The 2007 CDIO Aachen seemed to be all about Isabell Werth. In the first big title match between Olympic champions Isabell Werth and Anky van Grunsven, Werth took the spotlight and claimed all major victories at a home competition in Aachen, Germany. However, despite the fact that Aachen is considered to be the best and most important show of the year, it is not an international championships where medals can be won. Werth's overall victory does not automatically mean that European gold is in the bag. The only indicator this is for the 2007 European Dressage Championships, held in Turin, Italy, at the end of August, is that the going will get tough there.
Van Grunsven made mistakes in her Grand Prix and Special ride but still stayed VERY close to Isabell. In the Kur, Anky could not rid Salinero from tension in her small mistake filled and over-scored test, for which the judges received some booing and whistling by the knowledgeable Aachen audience.
Van Grunsven is always very professional and critical about her own performances. In the press conference after the Grand Prix she admitted to making mistakes, but was very confident that at the Europeans, she will be going for it all the way. "I've made mistakes here in all three tests which I normally never make at home. Without these mistakes, I wouldn't have lost here. In Italy the circumstances will be entirely different," Van Grunsven said. Anky was referring to the fact that Salinero never seems to be totally at easy in the show ring. "I've been riding at Aachen for five years and Salinero has never stood still here. Salinero is a horse that loves to work and sometimes that works out differently than I would prefer."
Dutch team trainer and Anky's life partner Sjef Janssen was not so positive of the entire Aachen experienced and grumbled to the Dutch press which quoted him saying, "things happened here that I don't understand. I've been coming to Aachen for 20 tears and always go home frustrated. Fortunately, I'll be in the car tonight with my kids, at home I'll watch the cycling and then the day will be good again."
According to Jacob Melissen, press officer for the Dutch Equestrian Federation, opinions differed whether Werth's Aachen victory was deserved.
-- Astrid Appels