Bright OrangeThe second day of Jumping was just as exciting and promising as anticipated. Some 114 riders – 25 teams along with 23 individual riders – took part in the first round of the Nations Cup competition. With three clear rounds and a score of 7.01 penalty points, The Netherlands (Piet Raymakers / Van Schijndel’s Curtis; Jeroen Dubbeldam / BMC Up And Down; Albert Zoer / Okidoki; Gerco Schröder / Eurocommerce Berlin) are in the lead. Team Ukraine (Björn Nagel / Pilgrim; Jean Claude van Geenberghe / Osta Rugs Tresor; Gregory Wathelet / Loriot; Katharina Offel / Atlanta) are second (13.17) closely followed by the USA (Margie Engle / Hidden Creek’s Quervo Gold; Laura Kraut / Miss Independent; McLain Ward / Sapphire; Beezie Madden /Authentic) in third position with a score of 14.85. After yesterday’s exciting beginning, Frank Rothenbrger’s course has developed into a full-scale championship test. The 14-fence, 17-jumping effort track was long – 650 m – and difficult but fair. It was cleverly built asking for concentration and testing the riders through technical questions rather than sheer height. One of these challenges consisted in an oxer placed within a short distance of the triple bar facing the big screen. An attractive feature of the course are its varied and colourful shapes. A Globe featuring the national flags of the participating nations and symbolising the unifying spirit of sport was used today at the last fence. Another jump was inspired by Aachen’s best known historical figure – Charlemagne, who was crowned the first Holy Roman Emperor in 800. The main motif of the jump was taken from a postcard issued in 1914 to honour the 1100th anniversary of the death of Charlemagne. The Emperor’s official seal, which is one of the symbols of the city, appears on the gate of the jump. Another fence shows the stairs of the Aachen’s Gothic City Hall where flowers are nowadays sold on market days. The city’s magnificent cathedral was also present in today’s triple bar consisting of sketches and elements of the building. The rails of the jump depict the floor pattern of the famous Octagon placed at the heart of the cathedral. Today’s result is a great achievement for The Netherlands who, although part of the Samsung Super League, have been struggling to keep their spot and avoid relegation. Much interest has been shown in the Ukrainian team consisting of former Belgian and German riders, who have acquired Ukrainian nationality. It was put together by Ukranian businessman Alexander Onishchenko, was completed only two moths ago. Perspectives look more than bright for the USA, who have Beezie Madden, the only rider with 0 penalties, as a member of their team. The individual standings remain unchanged from yesterday. Beezie is followed by Canada’s Eric Lamaze on Hickstead in second place with a score of 0.39 and Gerco Schröder on Eurocommerce Berlin (0.43), both of whom, just like Beezie, went clear today. The second round of the Nations Cup will continue tomorrow evening. Only the best ten teams – The Netherlands, Ukraine, USA, Germany, Switzerland, Brazil, Spain, Great Britain, Belgium and Ireland – will continue in the team competition. All the individual riders and the members of the teams placed lower than tenth, who were not eliminated and who did not retire, may continue as individual riders if they so wish. For the full results, please check www.aachen2006.com.