British riders continued their dominance of the 2023 Longines Luhmühlen Horse Trials scoreboard to hold the lead in both classes and the top seven places in the CCI5*.
Laura Collett and London 52 head into Saturday’s five-star cross-country in pole position, with Yasmin Ingham and Emily King also joining the provisional top-10 following impressive performances in Friday’s dressage session.
Mollie Summerland and Charly Van Ter Heiden, who won the five-star here in 2021, are out in front in the CCI4*-S Meßmer Trophy on 24.8. The pair are the sole British combination in the four-star field.
Mollie Summerland and Charly Van Ter Heiden in the CCI4*-S at Luhmühlen Horse Trials.
World champion Yasmin and the progressive Rehy DJ, known affectionately as Piglet, shaved a mark off their Pau 2020 score to slot into fourth in the CCI5* on 27.5.
“It’s all about the fine margins in dressage and just trying to grab every single mark you can,” said Yasmin, who rides the 13-year-old Irish gelding for the Sue Davies fund.
“Piglet is not the most extravagant horse in the world, but he gets all his marks from being accurate. He’s so easy on the eye as well, he’s got such a pretty face and he’s really nicely put together so I just need to do my job as a rider and pilot him correctly.
“We’ve got a lot to do out on the cross-country tomorrow. I think we’ve got our work cut out, but I’m really pleased we decided to bring him here because I’m hoping that the terrain and the ground will suit him.
“Thinking back to Badminton and Kentucky, they probably weren’t quite for him at this time of year, but I think coming here is a good option. I’m looking to go and give it our best shot.”
Emily and Valmy Biats are among the Badminton re-routers at Luhmühlen Horse Trials this week and are in touch with the leaders with their first phase score of 28.4, putting them in provisional fifth.
“He’s worked really well here this week. He felt mega in the last warm-up and then he took that into the ring, which is nice,” said Emily, who rides the 14-year-old gelding for his breeder Philippe Brivois and the Valmy Biats Syndicate.
“I had my first ever lesson with Ian Woodhead the other week and a few things he said have really helped elevate him even more and get me in the groove.”
While to the outside eye, Valmy Biats appeared to be travelling well when Emily put her hand up at the Badminton Lake this spring, she could feel the horse was starting to tire.
“He felt phenomenal around the course, but coming up the avenue to the Lake, he started really getting stuck in the mud. He’s such a good jumper, he’d never really let it show in his jump but I was just starting to feel him feel really laboured,” said Emily.
“There were four more minutes of galloping left after the Lake, all uphill, and I didn’t want to risk hurting him.”
Thursday’s overnight Luhmühlen Horse Trials dressage leaders Pippa Funnell (23.2) and MGH Grafton Street are now in second, with Kitty King and Vendredi Biats in third (26.8). Laura Collett is in sixth with Dacapo, her other ride here this week, with Oliver Townend and Tregilder seventh (29.9).
Luhmühlen Horse Trials: ‘the crowd is on your side’
Germany’s Jérôme Robiné and Black Ice, owned by Dorothea Von Zedwitz, spearhead the home-side’s campaign as the highest-placed non-British competitors after dressage, in eighth on 30.1. This is the same score as the US combination Boyd Martin and the syndicate-owned Luke 140 and Australia’s Bill Levett aboard Huberthus AC in ninth and 10th respectively.
“The crowd is really on your side and they’re really happy to see a young German rider tackling a five-star,” said Jérôme. “It’s all pretty new, and there were some little mistakes I didn’t expect in the beginning, but you have to ride a test a few times in a stadium at this level to get it better. Today, I was happy.”
Bill said that this is the first mistake-free test the 11-year-old gelding has done at four- or five-star level, and is looking forward to taking on Mike Etherington-Smith’s “technical” track.
“It’s more like a championship course, there are many places you could have 20 penalties. I come to these five stars and I never look at them and think they’re easy. I think, ’wow, you’ve got to ride well, and the horse has got to be well after it.’ That’s the challenge and that’s why I love it,” said Bill, who owns Huberthus AC with Elisabeth Murdoch and Keith Tyson.
“I love Mike Etherington-Smith’s courses. I think it’s a lovely track, but there’s a heap out there to do.”
The CCI5* cross-country starts at 9.30am local time (8.30am UK time) on Saturday (17 June), with Oliver Townend pathfinder aboard Cooley Rosalent.
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