The beginning of the deluge. Also an excuse to look at Andreas Ostholt. #sinningiswinning
Earth had been many days in the making, proclaimed the Book of Genesis, when the big guy in the sky looked down upon his creation and realised that its denizens had become all tangled up in immoral excesses, illicit behaviour, and idolatry. You know, the fun stuff. As a result, he sent a sweeping flood to wipe out all the very naughty boys and girls, so he could start again with whoever had made it onto Noah’s Ark. What’s the best way to solve a crisis of morality? Generations of inbreeding, apparently.
Luhmühlen is known for a lot of things: its almost indescribable German hospitality, its very good doner kebabs, and, well, its parties. And this iteration certainly hasn’t disappointed – lured in by a free bar, like a gleaming apple in the Garden of Eden, the great and good of the eventing community descending on Thursday for a night of truly exceptional excess. If there is a deity greater than all of us, he was not amused. And so he sent the floods.
Incredible thunder storms racked Luhmühlen through the wee hours of the morning, rendering the previously sun-soaked venue almost completely unrecognisable. In the lorry park, the water was so deep that rogue bales of shavings were dancing their way to a new life somewhere far, far away, and the trade village could have been used as an extra water complex. In the middle of the flooding, a lone coffee van stood open, endlessly optimistic, while its operator peered around at the new landscape before him. Somewhere on course, Alex Bragg sheltered beneath a tree, broadcasting the storm as it ricocheted around him. (Yes, that’s right, he stood beneath a tree and used his mobile phone while lightening sparked and cracked around him. Look, he’s very nice, and he’s a very good rider, so we’ll forgive these transgressions of sanity and sense.)
It could have gone either way, really – any other venue, not blessed with such well-draining ground, might have had to cancel. But the Germans are nothing if not efficient and determined, and with the help of the local fire brigade – and some savvy re-timetabling – the show could go on. The immoral sons of Eventing Jesus were victorious.
Well, mostly. 33 competitors started on course in the third five-star of the year, and 22 would complete – exactly two-thirds, which is the magic number we tend to expect from a competition of this level. Of those 22 who made it to the finish, 19 would jump clear, and four would romp home within the optimum time. This makes Tim Price our first course-preview expert to accurately guess the number of time-makers, which we’re sure is his proudest victory of the day.
Tim Price and Ascona M step into the lead after a nearly perfect cross-country round. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
We kid, of course. Tim Price and Ascona M stepped into the lead after offering up a masterclass in cross-country riding, and following the unfortunate retirement of dressage leaders Kazuma Tomoto and Brookpark Vikenti. They added just two time penalties, sadly marring a remarkable record: until now, Ascona M had never added a single time penalty across the country in any of her long-format completions. Not one. But who cares, really, when you’re sitting aboard an ultra-talented up-and-comer, ready to fight to keep a trophy in the family?
“Ascona’s a really lovely mare with a lot of talent, but often being a bit too courageous in her approach to a job,” says Tim of the German-bred mare, who was sourced reasonably locally to Luhmühlen at Peter Thomson’s yard. “She’s maturing now, though, and I feel like I can let her do the job, and she understands everything. That’s what I was hoping for today.
“The time, for me, was quite difficult – she’s not a full-blooded mare, so I needed to be in the rhythm from the beginning. She’s a little bit inexperienced at this level, so I had to begin a little bit conservatively to make sure she was organised in her mind and in her body, so then I could press a little bit more as we went on. That’s possibly where we lost the time. All the combinations were as I was hoping, except for one or two places – at the Meßmer Water, I left one out coming to the skinny, which wasn’t the plan, but it seemed like the right thing to do. Other than that, it was just a nice round. They get more tired as you go round, but she stayed with me and stayed focused, and I was really proud of her.”
Ascona M shows off her typical flamboyance. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Ascona M was originally piloted by Luhmühlen’s reigning champion – Tim’s wife, Jonelle.
“It’s a bit of an advantage, not only to have two riders in one camp, but to have two very different riders. When we got Ascona M, she wasn’t anywhere near the size she is now, and so she was for Jonelle, who produced her for the first couple of years. But then she grew and grew as a seven, eight, and nine-year-old, which is quite late, and that was the first time that I gave Jonelle a little nudge and said, ‘maybe she’s a little bit tall for you…?’ But the real natural thing was that Jonelle became pregnant, so I took on a few rides. Then, the mare just stayed with me as a bit of a natural transition.”
Alex Bragg and Zagreb. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
One of the first riders on course was also one of the first to deliver a blazingly fast clear round, leaving some to wonder if the time would, perhaps, be all too catchable. But this is what happens when you see pure class in action: it makes everything it touches look laughably easy. That’s exactly what second-placed Alex Bragg and his back-on-form Zagreb did.
“He’s a great horse – I’ve had him since he was four, and he’s forged my career, really,” says Alex. “I think he’s very much like me – he’s taken my characteristics. He’s a bit of a warrior; a month ago, we were at Chatsworth, and I was chasing the time in the Event Rider Masters, turned a little bit tight, and we both hit the deck – and a month later, here we are at Luhmühlen, and he’s just pulled out a fantastic clear round inside the time. I think he was pretty much foot-perfect. He’s 100% committed to the job, and he always gives me everything he can. You’ve got to love a horse for that. It’s my job, now, to pick the right runs for him and do him some justice, so he can earn those successes. He works so hard for me, and he deserves some good results.”
Twinkle toes: Alex Bragg and Zagreb race into the main arena. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Though it feels like we’ve been able to enjoy Alex – and Zagreb – at the top levels for years, he’s actually a reasonably recent convert to the sport. The former farrier was actually a rugby player in a previous life, before a chance encounter over a hot anvil led to a meet-cute with his now wife, Simmone. When she fell pregnant with their first daughter, Alex began to ride her eventer, doing fitness work to keep it fit while she was out of action.
“That’s how my eventing career began,” says Alex, as Tim reaches over for a high-five. “I’d never been cross-country before, and it was something I wanted to do more of. But as you can imagine, from playing rugby, I was in the gym a lot and I was very muscular – so I looked like a gorilla doing dressage! Slowly, over the years, I’ve managed to change a bit. I wouldn’t say I’m as good as some of these guys, but I’m getting better all the time … Tim says I look like a chimpanzee now! But I’m still better-looking than him, so that’s all good.”
Alex maintains his farriery skills by shoeing his own horses, as well as the ponies owned by his children – and, when the need arises, those of his competitors in the stables at events.
“I love this community – it’s a real family feel,” he says. “We’re all competitors, but we’ll all go downstairs and have a drink and a laugh together. I think that’s what’s so wonderful about equestrianism, but most of all, about eventing.”
We’ll raise a glass to that, Alex. Meet you at the bar.
Sarah Bullimore and Reve du Rouet – third overnight. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Two exceptional clear rounds saw Sarah Bullimore keep both her rides in the top ten overnight, with Reve du Rouet stepping up into third place and staying on his 32.1 dressage, and Conpierre adding 8.4 time penalties to round out the top ten.
“I had to work a little bit at the end – we came up towards the last water, and he did think – ‘oh, there’s home!’ But then he had to turn away and keep going, so he was a little bit slow through that water,” says Sarah of third-placed Reve du Rouet, known at home as Blou. “That made him think he was a bit tired, but actually, he was really good. He jumped the last incredibly well and has recovered amazingly quickly.”
Reve du Rouet is as famous for his occasional trips to the dark side as he is for his undeniable talent, but as he gets older and more established, his old trick of bolting in the arena seems to have fallen by the wayside. That niggle has been made worth it by his incredible capacity for the job, as Sarah explains: “He’s such an awesome jumper, and I do trust him. If there’s one horse I’d want to jump any course on, it’s him. He’s got scope to burn, and you’d jump the moon on him, you really would. He’s amazing; he gives you such a good feel over a fence.”
With two horses to ride, bookending the day’s action, Sarah found herself falling out of touch with the day’s proceedings. That meant that, after a gratifying day in the office, it came as a welcome surprise to find out just how well she’d done.
“I don’t even know who else is here today – I haven’t watched anything,” she admits with a laugh. “I had no clue! When they said, ‘you need to go to the press conference!’ I said, ‘oh?’ And they said, ‘you’re in third!’ Oh! I had absolutely no idea. So then I was like, damn, that dressage score … but I was chuffed to bits with him.”
Prepare for take-off: Tom McEwen displays some vintage cross-country gumption, propelling Figaro van het Broekxhof through the tough final water with a hunting-style shout and some very committed elbows. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Tom McEwen stepped into the top ten, climbing from eleventh to fourth aboard his Belton winner Figaro van het Broekxhof. This season, he’s been methodically creating a superstar out of the overgrown Belgian gelding, and today, it paid dividends – this is the horse’s second five-star start (though his first with Tom) and his first completion, and he finished inside the time after some decisive riding by Tom.
Sam Griffiths and Paulank Brockagh. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Japan’s Yoshiaki Oiwa and his WEG mount and 2017 Bramham winner Calle 44 added just two time penalties to climb two places into overnight fifth, while Denmark’s Peter Flarup and Frankie produced another impressive performance, coming home inside the time and proving that last year’s Pau result was no fluke. They’ll sit sixth overnight, just ahead of Australia’s Sam Griffiths, whose Badminton-winning supermare Paulank Brockagh skipped around the course with a smile on her face for 3.2 time penalties and seventh place.
“She’s very experienced and has done lots of five-stars now, so hopefully we can finish the competition and add this string to our bow,” says Sam, who took Badminton in a year that will forever be remembered for its horrific downpour. “I think anywhere else in the world, the event today would have been cancelled [after the rain] – it was like being in the tropics. It was great that we could keep performing, and it’s paid off so far!”
Frankie Thieriot Stutes and Chatwin. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Frankie Thieriot Stutes and Chatwin might have been contesting their first-ever five-star track, but you’d have been hard-pressed to guess it: they left the start box in a blaze of conviction, and returned in a blaze of glory. 6.4 time penalties saw them slip from third after dressage to overnight eighth, but for a five-star debut? Well, we’d take it.
“He’s such a fighter, that horse – he fought for me all the way to the end. I actually lost my stirrup at the last water, coming in, and I thought, ‘wow, what a time to lose your stirrup!’ But I just got him there, and he answered all the questions – I’m really proud of him. I’m disappointed to have a little time today, but if you can walk away from your first five-star just disappointed over a little time, then that’s okay – there’s just some homework to do, and this is a twistier course than we’ve ever done,” says Frankie. “It’s pretty special to bring my horse, who’s lived in the U.S. for the last six years, home to do his first five-star.”
Frankie sits just shy of two points ahead of ninth-placed Becky Woolven and DHI Babette K, who lie ninth overnight after climbing ten places.
Allie Knowles and Sound Prospect. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Problems were scattered evenly across the course today, with the two most influential fences – the skinny at 17 and the C element of the corner complex at 11ABC – only claiming three and four victims, respectively. Several notable names failed to complete: dressage leader Kazuma Tomoto and Brookpark Vikenti picked up twenty penalties for a runout at the angled C element of the coffin, and then another at the final skinny of the second water on course, where they ultimately retired. Allie Knowles was the unlucky recipient of a surprise dunking after Sound Prospect tripped in the first water, and Andreas Dibowski fell from FRH Butts Alvedon at fence 7, an innocuous table.
“To be honest, I thought I’d made it a bit soft – but by the end of the day, I was quite please I hadn’t made it much harder than it was,” said course designer Mike Etherington-Smith. “For me, it’s always interesting as a course designer – I spend the day watching horses, watching how they travel, how they work, and how they jump, despite what the riders may or may not do. But the last 800m to 1km is the most interesting – you watch them at the start, and you watch them coming home, and you can tell if they’ve had a good experience or not. Particularly with the younger horses, you want to see them grow as they go around – and I was pleased with what I saw as they came home.”
We’ll be back tomorrow morning with all the news from the final horse inspection, which takes place at 10.00 a.m. local time/9.00 a.m. BST/4.00 a.m. EST. Catch you on the flip side (or at the bar)!
The top ten after an action-packed day of cross-country at Luhmühlen.
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