This weekend New Zealand's equestrian Olympic hopefuls will battle it out against the best eventers in the world, at the prestigious Aachen International Festival, in Germany.

In a rare opportunity to compete as a team, World Equestrian Games bronze medalist Andrew Nicholson, aboard Nereo, spearheads the Kiwis, alongside Jonathan Paget on Clifton Promise, Caroline Powell on her 2010 Burghley winner, Lenamore, Clarke Johnstone on Orient Express, and newcomer Jonelle Richards on Flintstar.

The NZ team is one of just 10 invited to compete at the world's largest annual equestrian event, which attracts over 360,000 spectators.

Equestrian Sports New Zealand high performance director, Sarah Harris, says it’s a great opportunity to try team combinations a year out from London and she's got no qualms about admitting the podium is the aim.

The dressage and show jumping phases will be held overnight, Friday, NZ time, with the cross country Saturday, NZ time.