It ended like it began, with wind and rain. But, it was a wet, windy and wonderful finale to an amazing two weeks of equestrian sport at the 2006 Aachen World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany. By all accounts, it has turned out to be the biggest and most impressive equestrian competition in history. Now Aachen, a European city world-renowned for horse competition, passes the proverbial torch to another great world-class horse city (Lexington, Ky.) to host the next FEI Games in four years in 2010. And, they will be here before anyone knows it.

In the Closing Ceremonies, Kentucky Governor Ernie Fletcher addressed the crowd of nearly 60,000 promising to uphold the precedent Aachen has set for a truly world class event. Then, a parade of American breeds had the crowd on their feet clapping and hooting for the impressive stunt trick riders, the Gold-medal U.S. reining team with their ad lib rendition of “synchronized reining” performing spins in unison. Tucker Johnson and James Fairclough of the U.S driving team, as well as Para-equestrian driver Diana Kastama, paraded along side cowboys and cowgirls representing American breeds, most notably the American Paint Horse, the American Quarter Horse and the Appaloosas. Morgans were represented by Eitan Beth-Halachmy with his “cowboy dressage” on his dark bay, Santa Fe. Meanwhile, invitations from Kentuckians to the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games 2010 filled the two giant screens on each end of the stadium. In-field fire effects capped the finale. It was an impressive show to say the least.

But, before these Games ended, the final two individual medals were contested in a heated chase to the medal podium. First up Sunday (Sept. 3) was reining, with riders spinning, sliding and stopping in Stadium 3 before a sell-out crowd. In fact, the competition was so close it required a final run-off. Later in the afternoon, it was the Main Stadium that was packed to its rafter with a damp, but high-in-spirit, crowd that witnessed the world’s four best show jumpers go at a course four times over. First, the riders maneuvered the course on their own mount. Then, they each took to their competitors’ horses to put in three more rounds. The accumulation of faults and time on all four horses were compiled to determine just who would be crowned winner of the Rolex World Championship title.

Reining: Silver, Bronze Finish
The adrenaline was high, the flags were furiously waving and two cowboys and their horses ran their hearts out for Gold. In the end it was Canada’s Duane Latimer on Hang Ten Surprize with a score of 228 and the Gold medal after an emotional run-off. The best reining in the world was here Sunday in stadium three with a fitting tribute to North American riders who took places one through six when all was said and done. Latimer and McQuay each received an impressive score of 230 in the first round