Day 1 - We Finally Arrived!

We arrived in Düsseldorf at 6 am after a full day of travel. Our next step was to find the train station and make our way to Aachen. At 10 we stumbled into our hotel, tired but excited about our big adventure. After settling in, we grabbed a quick bite in Aachen then walked to the European Championships to watch the warm ups and attend the opening ceremonies this evening.

I think we were all a bit star struck being around the best in our sport. We saw Carl Hester, Edward Gal, Isabell Werth, and Kyra Kyrklund to name a few. After watching warm ups for a bit, Kyra had time to talk with us. We sat in the grass and picked her brain about a multitude of topics. One of the things that stood out to me was the emphasis of each horse as an individual and finding what will work best for that individual horse. I also enjoyed hearing her take on a warm-up; a warm up is just that, a warm up for the horse and should be easy for them. It is not a time to fix things that were not there before heading to show. Again there was an emphasis placed on finding the right warm up for the individual horse depending on their individual strengths and weaknesses. We ended our talk with a discussion of feel. Kyra explained feel in a very comprehendable manner; feeling is a sense just as taste and smell are senses. Until you experiences the feel you will not know it. Kyra used the analogy of strawberry jam. A person can describe strawberry jam to you; it is red, has seeds, has a tart taste but until you actually taste strawberry jam you will not truly understand its essence.

Opening ceremonies were a blast this evening. Some of the highlights included draft horse races, side saddle steeplechase, a 64 stallion quadrille, a recap of special moments and amazing athletes, and a demonstration of all the disciplines; dressage, stadium jumping, combined driving, vaulting, reining, and eventing. It was a spectacular way to kick off an incredible 12 days to come.