De Rosa Daily
FEI World Equestrian Games 2006 - Aachen Germany
Exclusive coverage for HorsesDaily text and photos by Diana DeRosa

Airs Above the Ground and More

Then there was Miguel Duarte from Portugal. His horse, Oxalis Da Meia Lua decided to demonstrate its airs above the ground. This picture will show just what I mean.

There were other observations. At the very end the crowd gave a roaring applause to one Japanese rider (Kuranojo Saito on Lotus) who had an okay ride. The crowd was being supportive of everyone. Yet as they cheered him on he never once looked in their direction but always straight forward. You could see that he was pleased by the twinkle in his eye but he was certainly not used to showing it to a crowd of this magnitude.

And then there was the Colombian rider Dr. Cesar Parra riding Galant du Serein, who after an “okay” performance also was welcomed well by the audience. After his ride he took his hat off and then put it back on and touched his hand to his heart as his way of thanking the audience. Then when he came around and they cheered and clapped, he took his hat several times and put it over his heart. This was his way of thanking the crowd.

Spanish rider Ignacio Rambla aboard Distinguido 2 after his ride did this brilliant departure with the spanish walk that were unbelievable with his horse’s legs going nearly parallel to the ground.