Three American drivers have traveled abroad to compete in European driving events this weekend.

Katie Whaley (along with fellow CAA member Mia Allo, representing Belgium) is competing at Le Pin au Haras in France.

The competition hasn’t started yet, but Katie sent this brief report today:

“Mia and I arrived at about 3 p.m. today; it took us eight hours to get here from Belgium. The show is in the Normandy region of France, at a French National Stud Farm southeast of Paris. Competitors are still arriving, as the first horse inspection is not until late tomorrow afternoon. They also have a private driving competition going on this weekend. Mia and I both do dressage on Friday.”

Katie promises to send photos, in addition to daily reports, so we’ll post those to the blog as well.

Meanwhile, in Germany, all the American horses (those of Jim Fairclough and Tucker Johnson) have passed the first horse inspection at the Aachen CHIO.

Sadly (or not, depending on your national persuasion), one of the best horses in Ysbrand Chardon’s team did not pass the inspection and will not compete this weekend.

According to a press release on www.hoefnet.com:

Four-time World Champion and eleven-time Aachen winner Ysbrand Chardon has had a bad start at the world’s largest four-in-hand competition in Aachen. His fifteen-year-old KWPN gelding Argus turned up lame just before the horse inspection and was declared not fit to compete by the veterinarians.

“This is very disappointing,” says Chardon. “I lunged him this morning and he was fine. Just before the inspection he got lame; I think he twisted his foot. But I still have four good horses left and I am going for it,” adds a combative Chardon. “I will continue and I want to win here in Aachen!”

Argus was Chardon’s trump in all three phases of the combined competition, and in order to prepare his horses for the official dressage test on Thursday, Chardon will not start in tomorrow’s warm-up dressage test. One of the horses of German competitor

Dirk Gerkens also did not pass the horse inspection.

We will post reports and photos from Aachen here on the blog as we receive them.

For the first time, you can also watch all the competitions (dressage, driving, eventing, jumping, and vaulting) online. To see the broadcast schedule and access the video feeds, click here: http://www.chioaachen.de/default_e.asp and click on “LiveVideo 2010” on the right side of the page. (Note: there will be no live video from the driving marathon competition.)