Aachen, August 31st, 2006

Top ranking for US Americans after dressage

The dressage competition of the Four-in-Hand World Championships, the Prize of the Handwerk and Prize of the District of Aachen, which is being contested by 16 nations, ended with a US-American victory. With an overall score of 82.04 (minus) points, Tucker Johnson, Chester Weber and James Henry Fairclough secured a small lead ahead of the teams from Belgium (Felix Marie Brasseur, Geert De Brauwer, Gert Schrijvers/88.07), Germany (Michael Freund, Rainer Duen, Christoph Sandmann/88.19) and the Netherlands (Ysbrand Chardon, Koos de Ronde, Theo Timmerman/99.84).

Chester Weber is currently leading in the individual classification of the combined competition. The American driver from Florida, who often stays in Dreieich, Hessen to train with Michael Freund, didn't match his personal best score at the Soers, but he was nevertheless happy with his performance. Now the 31-year-old is hoping to achieve a good result in the Marathon competition on Friday. "I have been rather unlucky in the last few Marathons, so I really hope that things go well tomorrow."

Ysbrand Chardon (45) from the Netherlands (41.22) is lying in second place after the dressage. As far as many driving enthusiasts are concerned, the two-time World Champion (1992 and 2002) is top favourite to win individual gold at the FEI World Equestrian Games. For Michael Freund, presently third in the rankings with 41.60 points, the tournament here in Aachen is taking on a nostalgic atmosphere. "As I drove out of the stadium, a few tears rolled down my face. It was my last dressage competition in Aachen. It is certainly a strange feeling, when you have been driving here for so many years," stated the 51-year-old driver, who will be ending his active international driving career after the World Championships.

In the Marathon competition on Friday, Freund & co. will be giving their best one last time. The ground conditions on the course are ideal in spite of the heavy rainfall over the last days. After inspecting the course, the drivers were unanimous: The course and the obstacles are technically very demanding, but good to drive (Marathon starts at 9 a.m.).