Andrew Nicholson and Mr. Cruise Control Win Luhmühlen CCI4*

Andrew Nicholson and Mr. Cruise Control. Photo by Thomas Ix.

Zara Phillips did everything she could to steal the Luhmühlen win from Andrew Nicholson. But her beautiful double clear show jumping trip with High Kingdom ultimately wasn’t enough, as Andrew and Mr. Cruise Control also jumped double clear to win the Luhmühlen CCI4* on a 38. Michael Pollard posted on his Facebook page yesterday that he believes Andrew has gone to a new level, “adding a polish to his riding these days that matches the raw talent and athleticism he has always had.” After winning Burghley, Rolex, placing third at Badminton and now winning Luhmühlen, it seems Andrew is on a war path to prove he is indeed the best in the world. William Fox-Pitt took the third and fourth spots with Neuf des Coeurs and Lionheart, respectively, with scores of 47.7 and 48.2. Kevin McNab and Clifton Pinot rounded out the top five on a score of 51.5.

Thirty-three horses moved onto the CCI4* show jumping after the trot up. Andrew Hoy and Rutherglen, who were sitting in fourth place overnight, withdrew before the final phase, as did Constantin Van Rijckevorsel and Goodwins Reef. All other horses passed the final horse inspection, which is impressive considering the toll cross country took yesterday. Rails came down all around the show jumping course, which isn’t surprising considering how grueling Capt. Mark Phillips’ course proved to be. Only nine horse and rider pairs managed to deliver double clear show jumping trips. Marilyn Little and RF Demeter pulled one rail at the middle element of the triple combination toward the end of the course to finish in seventh place on 57.5. Demi jumped really well and looks to have recovered well after the cross country.

Marilyn Little and RF Demeter on the live feed. Terrible screenshot by yours truly.

Even though Michael Jung didn’t have a mount in the CCI4*, he couldn’t go home without a win at Luhmühlen. He jumped a double clear show jumping round earlier this morning with Halunke FBW to win the CIC3*. Dirk Scrade and Hop and Skip finished second and Ingrid Klimke and FRH Escada JS finished third, making it a German sweep. The show jumping course proved much easier for the CIC3* riders, with 18 delivering double clear trips. Thirty-eight horses moved onto the show jumping after four withdrew before the final trot up: Marilyn Little and RF Black Pearl, Sara Algottson-Ostholt and Wega, Bettina Hoy and Designer 10, and Benjamin Winter and Wild Thing Z. Click here for full scores from the CIC3*.

I finally succeeded in getting the live feed to work today, but it only showed a replay of cross country for much of the CCI4* show jumping — including gut-wrenching footage of an emotional Emeric George as P’tite Bomb was examined by the veterinary crew following their fall at fence 12. The horse was ultimately euthanized following the examination. The reporter running the live coverage interviewed numerous people, including two vets who offered analysis on the accident. From what I could tell based on my very rudimentary grasp of German, the vets were saying that accidents are an unfortunate part of the sport, and it’s always a terrible tragedy when a horse goes down on course.

I was also able to see footage of the conditions when Zara Phillips and Marilyn Little were on course yesterday. It looked like a hurricane was rolling in between the strong winds and the driving, sideways rain, making Zara and High Kingdom’s and Marilyn and RF Demeter’s double clear trips even more impressive. The live feed finally turned to show jumping when Peter Thomsen and Horseware’s Cayenne were on course, which unfortunately means I missed watched Jolie Wentworth and Good Knight go. Jolie and Ari pulled two rails and had 8 time penalties, and I know Team Kismet is thrilled to be bringing home a happy and sound horse after the tough cross country yesterday. Go USA. Go eventing.

[CCI4* Final Scores] [CIC3* Final Scores] [Cross-Country Replay] [Official Site] [@luhmuehlen2013]

 Click to view the full size image

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments