Ingrid Klimke and FRH Butts Abraxxas at Badminton. Photo by Jenni Autry.
Sara Algotsson-Ostholt and Wega lead the Luhmühlen CIC3* on a 33.6 at the conclusion of dressage. This mare came oh so close to winning individual Olympic gold at London last year, but a heartbreaking rail at the final fence in show jumping moved her into silver medal position. I expected her to be very good in the dressage today, and she certainly didn’t disappoint, with all judges unanimously ranking her in first place in a very competitive field that saw five scores in the 30s and 16 scores in the 40s in a field of 45. That’s 47 percent of competitors scoring at least a 49.8 or better. Germans dominated the top 20; after Sweden’s Sara Algotsson-Ostholt and Wega, Australia’s Andrew Hoy and Cheeky Calimbo and Sweden’s Niklas Lindbäck and Mister Pooh were the only pairs of other nationalities to join the top 20.
Looking at the rest of the leaderboard, Andreas Ostholt and So Is Et are in second place on a 35.6, and Michael Jung and Halunke FBW are in third place on a 37. Michael was the second to last to ride in the class and had a chance to catch Sara and Wega, but he couldn’t quite get there. This is Michael’s only ride here this weekend, and it’s odd not to see him on the entry list for the CCI4*, which he won last year on Leopin FST. But seeing as his unicorn star horse La Biosthetique Sam FBW and Leopin FST both competed at Badminton last month, Michael didn’t have another CCI4* ride to bring. Ingrid Klimke also had a very good day, and she sits in fourth place with FRH Butts Abraxxas — who placed 16th at Badminton last month — on a 37.6 and in fifth place on Hale Bob 3 on a 39.8.
Marilyn Little and RF Black Pearl are our only American pair contesting the CIC3*, and they scored 53.8 to sit in 31st place. The Luhmühlen Facebook page has been posting photos from the competition, and you can see a picture of Marilyn and Pearl in their test this morning by clicking here. This mare has had a very solid spring season, placing second in both the Ocala Horse Properties CCI2* and The Fork CIC2* in April. Marilyn and Pearl were also third in the CIC2* at Red Hills in March. Best of luck to Marilyn and Pearl as they represent the U.S. this weekend. The CCI4* dressage starts tomorrow at 8:30 a.m. local time, which is 2:30 a.m. EST. Video of today’s dressage tests should be online later today, so be sure to check back for much more from Luhmühlen. Go eventing.
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