Photo by Leslie Wylie.
It’s time to find out who’s going to take the spoils at this year’s Longines Luhmühlen Horse Trials! Show jumping will kick off at 4:30 a.m. EST (that’s 10:30 a.m. in Germany), and I’ll be bringing you updates here in this thread if you keep it refreshed periodically.
You can also tune in to the Horse & Country live stream here (where all the dressage and cross country is available on demand as well!).
The order of go can be found here, and scoring will be updated here for the 5*.
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5:39 a.m. ET: Well that wraps up the action from the 5* at Luhmühlen, and what a weekend it was! Tilly will be along later today with the final report, and we still have the 4* to finish up in the show jumping. That division will jump after this prize giving — you can still tune in live on H&C+ here. Let’s do a bit of analysis on Marco Behrens’ track today:
Fence 3 – an airy liverpool – came down the most (8)
Fence 4 came down 7 times
Fence 5A came down 5 times
Otherwise, the rails were pretty scattered, with very nearly each fence coming down at least once.
A couple of fun facts about Laura’s score — this score of 20.3 is just barely behind the new record for 5* finishing score set by Michael Jung at Kentucky in 2022. Before that, Laura had actually held the record herself for a 21.3 finishing score at Pau in 2020 — her first 5* win.
5:37 a.m. ET: HERE WE GOOOOOOO – Laura Collett wins her third 5* aboard the INCREDIBLE London 52 and finishes on her dressage mark of 20.3. What. A. FREAKING. LEGEND.
So your final top three is ALL British — way to go ladies! — and Boyd Martin will be the best of the rest in 4th place with Luke 140, super impressive for this pair.
5:36 a.m. ET: London 52 has rubbed a couple but so far so clear…
5:34 a.m. ET: Kitty nearly has the last of the triple down and just goes barely into time — she will retain her position despite that and finishes on a 27.2 Now Laura Collett – she DOES have a rail and time in hand to keep the win in her clutches.
5:33 a.m. ET: Kitty does not have a rail in hand to stay ahead of Yas, but she will have one to stay ahead of Boyd.
5:31 a.m. ET: Yasmin goes over the time but had that .4 in hand, but she does leave the poles up despite a pretty strong right drift at the out of the triple. Yasmin will finish no worse than third on the podium. Just two more now, and we’ll start with Kitty King and Vendredi Biats. The UK will win this weekend, it’s just a matter of which leading lady will nab it!
5:30 a.m. ET: Next in, into the top 3 here, are reigning World Champion rider Yasmin Ingham and Rehy DJ. She does not have a rail in hand to stay ahead of Boyd.
5:30 a.m. ET: WOW! Boyd finishes JUST inside the time and collects the 4th double clear. I wager that will move up too — let’s goooooo Boydo!
5:28 a.m. ET: Luke 140 wasn’t going ANYWHERE near those liverpool rails and gives them plenty of room.
5:26 a.m. ET: Oliver is the latest to have the oxer at 6A down after just getting there a bit lacking in energy and long. He’s also had the rail at 7 down and will finish on a score of 39.1. This will make Swallow Springs the highest placed Townend horse this weekend as Tregilder drops down a few. Now we’ll see Boyd with his final horse, Luke 140, who was placed 4th ahead of show jumping.
5:26 a.m. ET: Lovely! We have our third clear round of the day with Harry and Teneraze, who finish their weekend on a score of 30.7 (their dressage score). We’ve just got five more to see, and I would wager Harry has a couple spots left to climb yet! next will be Oliver with his third and final ride, Tregilder.
5:23 a.m. ET: Well that’s another disappointing one and Muzi won’t be thrilled about that finish with 4 down and 4 seconds’ worth of time. Just Kidding just looked a little lacking in upward momentum today. Next in are British rider Harry Meade and the very impressive Tenareze, coming forward on a score of 30.7.
5:21 a.m. ET: Muzi gets off to a rough start with three rails down, including the liverpool at 3 and the oxer at 4 that seem to be bogey fences (but really, what isn’t on this course??).
5:20 a.m. ET: Highs and lows, eh? Felix will be sorely disappointed with that finish, as he and Colero add 5 rails to drop out of the top 10 and finish on a 53.3. New Zealand’s Muzi Pottinger with her superstar OTTB Just Kidding are the next to jump. Just the two clear rounds so far!
5:19 a.m. ET: Well, I spoke too soon as Colero has three down so far. He does seem to have a pretty strong distaste for this arena, after a less than pleasant experience during the prize giving last year and a mild meltdown on dressage day this year.
5:18 a.m. ET: Our 2022 winners, Swiss pair Felix Vogg and Colero, will be the next to see. This pair will need a clear round and a lot of rails from the pairs placed ahead of them to defend their win this weekend, but Felix will be doing what he can to finish on what he can control.
5:17 a.m. ET: Jerome and Black Ice get a little too far away from the oxer at 7 and have that down, as well as the final of the triple. They add a few time faults too and will finish on a 44.1. That’s another spot claimed by Tom and Farndon then.
5:15 a.m. ET: Well that was just a lovely round for Tom Jackson and Farndon, who finish on their dressage score and are the first pair this weekend to do so! Giving major vibes from Tom’s epic Badminton finish with Capel’s Hollow Drift. This pair should probably finish inside the top 10, at least, with the way this course is riding. Germany’s Jerome Robine is next in with Black Ice — another pair that really impressed on cross country yesterday.
5:14 a.m. ET: Well that won’t be the round Seppe wanted with 3 rails added, mostly with the hind end, as well as a shade of time for a final score of 50.5. British rider Tom Jackson and Farndon will be the next to see.
5:11 a.m. ET: We’ve still just seen the one clear round from Emily King and Valmy Biats, as Seppe and Kawa de la Cour Z go ahead and join the liverpool club and have it down.
5:10 a.m. ET: Sydney goes into time faults too, and adds two total rails for a finishing score of 47.4. Seppe Vilain and Kawa de la Cour Z are the next in the ring for Belgium.
5:10 a.m. ET: Sydney has that pesky plank down at 4 and will need to kick on a bit if she wants to get inside the time here.
5:09 a.m. ET: Felicity finishes her weekend on a score of 46.5 with those two disappointing rails down. Everyone moves up a spot or two as a result, and we’ll now see the U.S.’ Sydney Elliott and QC Diamantaire. Another pair who made the time yesterday!
5:07 a.m. ET: Rats, Felicity have the liverpool at 3 down — that one’s come down quite a bit already today. They add another at 5A.
5:07 a.m. ET “Squirrel” looks to be a little strong again today and adds two rails to finish on a score of 46.7, dropping her a couple of places. Our next Irish pair, Felicity Ward and Regal Bounty, will be in the ring next, who did make the time on cross country yesterday and will look to finish on their starting mark today.
5:05 a.m. ET: Susie takes a bold inside turn to 6 that closes up the gap to the in and out line. She does lower 10A, the first of the triple, and finishes on a score of 44.5. Our resident Burghley winners, Pippa Funnell and MGH Grafton Street, will be the next to see. This pair added 15.6 time penalties on cross country yesterday (Pippa said he was quite strong out there, which always eats into the clock).
5:01 a.m. ET: Blast, the plank strikes again for Boyd, who had the same fence down with Tsetserleg. That’s their only fault, and they’ll finish Bruno’s 5* debut on a score of 36.4, which will drop him below Oliver and Swallow Springs. Ireland’s Susie Berry and Monbeg by Design, a 5* debutant and also Susie’s World Championships partner last year, are next in the ring.
4:58 a.m. ET: The first of the double at 6 comes down for Oliver. That line seems to be riding just a little long and gappy; it comes out of a turn away from the in-gate, which creates some distraction for some horses, and has ridden a little long on both the A and B for a few pairs, including Oliver and Swallow Springs. The one down puts him on a score of 35.7. We now have Boyd with Fedarman B, also riding out of order as Fedarman B is currently placed 9th and has a chance to move up later if he can manage a clear. “Bruno” is historically a pretty good show jumper.
4:56 a.m. ET: The penultimate fence falls for Fiona, to put her on a score of 44.7. Creevagh Silver de Haar has quite a unique style over the fences, but he’s very tidy and quick on this last day of competition. Now we’ll have Oliver riding out of order (he’s currently placed 8th) with Swallow Springs.
4:54 a.m. ET: One down at fence 3 down for David and Ferro Point to finish on a score of 44.8. We’ll next see Fiona Kashel and Creevagh Silver de Haar. This course is really rewarding a strong forward ride, though you also can’t be too keen at some of these fences coming out of turns!
4:53 a.m. ET: Next to see are British rider David Doel and Ferro Point.
4:53 a.m. ET: Gosh, this mare jumps show jumps like she does cross country: feisty and bold! A bummer of a rail at the triple, but she enthusiastically finishes the job inside the time to finish on a 45.1. Consider me obsessed, y’all.
4:49 a.m. ET: Unum de’Or has a big nap at the in gate while turning to 6A and is assessed a refusal. He’s also had the red plank down at 4. Unum de’Or is a big boy who requires a lot of putting together, and he looks to be ready to finish this phase and get on with his vacation! They finish with a good bit of time and finishes on a score of 56.2. Next to see will be Germany’s Arne Bergendahl and Luthien 3, who really impressed yesterday on cross country and who you can learn a bit more about here!
4:47 a.m. ET: Two rails down for Emma and more than one rubbed but left up for a final score of 54.1 — four seconds of time additionally. France is back in the ring next with Cedric Lyard and Unum de’Or.
4:46 a.m. ET: A really nice round with 4 jump penalties and one infuriating second of time for Will and The Partner. A nice completion for this pair that they’ll be keen to build on from here. Next up are exciting young German rider Emma Brüssau and Dark Desire GS. She’s had two rails down so far, at fence 3 and 8.
4:43 a.m. ET: Florian finishes on a score of 71.5 with just those two early rails down — they settled into a much better rhythm after that. Will Rawlin and The Partner are next in, having brushed off a tense horse inspection this morning where they were temporarily held by the Ground Jury but ultimately passed.
4:41 a.m. ET: Emily turns in the first clear round of the day! Valmy Biats’ sire, Orlando, was a show jumper himself who has produced a fair amount of both eventers and pure show jumpers. A very, very nice jumper is rewarded with no faults and a finishing score of 67.6. We’ll next have France’s Florian Ganneval and Blue Bird de Beufour. They’ve had fences 1 and 4 down so far.
4:40 a.m. ET: Gireg comes in three seconds over the time allowed and lower one fence — #3 — en route to a final score of 81.3. We’ll now move to Great Britain’s Emily King and Valmy Biats. Will they be our first clear of the day?
4:38 a.m. ET: RLE Limbo Kaiser just didn’t seem to quite settle into a rhythm in there today, but this is a 5* debut for this horse, who will have gained a lot of experience this weekend. Katherine and RLE Limbo Kaiser lower fence 5B and 10B and added 4 seconds of time for a finishing score of 111.6. Next in are French pair Gireg le Coz and Caramel d’Orchis.
4:34 a.m. ET: Well that was a really nice round from Boyd and Thomas, who also have show jumping icon Peter Wylde in their corner this weekend. One down — the red plank atop fence 4, comes down to add 4 to their mark, but a solid effort nonetheless. A final score of 68.3 for them. Next in will be our next U.S. rider, Katherine Coleman and RLE Limbo Kaiser.
4:33 a.m. ET: German designer Marco Behrens, who’s designed at this venue for many years, is the designer for today’s show jumping. Oliver and Cooley Rosalent lower one rail at 6A and finish within the time allowed for a final score of 74.2. Next to see will be Boyd Martin and Tsetserleg TSF. “Thomas” has historically struggled a bit in the show jumping, and a clear round here would help make up for the sting of an early mistake on cross country yesterday.
4:30 a.m. ET: And we are underway with our first of the day, and it’s Oliver Townend with Cooley Rosalent. This 9-year-old is our youngest horse this weekend, and she made a really nice debut at the level yesterday with one green blip that will surely get sorted with more experience.
