The World Equestrian Games (WEG) are the major international championships for equestrianism, administered by the Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI). The games are held every four years with events in seven fields: dressage, show jumping, eventing, endurance riding, vaulting, combined driving and reining. WEG represents the world's top riders and the world's most skilled horses, competing over 15 days of competition.

Ariat is proud to be the Official Apparel Supplier of the U.S. Team and of its members of the Ariat® Performance Team, representing seven countries, that competed at this year’s WEG.

Australia
Rod Brown – Show Jumping
Shane Rose – Eventing
Heath Ryan – Dressage

Denmark
Thomas Velin – Show Jumping

Great Britian
Maria Eilberg (1st Reserve) – Dressage
Mary King – Eventing
Zara Philips – Eventing
World Eventing Champion

Germany
Ludgar Beerbaum – Show Jumping
Marianne Hahnel – Endurance
Nico Hormann - Reining

Ireland
Michael Ryan – Eventing

Netherlands
Jos Lansink – Show Jumping
World Show Jumping Champion
Rieky Young – Reining

Norway
Tony Andre Hansen – Show Jumping

Zara Phillips kept her nerve to claim individual gold on Toytown in the three-day eventing competition at the World Equestrian Games in Germany.

The 25-year-old Briton had moved up from fifth to first thanks to a faultless performance in Saturday's cross-country section in Aachen.

Then in Sunday's show-jumping category, Phillips showed her class to add the World title to her European crown.

Germany comfortably won team gold as Britain came second ahead of Australia.

Australia's Clayton Fredericks took the individual silver medal behind Phillips, with America's Amy Tryon taking bronze.

Phillips negotiated the showjumping course with only one mistake, when Toytown caught a rail inside the penultimate fence, the treble.

Phillips told BBC Five Live: "It's unbelievable, a fantastic result. It's great we got a medal for the team as well.

"The thing that put pressure on me was that I didn't hear the bell so I didn't get to the start on time.

"I looked up at the end and just rushed it but luckily I had a fence and a bit in hand."

Following her win, Phillips is now 3/1 second favourite to win the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year Award.

Her mother, the Princess Royal, was awarded the honour in 1971 after become European champion that year.

BBC copyright 2006

Belgian snaps up gold ahead of Madden and Michaels-Beerbaum in gripping final

Aachen, September 3rd, 2006

Jos Lansink is the new World Show-jumping Champion. On the last day of the FEI World Equestrian Games Aachen 2006 on Sunday, the Belgian rider with his stallion Cavalor Cumano beat Beezie Madden (USA) with Authentic (4/43.74) and Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum from Thedinghausen with Shutterfly (4/45.40) in the jump-off.

More than 40,000 spectators in the sold-out stadium of the Aachen-Laurensberger Rennverein (ALVR) watched the final that remained exciting right up until the very end: With gold almost at her fingertips, Beezie Madden's horse Authentic knocked the very last fence. Minutes before Michaels-Beerbaum's Shutterfly had also picked four faults. "I didn't think I was even going to reach the final, so I am very proud of my bronze medal," the German rider remarked. Meanwhile Lansink couldn't believe his luck: "I am simply overjoyed, but I guess it will take a few days until I realise what I have actually achieved."

The "ROLEX World Champion" had provided a real challenge for the riders because of the rotation of horses: Each rider not only had to complete the course on his own horse, but also on his competitors' horses as well. Four riders had qualified for the final and apart from Edwina Alexander (Australia) all had mastered the four rounds without picking up a single fault. The enthusiastic crowd had been joined by the Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel, patron of the FEI World Equestrian Games Aachen 2006: "I am impressed by these World Championships and by the attendance figures. The wonderful thing about this sport is that men and women can compete against each other on an equal basis. Of course I had crossed my fingers a little harder for Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum." After the show-jumping final, the FEI World Equestrian Games Aachen 2006 were brought to an end by the official Closing Ceremony.

http://www.aachen2006.de/aktuell/2006/0903FinaleSpringen_e.htm