competitive. Apart from the Olympics, and Europeans and stuff, we don’t have an atmosphere as big as in that arena, and just everything that’s going on here and the size of the arena and everything that goes with it just makes it feel extra special.”
Boyd Martin and Commando 3. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
The New Zealand team is now in second place, having swapped places with the Brits, while the Germans sit third. Team USA are waiting in the wings in fourth place, helmed by Boyd Martin and Commando, who moved up to tenth from fifteenth after adding nothing to their score of 33.8.
“I’m just so lucky that Peter [Wylde] is here as my coach and mentor in the show jumping phase,” says Boyd. “And he’s brilliant — he’s ridden in this ring for so many years, and he knows exactly the warm up procedure and when to get up the gate and how the ring rides and what studs to use. He was very kind to me to come over a little bit early to Belgium and help me jump the horse a couple days ago. Connor is a fantastic jumper, and I wasn’t sure how he’d react to a big, spooky ring, but he was fantastic. I feel like [after] the run at Kentucky five-star, he’s really grown up and come on, like he’s a man now. He was like a little teenager up until this year and this year, now he’s a champ.”
The US is very much fronting an A-team here at Aachen, with Boyd joined by 2021 champions Will Coleman and Off The Record, who moved up from 24th to 16th with their faultless round, Phillip Dutton and Possante, who dropped from 16th to 26th with a solitary rail, and Caroline Pamukcu and HSH Blake, who had an expensive two rails to move from 11th to 32nd.
“I don’t think we’ve got a team strategy,” says Boyd. “It’s my first time here, and you know, I’ve never ridden this track before, and I’m on a good horse, though, and I’ll go as fast as I can without risking an injury. I don’t think I can win it, but I’ll go quick and give it a good shot and hopefully finish in the top group.”
Tomorrow’s cross-country finale gets underway at 9.55 a.m. local time (8.55 a.m. BST/3.55 a.m. EST), and will now run in a new and, if we’re honest, reasonably baffling order of go, which will see Caroline Pamukcu and HSH Blake act as the pathfinders for the day. From the top twelve onwards, we’ll be running in reverse order of merit — you can check out the times in full here, and you’ll be able to follow all the action via the livestream on ClipMyHorse.TV, and right here on EN, where we’ll be running live updates throughout. We’ve also got an in-depth look at tomorrow’s course, newly designed by 2022 World Championships designer Giuseppe della Chiesa, right here. Dig in, get comfortable, and let’s go eventing!
The individual top ten after showjumping at Aachen.
The team standings after showjumping at Aachen.
CHIO Aachen: [Website] [Program/Entries] [Timing & Scoring] [Live Stream] [EN’s Coverage]
An Eye to the Future: Previewing Giuseppe Della Chiesa’s CHIO Aachen Cross Country 4 Jul 2025, 4:23 pm
We came to CHIO Aachen this year with high anticipation. After all, this site will, for the first time in 20 years, see the return of *most* disciplines in a reunited World Championships next year that will harken back to the World Equestrian Games of 2006. With that in mind, it falls to newly-installed course designer Giuseppe Della Chiesa (ITA) — also the designer for our most recent World Championships held at Pratoni del Vivaro in 2022 — to put together a track that allows him to fact-find for 2026.
As a result, we’ve got quite a different look and feel to the track, which was designed by Germany’s Rüdiger Schwarz previously before he retired. Giuseppe and his team have taken on the workload to open up new areas of the property — which isn’t boundless to begin with. It’s a completely different piece of land in comparison to the expansive terrain in Pratoni, but Giuseppe sees a future for this course, and that’s what he’s designing for.
“This was the main thing — what can we do to produce the course for next year?” Giuseppe told me. “So we came with the idea to produce something for next year, but especially to produce a venue for the next 20 years. This was the thinking. I spoke with the organizer. [I asked] ‘What is your intention for the next 20 years — to go on with eventing or not?’ Yes? Okay, then we try to produce a venue that can give for the future a lot more possibilities of changing course, of getting, you know, an instance.”
British rider Tom McEwen describes Aachen as “an unofficial five-star Short.”
“[Giuseppe] has designed an awesome course,” he said. “It lets you flow into it, and then all of a sudden, the intensity really hits you. We all know that the time is the biggest problem and I’ve seen many the top rider on the top horse just have the odd thing because of speed, which makes it an exciting show.”
And so we look ahead to this new design, which has received largely favorable reviews from the riders coming in from their walks. Most prominent in terms of flow, the first six or so fences are set on a yawning loop that will allow the riders to get their horses up into the bridle before the intensive, twisting parts of the track come in to play.
[The first combination comes at 4AB, and while it shouldn’t cause much trouble, riders will want to be aware of their right aids to keep their horses on the line and ensure they’ve got the tools they need as the course progresses.]
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After a handful of single fences on a gentle uphill slope to get the horses up in the air, riders will tackle the first combination at 4AB, a set of brush arrowheads positioned on a related, left-handed distance down a double mound. This question shouldn’t really cause much trouble, but will be good information for riders to use as they move on — Giuseppe says he’s set this on a somewhat progressive tone, with similar-feeling questions at increasing technicality coming later on.
[The BC and D elements of the straight route here involve a rollercoaster of a terrain change in between.]
The first big question comes at fence 7ABCD. This is a famous heartbreaker type of fence, where many great riders have come to grief, what with the distraction of the combined driving obstacles and the undulating terrain that compels riders to have a horse that can maintain a line.
After getting up over a big table at 7A, the riders will tackle two arrowheads, set again on a left-handed related distance but with the additional challenge of a steep, rollercoaster-esque dip in the terrain. There is an option here that will send riders off to the right should they not wish to answer this question right away or have trouble at the BC element.
From there, the hits just keep coming. The time is wheeled tightly at 6:35 — shorter than the course’s recent counterparts — and riders will need to ensure they keep the RPMs up while maintaining the necessary control to execute the turning and technicality exercises well. The next challenge comes at 9ABC, where the horses will get their feet wet for the first time.
This is another newer, or at least significantly modified, addition to the track; you’ll recall there was once a bridge over this Rolex water that frankly was barely used as more than decoration, but that has been removed this year. For Giuseppe, the removal of the bridge (which was done because it needed redoing and the organizers opted to just remove it) actually gives him more options.
“So we don’t have a bridge anymore, and now the water is much more accessible,” he explained. “And now we actually can go twice in water, no problem. I made this new exit [and] entrance with the brush down the hill, and now for the future we have many different options.”
The brush down the hill comes after a mound to 9A, a brush vertical that feeds the horses down into the water and over a right-handed corner and then a duck in the water off a left-handed turn at C.
[This is another series of fences that look somewhat deceiving in photos, as it’s hard to capture the steep dip in terrain that occurs between 10 and 11.]
We’ll then have another rollercoaster, line-testing question at 10 and 11 that will test footwork and rideability over two inviting logs. They’ll then come back into the Rolex water at 12, jumping a hanging log with a nice, guiding ground line to feed them in, followed by another duck in the water, and a right-handed corner off a short related distance.
Need to take a breath? Think again! You’ve now only got a few seconds to prepare for the coffin — a very “classical coffin”, as Giuseppe puts it, at 13ABC that features a steep downhill after a MIM-pinned airy rail. A very narrow arrowhead awaits at C, and Bettina Hoy noted on our walk that the steepness of the hill and the ditch could throw an odd wiggle into some horses, which will of course make the C that much more difficult to attain.
The next combination — and one that could exert its fair share of influence — comes at 16 ABC. The A element of this, a brush vertical, comes at the top of another mound, this time off a relatively short left-handed turn. Riders will need to find their line immediately after the A, as they’ll get pulled downhill to a pair of offset hedges set at a standard two-stride distance.
The view through 16A to the offset brushes below.
“That’s a real five-star angle for me,” Irish rider Padraig McCarthy told me. “There’s no deviation of your line, and if your horse isn’t reading it, you’re going to have a mistake. I think we might see people going long, especially if it’s influential at the start of the competition.”
You’re almost home at 18, which is perennially an influential question as it’s the final one before riders enter into the stadium to finish. By now, most are chasing the time, and can get caught out with a silly mistake here. This year, the combination has been backed off of its previous location closer to the road, and it’s a pair of left-handed open corners set on three strides. It’s a fairly straightforward question, but again, the complexity factor should be added in when accounting for the desire to catch the time.
Fence 21 features a MIM-pinned gate into the water.
After this, riders will gallop into the festive, raucous main stadium, where a handful of fences and an eager crowd of spectators await them. Giuseppe’s done a steeplechase brush, a MIM oxer, a MIM gate into the water and a step out, as well as the traditional keyhole to finish on. While these are generally more of speed bump questions, we’ve seen more than a few riders get caught up in a flat jump trying to get home, so he’s done his due diligence here to try to slow them down as much as possible.
“This course here, the only place where you can really make time is the beginning,” Giuseppe said. “The risk is that, if you go out really as a bullet… you risk to come to [4AB] with a horse that is all very free, and then here you could run into trouble. If we have nobody in the time, I’m not worried. But then the time becomes the deciding factor. And so… you still put some pressure on them, and some little mistakes come and that becomes more exciting.”
Giuseppe’s design philosophy comes down to challenging the riders. To him, the general 4* horse can jump any question. It’s a matter of placing questions in a way that makes the riders think and make good decisions. This is his way of laying out a challenge that tests the best without crushing the rest; a philosophy he’ll be tested even further on next year at World Championships.
“You can design for the horses or for the riders,” he elaborated. “I will say, I like to design for the riders. If a rider rides well, he has a horse that is well prepared. [The horse] doesn’t need to be a star; the normal horse must be able to do things. Then the good ones are the ones that can do it more economically and be a bit quicker. Sometimes it’s more… you’re testing their brain. The adaptability of the horse that is under control. Sometimes you have horses that are very powerful, but no real control.”
“It definitely needs good riding,” echoed Belgian Olympic legend Karin Donckers, who’s brought the 20-years-young Fletcha van’t Verahof here and who also competed at WEG in 2006. “You have to be on the right line, the right angle, everything has to be right. You’re not going to finish the course by luck. And that’s what I think the future for the sport is, and what we like — it’s the schooling of the horses, the good education, the trust, the good building up to this highest level. And I think if you did all that well, then you have the benefit [here she used a Dutch phrase that she didn’t know the English version of, so consider this your eventing ad libs for the day] — you have the big result in competitions like this.”
And so we anxiously await the official christening of this new track, which for all intents and purposes feels very much like a sneak preview of World Championships next year. Giuseppe’s already built some other features that aren’t being used this weekend but will factor in next year, and of course there will be more ground to use to lengthen the track to 9 or 10 minutes for Worlds.
We’ll get a first taste of the track starting at 9:55 am local time / 3:55 am EST on Saturday, so be sure to tune in live on ClipMyHorse.TV and/or via Cheg Darlington’s live blog here on EN.
Want a better look at the course? See the post below to see our walkthrough:
Safe rides to all, and Go Eventing!
CHIO Aachen: [Website] [Program/Entries] [Timing & Scoring] [Live Stream] [EN’s Coverage]
Best for Last: Jérôme Robiné Takes Individual CHIO Aachen Lead; Kiwis Take Charge of Team Competition 4 Jul 2025, 11:05 am
Jérôme Robiné and Black Ice. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
There’s busy, and then there’s Friday at Aachen busy: a spectacular sort of day in which the alarm goes off at 5:45 in the morning and we have to pick our way through the smashed glasses and cigarette butts of last night’s party in the riders’ lounge to make the first test of the day bright and early. So bright and early, in fact, that we get through every single test by early afternoon, chase our tails for a couple of hours to make sense of it all, and then go straight into the showjumping. Nice and normal! Very sensible! We are not okay!
So it’s been a bit of a hefty morning of sport, you could say. Energy levels were dipping as we headed into the final session of the day. We were all dreaming about the Dubai chocolate more than we were deliberating on double-marked changes.
The last two tests of the 44 we’ve seen throughout the course of the day, though, proved the most pivotal (which is a thrilling culmination of tension and anticipation, no doubt, but also really bad news if you’re a hungry journalist or spectator hoping to sneak off to lunch ahead of the rush).
One of those two key tests won’t come as much of a surprise to anyone, while the other might still be something of a new name to the more casual fan of the sport. The former? New Zealand’s Tim Price and Vitali, who are well-known for their first-phase prowess – they, of course, hold the Burghley dressage record of 18.7, which is a score so low that it’s almost a bit obscene, really. The latter? The exceptional young German talent Jérôme Robiné and Dorothea von Zedtwitz’s Black Ice, who have also flirted with very low scores before, including a 22.8 at Blenheim last year en route to third place. The pair of competitors share the top spot on the leaderboard at the culmination of the first phase, each having produced a 27.3.
Jérôme Robiné and Black Ice. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Jérôme is just 27, but already represents one of his country’s great next-gen hopes – an accolade he and the Federation alike have been working towards for a number of years as Jérôme has furthered his education within the Warendorf training system.
As the last rider in the ring, Jérôme was following 43 horses and riders who had mostly left the arena feeling dejected about the numbers on the board – and just three thus far had managed to slip below 30.
But, he admits, he was blissfully unaware of a whole morning’s worth of marks-based misery.
“I don’t really look at any marks or other riders, to be honest,” he laughs. “I didn’t even know the standings! I just knew that they judged quite hard, as everyone said it. Of course, everyone I talked to in the stable said that to me, but I don’t really look at marks or at standings. [My philosophy is that] I will do it my way.”
That way, he continues, was simple: just keep ticking boxes.
“I knew that if I just go around and it’s nothing spectacular, it will be [a] very low mark,” he says. “So I tried to remember my test in Blenheim last year, where I scored just under a 23: there, I had just a short warm up, and he’s quite fresh so he’s quite forward and in front of me. I wanted to try to get this at Aachen again, and it worked out pretty well.”
Five years of solid partnership building, he says, plays a big part in being able to make those plans, seek out success, and embrace productive pre-dressage minimalism with the now 15-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding.
“I think we’ve known each other for quite a long time now, so there’s not that much preparation needed. Of course, as a rider, you always want to have everything perfect and do this again and do this again, but sometimes you think you have to take a little risk and say, ‘okay, we can both do it. We don’t have to train it three times before we go in.’ So I think it was the key today.”
That’s a lesson he learned at Badminton this year, where the pair finished a very respectable 20th after beginning the week on a 35.2.
“He really gets better and better. His bending, his energy — everything gets that bit better. At the end of last year, Blenheim was his peak. And then at Badminton, there was the five-star test, which I was not 100% sure about, and I think I tried to do too much [in the warm-up]. So I came back to my own plan today, trusted him more, and it really worked.”
Jérôme, who received a fairly deafening roar of support from his countrymen after his final halt and salute, is counting down the minutes until he and Black Ice can showjump in the main arena this evening – “he grows a bit in there, and it’s always special under the lights!” – but before he gets there, he’s taking a moment to enjoy exactly where he is: in the lead at the world’s greatest four-star, with his horse of a lifetime.
Tim Price and Vitali. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
While it might have seemed like a sure thing for Tim Price and Alexander and Joseph Giannamore’s and his own Vitali to take the lead today, horses often aren’t that easy to place a bet on – and the 15-year-old Holsteiner’s last FEI run, at Badminton in May, saw him post a surprising 30.6 on his way to tenth place.
Today, though, he felt well on his way back to his very best.
“I thought Vitali was really good,” says Tim, “But they’ve been marking really tough, haven’t they? At least they’ve stayed consistent with it. We all know he can do a really nice test, but he’s recently been a little bit edgy – Badminton’s its own kind of beast, being earlier on in the season, and they’re so fit, and he was a bit fresh there.”
But, he continues, “he’s felt really good here this week, and it’s fun to have him here. He’s not had an opportunity to come here before – there’s always been other [events] that are maybe a bit more suited to the longer plan. So it’s fun that I’ve had an opportunity to bring him because he’s usually quite good at his shorts.”
Vitali, who’s a real two-phase specialist, has historically struggled in the showjumping – and has lost out on a couple of five-star titles as a result. But jumping tonight in the main stadium could suit him better, says Tim – or at the very least, it might offer some insight into the greatest mystery in his string.
“He’s won the British Open twice, and he can go a whole season not having a rail down – except five down at Burghley,” laughs Tim with a grimace. “Only the ones that are worth a hundred grand. The ones that are worth £170, we go clear every time! I’m still figuring it out. I don’t think it’s all about the order of the showjumping – I think it’s that atmosphere, and we’re certainly going to get some atmosphere here. So I’ve got a job to do, and hopefully I can ride him in the way that gives him a chance of jumping a half decent round.”
Monica Spencer and Artist. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Tim’s teammates, Monica Spencer and Spencer Eventing’s ex-racehorse Artist, produced one of just four sub-30 tests today and go into showjumping in provisional third place on a score of 28.8.
“He’s such a good boy,” grins Monica, who has been based in the US since early 2024. “He loves being at these amazing places with people watching him. He’s doing it for all those bay Thoroughbreds out there!”
We last saw Monica and Max run in an FEI class at Kentucky this spring, where they finished eighth in the CCI5* after starting on a score of 29.3 – but like Tim and Jérôme ahead of them, this is a pair that’s not averse to flirting with the very low 20s when the feeling’s right (and, presumably, when the judges are having a jollier day).
On that point, Monica is pragmatic: “I never talk about the judging, really, because we’re all sitting in front of the same judges. So I’m just happy to have a score on the board, and I’m happy that it’s in the 20s.”
The pair flew over ten days ago to allow Max plenty of time to settle in and freshen up after his flight, and since then, says Monica, her focus has been on “making him feel happy and good in his body – and treating him like the king that he is!”
Though she leaves the arena with no regrets, Monica has filed away some notes for improvement in her next test.
“In my extended circle, I came back too early,” she says. “He was so rideable in there that I almost overdid it, so then I came back a bit early. I probably could have showed off the big stride a little longer. Then I just had a couple of little wobbles in the half-passes and shoulder-ins. But his overall way of going and the frame, I think I had good – it’s just making sure I stay accurate. It can always be better. I’ll be looking at every single little thing as a training thing for the future. Not so much beating myself up about today, because it’s done now, and we’re just happy that it went well. Could have gone better, could have gone worse! So we’re just onto the jumping now. Eyes always forward!”
Bubby Upton and Cola. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Fourth place is held at this early stage by Great Britain’s Bubby Upton, who, like Monica, is making her Aachen debut this week. She was the first rider in the ring achingly early this morning, and our first sub-30 score of the day, which might have given us all the false sense that this would be a very merry day of sport – a sense that was swiftly discarded, of course.
If anyone’s a match for a tough day of judging, though, it’s 26-year-old Bramham champion Bubby, who left no marks on the table for accuracy. The pair posted a smart 29.1 that might not rank among their best scores of all time – they’ve hit the mid-20s at five-star previously – but serves them well today.
More importantly for Bubby, it’s a poignant return to a major stage with her longtime partner and Bicton Under-25 Champion, who was sidelined for two years and returned to FEI competition at Kelsall Hill CCI3*-S in April.
“I’m absolutely thrilled,” says Bubby. “Mark aside, he was just fantastic. He’s a horse that I’ve had a long time – he’s like a dear old friend of mine, just like putting on an old pair of slippers. He tries his heart out every time and this was no different. Having him back is so special; he’s 18 now, and so he’s an older boy, but definitely doesn’t feel it or look it — he feels incredible, and it’s a huge credit to my team at home for getting him back. It’s my first time ever here, and to be here on him is extra special.”
Bubby has spent the spring quietly training Rachel Upton’s Cannavaro back to his former peak – something that she says was a case of slow and steady winning the race after so much time off.
“He obviously came back a bit slower after his break, and didn’t feel like he did when we left off, but we just gave it time and patience, and I feel like he’s really peaked here today,” she says. “We were absolutely thrilled with him. The judge at H gave him a 25.8 and we feel like that was [indicative of] the work that he produced in there.”
Even before his time off, this phase was a long-term project and labour of love for Bubby and her horse, to whom it didn’t always come naturally.
“With him, he obviously knows all the tricks and everything, but he was a show jumper before I got him, so he found the dressage really difficult and very, very stressful early on in his career. So although he’s 18, it’s always about giving him confidence. When he trusts you and has that confidence, he’ll do anything for you – and he went in there today and he was just amazing. So rideable. I could really show him off and genuinely, apart from [a wobble in the] reinback, I wouldn’t have changed anything. He was absolutely beautiful.”
So how do you build confidence in a phase that’s less about balls-to-the-wall bravery, and more about subtleties of communication?
“It’s just repetition for me, and just a lot of reward and reassurance with him,” explains Bubby. “He’s not a horse that you’d ever want to kind of over correct, because he does panic. For me, with my horses and my system, it’s about knowing each horse and making sure that I adapt to their needs and to get the best out of them. And for him, it’s definitely always a pat and a reassurance to let him know that it’s okay even if he did it wrong, we’ll just repeat it and go again. And he’s thrived off that over the years.”
Bubby relished the chance to get the competition underway – a role that takes a certain sort of nerve.
“I feel that pressure is a privilege, and I just feel like it’s a real honour to be given the responsibility to be first for the team, and obviously first in the whole competition as well then adds to that even more,” she smiles. “So, yeah, I’m really excited for the challenge. He’s an amazing horse to be sat on for it.”
Tom McEwn and Brookfield Quality. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
The fifth place at this early stage is the domain of her teammates Tom McEwen andohn and Chloe Perry’s and Alison Swinburn’s Brookfield Quality, who start their weekend on a 30.2.
“It’s tough out there, really having to earn your marks,” says Tom moments after his test with the sixteen-year-old gelding. “I thought Bubby this morning did a lovely, flawless, lovely test – and I mean, she’s in a great position still, but you’d love to see her earn a few more points ahead of other people.”
In his case, though, he says, “obviously, you can never judge your own test. You can only go on what you feel. For ‘Norris’, he felt absolutely fantastic – I’m really pleased with him. He gave me some lovely changes for the double marks, and for me, he was really cool, because he’s a horse who spooks at flowers, and you have to slightly feel your way around [the ring]. It’s a little bit like everything Norris does – like, he’ll pick up on things other horses don’t. We thought at the grand old age of sixteen, that might have been out the system by now, but definitely not! And that makes him who he is. But I couldn’t be happier with his test today. It’s a very good start for him.”
Tom, who finished fifth with the Irish Sport Horse at Kentucky, reckons this is an event that will suit him for similar reasons.
“Kentucky’s an incredible event, with a surface a little bit like here and a great atmosphere. So for me, it’s a great setup for here,” he says. “Since then, he’s had a little bit of a break, and Norris is famous for doing his Open Novices before he comes to the big shows, so I’ve been out and smashed out an Open Novice ’round Farley. Even though it’s only 1.10m, it was great for him, and the cross country had everything, a little coffin and skinnies everywhere, and different turning lines.”
Discovering that Norris likes to drop right back down before a big outing has been the work of years – and several riders. He was previously campaigned by Piggy March, who made the call to hand the ride over to Tom and has remained a crucial sounding-board as he’s gotten to know the gelding over the last couple of years.
“We’re great friends, and she gave me a lot of advice,” says Tom. One of those salient pieces of advice: “Before we came here, he had a little jumping round – he jumps quite consistently, but we would jump quite small, because for Norris, it’s all about confidence. The more confidence he gets, the better it is. It’s a little bit like outside [in warm-up], you want a little bit more medium, but you don’t want to make him break, because then that will make him tense, and he’ll take that in there.”
Laura Collett and Dacapo sit sixth at this stage on 31.9, while Ireland’s Padraig McCarthy and his 2024 Blenheim eight- and nine-year-old champion MGH Zabaione are seventh on 32.2. Eighth place is in the hands of Germany’s Libussa Lübbeke and her Kentucky partner Caramia 34 on 32.3, ninth is held by New Zealand’s Clarke Johnstone and his Luhmühlen CCI4*-S fourth-place finisher Rocket Man on 32.4, and the top ten is rounded out by Germany’s Nina Schultes and the eighteen-year-old Grand Prix iWest on 32.6 – which means that this evening’s perennially influential showjumping phase could make some real changes to our tightly-bunched leaderboard.
Will Coleman and Off the Record. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
The team standings experienced a bit of a shake-up with the competitive marks earned by Jérôme Robiné, who squeezed the home team into bronze medal position on a collective score of 96.1. In the process, the Americans got booted from the podium with two phases to go, taking a team score of 100.6 forward to show jumping.
New Zealand, hanging their hats on the banner performances by Tim Price and Monica Spencer in particular, will take charge ahead of show jumping on a score of 88.5. This leaves them without a pole in hand over the silver-placed Brits, who sit on a score of 91.2
Unlike the Olympics, the team format here works as it used to in the Games, with a four-person team and a dropped score. After each phase, the highest penalty mark from each team is discarded. For the U.S. Will Coleman and the Off the Record Syndicate’s Off the Record — winners here in 2021 — are the drop after earning a frustrating 35.6 today.
After coming into the weekend off a personal best in the Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S at Kentucky — a 21.8 — and even despite the tough judging, Will was understandably bummed about the result from this morning, noting that he felt “Timmy” had gone a bit flat on him during the test.
“You know, he just kind didn’t have it today,” he said. “We didn’t have it today. He just felt a bit flat, I couldn’t really tell you why. He’s been pretty good all week, but I went in there and just got a bit quiet on me, and we just had mistakes [in the] halt rein-back, early in a change, and just little things.”
“That test doesn’t look like much, but it is a bit tricky to ride,” Will continued. “You’ve got to have a really supple and very available horse, and we kind of today just didn’t quite have that. But we’ve got two more phases and we’ll focus on that now, and you know, we’ve got nothing bad to say about Timmy. He’s been a great horse for a long time, and maybe this is not his best test, but I know he’s going to go and try. He obviously knows he’s here — this is his fourth time here — and he’s been a little excited, but he went in there today and he’s kind of like, been there, done that. So, maybe a little too relaxed. I’m not sure, but that’s alright.”
Caroline Pamukcu and HSH Blake. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
We’ve got two Paris Olympic riders with us for the U.S. this week, and Caroline Pamukcu and Sherrie Martin and Mollie Hoff’s HSH Blake were the first to see and are the top-placed for the red, white and blue following dressage. They will take 11th place forward to show jumping on a score of 32.6. This is another pair that’s typically scored more in the 20s, and while Caroline said she did ride a bit conservatively in there given her position as the first rider in for the team, the trend of stringent judging nonetheless made its mark on her score as well.
“Oh, he’s perfect, you know — he’s such a workman,” Caroline told us. “And then he went in and did a really good test. I was the first to go, so I’m a little bit conservative in my test, because I want to have clean tests. And yeah, I was proud of him. He had two clean changes, which was good. I can’t fault him for anything.”
Caroline’s very much on the championship track with this horse, electing to target events that will feed him into future Olympic and World Championship berths rather than stepping him to the 5* level. “He’s 10 this year, and I want him to last, you know, at least, possibly two more championships. I mean, he could potentially go to LA and Australia.”
Caroline is also juggling mom duties this week as baby Blake has also made the trip along with her husband, Deniz. This year, Caroline’s been vocal about the change a new (and especially a first!) baby brings, so she’s taken to the season with an eye to getting herself back into the swing of things, learning how to balance all the things and not pushing herself or her horses too much. “With that said, though, you’re still at a championship,” she said. “Which is great, but that’s the good thing about him and I. We know each other so well, so we don’t get wound up too much, you know, like at the end of the day, I want to be a reliable teammate for team USA, so hopefully I can keep showing them [that it] doesn’t matter what happens in my life or what’s going on, I can always show up and perform.”
Boyd Martin and Commando 3. Photo by Izzy McSwain.
Boyd Martin is the anchor for the USA this week, riding Yankee Creek Ranch LLC’s Commando 3 in his Aachen debut (yes, I had to do a double take too! This is, indeed, Boyd’s first time competing at CHIO Aachen). They scored a 33.5 to sit 15th ahead of show jumping.
Like his fellow competitors, Boyd echoed some frustration with the scoring. “To be honest, I was very, very pleased with the horse,” he said. “Obviously, the score was very disappointing. I was shocked at the score, but it’s been the theme of the day. This horse is consistently in the 20s. On paper, it looks like something went badly wrong. But I was very, very pleased with him.”
Similarly to a few other horses in the field, Commando 3 is on a bit of a short turnaround after running the Kentucky 5* in April. Boyd admits the timing is a bit less than ideal, but he made the most of it, running an easy Intermediate at New Jersey and having jumping coach Peter Wylde take the horse to HITS Saugerties for some extra practice.
Phillip Dutton and Possante. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Phillip Dutton and The Possante Group’s Possante are currently placed just behind Boyd in 16th on a score of 34.2. Importantly, we’re happy to report Phillip is absolutely fine — albeit perhaps with a hit to the ego — after taking a tumble on the jog strip yesterday. And like his compatriots, Phillip felt his test was stronger than his score suggests. He noted that his ongoing mission is to work on lengthening “Impy’s” neck out as a horse that naturally goes in a higher frame.
“I thought he was good,” Phillip said. “I mean, they didn’t get too carried away with him as far as scoring, but he didn’t do anything wrong and mistake free test. Probably got to find a way to be able to lengthen that frame, and confirmation wise, he’s got quite a high neck head carriage, so I could try to stretch him out a bit.”
“I think they’re really tough, actually,” Phillip continued on the topic of the judging. “I think a lot of times that test would have been well into the 20s. But as long as it stays the same for everybody, it doesn’t really matter.”
Our Canadian individual representative, Olympic rider Jessie Phoenix with Charlotte Shickedanz’s Freedom GS, also have some climbing to do, scoring a 39.0 to sit 38th overall. Freedom GS has etched out a bit of a reputation as a climber, being the gritty and quick jumper that she is, so we won’t be surprised to see this pair jump their way well up in the standings over the next two phases.
We now hustle over to show jumping, which kicks off at 6 pm local time / 12 pm EST, and then to cross country tomorrow starting at 9:55 am local time / 3:55 am EST. We’ll have a quick report ready for you after the jumping tonight, and then Cheg will have her live blog running for cross country tomorrow ahead of our full recap.
Stay tuned for a full look at Giuseppe Della Chiesa’s newly-refreshed track coming your way tonight, and don’t forget to tune in live for all phases on ClipMyHorse.TV.
Sally Spickard contributed to this report.
CHIO Aachen: [Website] [Program/Entries] [Timing & Scoring] [Live Stream] [EN’s Coverage]
Friday News & Notes from Stable View 3 Jul 2025, 11:01 pm
Who’s excited for this year’s Event at Rebecca Farm? This year, one of our favorite events will be that much more special, as the one and only Mai Baum will be running his final event before retiring in full party fashion after show jumping at the competition. Make sure you get your travel plans in order to visit Big Sky Country!
Major International Events
CHIO Aachen: [Website] [Program/Entries] [Timing & Scoring] [Live Stream] [EN’s Coverage]
U.S. Weekend Preview
Summer Coconino H.T. I (AZ): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times/Scoring] [Volunteer]
Bouckaert Equestrian H.T. (GA): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times] [Scoring] [Volunteer]
Mile High H.T. (CO): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times] [Scoring] [Volunteer]
News & Reading
If you’re a listener of The Go Eventing Podcast, we’d love your help! We’re running a giveaway to celebrate our 10th episode (newly released, featuring Bettina Hoy!) and you could be a winner! To enter, fill out this form and/or rate/review our show on your favorite podcast platform and send it to us at podcast@eventingnation.com. You can also screenshot and share to your socials and tag us for an extra entry!
Take a look at some moments and snapshots from the USEF Eventing Young Rider Championships, which took place at Maryland International this past weekend. The full gallery can be found here.
What do you do in that awkward situation when your horse’s former owner isn’t super keen to let go? In the latest edition of The Chronicle of the Horse‘s Stable Sage column, this topic is tackled with some, well, sage advice on establishing a sometimes much-needed boundary. Read it here.
It’s national firecracker day (aka the 4th of July) and many horse and dog owners are taking measures to make sure their animals stay safe. If you’re not quite sure where to start, Horse Nation has some advice for you here.
Want to jump better? It’s common knowledge that this starts on the flat, and Practical Horseman has some tips for you to help you establish a better connection that can be carried forward to jumping work here.
Sponsor Corner: Stable View
It’s time to play This or That with the Stable View Summer H.T. competitiors!
Video Break
The U.S. is off to a strong start at CHIO Aachen, taking home the Nations Cup victory last night!
One Horse Withdrawn at Aachen First Inspection 3 Jul 2025, 12:51 pm
Germany’s Jérôme Robiné and Thorsten 3, his Jump & Drive partner this weekend. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
“Manage your expectations with this first horse inspection,” I told EN Managing Editor Sally Spickard, who has made her first trip over to CHIO Aachen this year, and, as such, has to deal with me, an Aachen stalwart, explaining every little detail to her. (“This is an arena,” I tell her, helpfully. “This is a selfie zone. This is a piece of wall art illustrating that this year’s partner country is Spain. Spain, in case you didn’t know, is a country in Europe. Ah, brilliant, here’s what I wanted to show you — this is a horse!”)
So Sally’s had a nice first day, I think, walking the buzzy, twisty, relentlessly intense cross-country course; exploring the unrivalled shopping areas (“I found a stand that sells lingerie and halters, in case you need both right now,” she tells me, which, like, maybe, actually); setting eyes on the 40,000 seat main stadium for the first time; taking baby steps along the equine Walk of Fame. We’ve eaten in the Champions Circle, where we queued for a salad with Christian Kukuk (backwards baseball cap; hot, despite that) and watched Marcus Ehning hopefully eye up the dessert bar and then leave, disappointed and empty-handed. We’ve visited the VIP Lindt installation and eaten free Dubai chocolate (irritatingly, it is very good and we have to concede that TikTok was right). We’ve lived like slightly sweaty queens at equestrian sport’s greatest court. Everything is opulence. If you cut us we will bleed Veuve Cliquot and gold bars. We are money.
Yeah no I actually love being in a hedge thanks for asking. Luckily Will Coleman and Off The Record don’t mind me lurking. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
But then we come swiftly back down to earth when we arrive at the first horse inspection for the eventing competition. This bit’s not really intended for public consumption, and so you have to sherpa your way through a shelving system full of toy horse bridles to get stables-side, swapping the luxury for a much more workmanlike set-up. And that’s fine! I always quite enjoy hiding in a hedge like the village pervert, having a minor crisis that I don’t know how to do anything because I can’t expose for both the horses and the glaring white stable wall. It’s fine! We’re fine. You can’t have it all, and that’s okay.
After all, a horse inspection is meant to do a job, and that’s exactly what this one did. We saw 45 horses and riders present for the CCIO4*-S competition, and a further handful present for Saturday night’s novelty relay Jump & Drive class, in front of ground jury members Katrin Eichinger-Kniely of Austria, who’ll serve as President this week, Sandy Phillips of Great Britain, and Joachim Dimmek of Germany.
Emma Brüssau and Dark Desire GS. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Now, though, we’ll go into tomorrow’s busy day of dressage and showjumping with just 44 horses and riders in our main class. That follows a withdrawal from young German talent Emma Brüssau and her longtime partner Dark Desire GS, who were set to make their Aachen debut after a second place finish in the German National Championships CCI4*-S at Luhmühlen last month — but after the sixteen year-old mare was sent to the holding box, Emma opted to withdraw her without representing and save her for another day.
Phillip Dutton and confirmed bad boi Denim, in happier and more upright times. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
That was our only hold of the entire inspection, but not quite our only drama: Phillip Dutton fell victim to a bit of sideways spookery while presenting his first horse, Denim, and took a tumble into the border hedge — but we’re pleased to report he looked no worse for wear, and about as sound as we can expect an event rider to, when returning to trot up Possante a moment later.
Felix Vogg and Frieda. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
With the trot up behind us, and arena familiarisation in the Deutsche Bank Stadium also now complete, it’s time to look ahead to tomorrow’s competition — and what a day of sport it is. We’ll start strong with the dressage phase beginning at 8.30 a.m. local time (7.30 a.m. BST/2.30 a.m. EST), which will carry us on until a late lunch break at 14.30 local/13.30 BST/8.30 a.m. EST. Then, we’ll head to Aachen’s famous main stadium, the Turkish Airlines Stadium, for an evening of showjumping from 18.00 local time/17.00 BST/12.00 p.m. EST. All of it will be live-streamed via ClipMyHorse.TV, and we’ll be bringing you full reports after each phase, plus a jam-packed cross-country preview ahead of Saturday’s fast-paced finale.
In case this is all too confusing for you: a hint.
You can deep-dive into the main players and plot intrigues of this week’s entry list in our preview here, and make sure you tune in to our Instagram stories, too, where Sally’s been sharing some of the best bits of the competition so far. Will she share the lingerie and halter stand? Is there something worse and weirder available in the shopping village? How will Christian Kukuk wear his hat tomorrow? There’s only one way to find out!
CHIO Aachen: [Website] [Program/Entries] [Timing & Scoring] [Live Stream] [EN’s Coverage]
Inside the Dress Rehearsal: Preview CHIO Aachen’s Stacked Entry List 3 Jul 2025, 8:00 am
Will Coleman’s 2021 winner, Off The Record, adds another Aachen rosette to his collection, finishing tenth on his return. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Welcome to CHIO Aachen week, one of the most exciting rosters of equestrian sport in the year’s calendar — a competition that merges the very best of eventing, showjumping, dressage, combined driving, and vaulting all within one enormously impressive venue, and all under the banner of the World Equestrian Festival. Next year, it’ll also play host to the World Championships across the major disciplines, a task it last undertook with aplomb back in 2006.
This week, though, the CCIO4*-S, which is a Championship-style course running through the parkland of the venue, and which will be designed for the first time this year by Italy’s Giuseppe della Chiesa — a man you might remember from the 2022 World Championships in Pratoni del Vivaro — who takes over after a long and successful stint by Rüdiger Schwarz.
Aachen’s CCIO4*-S is a Nations Cup style competition, but not a part of the FEI Nations Cup series — instead, it’s a standalone event, but one that’s arguably even more prestigious than its yearlong compatriot. In many ways, it functions as a kind of annual mid-season championship: nations have to earn spaces, so you’ll see some countries with teams and others with smaller individual allowances, and then, riders have to apply to their national governing bodies for selection.
So in practical terms, what does any of this mean and why should you care? Well, first of all, we can always safely assume that we’ll be looking at a top-class field and at give or take 45 horses and riders, one that’s only marginally smaller than, say, an Olympic field. Think small, but perfectly formed. From there, it’s interesting to see how each country strategises and makes best use of their allocation, and how that can change year on year. The event’s positioning in the calendar — and the fact that it’s a CCI4*-S — means it’s early enough to be used as a selection opportunity or preparation run ahead of each year’s major Championship (this year, that’ll be the FEI European Championships at Blenheim in September), but it’s also often used as a way to prepare less experienced horses or riders for the world stage.
Of course, this year’s renewal has an extra layer of intrigue: because of next year’s World Championships, many countries will be hoping to give some of their prime candidates a feeler run this year as part of their longer-term selection and preparation process.
Nowhere does this feel more true than in the ranks of the seriously hot US team. It’s clear that chef d’équipe Leslie Law is putting his A-team to work this week and aiming to take the team title that has closely eluded the nation previously — we’ve seen the US contingent hold down the fort in the bridesmaid position for the last couple of years, and they’re certainly ready to seal the deal. Their team will be helmed by Will Coleman and Off The Record, who are the only US pair to win the individual title at Aachen — an achievement they added to their resume in 2021. They’ll be joined by Phillip Dutton and Possante, Boyd Martin and Commando 3, runners up at Kentucky this spring, and Caroline Pamukcu and her Olympic partner HSH Blake. Phillip’s double-handed this week, actually — after the sad withdrawal of individual competitor James Alliston, whose 11-year-old Karma didn’t make the journey over after a minor setback in training. That means that the ten-year-old Denim, who was initially named as a direct reserve for Possante, will get the chance to run for the individual honours this week.
Boyd Martin and Commando 3. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
It’s a US roster that wouldn’t look at all out of place at next year’s World Championships, but even so, these things take some winning — and there are some teams that just don’t quit. Chief among them, of course, is the Great British effort, which brings together a strong line-up of developing horses and podium pathway riders. Five horses and riders are making the trip over, from which a team of four and one individual will be chosen by chef d’équipe Sarah Verney — and good luck to her, frankly, in making the call. Her roster of talent includes Laura Collett and Dacapo, who’s a strange duck of a horse who thrives at Aachen and Boekelo above all other events; Tom McEwen and Brookfield Quality, who were third at Pau last year and fifth at Kentucky this spring; Gemma Stevens and her 13-year-old Millstreet CCI4*-L champion Flash Cooley; Caroline Harris and her 2024 Pau champion D. Day; and Bramham winner Bubby Upton and her stalwart partner Cannavaro, who will be gaining valuable experience ahead of a bid for her senior team debut this autumn.
New Zealand’s line-up features both members of the Price family: Tim will be quietly hoping that showjumping in Aachen’s capacious main stadium suits Vitali, who has so often been hoodwinked by this phase, while Jonelle will be riding her Olympic partner, Hiarado, for a redemptive run after an up-and-down Kentucky this spring. If that sounds like we’re launching a pity party for the Prices, rest assured we’re not, because they don’t need it — these two ride immensely well on a redemption arc. They’re joined by an in-form Clarke Johnstone and Rocket Man, who haven’t finished outside the top ten at four-star this season; Samantha Lissington, who’s currently busy having the year of dreams, and will ride the charismatic Lord Seekonig this week; and now-US-based Monica Spencer and the excellent Thoroughbred campaigner Artist.
Samantha Lissington and Lord Seekonig. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
At Luhmühlen a couple of weeks ago we were all happily blown away by Australia’s Andrew Cooper and Sharvalley Thunder, who made the trip up from the southern hemisphere and duly finished third in the CCI4*-S — and now, we’re looking forward to seeing how that form translates to this championship-style occasion. They’ll be teamed up with British-based Kevin McNab and Faro Imp, Sammi Birch and the quirky but gritty Finduss PFB, and Bill Levett and Sligo Candy Cane, who step in following the withdrawal of Shane Rose and Easy Turn. It’s a team that’s emblematic of a sort of rebuilding of Australian coffers, after the re-retirement of Chris Burton, and the stepping down of former team stalwarts like Scuderia 1918 Don Quidam. Also previously successful at Aachen, and omnipresent on the Australian team in recent years, was Andrew Hoy’s Vassily de Lassos — and while we will see Andrew this week, it won’t be on team duties. He’s made the trip over from the UK with Gulliver des Lones to take part in Saturday night’s novelty Jump & Drive challenge, which pits teams comprising a showjumper, an eventer, and a combined driving team in a madcap relay under the lights, mostly set to aggressive Europop remixes. We’d make the trip just for that, too, so we get it.
We can’t talk about Germany without mentioning the home front, which is both strong and very evidently chosen with development in mind. Such is the nation’s strength that they’ve opted to leave the big guns — the Michis, the Christophs, the Julias, all of whom have already had big runs this spring — on the sidelines, while bringing their next-gen talent to the forefront for a valuable crack. They’ll be helmed by the uber-experienced Anna Siemer and FRH Butts Avondale, who are making their Aachen team debut, while we’ll also see runs from Libussa Lübekke and Caramia 34, who finished in the top ten at Kentucky this spring; Jérôme Robiné and Black Ice, who finished in the top twenty at Badminton; Calvin Böckmann and Altair de la Cense, with whom he finished fifth in the CCI4*-S at Luhmühlen; five-star partners Nicolai Aldinger and Timmo; and talented young up-and-comers in Emma Brussau and Dark Desire GS, Antonia Baumgart and Ris de Talm, Pauline Knorr and Aevolet M-A-F and Nina Schultes and Grand Prix iWest.
We’ll also see solid team efforts from Ireland, led by last year’s Blenheim eight- and nine-year-old champion MHS Zabaione, piloted by Padraig McCarthy, and Switzerland, who are using this opportunity to produce some of their fresher-faced horses. We’re mostly charmed by the persistence of single-human-named mares in the latter camp (Felix Vogg’s Frieda, or Mélody Johner’s Erin. Girls’ girls!). France rounds out the team line-up of eight, with a line-up featuring the consistent Luc Chateau, who’s been knocking on the door of a big French team debut, as well as Paris Olympian Stephane Landois, who will be hoping that Gainsbourg de Bedon can fill the huge hole left in his string by the sale of his medal-winning partner Ride For Thaïs Chaman Dumontceau.
Karin Donckers and Fletcher Van’t Verahof. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Beyond the eight teams, there are another four nations fielding individual riders: these are Japan, single-handedly represented by Olympian Ryuzo Kitajima and Be My Daisy; Canada, who have a fighting chance in Jessica Phoenix and Freedom GS; Sweden, whose very experienced Frida Anderson is using this as a foundational educational run for the up-and-coming Stonehavens Baby Blue; and Belgium, who send forward on-form (what else is new?!) Lara de Liedekerke-Meier and Kiarado d’Arville, and stalwart partnership Karin Donckers and the exceptional Fletcha van’t Verahof, evergreen at twenty years old.
Phew. It’s some line-up, really, isn’t it? And all this alongside the upper echelon of each of the major disciplines, all in a hay-and-currywurst tinged utopia of equestrian sport. We can’t wait to dive in, nor to bring all the action to you — starting with tomorrow’s first horse inspection, which will take place from 5.00 p.m. local time (4.00 p.m. BST/11.00 a.m. EST). All the sport from across the show will be broadcast via ClipMyHorse.TV, but we know you want all the nitty gritty about what’s happening, why it matters, and what you need to know ahead of next year, so keep it locked on EN for our full reports, and don’t miss our Instagram stories, either, which will take you behind the scenes across each day, too. You can bookmark our Ultimate Guide to get easy access to all our coverage as it’s published. Auf wedersehen, and Go Eventing!
CHIO Aachen: [Website] [Program/Entries] [Timing & Scoring] [Live Stream] [EN’s Coverage]
Thursday News & Notes from Virginia Horse Center Foundation 2 Jul 2025, 11:01 pm
Mark your calendars for the inaugural Youth Equestrian Festival, coming to the Virginia Horse Center July 17–20! This all-discipline celebration welcomes riders 25 and under for a weekend packed with competition, clinics, and community. From eventing to western and everything in between, this Open Show is your chance to try something new, strut your stuff, and make friends across the sport. Don’t miss Thursday’s Opening Ceremony (barn colors encouraged!), a Friday night Prom (yes, with a DJ and dance facilitators), and much more. Full details and entry info at vahorsecenter.org.
Major International Events
CHIO Aachen: [Website] [Program/Entries] [Timing & Scoring] [Live Stream] [EN’s Coverage]
U.S. Weekend Preview
Summer Coconino H.T. I (AZ): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times/Scoring] [Volunteer]
Bouckaert Equestrian H.T. (GA): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times] [Scoring] [Volunteer]
Mile High H.T. (CO): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times] [Scoring] [Volunteer]
News & Reading
If you’re a listener of The Go Eventing Podcast, we’d love your help! We’re running a giveaway to celebrate our 10th episode (newly released, featuring Bettina Hoy!) and you could be a winner! To enter, fill out this form and/or rate/review our show on your favorite podcast platform and send it to us at podcast@eventingnation.com. You can also screenshot and share to your socials and tag us for an extra entry!
Athletux will return to provide commentary for the Preliminary through Advanced levels at this year’s USEA American Eventing Championships at Galway Downs. Helmed by Frankie Thieriot Stutes, who will be joined in the booth by a roster of top riders, the live feed on Equine Network will be your home for all things AEC. And for levels below Preliminary, never fear! All divisions will have a part in the live stream. Learn more here.
A very cool story out of last weekend’s USEF Eventing Young Rider Championships, held at Maryland International at Loch Moy Farm: Raelyn Snyder is an international level vaulter who’s had a shorter tenure in eventing. In fact, before last weekend, she’d never competed in an FEI event. She made her dual sport debut in style, winning the CCI1*J-S division for individual gold. Read more about Raelyn’s background here.
Want to keep a thumb on the general health of the international governing body (FEI) and the broader world of equestrian sports? The FEI Annual Report is now available for public viewing. Inside, you’ll get a look at the impact of the 2024 Olympics and Para Olympics, key developments in welfare and safety as well as commercial growth, education and development and more. Download the report here.
Video Break
A cute throwback Thursday to Team USA’s Aachen podium finish in 2023:
EN’s Ultimate Guide to CHIO Aachen CCIO4*-S 2 Jul 2025, 11:30 am
We are just a couple of days away from kicking off eventing at CHIO Aachen, a prestigious 10-day festival that takes place in west Germany, just over the Dutch border. Eventing is just one of several disciplines represented throughout this spectator-heavy event (Aachen attracts something like 350,000 spectators each year), and we’ll see things get underway on Thursday with the horse inspection, followed by two days of competition. Dressage and show jumping will take place on Friday, with the eventers getting a chance to jump under the lights in the main stadium, followed by cross country as the final phase on Saturday.
The Players
CHIO Aachen always attracts a star-studded list of entries, and this year is no different. The U.S. has sent an A-team of Olympians and 2021 Aachen individual winners Will Coleman and Off the Record, but they’ll nonetheless have a run for their money with heavy-hitter nations like Great Britain and New Zealand also sending strong contingents. You can also view Tilly’s full entry preview here and the entry list here.
How to Watch
ClipMyHorse.TV has the live feed for the entirety of CHIO Aachen, and while you do need a subscription to watch, you’ll also have access to the full line-up of live streams and original content. The live feeds can also be viewed on-demand if you don’t feel like waking up at an odd hour to watch. Click here to view the live stream.
Social Media Channels and Hashtags
To keep up with CHIO Aachen’s coverage, you can follow their Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, X and YouTube pages.
You can also follow along on EN’s Instagram, where we’ll be posting daily recap galleries, a venue tour and more.
For hashtags, your best bet is #CHIOAachen to find all of the latest on socials.
EN’s Coverage
Keep this page bookmarked and refreshed to see our coverage articles throughout the week.
Saturday, July 5
The Clock’s The Key: Dispatches from Cross-Country Day at Aachen
Follow Along with the Action from Aachen: Live Blog from the Cross Country at CHIO Aachen
Friday, July 4
It’s the Plot Twist Olympics: Tim Price and Vitali Lead After Tough Aachen Showjumping
An Eye to the Future: Previewing Giuseppe Della Chiesa’s CHIO Aachen Cross Country
Thursday July 3
One Horse Withdrawn at Aachen First Inspection
Inside the Dress Rehearsal: Preview CHIO Aachen’s Stacked Entry List
CHIO Aachen: [Website] [Program/Entries] [Timing & Scoring] [Live Stream] [EN’s Coverage]
Wednesday News & Notes from Loch Moy Farm 1 Jul 2025, 11:01 pm
Horse & Country has just put out a new documentary all about eventing legend William Fox-Pitt, and it’s a must-add to your watch list. Using data from EquiRatings, the documentary explores the question: Is William the greatest of all time? You’ll have to watch to find out! You can view the documentary here (you’ll need a H&C+ membership to view it, and you can save 15% off your annual membership using code EVENTINGNATION15).
Major International Events
CHIO Aachen: [Website] [Program/Entries] [Timing & Scoring] [Live Stream] [EN’s Coverage]
U.S. Weekend Preview
Summer Coconino H.T. I (AZ): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times/Scoring] [Volunteer]
Bouckaert Equestrian H.T. (GA): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times] [Scoring] [Volunteer]
Mile High H.T. (CO): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times] [Scoring] [Volunteer]
News & Reading
What happens when the show ring starts feeling more like a battleground than a playground? For 5* rider Hannah Sue Hollberg, the answer came when she hit emotional rock bottom—and reached out to former eventer turned performance coach Natalie Hummel. Their collaboration cracked open a new way of thinking about mindset and nervous system regulation in sport, exploring how trauma and subconscious patterns can sabotage even the most skilled athletes. Hannah now assists with Natalie’s signature programs How To Heal and How To Perform, both aimed at helping riders build awareness, emotional resilience, and a more connected relationship with their horses—and themselves. Read more here (and listen to Hannah Sue and Natalie on The Go Eventing Podcast here!).
The countdown is officially on for the 2025 USEA American Eventing Championships, presented by Nutrena Feeds! With just two months to go, competitors from Starter through Advanced are gearing up for the trip to Galway Downs, where 23 divisions—including the $60,000 Adequan USEA Advanced Final—will run August 27–31. This year’s AEC also features the return of the USEA Adult Team Championships (now including Starter level!) and plenty of parties, VIP perks, and SoCal sunshine. Entries open July 15, and the provisional schedule is now live—so start your planning, check your qualifications, and we’ll see you in Temecula! Read more here.
Ever wished you could just skip that one spooky cross country fence? At a first of its kind Cross Country Equestrian (CCE) workshop held June 28 at FENCE in North Carolina, riders did exactly that—and without penalty. Designed by five-star winner Nick Larkin, CCE is an innovative format that rewards smart, horse-first decision-making and lets riders choose which fences to jump for points. Whether riding solo or in pairs, competitors from Level 1 (intro) through Level 5 (training equivalent) got a taste of this low-pressure, high-fun alternative to traditional horse trials. Riders praised the flexibility, safety focus, and emphasis on connection over perfection. If this sounds like your kind of eventing, stay tuned—CCE may be coming to a venue near you. Read more on the workshop here.
Sponsor Corner: Loch Moy Farm
Still riding that #HorseShowHangover high? Us too. But while you’re icing your ankles and sorting your laundry, don’t miss these two key announcements from Loch Moy Farm:
Entries are OPEN for the July 27 Bred To Event Classic Qualifier — head to STRIDER PRO to secure your spot!
⏰ Late entries CLOSE tomorrow (Tuesday, July 1 at midnight) for MDHT #2 + YEH Qualifier (July 11–13) — get those in via EventEntries before it’s too late.
And while we’re at it, a massive THANK YOU to everyone who made this past weekend’s Maryland International and USEF Young Rider Championships such a smashing success. Competitors, grooms, volunteers, sponsors, photographers, and fans—you’re the heart of this sport.
See more on the full calendar at Loch Moy Farm here.
Video Break
Meet Jenny Glebenius and Canela: the youngest horse in the field, a first-ever Nations Cup win for Sweden, and a partnership built on trust, heart, and horse-first grit. This debut? Just the beginning.
Tickets are On Sale for FEI World Championships at Aachen in 2026 1 Jul 2025, 8:00 am
Yasmin Ingham and Banzai du Loir. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Don’t wait around — tickets are now on sale and going fast for the FEI World Championships at Aachen in Germany, taking place August 11-23, 2026.
This event signifies a reunification of sorts across FEI disciplines, with eventing, jumping, dressage, para dressage, vaulting and driving all taking place throughout the competition.
You can view the full breakdown of schedule and ticket pricing here. For eventing fans, there is a choice between single phase tickets as well as a “season pass” option that provides reserved seating for dressage and show jumping as well as admission to cross country day.
Keep up with the latest from Aachen 2026 here and stay tuned for more as we hurtle toward our next world championship. Tickets can be sourced here.