Aachen, 04. July 2008

Statements after the RWE Prize of North Rhine Westphalia
Liebherr rode to victory followed by Ehning and Tony André Hansen

Christina Liebherr left her fellow male competitors trailing behind on Friday: The Swiss rider won the RWE Prize of North Rhine Westphalia with a clear round in a time of 44.05 seconds on No Mercy, ahead of Marcus Ehning on Noltes Küchengirl (45,95) and the Norwegian rider Tony André Hansen on Camiro (49,98), who also both jumped clear.

Question: Congratulations, Mrs. Liebherr. You were incredibly fast. Where did you save all that time, you crossed the line almost two seconds faster than your closest rival?

Christina Liebherr: I knew that some really good riders were behind me in the starting order, so there was just no time for correcting the strides. No Mercy felt good and the long gallop stretches, especially the one in front of the Rolex jump, were simply made for him. I am of course very pleased, because it was a challenging course again.

Question: Why didn't you compete in the Samsung Super League, Mercedes-Benz Nations' Cup yesterday?

Liebherr: I am already nominated for the Olympic Games, No Mercy has been in great shape for weeks. So our trainer wanted to see the other horses jumping a big course.

Question: What was it like coming back to Achen after your fall in 2007?

Liebherr: Last year doesn't exist for me, occasionally I am asked about it, but that's all. My horse was ultimately very successful, so it was a great feeling.

Question: Mr. Ehning, one got the impression that you didn't risk everything towards the end of the course?

Marcus Ehning: Yes, that's right, I had already got Sunday's ROLEX Grand Prix in the back of my mind. It was quite a fast round overall and I didn't want to take any unnecessary risks.

Question: So do you think Noltes Küchengirl has got over her phase of refusing?

Ehning: I wouldn't call it a phase. The problem only arose twice, once during the World Championships in Aachen 2006 - which was partly also my fault - and last year the total black-out at the European Championships in Mannheim. Since then we have had no problems whatsoever at any of the different shows, for instance in Rotterdam or at the German Championships. But of course coming second today was pretty good motivation.

Question: And on Sunday, for the ROLEX Grand Prix?

Ehning: Then everything starts from zero again.

Opening hours of the CHIO Aachen 2008 ticket sales:
Friday, 04.07.2008 from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Saturday, 05.07.2008 from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Sunday, 06.07.2008 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Ticket hotline: +49-(0)241-917-1111