Aug 12- more Aachen moments
It was a rainy day in Aachen. The riders were caught in a downpour/lightening and thunder. They huddled under trees till it passed, and the sun came out, then it rained again. It reminds me of home. The horses got a fair amount of exercise being put out and brought in from the paddocks, along with repeatedly being blanketed and unblanketed. I think a lot of people are looking forward to a hot bath this evening. Diane Woodward shopped for new long pants and even Downeaster (Maine) Stanley Downs was in a sweater today. But I was very impressed by Jennifer N. and Ruth W., who were still in their shorts, while I was chilly and bundled up in polar fleece and a raincoat. Those California girls are tough!
We had our first organizational meeting after lunch, led by Val and Suzanne Hayes. Then the riders explored the trail with Valerie, and the crews explored the holds with Larry Kanavy. The city of Aachen became less confusing when we realized street names change at every major intersection and the important roads are all circles around the city. Between thunderstorms one group of us checked out the local tack/feed stores and downtown Aachen.
Saturday was a fairly quiet day with only a little rain. We started with trot outs in the morning and checking out the away hold. Then there were tack shops to visit and WEG hirts to buy. The afternoon entertainment was the hordes of Dressage riders, some of them were superb, in the indoor. Tonight there was a food festival by the casino and the champagne flowed. We eve got to try an honest-to-goodness right-out-of-the-ground truffle! Christoph's mother and sister are here visiting and it was a lot of fun trying to comunicate through food. It worked and we were hugging and kissing by the end of the evening. We are all staying at the Buschhauen Hotel, a smallish family run place, with the most amazing staff and ownership. They saw us walking by their booth at the food fair and whipped out a bunch of bottles of champagne and outrageous desserts of chocolate and strawberries and mint clouds. There was some guy all dressed in blue, including the face, on stilts wandering around the fair, along with mstly naked dancers and 25 or so drummers. Just another boring day in Aachen
Dinah

Transport and Arrival Photos Update from Dinah, August 10
It’s late at night, and I am plied with chocolate (Belgian, and considered the best in the world by many), superb champagne/wine from France and cherry beer from the monasteries of Belgium. That makes me a questionable reporter. Here are a few pictures, including most of the group at tonight’s barbeque, thrown by the Belgian contingent of Marcel, Frieda and daughters Natasha and Stashia, brother-in-law barbeque chef and grandfather Victor. They have gone way out of their way to make us welcome and supply us with buckets, chocolate and sponges, etc. Did I mention chocolate?
Their efforts, along with Andy’s and Martin’s have made our stay so very pleasurable and easy. We can not fully express our gratitude to these European friends.
The horses are doing well, and more staff members, assistant chef d’equipe Susie Hayes and farrier Jeff Pauly, arrived today. Larry Kanavy spends most of his days scouting out the vetchecks, water points and fly bys, while the riders ride and the grooms clean and get silly.

Dinah: August 7
First, congratulations to John Crandell III for his success on Haggins Cup and FtF! We're all so pleased for you.
The riders went out for a short ride today after 4 hours yesterday. There are many twists and turns on the unmarked trail, and the bicyclist had a bit of trouble keeping up with the horses. Steve and Finch enjoyed jumping the fences in the woods, and all the riders said the footing was hard and were surprised by the number of hills. Today Steve went out with our stable neighbor on her Dressage horse, a huge warmblood black stallion. The lady's name is Ulla, and she knows the forest like the back of her hand and, after finding Meg, Jen and Kathy going the wrong way, she returned everybody safely to the barn. We are having decent weather, and a group of us spent part of the day in town running errands and doing a little sightseeing at a church that was built in 1000AD. It was simple, filled with light and color. The pews are gone and replaced with ultramodern plastic chairs, quite a contrast. The gardens are loaded with hollyhocks and the roofs are all tiled in different colors, with slate chimneys. It is a busy and charming town.
None of this would have happened without Christoph's help with German and navigational skills. Diane kept us going with her infectious laugh as we drove through pedestrian only sections of town, and the good Dr. Timmons made sure we didn't get into too much trouble. While we are out so are the horses, in their portable pens enjoying the grass, sunshine and church bells.
Team member, Joe Mattingly, zipped in yesterday and back to work in the states today. He's quite the jet setter! He has no worries with Michelle and Grace caring for the horse.
Tomorrow is a rest day and we are off to explore North Rhine-Westfalia and Lower Saxony!
Dinah

Dinah: August 5
The horses arrived uninjured to Aachen. In attendance are, in no order, Val and Larry Kanavy, veterinarians: Tom Timmons and Flavia, farrier: Mustafa chiropractor: Jim, and a host of local help, who are currently guiding the horses on the red loop from the backs of bicycles.
People who came with the horses are Jen Neihaus. and Ruth Waltenspiel, Michelle Mattingly and Grace Ramsey, Meg Sleeper and Dave Augustine, Christoph Schork and Diane Woodward, Kathy and Stanley Downs, and Steve Rojek and me.
The Eastern shipment of horses was delayed a couple of hours and I was thinking, standing in the customs line, that it didin't matter that much, because we were going to wait for the Western shipment before trucking to Aachen. Then I saw Tom, Christoph, Jen, Ruth and Diane in the next line! It worked perfectly.
The truck was massive, designed for the huge Dressage horses, so even though we were stuck in animal import bureaucrasy for a few hours, they were cool and had wiggle room. Steve and I went with the truck and everyone else went to the hotel and the the barn. We felt lucky because there was a bench behind the driver, and we both got a little nap on the way to Aachen. It was a smooth 4 hour four lane trip with windmills, horses, cows and a whole bunch of cars we never see in the states.
The stable graceful, loaded with 100 Dressage horses and jumpers. Our guys would look like minis, but there are also a ton of little kids with truly tiny ponies.
There is good turnout with grass and feed and the horse care from staff has been superb. For bonus entertainment, here are always a couple of decent riders working on their Dressage in the indoor.
The bicycle path is the shortest way to the barn, and I rode my Segway while Dave biked back to the hotel to catch up on email. Cool!!! We go by sleepy holsteins, through pine forests and up and down short vertical hills to little one person wide bridges. The people are bending over backwards to be kind to us at the hotel and at the stable. The weather is even kind, it is cool and overcast, quite a relief from NYC 104!
I better Segway back to the barn.I will try to send some pictures soon.
Dinah