Saturday in Aach is a cold but bright enough day - but it certainly feels more like a nice winters day than it does the summers day it is supposed to be - and to the credit of the organisers of the show the arena continues to look wonderful and is holding up well to number of horses jumping each day from early morning till well into the evening.

Today's Big Tour class ran in the middle of the day and saw 84 combinations line up for the Speed class which saw time added for fences down - todays track saw a few more questions asked which suggests the final day on Sunday could see a tough which will be tough enough for those qualified.

Only four of the Australian's opted to jump today. Matt Williams jumped his young up and coming horse, Asgaard 17 - pictured below left - and again they were in the money placing 10th after a very good round with just one down which was a green rail from this very talented horse who will no doubt very soon begin being primed for the next level and possibly representing Australia at the highest level. Their time was 69.92secs after adding 4 seconds for the rail down.

Matt did not start Leconte6 saving him for the all important final selection round on Sunday.

Tim Armitrano and Mr Innocent opted to begin today but when three fences fell they finished with a time of 79.65secs and they placed 41st out of 84.

Vicki Roycroft and Noblewood Blatini looked a little erratic today and the resulting 5 fences suggest that the mare is perhaps feeling the effects of the long journey from Australia and then a gruelling travel

schedule. They finished in 67th place with a final time of 91.71secs out of the 84 starters and no doubt the connections of this horse will be wondering what to do next as this combination are currently sitting in last position of the 8 combinations after 3 rounds. They do have to option to start in the final days Grand Prix, non-competitive and no doubt that will be discussion around the dinner table this evening.

Chris Chugg and VIvant were another combination to start today, which suprised many after he jumped with just one rail down last night and today they didn't have a great trip around the dance floor when they lowered 3 fences finishing on 85.27secs and in 52nd place.

Paul Asthanasoff, Laurie Lever, Peter McMahon and Adam Mellers chose to rest their horses today to bring them out fresh for the main Grand Prix. News will come to hand later this evening regarding which, if any of the Australian's will be riding competitively on Sunday evening - one would assume that both Laurie Lever and Peter McMahon would have qualified in light of their placings on Friday evening.

Lovely to see the Irish Sport Horse gelding son of Cruising (from the mare Penistone) jumping this weekend. Credit Cruise - pictured right - was produced by one of Ireland's well known Andrew Bourns.

This weekend the horse is jumped by American Alexa Lowe and today the jumped with just one fence down and a final time of 71.12secs and giving them 13th place, which may qualify them for the grand Prix.
The saddleries on site have been doing a roaring trade which we suspect has been hugely boosted by the visiting Australians and Americans who seem to be finding new things each day to purchase and take him with them!
Even the Cjairman of Australian Selectors, Graeme Watts - pictured right with blue cap- has purchased a Kingsland Hoody sweater, perhaps more for warmth than fashion. Graeme is native to Queensland which is known for its perfect and very
mild weather, so the truth is probably that he assumed he was coming to summer and did not have anything suitable for the northern hemisphere version of summer this year! Graeme is pictured with another Australian rider, Andrew Inglis who is accompanying his girlfriend Jenny Sheppard.

Pictured left - assistant coach, Australian Rod Brown, who is also a selector, walks the course with Peter McMahon and wife Michelle.

Australia's German Coach, Gilbert Boeckmann - pictured below - arrived to the grounds on Friday, in time for the selectors round and was in need of a shot of caffeine, prior to the class having traveled some hours to be at the show.
Pictured left - perfect place for the hardworking grooms to kill two birds with one stone - a great view of the arena while giving the horses a pick and a
stretch of their legs. All too often the hardworking Grooms get left out of the accolades when horses and riders do well - most riders would agree that without their Grooms they would be lost as these hard working folk have everything running smoothly behind the scenes, allowing the riders to concentrate on the job of jumping the courses. The Australians have their Grooms with them and they are an interesting group - Adam Mellers travels with Irish girl Caroline who has done 18 months in Australia with Adam before coming to Germany. Paul Asthanasoff has the wonderful Andrew Keane, keeping things running in his stables. Chris Chugg has Amanda Madigan from his stables at home in Australia and Tim Armitrano has also brought his Groom from home as did Peter McMahon. Matt Williams has an Australian girl who is based with him in Belgium and has been for the past 12 months. As we understand it Laurie Lever and Vicki Roycroft work away quietly by themselves, with both riders being well versed in the ways of jumping in Europe from having teams with them on previous tours of duty - so no doubt having one horse is a relatively easy task for two such professionals.
Pictured left - Switzerland's quiet man of showjumping Urs Fah is a delight to watch! This top international rider shows that at the top level the sport "can look pretty" - here he quietly leaves the arena with this handsome horse after his round.
Without doubt the most popular Australian in Germany - pictured right - Melea Lang-McMahon is in Germany with Dad, Peter and mum Michelle and flits happily from one Aussie to the other, giggling and chatting - and she was the proudest little
girl when her daddy won a bow in the Friday evening class!
Pictured left - the latest mode of transport within the showgrounds - this machine is so quiet it sneaks up quietly - and appears very stable and space conservative, making it perfect for the job.
Pictured left and below - the dreaded stile fence 7 which caused most riders issue on Friday night and the troubles got worse as the light changed.

The final selection round for the Australians will again begin in the wee hours of Australian time and we will bring you the latest from the Grand Prix as soon as the class finishes.

And although the team will not be announced for some weeks yet, through the method adopted we

will be able to at the very least know who the two highest players are that will join Edwina Alexander - the Selectors choice for the 4th place will no doubt be the discussion at many dinner tables, until we finally ahve the annoucement.

jumpingaround.com wishes all the riders the best of luck - and we look forward to one of the strongest teams Australia has fielded for many years.
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