AACHEN, Germany--Show jumping and Para Dressage begin tomorrow, Wednesday, with jumping at 3:30 am Eastern, and Para Dressage at 2:30 a.m.. Eastern.

Laura Kraut on Baloutinue at the Aachen Nations Cup in 2024Driving begins Thursday at 5 a..m. Eastern.

The show jumping team faces a tough trial as it lost World number one Kent Farrington when he withdrew from consideration, and the team has since been decimated by withdrawals.

Farrington may have been right to withdraw Greya, who had four faults in Aachen's huge grass arena and then also four faults in Dublin.

The huge, long course and three straight days of competition followed by a rest day and the final individual competition might not have suited the mare. 

 

THEN FIRST Marilyn Little on La Contessa, who had been sensational all spring, had to withdraw, and then Laura Kraut had to substitute Baloutinue for Bisquetta. 

Kraut is joined by McLain Ward on High Star Hero, Lillie Keenan on Fasther and Katie Dinan on Out of the Blue with Natalie Dean on Mr.Bombastic as the traveling reserve.

There are 145 riders from 32 teams plus individual riders competing, and among the top teams competing are the favorites, the hometown team of Germany, Belgium, France, Great Britain, Sweden and Switzerland.

"Just making the top 10 teams in the team final on Friday will be difficult," said chef d'equipe Robert Ridland.

Kraut goes sixth tomorrow with Ward 44th, Keenan 81st and Dinan 116th.

The Youth Jumping, a new category at the Wold Championship, begins Thursday with Olivia Sweetnam and JJ Torano competing for the U.S.

As it is a new category, there are no favorites,and there has been no listing of the criteria for the competitors, but presumably it's an U25 competition.

Thibeau Spits of Belguim currently leads the U25 world rankings over Antoine Ermann of France and Ireland's Tom Wachman.

The Para Dressage team of Olympic individual and team gold medalists Rebeca Hart and Fiona Howard are joined by Kate Shoemaker and Marie Vanderheyden.

There are 94 competing in Para Dressage, and the favorites are the U.S., Denmark, Germany and Great Britain.

There are 54 competing in driving with the U.S. represented by Jimmy Fairclough, Taren Lester and Chester Weber. 

The favorites are Netherlands, that has won for the last 12 times,, Australia, Belgium and Germany,

Last week in Vaulting, Kimberly Palmer had the best finish for the U.S., placing fourth in the Individual Female Free Test.

In the Squads Free Test and the official Team Competition, the U.S. was sixth of eight teams,in the Individual Male Free Test, the U.S. placed 11th and 16thof 20 and in the Pas de Deux, the U.S.was eighth of 11.

Over 240,000 spectators attended the first week of the World Championship and huge, enthusiastic hordes are expected for the second week.