Christopher Hector reports from the World’s Greatest Horse Show…

Photos – Roslyn Neave

Watching in good company, Beatriz Ferrer-Salat, Christopher, Ton de Ridder and Alexandra De Ridder‘

Even though empty, and with a drizzle of rain, the Aachen show grounds weave their special magic. Each year you notice new touches, the wonderful old photos that now scatter the walkways, the flower displays seem to have got more extravagant this year, there is an air of hush as the big lorries start to roll in with their precious cargo.

Roll is the word I’m looking for after the first hour of the warm ups. The age of extreme rolkur may be passing into some half remembered nightmare, but it would seem that the age of ‘rolled over’ is still in full swing. Okay, it’s a scary place in that dressage arena, and you might be forgiven if you put your pony into a slightly behind the vertical safety outline for the first couple of circuits, but when you see horses that have been worked for 30, 45 minutes with no sign of the death grip (predominantly inside rein to make it worse) being relaxed, it is seriously ugly.

It’s nice to see alternatives being offered by a couple of the Iberian riders. Spain’s Jordi Domingo has his horse very deep and low, and a little behind the vertical but he is asking the horse to reach for the contact every stride, opening the gullet as he goes.

Jordi and his Sandro Hit son, Statesman

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Portuguese star, Maria Caetano is classically trained, she knows that you control the body to control the mind, and even though her seven-year-old stallion, Fenix de Tineo, has been well and truly stirred up in the outside ring as he engaged in a shouting match with the stallion in the adjacent ring, it’s a case of assume the position – shoulder in, that is. The youngster settles and works beautifully…

Maria and Fenix in the warm-up arena, and then in for a look at the main arena

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Enter Laura Graves and Verdades. They stop in front of the C box, and Laura leans down hands the bay a treat, then a stately walk on the buckle around the ring.

Laura gently takes the snaffle rein, the curb rein hangs in a lazy loop. Around the outside track a few more times and into the arena, horse so totally relaxed, rider so completely chilled. Icy cool, here we have the Aachen press office piling on the pressure, billing Laura as Isabell’s challenger. Does Laura respond to the pressure? Seemingly not – she has her own minimalist agenda and will not be diverted.

I can’t help but to think back a couple of years, when we press had to be locked out of the warm up arena so we couldn’t see Sjef and Anky and poor Salinero in action. Roslyn had to shoot from the stairwell to show the world how ugly their warmup was…

Laura showing one-handed, snaffle bit, lateral work at walk…

Verdades has not got out of walk, and he is on his way back to the outside arenas. Wow, trot, and yes, he’s a touch behind the vertical but not because he is hauled there, he’s loose and forward and supple. Back to walk, shoulder in, travers… let’s try the arena next door. Stop for a treat break, you have to be in awe of this rider’s head, she is the ice queen. And they decide to try the adjacent third warm up arena. Verdades gets a bit excited in one halt and offers a few steps of piaffe, then it is back to walk. Oh my god, she’s doing a walk pirouette, and another, half pass walk, and another pirouette, and off they go. Back to the stables. See what I mean? Sometimes it is thrilling to be bored.

Next day, their work is a lot more conventional and Laura and the bay gelding are seriously on song. She is such a tactful rider, and like Charlotte has that quality of being totally focused for every second of every stride.

The challenger is ready, bring out the champion, let the battle begin…