Ijsbrand Chardon of the Netherlands looks ready to defend the title he won in Jerez, Spain, four years ago, as he moved up to the lead from second place after dressage by winning the marathon on a warm day in Aachen, Germany, Sept. 1. But he’s not taking anything for granted yet.

“Tomorrow is a new day,” said Chardon, who stated that his horses finished the day in very good shape. “Of course, you can either win or lose tomorrow. I hope to win.”

Felix Marie Brasseur of Belgium moved into second place, ahead of Thomas Eriksson of Sweden and Christoph Sandmann of Germany. Chester Weber, the top U.S. driver, is seventh, and the U.S. team is fifth (327.84), behind Germany (311.84), the Netherlands (315.02), Belgium (315.95) and Hungary (322.87).

Chardon praised the course designer, Wolfgang Asendorf of Germany, who has built the Aachen course since 2002. This however, was a new course, on the Soers farm where the cross-country course was held, instead of the woods usually used for the Aachen event. “This course was really horse friendly, and the spectators could see so many of the fences,” he said. “You had the feeling the public was always with you. I saw the last driver going, and I don’t think it made any difference whether you went first or last; the ground was the same,” he added.

Drivers were most concerned about the first hazard, the technical Mercedes-Benz complex on the side of a hill. “I would have preferred that it be the fifth fence,” Chardon said. “It was technically a beautiful fence, but it was very difficult. There it was easy to see if a driver was technically good or not.”

Asendorf defended his placement of the first hazard and the decision to make it so demanding: “I knew the first obstacle was technically very difficult, but I believe if it had been the third or fourth obstacle, the horses would have been more tired and it would have been even harder, and we could have seen more accidents.”

Two carriages, one driven by Barry Capstick of Ireland and one driven by Bert Brans of Netherlands Antilles, tipped over at the first hazard, and while no horses were injured, Capstick badly bruised a leg. Brans’ wife, who was navigating, was taken to the hospital, but not believed to have any serious injuries.

At the fifth fence, the Mikado needles, Chardon and his navigator decided, after much discussion, to go the long way. “But then when I entered the obstacle, two bridles got caught, and it cost me 45 seconds, so the long way was very long,” said Chardon.

U.S. Fortunes
Weber placed 20th on the marathon, after having to replace a horse who seemed sore after the dressage.

“We did as well as we could, considering,” Weber said. He thought the fifth complex was especially quite technical. “My right wheeler got quite tired,” he said.

He said he lost time at the main water complex, obstacle 3, which had also been the main water complex for the eventers but been hastily remodeled, including the addition of a major bridge. “I made a clear driver mistake,” he said. The right wheeler’s trace came loose, and the quick release knot came undone. Once through the obstacle, his grooms had to dismount to fix it.

The first driver on course, Fred Obernauer of Austria, became stuck in obstacle 6, and Weber was held there but didn’t mind the delay. “It gave my horses a chance to breathe,” he said.

Tucker Johnson of the United States had a few stops in hazard 7, the Arabian Oasis, but drove an otherwise solid marathon until the finish, where his new left leader kicked his right leader. He stands 10th overall.

“I did my best,” he said. “The left leader is really strong. I stopped three times to make the curb chain tighter, then looser, then tighter again. He pushed the other leader out, and I didn’t have enough loop.”

Johnson said the first hazard went better than he expected, and in the second hazard, he came in conservatively but built momentum. “In the water I had one horse get confused about where I wanted him to be,” he said. “Getting back up to speed costs energy in the water.”

At the fourth hazard, Johnson said he had the right pace and the right route. “It won’t be the fastest time of the day, but it will be competitive,” he said. “I had intended to turn right [to part F], but my right wheeler wasn’t there.

“[The horses] really came on in the last water,” he said. “I picked a conservative route.”

He thought the course was tough. “You’re constantly going up and downhill; there’s never a spot on firm, level ground, where the carriage is rolling slowly,” he said. “I’m very satisfied, although I’m disappointed with the one mistake.”

James Fairclough, who is 22nd, said his marathon went well, using his two leaders together in the marathon for only the second time. “They did phenomenally,” he said. “I’ve been trying to get them together all season.”

He enjoyed the atmosphere, although he found the footing heavy and said he lost his voice out there.

In addition to the crashes at the first obstacle, three other horses did not finish the course. Co Van Hoof of the Dutch Antilles pulled up when his horses tired near the end of the course,

Zdenek Jirasek of Czechlosvakia retired on the marathon with a lame horse, and Fredrik Persson of Sweden did not get to start on the course when one of his horses was spun for lameness in the vet box before the final phase.