I expect this to be a fascinating championship, first, from the perspective of watching the apparently unbeatable German team in action and, second, from watching the half dozen or so other teams try to unseat them.

And, to be perfectly frank, it will be the rest of the world against the Germans. It’s quite a task and, as far as I’m concerned, a fun one. It’s what keeps me getting up in the morning!

Historically and traditionally, show jumping has had a World Championship every four years, in the even years between the Olympic Games. This championship was always considered the second-most prestigious and difficult competition after the Olympics.

This year’s WEG will certainly be first class. Aachen has always been the premiere venue for show jumping and dressage and has hosted World Championships before in those two disciplines. But this is their first attempt at hosting the WEG, something we’ll get to do in 2010 at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Ky.

As far as the competitive format is concerned, there are two important differences between the World Championships and the Olympics. The first difference is the first leg, which is run over a Table A course but under Table C rules (faults converted into seconds). This puts a big emphasis on speed (which isn’t a factor in the Olympic first round), and it also tends to “flatten” horses out for the remainder of the competition.

But the second and biggest difference is the final day, where the top four competitors ride each other’s horses, much like we do in the equitation division. I really like this rather unusual departure in show jumping. It takes a special touch to “catch ride” three unfamiliar horses. Some people don’t like it, though, and it’s always been up for debate.

Canadian Surprise?
What I’m going to do is analyze 10 of the teams entered in the WEG–the eight Samsung Super League teams, along with two other teams from the western hemisphere. Of course, a team that’s not of these 10 could end up on the podium–Belgium or Italy, for example–but I don’t think that’s likely.

I’m going to start with our neighbor to the north, Canada. The Canadians have always been a long shot, but, due to their list of great horsemen (and great horses), they have sometimes pulled it off, winning Olympic, World Championship and Pan Am Games gold medals and the World Cup Finals.

Yet again, Ian Millar (“Capt. Canada”) will head the squad with his lovely bay, In Style. Millar has been a member of every Canadian cham-pionship team since 1972 and is one of the legends of our sport, riding just as well as anyone else in it.

He has quite a good team to lead this year, as we saw in the CSIO Palm Beach (Fla.) last March, where Canada won the Nations Cup. It could be a big surprise to everyone, but as I said, they’ve done it before. The only weakness in their program is their lack of current European experience as a team.

Backing up Millar will be Eric Lamaze, in his fourth consecutive WEG. He’ll be riding Hickstead, a very careful and fast horse who was third in the Grand Prix of Aachen (Germany) in June.

Mario Deslauriers, the youngest World Cup Finals winner at age 19 some 22 years ago, will ride the chestnut Paradigm. This pair was third last year at Spruce Meadows (Alta.) in the $843,844 CN class.

Chris Pratt and Riven-dell, relative newcomers at this level, round out the team, with the gifted Jill Henselwood and Erynn Ballard as reserves. All in all, I feel this is a fascinating team to watch.

On the other hand, Brazil is an unknown quantity this year, really a mystery. Of course, they have two great individual shots with superstar Rodrigo Pessoa, riding his indefatigable Baloubet du Rouet, and teammate Bernando Alves.

I have not seen Brazil compete as a team this year. But, if Victor Teixeira joins those two on a good horse, they could pose a real threat, even as a three-man team. Alvaro Neto Miranda, Luciana Diniz, or Pedro Veniss could bring up the rear in a supporting fourth or fifth position.

Irish Eyes–Not Shining
I’ll work backward through the eight Samsung Super League teams as they currently stand, starting with Ireland, which is in the cellar. Ireland’s strongest individual is Jessica Kürten, but due to ongoing conflicts with the team management, she withdrew from the team and will not compete.

Her absence will be filled by Marion Hughes and a group of hard-riding lads from the Emerald Isle. Any of these boys could make the team: Cameron Hanley, Edward Doyle, Shane Breen, Shane Carey, Ryan Crumley, Billy Twomey, Cian O’Connor, Conor Swail and Peter Charles. I haven’t seen Kevin Babington in Europe this summer.

The problem Ireland has today is horsepower. If they have good horses, they’re almost unstoppable, as we saw several years ago in the Samsung Nations Cup.

The Netherlands is in the same little boat as Ireland, but for a slightly different reason. They also have a bunch of good riders, but they’re short on world-class horses. They sell them off as young horses and then cut themselves short. Nonetheless, we must not forget that the Nether-lands won the Super League Finals in Barce-lona, Spain, just last September.

My guess as to the Dutch team would be: Gerco Schr�der, Harry Smolders, Albert Zoer, Leopold van Asten, Eric van der Vleuten and Jeroen Dubbeldam. There are some great riders there, so the Dutch can always be present.

On paper, Great Britain looked like the team to beat in the beginning of the year. They haven’t been too consistent, especially in the second round of the Nations Cups. But look what they’ve got: Nick Skelton and Arko III have won most of the big grand prix classes they’ve entered this year; John Whitaker, a legend in his own time and a horseman’s horseman; and Michael Whitaker (a veteran of four Olympic Games and three World Championships) with Portofino 63 and Mozart des Hayettes.

Plus they have Robert Smith and William Funnell. And Tim Gredley, with his wonderful Omelli, has made a great showing in the last year and has some terrific double-clears in Nations Cups to his credit. Never, ever count the British out with riders this good riding horses this good.

Sweden, under the tutelage of Henk Nooren, has made a surprising comeback after not scoring any victories in the Super League last year. They have some top riders and lovely horses that have been right there in the Nations Cup all year.

Rolf-Goran Bengtsson, who has the lovely La Silla horse, Ninja, will undoubtedly lead the team and has a strong shot for the individual finals. His teammates will be made up of four from Royne Zettermann, Peder Fredricson, Svante Johannsson, Lotta Schultz, Malin Baryard-Johnsson, Maria Gretzer, Helena Lundbeck and Peter Eriksson.

Don’t forget that Sweden ended up silver medalists in the Athens Olympics. They could be right there again.

France has always been (and always will be) a force to be reckoned with. They invented classical riding and breed fabulous sport
horses. With those two things going for them, they’re always bound to be tough.

Again, if France has a weak link, it’s consistency. The French, being Latin, are emotional riders. Sometimes it helps them, and sometimes it hurts.

Michel Robert is riding as well as ever and is fitter than ever. With his scopey Galet D’Auzay, he could, yet again, be a finalist.

Backing up Michel could be: Stephane La Fouge, Florian Angot, Jean Marc Nicolas, Pierre Jarry, Simon Delestre, Christian Hermon, Eric Levallois, Gilles de Balanda, Herv� Godignon, Laurent Goffinet and Patric Delaveau.

If the French have their day with their so-careful horses, they could be tough to beat. And they’re very fast for that first leg. As a rule, real championship scope doesn’t kick in until after Nations Cup day. As is usually the case, the French team is one to watch.

Switzerland, according to current form (second at Lucerne and first at Rotterdam), looks to be a medal team. In fact, they could easily win the whole thing and have an individual in the top four.

The Swiss have a German work ethic and toughness, combined with an American style and lightness. For years now, they’ve consistently been one of Europe’s best show jumping teams.

Led by Beat Mändli, an artist in his own right, probably riding Ideo du Thot, they also have Christina Liebherr, with L.B. No Mercy, who usually puts in a double-clear performance. As a supporting cast, they have two venerable veterans of the sport, Markus Fuchs, with La Toya III, and Willi Melliger, with Lea C. Rounding out this powerful short list are Niklaus Schartenberger, Werner Muff and Pius Schwizer.

The Swiss are mountain people who know how to fight to the death in the ring. These riders have incredible nerves and enormous mileage. They’re definitely one of the teams to beat.


Could We Do It?
The Europeans believe that if any team can beat the Germans, it’s our team. I can only hope they’re right! While lacking in brilliance so far this year, we’ve been consistent in Super League events and have held onto our second-placed position, with three more shows to go.

We do have a strong group of seasoned, cool, professional riders, all on lovely horses. They’ve all been in the Aachen ring before, and it doesn’t back them off. Of course, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that these five horses and riders stay fit and well up to the competition. We all know the rule of attrition and injury.

Beezie Madden and Authentic just repeated their Queen’s Cup victory of last year at Spruce Meadows (Alta.). As we all know, she rides second to none, and Authentic has Olympic scope, is careful, and also very fast across the ground.

McLain Ward and Sapphire have all the scope for Aachen, and, for the past two years, they have showed a comfort and a confidence at that particular venue not often seen. By claiming third in the grand prix at La Baule (France) this spring, this mare proved that she can run with the best of them. This is important with the first leg being a speed competition.

Margie Engle is simply “our girl Margie.” We all know what she can do with a horse at a show, and she does it every week with lots of different horses. She’s a winner of the first order.

For the WEG, her partner is Hidden Creek’s Quervo Gold. This horse can hand-canter anything they might build at Aachen–he has that kind of scope! Although I won’t let him go all-out in the first speed leg, he could be very valuable as the courses get progressively bigger.

Laura Kraut, another show-savvy rider par excellence, will be riding her brilliant gray mare, Miss Independent. This mare has matured over the past year, giving them a great partnership. In Rome, Lucerne, and Rotterdam, Kraut and “Missy” kept our team afloat. She has proven to be very consistent, careful, and scopey.

Jeffery Welles, with Armani, is our first alternate. Any other team would be proud to have them on their side. As I told Welles, there’s a long time until the WEG on Aug. 28, and anything can happen. He rides superbly, and Armani is an Aachen horse, having just won both grand prix events at Lake Placid (N.Y.) in July.

Waiting in the wings and being most supportive as second and third alternates are Molly Ashe, with Neuville, and Lauren Hough, with Casadora. They have each demonstrated an exemplary attitude and outstanding sportsmanship in this position, which is what sport is all about.

Oh, and I’m hoping and expecting that one of our riders will be in the final four.

The Germans, as it is often the case nowadays, have to lose the WEG for someone else to win it. To be such overwhelming favorites, especially in their hometown, is an unenviable position. And they’re heavy favorites be-cause not only are their top three riders so strong, but their next two are also almost equally as strong. The secret of any great Nations Cup team is the strength of its weakest link.

I think, though, that if we could build our A-list just a little bit better–through better horses, better management, and more top-level experience for our riders–we’d be equal with the Germans. It’s very doable, but it will take a persistent, national effort.

Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum has to be the first pick for the German team. She and Shutterfly, her 2005 World Cup champion and Aachen Grand Prix winner, have the deepest experience as a pair. Barring some misfortune, these two are heavy favorites to be in the individual ride-off. It’s possible she could be the winner, as I don’t think Shutterfly would be an easy ride for the others.

Marcus Ehning is my No. 2 pick since his 2006 Aachen Grand Prix winner, Noltes Kuchengirl, is still a little shy of experience. But he has a great back-up horse in Gitania 8, winner of the Grand Prix of Rotterdam just a few weeks ago. Ehning has to be considered this year’s individual favorite, as he has had an incredible year on many different horses.

Christian Ahlmann and his European Championship horse, C�ster, have to be next in line. They are so very consistent and have also had a great year so far.

Ludger Beerbaum will probably be the fourth to ride, with L’Espoir. This is a wonderful horse who sometimes, especially in combinations, can have an unexpected rail. Nonetheless, Ludger is Ludger, one of the all-time giants of the sport.

More than likely, Marco Kutscher, Ludger’s prot�g� and stablemate, will be the reserve rider with Montender 2. (Don’t hold me to this, but he could occupy the fourth spot and Ludger be the reserve.) Kutscher is a stylist of the first order, smooth as silk, and deadly accurate.

The credentials of these five riders is staggering when you consider the Olympic, World, European, and World Cup Finals medals hanging around their necks. Plus, they have the likes of Franke Sloothaak, Ulrich Kirchhoff, Lars Nieberg and Otto Becker waiting in the wings in case something goes wrong.


George Morris has been the U.S. team’s chef d’equipe since 2004 and had been its assistant chef d’equipe since 1980. He’s been an international competitor and trainer for 50 years and a Chronicle columnist since 1989.