Frank Rothenberger was faced with some new challenges at this years CHIO Aachen. In preparation for the World Equestrian Games, the Dressage Course with its sand surface has been moved into the middle of the main stadium.
As a result some of the traditional jumps such as the wall, billiard and the water jump were missing from their usual places.
Rothenberger, took all of that into consideration when building the course for the Samsung Super League Competition. He actually incorporated the Dressage Ring into the course as he had the riders go around the ring as part of the design. Like most designers, Rothenberger works off of a computer design. This time he spent longer than normal at the computer, but the result was a very challenging course. “It is possible to create good routes”, the designer who hails from the region stated, “but one must also note that none of the show jumpers much liked the location of the dressage arena.”
Otto Becker agreed with Frank’s comment: “Having the Dressage Ring in the middle of the stadium is less than ideal, but we have to live with it.” Becker then went on to praise the new ground in the stadium. He said it had been an extraordinary achievement on the part of the ALRV to create such good footing conditions in the stadium within a short space of time. “That makes it easier to get over the dressage arena,” Becker commented.
Rothenberger is now considering whether to cover parts of the dressage arena with dark-coloured tarpaulin and larger flower displays for the jumping competitions of the World Equestrian Games.
“We now have some experience with jumping in this new venue and have a few weeks time to think about possible improvements,” explained Rothenberger.
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