Day 1 and Day 2 at Aachen!

Day 1

Aachen is incredible! After a fairly uneventful flight, we arrived in Dusseldorf just after 6 am, then took the train to the town of Aachen, where we arrived just after 9 am. Aachen is on the Germany-Netherlands border, about 40 miles southwest of Cologne. The town is wonderfully old and full of history, with many beautiful buildings. I am staying in an adorable apartment with Sadie, Sarah, and Rosie, the other young riders on the trip, who are SO much fun! After a few hours of rest, we headed to the Aachen showgrounds. WOW! There are several warmup rings and huge stadiums with perfect footing, rows and rows of vendors with every horse and human product imaginable, and food stands offering everything from sushi and stirfry to candy and waffles! The grounds are super manicured and clean, and everyone is incredibly friendly. 

We watched some gorgeous horses school in the warmup rings, including Victoria Max-Theurer’s Blind Date, Fiona Bigwood’s Atterupgaard’s Orthilia, Kristina Sprehe’s Desperados, and Anna Kasprzak’s Donnperignon. I am always interested to see how riders get their horses in front of their leg (it sounds so simple, but it can be so tricky!), and watching these pairs was really informative. Victoria Max-Theurer’s horse responded positively not only when she used her calf but also when she took her leg up off the saddle, which allowed her to ride in a very quiet and harmonious way. All of the riders emphasized transitions, transitions, and more transitions! They might give the horse one sharper leg aid, but then they expect the horse to respond to an extremely subtle one.

While we were watching the warmup, we ran into Finnish Olympian and master trainer Kyra Kyrklund. She is so nice and so knowledgeable, and she was kind enough to speak to us about her training philosophy and experiences. Some of my favorite pieces of her advice are below:

• When training, try to have a different focus every day. One day work on the trot, another day on the canter, etc. This method prevents the horse from getting too physically or mentally drained.
• Listen to the horse! She made this point repeatedly, and her remarkable respect for each horse as an individual was evident. The horse will tell you what kind of schedule works best for him, though you may have to experiment to find the right fit.
• It is important to ride the horse on different surfaces. You never know what the footing at a show will be like, and it’s important to make sure your horse is comfortable on a variety of surfaces.
• She does not believe that horses should swim for fitness work, because they lift their heads to breathe and that sustained motion could muscle the underside of their necks. This does not include something like a water treadmill, where the horse is still doing a walking motion, just with the added resistance of water.
• When looking at bloodlines, do not focus solely on the sire. The dam can be very influential. If you are interested in a certain line, look at offspring and note any trends, but always remember that horses are individuals.
• Train the things that the horses offers first. If a young horse offers piaffe, even if it is on a trail ride because he is nervous, embrace it.
• Treat every horse like it will be a Grand Prix horse. It is better to have a Prix St Georges who can also do piaffe than a Prix St Georges horse with no piaffe!
• "Be a passionate horse idiot!” In other words, love your horses and your sport, and learn everything you can. :)

L to R: Jennifer Foulon, Sadie Lahey, Kyra Kyrklund, Annie Morris, Sarah Cohen, Rosie Julian-Simoes, and Charlotte Bredahl

After speaking to Kyra, we took a quick stroll through the shops and got some dinner. At night, we attended the European Championships opening ceremonies. The stands of the huge jumper stadium were absolutely packed (incredible for a Tuesday night!). Several prominent German equestrians were honored and a team of 64 stallions (!) performed a quadrille with incredible harmony. Then, people on horseback in over-the-top costumes, each representing a different European country, paraded about with flags and much fanfare. After they finished, reiners (wearing helmets!), dressage riders, vaulters, and jumpers all showed off their craft in the ring together. Then it got really crazy! The ring cleared out as a trapeze artist attached to a giant balloon and several characters on stilts entered! The trapeze artist spun and spun as the balloon lifted her higher and higher! I have never seen anything like it, especially at a horse show! They finished off the opening ceremonies with a huge firework display. It was so exciting but we were all pretty wiped out after a sleepless night on the airplane, so we quickly headed back and immediately fell asleep. The Grand Prix class is split over the next two days, and we all could not be more excited to see so many world class horses and riders going head-to-head!

Day 2

Today was amazing day at the Aachen showgrounds! The first group of the riders contested the Grand Prix. The dressage ring had been set up in the middle of the huge grass jumper ring; the audience was a bit separated from the ring itself, which I think made the atmosphere nice and a little quieter for the horses. Music played during each ride, and it even changed as the horses changed gaits! Spanish music played for the Spanish horses and ABBA played for the Swedish rider. We were all really impressed with some of the younger up-and-coming horses, such as Arlando, Badinda Altena, and Annarico. One of our favorite riders was the Swedish rider Emilie Nyerrod: she was so soft and quiet, and had the most beautiful forward-thinking hands. We sat as a group and discussed the rides as we went; some of the key points were:

• Pay attention to transitions! Clear, accurate transitions make a huge difference in the overall picture and in the overall score.
• Taking more risk in the extended trot and canter is really rewarded. Do it!
• We saw a variety of different mechanics in the piaffe and passage, and Charlotte explained that a smaller, more consistent passage should score better than a flashier but inconsistent one.
• If a horse gets too passage-y in the trot half pass, add more bend, because it makes it much harder for the horse to try to passage.
• Practice centerlines and halts! Any horse can do a good halt; you are throwing away points by doing it sloppily. Also, as a side note (which I did not know!), resting one hind leg in the halt is more expensive than not halting square.
• Horses have to want to work for you! Harmony will always be rewarded!

We also got to talk to two amazing people today: British Olympian Carl Hester and German 5* judge Katrina Wust. Carl Hester has so many accomplishments, I don’t even know how to begin to introduce him! He has been on many Olympic, World Equestrian Games, and European Championship teams, as well as coaching Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro to three world records and countless major championship wins. Carl is incredibly charismatic and hilarious, and was so generous with his time and his advice. All of his words of wisdom were so useful, I thought I would share several here:

• At his stable, the horses are worked in the ring four days a week and spend two other days just hacking. He gave us three reasons for this schedule. First, due to the horse’s learning process, the horse always performs best on the second day (you work through any issues on the first day, then the understanding is there for the second day). As a reward, you let the horse hack on the third day. So working two days, then a day hacking, then two more work days, then a day hacking (then of course a day completely off) makes sense mentally for the horse. Second, all horses, especially top Grand Prix horses, have to be incredibly fit. Hacking builds fitness! The horses walk on the roads (where they are exposed to many environments and distractions, also important preparation for competitions!) and trot up and down hills. Third, he has to devote much of his time to teaching in order to support himself, and if there are days when other people hack all of his horses, then he has more time to devote to his students.
• Whether or not to do the young horse classes really depends on the horse. Success in the young horse classes is not an indicator of future Grand Prix success! The young horse classes were educational for Valegro, who he says was quite nice as a young horse, but not for his Grand Prix mount here Nip Tuck, who was built long and who was nervous.
• You have to think that every horse will be a Grand Prix horse and train with these same goals in mind.
• Try to use all the resources available to you. In England, the lottery funds athlete performance development programs, so elite athletes have access to resources like sports psychology programs. He says that sports psychology greatly helped Charlotte Dujardin!
• In the warmup, the main goal is to get the horse to the point where you can collect him. That said, relaxation (stretching) comes first. You also have to get the horse in front of your leg. At a show, don’t be tempted to show off in front of people in the warmup area. You must keep the same routine as at home.
• Walking is very important! His horses go for a short hack before and after working in the ring. Walking helps the horse both mentally (it helps him relax) and physically (after working, it releases the lactic acid that has built up in their muscles, which reduces soreness).
• He really recommends (to a professional or budding professional) buying your own horses and training them. Even if you find a sponsor who will buy a trained horse for you, things happen (for example horses go lame or get sold). If you can buy a horse – any horse that you can afford, even a fairly inexpensive 2 year old – then you can train it, learn from it, sell it and buy another one and start the process over again. It may take you longer to get to the top, but you will eventually. When you find a horse with that extra special talent, you will have the skills to train it up and hopefully be able to keep it longer.
• As an employer, it is very attractive to have someone who really wants to be there. Charlotte came to his stable temporarily as a fill-in groom, but she was determined to stay and she told him she would do anything and ride anything. It worked!
• When riding a GP (or any) test, he thinks about each movement as he does it through to its completion. He does not think about the next movement(s); this method helps you not rush through the test. Also, make sure to show your best horse in between the movements. The short side is a great place to show an energetic, uphill, harmonious picture.
• It is easier to get a horse light in the bridle than to get a horse to take the contact. He told a story about a Stephen Clarke (British 5* FEI judge) symposium years ago when a girl asked Mr. Clarke how to get a horse to take the contact, and he opened the question to the audience. They threw out many ideas but he rejected them all. He said that if a horse won’t take the contact, you have to take the contact! Carl agreed completely with this point. He said that you need to teach the horse to feel the bit in the corners of his mouth and suggested checking to make sure the horse’s bit is not too low in his mouth.

L to R: Annie Morris, Rosie Julian-Simoes, Jennifer Foulon, Carl Hester, Sarah Cohen, Sadie Lahey, Charlotte Bredahl

Speaking with Katrina Wust was also incredibly informative. She is so intelligent and passionate, especially when discussing musical freestyles; here is some of her advice:

• In a dressage freestyle, good execution is the most important thing. If you are a less experienced rider or have a greener horse, keep the choreography simpler and perfect it (rather than trying to ride a more difficult pattern and always making mistakes). It is the rider’s responsibility to know which sequences are (relatively) easy or difficult.
• When designing freestyle choreography, tailor it to the strengths and weaknesses of the horse. If the horse does not have a strong walk, then show the walk on the long side away from the judges.
• Do NOT do the same choreography as the standard tests!!!
• Combinations of movements are a great way to add to the degree of difficulty. These can be done at any level: for example, freestyles at many levels could show an extended canter into a walk pirouette into an extended trot.
• Freestyle music must fit the rhythm of all of the horse’s paces. Catchy music is always a plus: the audience becomes excited and the judge finds it memorable. Also, try to get the audience and the judges to feel emotionally engaged with the music (she described it as “let them dream a little”).
• She sees the double bridle as an instrument of riding culture and believes that it should be mandatory at a competition of this caliber.
• Ride precise lines! One of the first things she notices when she judges is how the rider prepares for movements, rides corners, and performs accurately.

Thank you so much to Carl and Katrina today, as well as Kyra yesterday, for sharing so much of their knowledge! All of these people are incredible horsepeople and it is obvious that they care deeply for their horses and their sport. Tomorrow is the second half of the Grand Prix class, and it will be incredible to watch horses like Totilas and Valegro face off! Germany, the Netherlands, and Great Britain are currently neck and neck in the team rankings; the gold medal for the team competition is anyone’s game!

(Also, I have many more photos! When the Internet connection is stronger, I will post them all in a separate entry, so stay tuned.)