When the American horses arrived in Gothenburg, Sweden, at 10 p.m., Swedish TV was there to cover the horses\’ descent from the van. Nikolaus, Brentina and Rocher, as well as their Canadian travel partner Korona, arrived in excellent shape because they\’d stayed overnight in Hamburg (Germany) and weren\’t stressed by a long journey.

Our first good omen came at the draw for the starting order on Thursday evening. Ulla Salzgeber, the defending champion, would automatically ride last, and the rest of the field was divided into two sections, according to the riders\’ qualifying scores. When Debbie McDonald, being one of the wild cards, drew No. 17, or next to last, we felt a touch of Lady Luck sweeping by. And then both Guenter Seidel and George Williams drew times that placed them in the latter part of the class.

The Grand Prix, which now doesn\’t count in the final results, is nevertheless important as its outcome dictates the order of go in the freestyle. This test gives the judges a preview of each combination\’s current form, but it\’s been omitted from the final calculation to create more spectator appeal. Thus, the winner the audience sees in the freestyle is the actual winner, with no previous results being factored in to cause confusion.

I can think of several dressage legends who would rotate in their graves if they knew about these new developments, but media rules the sport. You either go along or lose the coverage, which in Europe is not an option. Well, at least they have coverage to lose!

Our riders immediately established that they were a force to be reckoned with. Rocher and George performed a soft, elastic and clean test that earned 69.92 percent and placed him fifth. The pair instantly became an audience favorite, not least because of Rocher\’s charming flop ears and kind expression.

We had worried that the spectators might express negative feelings because of the war in Iraq, but to our great relief no such sentiments were in evidence.

Guenter and Nikolaus started out with brilliant trot work, and the monitor was flashing a score up to 76 percent, but then the bay allowed the electric atmosphere to invade his space, and both the piaffe, which became hurried, and the canter, which scrambled at times, displayed some tension. The scores slid in right behind Rocher, thanks to Guenter\’s ability to keep the lid on, no matter what.

Then we held our breath for Debbie. So, apparently, did she, since the trot extensions were very modest and both lines of changes had mistakes. Although the performance was otherwise smooth and steady, Debbie came out kicking herself over the hiccups. In spite of a score of 72.28 percent and a second position, Brentina\’s feisty pilot apologized to the mare and promised she would “have a rider” in the freestyle!

Sunday\’s “winner-take-all” freestyle offered up a stellar collection of competitors, all fit for fight. First to go after the halfway break was Nikolaus, who opened with
his flashy trot work where both half-passes and extensions are top drawer. The canter sessions maintained a decent flow without mistakes, and the right pirouette worked out really well. So did the piaffe, which was better cadenced, especially when performed straight after the pirouette at piaffe. Although Nikolaus decided to display some costly head-tossing in the extended walk, it didn\’t prevent the pair from moving up to what would eventually be fourth place.

In contrast to the barely contained energy of Nikolaus, Rocher arrived relaxed to the point of nearly losing her sparkle. She never put a foot wrong, but at times she was dangerously deep in front and heavier in the bridle than in the Grand Prix. Although squeaky clean, the somewhat labored impression cost the mare her advantage over Nikolaus by a fraction of a percentage point.

Before Brentina\’s arrival, we watched Albano and Heike Kemmer perform to German “techno” music with a hard and mechanical beat. After a very convincing and forward performance in the Grand Prix, this horse somewhat lost his edge and became short in the neck while tending to lean on his shoulders and get his croup high in the canter. Because the whole thing looked a bit forced, I was surprised at the score of more than 76 percent, which moved her ahead of Guenter into third place.

After Isabell Werth\’s difficult go on an uncooperative Anthony, the audience grumbled in amazement over his score (75.67%). I have nothing but admiration for Isabell as a rider and person, but this particular horse has never looked to me as if he enjoys anything about dressage, and he again confirmed this impression.

Guenter had a death grip on my shoulders as Brentina entered, and Klaus stood at attention next to us. Debbie and the mare started with a flourish and nailed the two pirouettes and the one-tempis on the first centerline with ease. We all exhaled.

The rest was “vintage Brentina,” and save for a few missed one-tempis later on, the test ran on rails. Brentina even wore her “I\’m cool” expression, which not many horses can display in an arena filled to the brim with 11,000 enthusiastic people.

The defending champions, Rusty and Ulla, galloped to victory in a most convincing manner. With the distinct exception of the piaffe, which suffers badly from a hitching hind leg, their entire ride was of superb quality. The precision and the risk taking in the transitions, in combination with incredibly ground-gaining and well-cadenced gaits, make for a thrilling experience.

We were pleased and satisfied to be second to that performance. And what a relief to finally have made an impact on the World Cup game by having all our riders finish in the top six!

I greatly admire the way Klaus knows the needs, preferences and limitations of each American horse and rider. His keen eye misses nothing, and his own extensive showing experience makes him acutely aware of what is going on in the minds and bodies of both.

These days, being a “visible” American abroad can be a sticky situation, and yet our three riders and their crew created nothing but goodwill. It was a pleasure for me to work with them as chef d\’equipe, and their support of each other, correct and kind treatment of their horses, and polite and mature behavior scored friends everywhere. Even the stable guard called out as we marched the horses to the van, “Safe trip. We will miss you!”

On Sunday afternoon Ulla, Debbie and Heike put on a little “exhibition of champions” in between the jumper classes. In haste, they tried to make up a pas de trois, and when it didn\’t quite pan out in the ring, they all burst out laughing.

As they turned in all directions, we could hear Ulla call to Debbie, “I\’ll follow you!” Sounded to me like a good omen. . .