Good luck messages
Want to wish Team GB luck for WEG? H&H has prepared a card for our seven teams travelling to Aachen next month. To wish each or all of them “Best of British”, email WEGwishes@ipcmedia.com
WEG on TV
WEG fans have two options for watching the competition on television. The BBC has live interactive coverage from eventing cross-country day on Saturday, 26 August, with Grandstand coverage of the eventing on Sunday, 27 August and the show jumping on Sunday, 3 September, when it will also show live interactive coverage of the individual show jumping final.
Eurosport has a bigger schedule, with coverage over nine days of the two-week event, some of it live, beginning with the grand prix dressage on Tuesday, 22 August. Sky Sports has no coverage planned.
Transmission times will be printed next month as part of H&H’s TV listings.
WEG training online
New digital channel Horse & Country TV has been filming behind the scenes footage of the British eventing team in training for the World Equestrian Games. The footage will be shown this month on www.horseandcountry.tv — the TV channel is not due to launch until late 2006.
Members of the squad — Daisy Dick, Zara Phillips, Oliver Townend, Mary King and William Fox-Pitt — took part in the training day at Bedfordshire’s Waresley Park Stud.
Ticket frenzy
A dressage fan from the US ordered the 400,000th WEG ticket last Thursday, via the telephone hotline. Since H&H began the countdown to WEG a month ago, 20,000 tickets have been sold. A third of all ticket sales have been outside Germany.
For tickets, go to www.aachen2006.de or (tel: +49 (0)241 917 1111).
French eventing team named
France’s reigning World Champion Eventer Jean Teulère will defend his title with the same horse on whom he won at Jerez in 2002, Espoir De La Mare. French team trainer Thierry Touzaint has named four others for the squad.
They are: Nicolas Touzaint, with either his 2003 European Champion Galan De Sauvagère or Hildago De L’Ile; Blenheim Europeans team members Arnaud Boiteau (Expo De Moulin) and Didier Dhennin (Ismène Du Temple); plus squad debutant Karim Florent Laghouag (Make My Day). Thierry will name the final squad member and a reserve after Vittel (22-23 July).
Champion to miss WEG
World Champion Shaun Flarida will not defend his reining title at WEG after failing to qualify for the US team in the selection event at Lexington, when his mount kicked out. The US reining team is: Dell Hendricks with Starbucks Sidekick, Tim McQuay (Mister Nicadual), Aaaron Ralston (Smart Paul Olena) and Matt Mills (Easy Otie Whiz).
