The knowledgeable Aachen crowd was already rising to its feet as the 15-year-old KWPN stallion turned onto the final centreline of the Grand Prix Spécial. Moving energetically and swinging through his whole body, he danced towards the final salute. He seemed to be soaking up the atmosphere; the rhythmic clapping of the 35,000 spectators practically carried him down the centreline. With sure certainty, no one in the packed Main Stadium had the slightest doubt that they had just witnessed a performance by the reigning – and now soon to be freshly crowned – World Champion. It was an immaculate, harmonious test: The initial halt and salute served as an impressive statement of intent. The demanding interplay between active, elastic extended trots and accentuated, expressive passages was a joy to behold. And the canter work? An absolute delight. Even after the Grand Prix, Charlotte Fry had spoken of a “feeling like never before” in the saddle of her equine partner. That feeling was undoubtedly surpassed in the Grand Prix Spécial. “He’s getting better and better,” said a visibly moved Charlotte Fry. “He loves Aachen; he loves showing himself off. The more people, the better!” And that is precisely what the 35,000 spectators witnessed as the stallion strode out of the arena – completely composed and visibly relishing the cheers – satisfied with himself, his performance and the thunderous, seemingly endless applause that him and his rider were rewarded with after achieve the impressive score of 82.295 percent.

The atmosphere was no less emotional when Katharina Hemmer and Denoix PCH entered the arena. Having already achieved a personal best, the pair had played a pivotal role in securing Team Gold. The Grand Prix Spécial was intended merely as an encore or, as the 32-year-old put it, “the cherry on top.” And what a cherry it turned out to be! “Focus, focus, focus” – that was the mantra she kept repeating to herself, Hemmer revealed, describing her state of mind as she executed one movement after another with effortless ease. Even the final halt, which had been a little fuzzy in the Grand Prix due to an overflow of emotion – went perfectly this time. “I am absolutely speechless,” the rider said, her voice trembling, as the score of 80.866 percent lit up the scoreboard. And whenever the conversation turned to her equine partner, she found herself unable to hold back her emotions: “He is simply my best friend!” It was for this very reason that she immediately announced her decision not to compete with “Purzel” – as he is affectionately known in the stable – in the Grand Prix Freestyle (the Lindt-Prize). “We’ve achieved so much more here than we had ever hoped for. Because of a brief injury-related break over the summer, we didn’t have enough time to prepare the freestyle routine.”

Denmark’s Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour has set herself one primary goal for this very Freestyle, which is scheduled tomorrow evening under the floodlights: To avoid repeating the errors she made in today’s Grand Prix Spécial. “My horse is in such stunning form. I really hope the rider will be too tomorrow,” said the 34-year-old with a touch of sarcastic humour. Although she lost valuable points due to mishaps during the flying changes and the right pirouette while riding her 17-year-old mare Mount St John Freestyle, she excelled in many parts of the test with an impressive silhouette and beautifully fluid transitions. Ultimately, a score of 80.927 percent secured her Silver. The number one in the world rankings will be presenting a new choreography in tomorrow’s Freestyle. “Freestyle loves the music,” the Dane is certain and at that moment, a smile flitted across her face again. “I am looking forward to it.”

The top 18 pairs from the Grand Prix Spécial qualify for the Lindt-Prize, which begins on Saturday evening at 7 p.m. That is when the most successful dressage rider of all time, Isabell Werth with Wendy de Fontaine (79.544%), and the Belgian double European Champion, Justin Verboomen (79.362%) are also planning to have a say in the battle for the medals. Today, the two pairs from Germany and Belgium finished in fourth and fifth place.

Would you like to experience the FEI World Championships live? Then, secure your tickets now via the online shop, from the ticket hotline on +49-241-9171111, or via the office of the Aachen-Laurensberger Rennverein.