When Charlotte Fry’s voice rang out over the loudspeakers at the start of her Freestyle saying  “Welcome on board – Glamourdale Airline” – it was more than just a charming greeting. It was an invitation for the audience to experience the ride with her. To be part of what was about to unfold, movement by movement, in the stunningly floodlit Main Stadium in Aachen. What followed was an immaculate performance: Precise and powerful, yet light and playful, set to moving songs that all shared the same theme: flying. And that is exactly what the 15-year-old KWPN stallion seemed to do that evening. It was a Freestyle routine where everything went right – a performance that Charlotte Fry later described as follows: “That was the test of my life. Glamourdale and I both enjoyed every second.” Long before the pair turned onto the final centreline, the entire crowd had got up from their seats. The stadium rose for a standing ovation, loud cheering erupted, as if the audience wanted to carry the pair to the finish. And in the midst of the applause, the stallion stood looking around contentedly after the final salute – almost as if he was making sure that everyone had really seen what he and his rider had just achieved. Indeed, the audience was totally thrilled and so were the judges: 91.907 percent – a dream score for a dream Freestyle.

And that wasn’t the final highlight on this special evening. Shortly afterwards, the number one in the world rankings, Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour and her 17-year-old mare, Mount St John Freestyle, stepped onto the holy grass and into the beautifully decorated dressage arena. For them, too, the ensuing minutes culminated in what could truly be described as the “ride of a lifetime.” The theme of their Freestyle – with the word “together” echoing repeatedly through the arena – could hardly have been more fitting: The horse and rider performed in perfect harmony and with impressive ease. They made the most difficult movements look effortless, as if they were the most natural thing in the world – togetherness, in every sense of the word. “Yesterday, I felt like I had lost Gold,” the Danish athlete said. “Today, I feel like I have won Silver. I am overjoyed.”

And precisely in that moment when it seemed like the atmosphere in the Main Stadium couldn’t possibly get any better, Isabell Werth entered the arena. Spurred on by the top scores that had previously flashed across the scoreboards at the Allianz Park, the most successful rider of all time opted for the following strategy, as she later revealed: “Go all out.” No sooner said than done. In the saddle of her successful mare, Wendy de Fontaine, the German rider played upon all her strengths: Powerful passages with the movement flowing through the horse’s entire body, alternating with expressive, perfectly executed piaffes, sweeping lateral movements and centred pirouettes – the list of highlights is almost endlessly. A minor mistake in the two-tempi changes cost a few points, but certainly not the hearts of the Aachen crowd. Isabell Werth and Wendy were also celebrated with a standing ovation as a wave of exaltation swept through the packed grandstands of the Main Stadium. Ultimately, the final score of 88.650 percent lit up the scoreboard – Bronze for the 57-year-old and another goosebump moment on an evening that will remain etched in the memories of all those, who witnessed it, for a long time to come.