CIC3* Leader Julia Krajewski Is Unstoppable on Luhmühlen Cross Country

Julia Krajewski and Samurai du Thot. Photo by Thomas Ix.

Germany’s Julia Krajewski and Samurai du Thot added nothing to their phenomenal dressage score of 19.9 on cross country today to maintain their lead in the Turniergesellschaft Luhmühlen’s Meßmer Trophy CIC3*.

Only three riders managed to stay inside optimum time on Mike Etherington-Smith’s challenging three-star course: division leader Julia, second-positioned Ingrid Klimke and SAP Hale Bob OLD, and Sweden’s Niklas Lindbäck and Focus Filiocus, who moved from 42nd after dressage to 12th place, a reflection of how influential today’s competition proved to be.

“We had so much fun out there today,” Julia says of her performance with the 12-year-old Selle Français gelding (Milor Landais x Melitos du Thot, by Flipper d’Elle), her partner in multiple championships including the Olympics and European Championships. “Sam was amazing.”

“He is a very quick and efficient horse, who doesn’t lose time anywhere,” she continues. “He seems to thrive on technical challenges and I feel a little bad for doubting he might not be able to make the time. The course rode really well. It was perfectly prepared and Sam just got better and better. As he is a very strong show jumper — I am excited for tomorrow!”

Ingrid Klimke and SAP Hale Bob OLD. Photo by Thomas Ix.

German teammate Ingrid Klimke reflects on her day: “Bobby traveled round the course as if pulled by a string. We had so much fun from beginning to end. The conditions could not have been better and the spectators really carried us round.”

Pietro Roman with Barraduff. Photo by Thomas Ix.

Rounding out the top three is Italy’s Pietro Roman with Barraduff, who collected just 1.6 time to move up from fifth after dressage.

2018 marks Pietro’s first crack at Luhmühlen. “Barraduff is a strong cross country horse and we had a super round today,” he says. “I feel honored to be up there with Ingrid and Julia — it is quite something! I have had my horse for nine years now and we are constantly improving; however, show jumping is not our strong point, so we will see how it goes tomorrow.”

Woods Baughman and Maverick McNamara. Photo by Jenni Autry.

The sole American rider in the CIC3* is 22-year-old Woods Baughman, who is spending a year training overseas in Germany with Dirk Schrade. He and Maverick McNamara, a 14-year-old British Warmblood (Medoc x Skippy), scored a 35.4 in dressage then picked up 20 at #5B plus time to complete cross country day in 44th position.

Woods reflects on their blip at #5B: “He was right on it and we had planned for one more stride, and I could’ve gone on the four, but I just pulled one too many and put a five in and there when we should have gone on the four. After that I gave myself a kick and said I was’t going to pull again and kicked from there on and he was great.”

The pair rallied for a strong finish and an educational experience in a division stacked with some of the biggest names in the eventing world. He said of the course, “Overall I think as long as you were fairly bold through everything it wasn’t a problem.”

His takeaway from the day was to “be a little more aggressive and not so backwards. Riding more forward was the key to getting around. Things don’t always go to plan. Just keep kicking and aim for the flags.”

Words to live by. Go Eventing!

Luhmühlen Meßmer Trophy CIC3* Top 10 After Cross Country: 

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