Portugal is Partner of the World Equestrian Festival, CHIO Aachen 2007

Portugal is the land of the seafarers. It is the land of white beaches and striking cliff formations. It is the land of the fado, elegant wines, Mediterranean food and it is also the land of horses.

The visitors of the World Equestrian Festival, CHIO Aachen 2007, will above all be able to convince themselves of the latter, because this year Portugal is the partner country of the CHIO. After Spain, the Netherlands, Hungary, the Normandy and Austria, the show organisers, the Aachen-Laurensberger Rennverein e.V. (ALRV), are this year looking forward to the vivacious Southern Europeans.

The Portuguese will be bringing around 50 horses with them to Aachen. The highlight will be the demonstrations of the famous “Escola Portuguesa de Arte Equestre“. “The Escola Portuguesa will be giving its debut performance in Germany and we are of course delighted that this is going to be here in Aachen,“ commented ALRV General Manager, Frank Kemperman. The Portuguese counterpart of the Spanish School of Riding will play an essential role in the opening ceremony “Bem Vindo Portugal” on Tuesday, July 3. The magnificent horses will also be demonstrating haut école in diversified show programmes during the entire tournament week (July 3-8) as well as on Soers Sunday, July 1.

The Portuguese Tourist Board and the Portuguese Equestrian Association will be bringing further groups to the Soers – and following tradition they will be heading into Aachen’s City Centre on the Monday before the tournament starts.

There will be a spectacular show to watch: Since the mounted music corps of the Portuguese National Guard claim to be the only music group in the world who are able to play while cantering at the same time. They are certainly going to have to prove this at the World Equestrian Festival, CHIO Aachen 2007.