Katie Whaley (competing at a CAI this week in France), sent the following photos from Wednesday …

the stabling area at Le Pin au Haras CAI, in France (photo by Katie Whaley)

... although some competitors choose to stable their ponies in their lorries (photo by Katie Whaley)

the first horse inspection was held in front of this beautiful old house (now empty), which used to house the head of the state stud farm where the event is being held (photo by Katie Whaley)

Katie and Mia Allo with Mia's ponies after Wednesday's horse inspection (photo courtesy of Katie Whaley)

Meanwhile, at Aachen …

Both Americans (Tucker Johnson and Jim Fairclough) chose to compete in today’s optional “warm-up” dressage test and both received good scores … Tucker had a 44.54, and Jim had a 45.56. This put Tucker in the lead and Jim in third place. These scores don’t count toward the “combined” CAI score, but both drivers are off to a good start for the week!

Then, apparently, a huge storm blew in this afternoon, with threatening skies and warnings to take tents down and pull trucks around the stabling area to keep everthing (and everyone, horses and humans!) safe.

For a press release (and photo of Tucker) on hoefnet.com, click here: http://www.hoefnet.nl/en/home/site/news/aachen-johnson-wins-first-dressage-test