Another trip to Germany was cut short, this time a high temperature and a horse feeling a little under the weather was the cause of the incompletion at Aachen.
We thought we had Danny (Graf Liberty) feeling ready to take on the top more experienced horses, but it can happen that quickly, from one night to the next morning he was hit with a high temperature and now looking dull and lethargic the decision was quite easy to pull him out.
Valegro doing a test in front of a packed grand stand
Aachen is definitely in most people’s list of favourite event in the yearly calendar. The WEG was held here in 2006 and even from last year to this year there had been significant changes to the infrastructure making the event bigger and better for the riders, sponsors and spectators.
It is not very often you can go eventing and schedule your riding around watching Totilas, Valegro and Nations Cup show jumping competition under lights and, if you feel like it, some carriage driving and vaulting. With the grooms getting three cooked meals a day and passes into separate viewing areas it is great to be looked after.
Each nation is limited to a certain amount of riders competing in the eventing, so it is hard to get a spot especially in the year leading up to a championship with most riders wanting the practice in big atmosphere and under pressure.
View of Aachen's main arena
In 2013 Leilani competed here in her last event before heading home to Sydney for retirement and some babies. She showed everyone that she was still fit and happy by winning the class on a personal best dressage score beating Sandra Auffarth on Opgun Louvo by less than a penalty. Sandra made up for that this year by winning the class and the Germans certainly showed they are on top form going into the WEG.
There was plenty to see and do in between grooming and watching the other disciplines. Mercedes was a sponsor of the event and therefore had a large display of vehicles. Alex Van Tuyll (who is a freelance groom and works quite a bit for Andrew Hoy) and I were having a look around at dream vehicles and decided that the G- Klasse worth a little under half a million Euros would do the job.
Before Aachen we had been watching Danny’s coat change from a lovely dark dappled brown into what appeared to be a dull sun bleached coat, he does this every year and keeping rugged and stabled he still turns into a dun/ buckskin/ yellow colour. Knowing we was aiming for Aachen we decided that is would be a good idea to get him back looking his best and an email back home to Michelle Robson to confirm the product used previously on Shane’s horses and order was put in for some show pony horse dye.
Yes it is possible to dye a horses coat just like you put permanent hair dye on your own head. It is a matter of sponging it on and leaving the coat to change colour before washing off and revealing the new look Danny. We were happy with how it turned out and he was certainly a talking point at Aachen with people who had seen him a few weeks before at Tweseldown wondering if we had packed the right horse.
It is quite a messy job with the floor, mine and Glen’s arms and even a multi coloured eye brow to match the dark brown coat.
Danny - at home before the dye (above) and after at the trot up (below)
We have had some more Aussies arrive and it has been great to have George Sheridan come over and visit his girlfriend Hannah who is over for the season with her horse and Aaron Moyes come over for a holiday with his girlfriend Cass who met him in London a few days later. Both the boys previously worked for Burto back home and were great to take to an event and they were back grooming again!
Haruzac had his first event back in a long time and I hadn’t taken him to an event yet and it was just coincidence that the three boys from Australia were back together at the same event. Even Newsprint who won Adelaide in 2010 was there having a look around with his new rider. However we are down an Aussie horse, with Wild Oats competing at Gatcombe Championships in the 3*** and heading straight to New Market into quarantine for the long journey home. If all going well you will see her competing back on home soil around Adelaide in November.
We have just returned after a successful weekend at Hartpury. Danny had made a full recovery from his man flu at Aachen. He won the CIC*** class being only one of a couple to finish on their dressage score in a class of over 90 combinations.
This win made it a hat trick for Chris, he previously had won this class on Kinnordy Rivaldo and Tempranillo. Santano a young horse that only started jumping earlier this year, proved he is a contender for the future buy leading the CCI1* from start to finish on his dressage score of 35.7 (with a sat nav error!!)
We are definitely getting close to WEG and are hoping everything is smooth sailing from here to Normandy, we will be doing everything to get James there as fit and prepped as possible. It will be great to get to Aussie team camp and catch up with everyone and get into the team spirit. AUSSIE, AUSSIE, AUSSIE!!!!
