Dressage: Battle for a place at the Olympics between Isabell Werth and Ingrid Klimke.

Basically, they are very similar: Isabell Werth, 54, and Ingrid Klimke, 56, both of whom have been at home in the saddle for almost half a century, with a combined total of eleven Olympic gold medals. Two big names in equestrian sport, one in dressage, the other primarily in eventing. Both women write books, make films, and are sought-after trainers and interview partners.

They have demonstrated their ability and nerves of steel many times and shown that they can withstand pressure. They know how to position themselves on Instagram and what to tell journalists: always positive, never an unfriendly comment about the competition, always full of praise for their own horse. At the CHIO Aachen this weekend, Werth and Klimke are competing for a place at the Olympics in Paris. There are three places, and number four is only used if one of the others is ill or injured. For Werth, it’s gold medal number eight, for Klimke it’s about emulating her father, who also competed in both Olympic disciplines.

Klimke’s stallion is brimming with self-confidence

The number one can watch the final spurt in peace: Jessica von Bredow-Werndl is seeded and can rest her 17-year-old Dalera for Paris. After brilliant performances at the German Championships in Balve, the mare just needs to stay healthy and happy, she doesn’t have anything left to prove. Behind her, the battle for places begins. Frederic Wandres, the only man in the team, could have considered himself a safe number two after Balve, but he won’t know whether that will stay that way until Sunday evening. In the Grand Prix in Aachen, he lagged behind the women.

The result of the dressage Nations Cup was nevertheless reassuring for national coach Monica Theodorescu: first, second and third place for Werth, Klimke and Wandres, and thus team victory, were achieved against not particularly strong competition. As is often the case before the Olympic Games, they stayed at home or hid in the small Grand Prix Tour and thus avoided direct comparison. Such as the reigning world champion from Great Britain, Charlotte Fry with the impressive black stallion Glamourdale. She received 80.978 percentage points, more than the winner Werth in the Nations Cup (76.5). Fry and the strong British team are to be beaten in Paris.

The horses with which Klimke and Werth are trying their luck at the Olympics are beautiful, exemplary dressage horses, but that is about all they have in common. The 16-year-old stallion Franziskus covers at least one mare every day for five months of the year and is only taken to Klimke’s riding facility for training. He is brimming with self-confidence and used to let off steam when he was younger when something didn’t suit him, but in recent years he has developed into a loyal employee. He and Klimke have been working together for eleven years and have grown into the dressage sport together. Klimke is sure that “Franz” now looks forward to every appearance in the arena.

Wendy, Isabell Werth’s mare, has improved from time to time

Ten-year-old Wendy has only been in Isabell Werth’s stables since January. She comes from luxury horse dealer Andreas Helgstrand, who was kicked out of the Danish national team because of TV footage in his stable that violated animal welfare laws and therefore missed Paris. Even though Helgstrand himself is not seen in the videos and publicly rejected the training method, Isabell Werth still had to listen to uncomfortable questions about why she took on a horse from this trainer in particular. Werth has always defended Helgstrand. Much is assumed, but little is proven. Again and again, including in Aachen, she emphasized how well trained the mare was, “otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to start riding her straight away,” says Werth.

Just a few days before Aachen, Wendy was swapped for the CHIO team instead of Quantaz. “This way we have a direct comparison, the pair is still new,” says national trainer Monica Theodorescu. It is only the fifth tournament for the two and even critics have to admit that Wendy is not only doing better than under her previous rider, but is improving every time. In that respect, the mare has hit the jackpot with the rider change. She made a few small mistakes in Aachen, but there is still room for improvement. Monica Theodorescu particularly praises Wendy’s golden character. “The horse has a great attitude,” she says, “she tries so hard, she is so honest and is not afraid of anything.” Rider and horse are growing closer together. That is important because there are only 30 days left until the Grand Prix in Paris.

After the Grand Prix Special (which decides on the team medals in Paris) on Saturday and the music freestyle on Sunday in Aachen, the national coach and the dressage committee hope to know who they will choose to secure the dressage gold. Because that is all that matters in the end.