The World Equestrian Festival, perhaps the largest single week's horse show in the world, began Wednesday in Aachen, Germany, with the United States announcing a top team for the Samsung Super League.

Aachen CHIO has added championship vaulting to the lineup of show jumping, dressage and four-in-hand driving that will be contested by 145 athletes from 23 nations on more than 400 horses, in front of what is expected to be well above 300,000 spectators during the five days of competition.

For many competitors, this year's championship is an ideal opportunity to ride in the show grounds that will host the quadrennial World Equestrian Games over two weeks in August and September. At this same event in 2005, the United States show jumping team pulled off a stunning upset of the hometown German team to capture this leg of the eight-event Samsung Super League and go on to win the series for the first time.

George Morris, U.S. Chef d' Equipe, disclosed Wednesday that he's putting Beezie Madden and Authentic back on the team for the Super League that will be held Friday, the second stage of the series. The other team members are McLain Ward of Brewster, NY, and Sapphire; Margie Engle of Wellington, FL, and Quervo Gold; and Lauren Hough, also of Wellington, with Casadora. These three riders were on the team at LaBaule. Ward posting a double-clear round as he did at Aachen last year.

Madden, of Cazenovia, NY, was not on the team in the opening event at LaBaule, France, two weeks ago where the U.S. finished second behind Germany. Jeffery Welles of Ridgefield, CT, was on last year's winning team at Aachen and on the team at LaBaule. Morris said, however, that Welles had already qualified for Sunday's Grand Prix with Armani.

The Germans are not leaving anything to chance. Five of the top German riders--Christian Ahlmann, Ludger Beerbaum, Marcus Ehning, Marco Kutscher and Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum--are on hand for the team. Ehning is the top-ranked rider in the world and winner of the World Cup Final last month.

The United States is not represented in the Nation's Cup dressage for the first time in many years, since selection trials for the U.S. dressage team for the World Equestrian Games will be held in New Jersey in mid-June.

In the only competition Wednesday, a "Battle of the Sexes" show jumping, Jos Lansink of Belgium on Ta Belle Van Sombeke finished first.


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