Aachen via Paris, 7/20/2018, Banks and Ditches!

Friday, 7/20/2018, Aachen, Germany

Note:  Photo on the top is McClain Ward riding Clinta during todays competition.  He won the 130k qualifying class today.  130,000 Euros would be a major Grand Prix anywhere else.  Here?  It’s a qualifying class.  Go figure.

Today we began by doing some shopping downtown.  It was hot, so we didn’t spend a lot of time.  We did visit an incredible Belgium Choclate shop I found earlier in the week.  Since Aachen is right on the border of Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium, it would only be normal for excellent Belgium choclate to be available.  And I can tell you, there is a difference in choclate. This is the most amazing I’ve ever had.

We also stumbled across a gun shop.  I was surprised, as I thought that guns weren’t legal in Europe.  Apparently I was wrong.  The store was extensive, and had all kinds of hunting equipment, knifes, and target shooting equipment.  Boar hunting is apparently big in Germany.  Sharon looked up the stats, and Germany apparently has one of the largest gun owning populations in Europe.  There is an extensive vetting processing and background check.  Who knew?

A little more about the Aachen bus system.  It’s extensive, as I’ve said before.  It’s also heavily used.  There are a lot of cars (parallel parked on the sidewalk, as a matter of fact, on the Theatrestrabe), but with gas very expensive, other forms of travel are utilized.  People are very polite, and you see everybody on the bus – commuters, families, people going grocery shopping, etc.  The system is widely used all day long.

Bikes are also highly untilized, just like everywhere in Europe.  You’ll see people of all ages on bikes.  And the bikes aren’t anything particularly special.  The funniest sight I saw a few days back on the main drag through Old Town, was a serious bicyclist, decked out in full spandex, helmet, fancy jersey, on his high tech bike whizzing past me, followed directly (at the same speed) by a little, old, gray haired lady on a heavy, one speed, old bike.  She was right up there with him, no spandex needed, lol!

After that, we were on our way to the horseshow.  On the way from the street to the main gate, there is what looks like half a Volkswagon Bug.  Since my brother is rebuilding one, I’m always on the lookout.  I guess this would be a single horsepower version.

The classes today were fun to watch.  We missed the morning class, but caught the next, which was a 130,000 Euro Qualifying class.  As is usual with these classes, there are 40+ entries, and each rider may only rider one horse.  While the horse on course is finishing his round, the next horse comes in about halfway through, and is ready to go immediately as the last finishes.  As a resulting, the scheduling is exact, right down to the minute.  McClain Ward of the USA, riding Clintas, won the class.  It’s pretty exciting to hear your countries national anthem played during the award ceremony.

The next class was the one I really wanted to see.  It’s called the Preis dear Sparkasse,  or Prize of Sparkasse, as near as I can tell.  It is a described as a ‘Hunting Competition over ditches and banks’.  In actuality, it’s a speed classes with fences at 1.45 meters, and a purse of 34,500 euros.  It’s run similar to a jumper derby in the US.  Lots of options were included, but the line right in front of us was the best.  This section consisted of a jump into the stands, the a tight turn to a jump set a right angles to the first, straight to a bank.  Up the low bank, jump a jump, down the bank, then a straight gallop to a big water complex.  Gallop 7-8 strides in the knee deep water, and jump out, right turn to the Grob (or Devil’s Dyke for you Canadians), with only one jump, set at the end.  It was a hoot.  The crowd cheered the riders on while they entered the water, and cheered anybody who took the hard options.  It was really fun to watch!

After that was the Eventing Stadium Jumping.  Not sure why this show runs the Eventing Dressage, then the Eventing Jumping, THEN the Cross Country, which is tomorrow.  When the stadium jumping is done last, with a tired horse who has just done Cross Country, it can be the deciding factor in who wins.  Done second, instead of last, it was like watching paint dry.  We left early when it began to rain.

A brief word about the filming on the big screens.  I’ve always wondered how the big stadiums are able to get such great video of the rounds.  I now know.  In front of us, and up at the roof level, about a third of the way into the ring, is a camera centered on four wires.  This moves along these wires in all directions.  From there, the cameraman can zoom in and out.  I have no idea how the wires are moved, or what controls them, but it’s pretty amazing to watch.  I took a picture of it.  If you look carefully, you can see the wires.  Somebody more electronically inclined than me might be able to explain it!

The last thing I’ll go into tonight is the victory gallops.  I touched on the dressage gallop last night.  The jumpers are a little more restrained.  One horse went through the whole prize giving ceremony grazing!  It was pretty funny.   When McClain Ward lead the victory gallop with Clinta, they were fine.  Later, when he won a prize in the Ditches and Banks class, his horse ‘porpised’ all the way around the ring.  That horse never quit!  If he’d ever gotten his nose down, it could have been a real rodeo.  Clearly, this was Ward’s first victory gallop with this horse, lol.

The last award pass was for the 4-in-hand driving Obstacle Competition.  Most of teams went around next to the rail.  The French Team detoured and went through the water complex!  Good schooling for the Marathon for the drivers tomorrow.  Very clever, and a real crowd pleaser as well.

The crowd is very knowledgeable and appreciative of the riders, and every horse and rider in this competition is a master.  To watch the sport at this level is amazing. We’re now building towards Sunday, and the 1 Million Euro Rolex Grand Prix.  It should be an excellent class.

The final pictures are two of the US riders on course today.