Tag Archives: Luhmühlen CCI 4*

*Featured/Spotlights, Eventing/H.T., FEI, Show Jumping

Julia Krajewski Secures Biggest Career Win at Luhmühlen with Samourai Du Thot

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Julia Krajewski on Samourai du Thot (FEI/Eric Knoll)

Nicola Wilson (GBR) and Bulana clinch second with overnight leader Bettina Hoy third on Designer 10 (GER)

It was an emotional moment for Germany’s Julia Krajewski when she realised she had scored the biggest win of her career after steering Samourai du Thot to victory at her home event, Luhmühlen CCI 4* presented by DHL, fifth leg of the FEI Classics™.

Krajewski, 28, was third year last year at her first attempt, but now she goes home with the big prize after the fairytale failed to come true for cross country leader Bettina Hoy (GER), who is 26 years her senior.

“If I hadn’t taken a pull, my horse wouldn’t have hit fence eight as he didn’t want to touch a pole. I thought ‘damn’, but there were so few clear rounds and when Bettina had her fence and time faults, that’s how it happens sometimes and you’re a four-star winner!” — Julia Krajewski (GER), winner

There had been little difference in the leaderboard after a straightforward cross country phase, but a challenging jumping track certainly shook up the order, with only four clear rounds without time penalties from the 34 finishers.

Krajewski, second after Saturday’s cross country, hit the back rail of fence eight, and Britain’s Nicola Wilson, third before jumping on Bulana, jumped clear but added a frustrating three time faults to finish a mere 0.7 behind in second place, a career best for the 2012 Olympic team silver medallist who has been a solid pathfinder for the British team.

“It was an expensive time fault or two, but Bulana gets better and better and better.” — Nicola Wilson (GBR), runner-up

Hoy’s problems started with a sticky jump over the fifth fence on Designer 10 and the horse then didn’t get high enough over the sixth for a rail down. That, plus three time penalties, dropped the newly crowned national champion (Hoy won the German championships earlier in the day) to third place.

Marilyn Little (USA) was clear to move up to fourth place on RF Scandalous and Maxime Livio (FRA), currently runner-up in the FEI Classics, was also foot-perfect, rising six places to fifth on Opium de Verrieres.

Livio has now managed to narrow the gap with runaway FEI Classics™ leader Michael Jung (GER) to just six points, and Wilson has sprung from 11th place in the rankings to third, so a thrilling finish is guaranteed at the finale at Burghley (GBR) in September.

By Kate Green

Press contacts:

At FEI:

Leanne Williams
Manager Press Relations
leanne.williams@fei.org
+41 79 314 24 38

At Luhmühlen:

Dr. Friederike Stüvel-Huck
Press Officer
media@luhmuhlen.de
+49 17 153 829 00

*Featured/Spotlights, Eventing/H.T., FEI

Bettina Hoy Retains Luhmühlen Lead with Designer 10 after Cross Country

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Bettina Hoy (GER) and Designer 10 (FEI/Eric Knoll)

Julia Krajewski (GER) holds on to second place with Samourai du Thot and Nicola Wilson (GBR) moves up into third on Bulana

Bettina Hoy (GER) proved she is at the very top of her game when retaining her lead after cross country at Luhmühlen CCI 4* presented by DHL, fifth leg of the FEI Classics™ series. In a remarkable double, the in-form rider is also heading the three-star competition at Germany’s most famous eventing venue which is celebrating its 60th anniversary.

Hoy, 54, has more than three decades’ experience of Luhmühlen’s wooded tracks and testing water complexes – she competed here in the 1982 World Championships – and she punched the air with delight as a perfectly timed round on Designer 10 kept her in pole position. However, she will need all her expertise in the jumping phase as the price of one rail covers the top four riders.

“My watch stopped working around the seven minute mark, which left me a little unsure about the time, but I know he is a really fast horse, so I knew I would be able to just go for it!” — Overnight leader Bettina Hoy (GER)

Julia Krajewski (GER) and Samourai du Thot, third last year, thrilled a bumper home crowd enjoying brilliant sunshine and great sport with their superb performance. They are still in second place and clearly laid the ghost of an unhappy elimination at the Rio Olympics last year.

“I felt Sam was fitter and more mature this year so I pushed from the beginning and didn’t have one bad moment. I’m very proud of him.” — Second-placed Julia Krajewski (GER)

Nicola Wilson (GBR) showed all her horsemanship to contain her bold mare, Bulana, and they moved up to third place after Marilyn Little (USA) and RF Scandalous, third after Dressage, picked up 6.8 time penalties and slipped to ninth. The 50 penalties initially awarded to Little for missing a flag at a skinny brush arrowhead were removed after the Ground Jury reviewed video footage of the incident.

“The course was an absolute pleasure to ride and will have been good for horses competing at this level for the first time.” — Third-placed Nicola Wilson (GBR)

Otherwise, the leaderboard is little changed at the top, apart from the departure of Astier Nicolas and Molokai, fifth after dressage, after the French Olympic gold medallist was unseated at the water complex at 19.

Britain’s Sarah Bullimore (Lilli Corinne) has moved up two places to fourth and within a fence of the leader after a clear round eight seconds inside the optimum time of 11 minutes 11 seconds. Maxime Livio (FRA), currently second in the FEI Classics™ series leaderboard, has moved up a place to 11th on Opium de Verrieres, but he will need to finish in the top 10 if he is to add any more points.

By Kate Green

Press contacts:

At FEI:

Leanne Williams
Manager Press Relations
leanne.williams@fei.org
+41 79 314 24 38

At Luhmühlen:

Dr. Friederike Stüvel-Huck
Press Officer
media@luhmuhlen.de
+49 17 153 829 00

*Featured/Spotlights, Dressage, Eventing/H.T., FEI

Triple Olympian Bettina Hoy (GER) Has Designs on Luhmühlen Crown

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Bettina Hoy (GER) and Designer 10 (FEI/Libby Law)

Julia Krajewski (GER) second with Samourai du Thot and Marilyn Little (USA) third on RF Scandalous

Bettina Hoy (GER), who is currently enjoying a rich run of form, leads after Dressage at Luhmühlen CCI 4* presented by DHL (GER) and has a great chance of winning her home country’s premier event, the fifth leg of the FEI Classics™, since triumphing here in 2005 on Ringwood Cockatoo.

Triple Olympian Hoy, 54, who divides her time between competing, caring for her elderly parents and training the Dutch Eventing team, is renowned for her artistry in the Dressage arena and showed the way to younger riders with a mark of 36.0 on her 13-year-old Westphalian gelding Designer 10.

“Designer was really relaxed today. I was a little annoyed about the small fault we had in the first extended trot, but otherwise he felt great. In fact, the last trot was so good I almost forgot to halt for the final salute!” — Bettina Hoy (GER)

Julia Krajewski (GER), who made a sparkling four-star debut here last year when third on the athletic Selle Francais Samurai du Thot, is second on 37.1 and US rider Marilyn Little, riding the mare RF Scandalous, a newcomer to this level, is third on 38.0. Britain’s Nicola Wilson conjured a mark of 38.7 on the lively black mare Bulana, a notably bold cross-country performer, for overnight fourth.

Michael Jung (GER), the clear leader in the FEI Classics™ series, is not riding in the 4* at Luhmühlen, but Maxime Livio (FRA), currently second in the standings and winner of Pau and runner-up to Jung at Kentucky, is and is lying in 12th place on Opium de Verrieres. Badminton winner Andrew Nicholson (NZL), third on the Classics leaderboard, is 29th on Tesio ahead of what promises to be an exciting cross-country day.

“Everything has been built beautifully with some big jumps, which should not be underestimated. [New course-designer] Mike Etherington-Smith [GBR] has created something very different, which has been positively received.” — Hans Melzer, German team trainer

Luhmühlen, Germany’s main championship venue, is celebrating its 60th anniversary – it’s the second oldest event in the FEI Classics™ after Badminton – and has received a royal visit from its patron.

“There is so much that is excellent about Luhmühlen: the course, the way it’s run, the hospitality and the way everyone is treated. Over 60 years there have been so many people who rose to the occasion.” — HRH The Princess Royal

By Kate Green

Press contacts:

At FEI:

Leanne Williams
Manager Press Relations
leanne.williams@fei.org
+41 79 314 24 38

At Luhmühlen:

Dr. Friederike Stüvel-Huck
Press Officer
media@luhmuhlen.de
+49 17 153 829 00

*Featured/Spotlights, Eventing/H.T., FEI

World-Class Entry Lines Up for Luhmühlen

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William Fox-Pitt, current world Eventing number one and FEI Classics™ leader, rides Cool Mountain at this weekend’s Luhmühlen CCI 4*. Photo: Kit Houghton/FEI.

Lausanne (SUI), 11 June 2014 – A competitive field of more than 50 riders representing 12 nations will be competing at this weekend’s German CCI 4* in Luhmühlen, presented by DHL Paket (12-15 June), for the fifth and penultimate leg of the FEI Classics™ 2013/2014.

For many riders this is a crucial last chance to impress selectors before the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ 2014 in Normandy (FRA) in August, as well as an all-important opportunity to seize a foothold on the FEI Classics™ leader board before the final leg at Burghley (GBR) in September.

Longines, the FEI’s Top Partner, has for the first time joined Luhmühlen as official Time-keeper and Watch for this key leg.

“We are proud to be for the first time Official Timekeeper and Official Watch of Luhmühlen CCI 4*,” said Walter von Känel, President of Longines. “As First Top Partner, Official Timekeeper and Watch of the FEI, the partnership with this event, which is part of the FEI Classics™, seemed natural. In addition, this competition perfectly illustrates the values of our brand, namely tradition, performance and precision.”

The current first, third and fourth-placed riders on the FEI Classics™ leaderboard all have good rides at Germany’s premier event.

World number one William Fox-Pitt (GBR), already a three-time winner at Luhmühlen and victorious at Pau (FRA) 2013 and Kentucky (USA) this year, holds a commanding 15-point lead. He rides an old favourite, the thoroughbred Cool Mountain, a CCI4* winner of Kentucky in 2010 and a world team gold and individual silver medallist at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™ in the same year.

Christopher Burton (AUS), who triumphed at Adelaide (AUS) last year on a catch ride, has the 12-year-old mare Tempranillo, a ride he took over from Sweden’s Ludwig Svennerstal in 2013. The new combination won the CIC3* at Hartpury last year and were 22nd at Pau.

Oliver Townend, who won the FEI Classics™ in 2009 and was recently second at Badminton (GBR), has entered the ex-racehorse Black Tie ll for his first CCI4*.

Much interest will centre on last year’s FEI Classics™ winner, the world number two Andrew Nicholson (NZL). He must have a great chance on the Spanish-bred Quimbo, a winner at Kentucky last year, but which was retired on the Cross Country at Badminton. The flat track at Luhmühlen should suit the beautiful black gelding and, if he is on form, German spectators are in for a treat as he is a spectacular jumper.

A strong New Zealand squad includes Lizzie Brown with her 2013 Boekelo CCI3* winner and recent Houghton Hall CIC3* runner-up Henton Attorney General, Mark Todd with Oloa, which he has re-routed from Kentucky after a disappointing Dressage mark, and husband-and-wife team Jonelle and Tim Price.

Jonelle has Classic Moet and The Deputy, which she pulled up after an early run-out at Badminton, and Tim has the Tattersalls CIC3* winner Wesko, which took an unfortunate ducking in Badminton’s Lake on the first third of the course.

Lucinda Fredericks (AUS) has already won three of the world’s six CCI4*s – Badminton, Burghley and Kentucky – and in 2012 she came close to taking Luhmühlen on the German-bred Flying Finish when they were second. They were 10th last year and, after pulling up early at Badminton in May, she has brought the horse back for a third attempt on the Luhmühlen trophy. Her compatriots include Andrew Hoy who, like Fredericks, has yet to add Luhmühlen to his collection of CCI4* wins.

Some of the top German horses will be competing in the CIC3*, but former Luhmühlen winners Michael Jung, Bettina Hoy and Ingrid Klimke have CCI4* rides. Jung, the current Olympic, World and European Champion, rides Fischerrocana FST; Klimke has her European team gold and individual silver medallist FRH Escada JS, and Hoy rides the up-and-coming Designer in what promises to be a high-quality contest.

Follow the results on www.luhmuehlen.de, and watch live Cross Country (Saturday) and Jumping (Sunday) action on FEI TV (www.feitv.org).

See full standings here.

Prize money

At the end of the FEI Classics™ 2013/2014 season, the five riders with the highest number of points collected across the six FEI Classics™ events will share a total prize fund of US$120,000 split as follows: 1st – US$40,000 (Series Champion); 2nd – US$35,000; 3rd – US$25,000; 4th – US$15,000; 5th – US$5,000.

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By Kate Green

Media Contacts:

At Luhmühlen:

Friederike Stuevel-Huck
+49 171 5382900
media@luhmuehlen.de

At FEI:

Grania Willis
Director Media Relations
Grania.willis@fei.org
+41 78 750 61 42

Ruth Grundy
Manager Press Relations
ruth.grundy@fei.org
+41 78 750 61 45