Aachen, August 23rd

Dressage: Statements from the German gold medallist team
Capellmann, Werth, Kemmer and Schmidt are World Champions

The National Coach, Holger Schmezer, joined in with the Laola wave in the stadium and his German dressage team was in corresponding high spirits at the Press Conference afterwards: Local rider, Nadine Capellmann with Elvis, Isabell Werth with Satchmo, Heike Kemmer with Bonaparte and Hubertus Schmidt with Wansuela Suerte took gold at the FEI World Equestrian Games in Aachen with a total of 223.625 points in the ARAG Prize, Grand Prix Team. The Dutch squad claimed second place (217.917), whilst the bronze medal went to the team from the USA (213.917).

Question: Mrs. Capellmann, in the run-up to the WEG you said it was a dream come true to represent your country at the World Championships in your homeland. And now you have even won the gold medal.

Nadine Capellmann: Yes, and I am overjoyed. This gold medal means I have achieved everything possible, anything on top of this will just be the icing on the cake. The crowd in the stadium was fantastic too, dressage has never experienced such an impressive setting before.

Question: How did Elvis cope with the unusual situation in the main stadium with over 32,000 spectators?

Capellmann: Very well. One can practise a lot of things in the run-up to an event, but the actual competition in such a stadium is a totally different situation altogether. I was very satisfied with Elvis in spite of the few small mistakes he made. Of course I would have liked to have been able to contribute two percent more to the team result, but one of the judges gave me a very low score.

Question: How optimistic are you about the upcoming competitions, i.e. the Spéciale on Friday?

Capellmann: We'll have to see. Of course I do hope to win a medal.

Question: Mrs. Werth, were you satisfied with your first competition in this extensive stadium?

Isabell Werth: The competition went very successfully, Satchmo felt at home. In one corner it was as if everyone in the stadium was behind me. What can go wrong then? It was brilliant being able to ride in this huge stadium in front of this wonderful crowd.

Question: And Satchmo, Warum Nicht's replacement was convincing too, wasn't he?

Werth: I don't have a replacement horse. It is terrific having two such horses in your stables. Satchmo made up for many of his blackouts with his ride today. His performance provided me particular satisfaction.

Question: You have already won many titles. What significance does winning gold in Aachen have for you?

Werth: It is my most important title, because things didn't go well in the run-up to the event. Klaus Husenbeth wasn't able to ride, Warum Nicht couldn't compete. Winning gold under these circumstances, is very special. There's a brilliant atmosphere in our team, even if the press often made reference to there being friction among our team in the past, this is not true.

Question: Are you surprised at having achieved the same score as Anky van Grunsven and Salinero?

Werth: We are now on the same level. And we will try to continue putting the pressure on Anky van Grunsven and Salinero.

Question: Mr. Schmidt, You must be satisfied with your ladies after your poor result?

Hubertus Schmidt: I am very pleased in fact. All three rode very well. Unfortunately, my mare was a little bit too impressed by the immense stadium and we didn't manage to score as many points as we had hoped.

Question: Mrs. Kemmer, how were you able to foresee that Germany would win gold at the Press Conference yesterday?

Heike Kemmer: Because we are a great team. We already had a lot of fun at the training camp at Nadine's stables. And a team that can laugh together, works. Fortunately, I was able to give Nadine and Isabell a good head start with my result yesterday, so that they didn't have to risk too much today.

National Coach, Holger Schmezer: I am happy and very proud of my riders. Because it is they and their horses, who have to put in all the effort.