Travel day 2 and first day at Aachen

Travel day 2 and first day at Aachen

 Today was a wonderful day! Our flight was overnight, which allowed the six of us to get a little bit of sleep before our busy day on Tuesday.

      Tuesday when we landed we headed through customs and then off to find the train to take us to Aachen. We arrived a bit later than expected due to our flight out of Atlanta being delayed because of thunderstorms. We quickly found our train and headed towards Aachen!

        When we hopped off the train we took a quick taxi ride over to our hotel to check in and drop off our bags. We were then ready to start our short little walk from the hotel down to the show!

      Wow what a venue! Everything about Aachen had me in love! From the beautiful barns to the lovely landscapes of Aachen, Germany! 

We were able to get a list of the Nations that were allowed to school in the main arena. It was so incredible to be able to watch as competitors from each nation went in as a team to school their horses.  It is always educational to see how different people acclimate their horses to the new surroundings.

            It was in the first few moments sitting in the grandstand that I wanted to say an enormous THANK YOU to:  The Dressage Foundation for making this dream trip possible! And to County Saddlery for allowing me to ride in a top saddle that I hope to one day be using here at Aachen! Who knows! Never stop dreaming, right?

      While watching we had the honor of speaking with some top professionals. First were able to talk to Juan Matute Sr. His advice on buying and bringing a horse up the levels is to  #1 buy something cheap that has a good walk and a great canter. #2 he believes it is important for the rider to learn how to ride a horse that is not "made".

     We then spoke with Robert Dover and Steffan Peters. When I asked Steffan about how he and his horses always look so harmonious he said it is all about keeping the horses supple and reaching for the contact! Robert, as always, had a great comment; he said the biggest mistake he sees people making is practicing imperfect things in everyday training. After all " Practice does not make perfect perfect practice makes perfect".

    We also had the pleasure of talking to Debbie McDonald! My favorite takeaway from her was that these top horses need to not be overworked! That means, if they come out and warm up and then work well for 25 minutes then they are done. Other top trainers believe in this as well, such as Carl Hester and Steffan Peters. It most certainly seems to be working for them!