2006 CHIO Aachen

In spite of the rain the equestrian fans poured into the Forest Wohnwelt-Pallen Marathon at the CHIO Aachen 2006

Aachen press release - posted May 20, 2006

Decorated with stripes, checks, bright spots or Donald Duck motifs. There are umbrellas in hundreds of colour combinations. All of which were on display in the Forest of Aachen on Saturday. The weather had no sympathy with the tens of thousands of equestrian fans who had once again pilgrimed to the forests and fields of the Waldhausen estate, to cheer on the four-in-hand drivers in the Wohnwelt-Pallen Marathon competition.

A whistle, a call - and the starting officials raise the rope. The carriage dashes forward, the spectators are kept back at a safe distance. "Ho, ho", calls the driver, as he steers his horses through the water obstacle. Some water splashes towards the spectators - but they are well protected on all sides against the cold and the wet. With long raincoats, wide hats and in some cases bright yellow Wellington boots. "You just have to make sure you wrap up well," explains 22-year-old Alina from Cologne. "Then the weather doesn't matter." She must know, as she stands waiting for the next harness team to reach the Warsteiner obstacle with her friend Katharina, because she is wearing layers of clothes. And when the carriages tear by, everyone claps, cheers and shouts and urges them on, as encouragement for the drivers and their horses - but also to keep themselves warm. "Hot coffee is particularly popular today," Alois Thelnen at the fast-food stand of Alwin Fiebus reports. Today, the people have left their cool bags and picnic baskets in their cars, parked in the Monschauer Straße.

But the equestrian fans don't let the muddy fields spoil their fun. Sandwiches and hot drinks are conjured up out of rucksacks. The children find great enjoyment jumping around in the puddles and a few spectators have even brought folding chairs with them. "I have been coming to the Forest of Aachen for years", laughs Hubert Geissen who lives near Düren. "The marathon is simply a must. Whether it is 35 degrees, raining or even snowing." While he's talking, he pulls out his camera, because he needs to take a photo of Michael Freund and his team.

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