The unique atmosphere of the Aachen stadium will add its own special magic when the ten participating nations line out in the Mercedes-Benz Prize, part of the Meydan FEI Nations Cup™ next Thursday evening.  This will be the fifth round of the eight-leg series which finishes up in Dublin, Ireland in early August, and the teams are jostling for position on the leaderboard to ensure that their country remains amongst the elite of the world at the end of the 2009 season when two nations will be relegated.

The Aachen arena has seen many heroic battles during its time, and the knowledgeable crowds appreciate good horsemanship.  The home supporters had plenty to roar about in 2008 when Germany secured the second of three consecutive wins on their way to becoming series champions, and Chef d’Equipe, Otto Becker, sends out another formidable foursome in the hope of repeating that performance this week.

Complete

World No. 1, Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum, will be joined by the newly-married World No. 2 Marcus Ehning while Carsten-Otto Nagel and Philipp Weistaupt complete the selection.  Lying third on the series leaderboard the Germans are strongly positioned, but there is a 10.5 point gulf between them and the leading Americans whose back-to-back victories in Rome and St Gallen have given them a strong advantage.

US team manager, George Morris, has Lauren Hough, Laura Kraut, Todd Minikus and McLain Ward on call-up and, on current form, they will take some beating.

The French have really risen to the challenge since returning to the premier series this season and, following their win at the last leg in Rotterdam, now lie equal-second with the Swiss.  Penelope Leprevost earned high praise from her Chef d’Equipe Laurent Elias when clinching that French success in a thrilling jump-off against America’s Richard Spooner, and with Timothee Anciaume, Roger-Yves Bost and Kevin Staut will be determined to maintain that positive energy.

The Swiss won the opening leg at La Baule in France, but last time out were one of the two teams that failed to make it into the second round of the competition.  Team manager Rolf Grass will be hoping that poor performance can be left behind them as Steve Guerdat, Christina Liebherr, Niklaus Schurtenberger and Pius Schwizer go to work this week.

Veterans

The Dutch lie fifth on the leaderboard, and Rob Ehrens has nations cup veterans Angelique Hoorn, Marc Houtzager, Harrie Smolders and Albert Zoer in his solid-looking squad while Lucien Somers’s Belgian selectIon includes Jos Lansink who is listed with the horse with which he won that memorable FEI World Championship title in Aachen back in 2006.  The extravagant Cavalor Cumano is always a joy to watch, and his presence should give Lansink’s team-mates Niels Bruynseels, Philippe Le Jeune and Ludo Philippaerts a nice boost.

Equal-seventh on the leaderboard are Great Britain and Sweden, each carrying 10 hard-earned points which leave them with just a 2.5 lead over the Irish in ninth.  If Geoff Billington decides to ride Rosinus his warm-up will be short and sweet as this partnership is fresh from participation in last Sunday’s Hickstead Derby, and the British side is completed by Peter Charles and two relatively new recruits to the top level of the sport, Gemma Plumley and Philip Spivey.

Pendulum

Swedish fortunes have swung like a pendulum, their second-place finish in La Baule followed by failure to qualify for the second round at the next two legs before making a recovery in Rotterdam.  However Chef d’Equipe, Maria Gretzer, has Olympic silver medalist Role-Goran Bengtsson in action this time out along with the impressive young Henrik Von Eckermann, Peder Fredricson and Helena Lundback.

The Irish have been struggling, but Jessica Kuerten rode to the rescue when producing the only double-clear of the competition at Rotterdam.  She is not in the Aachen side however which consists of Denis Lynch, Capt David O’Brien, Cian O’Connor and Billy Twomey.  And the Italians, lying bottom of the table and 3.5 points behind the Irish, need to pull out all the stops on Thursday night.  Piergiorgio Bucci, Natale Chiaudani, Giuseppe D’onofrio and Giovanni Lucchetti have the toughest job of all.  

Facts and Figures

The World Equestrian Festival CHIO Aachen attracted 357,250 visitors in 2008

The spectator capacity in the main stadium is 40,000

The tournament employs approximately 1,200 people in a variety of capacities

The complex includes almost 400 permanent stables

18,000kg of oats, 18,000kg of hay, 1,500 bales of straw will be used during the week

The 2008 winners of the Mercedes-Benz prize, part of the Meydan FEI Nations Cup™, were the home team from Germany.

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