New Zealand’s top eventers will be tested by the rest of the best at this week’s CCI 4* Luhmühlen International Horse Trials in Germany.
World number three Jonelle Price and her husband Tim, who won the event last year, lead a stellar string of Kiwi combinations, including Sir Mark Todd, Andrew Nicholson, Blyth Tait, Annabel Wigley and rising stars Lizzie Brown and Jesse Campbell.
But with a start list that boasts six of the top 10 ranked riders in the world, the title will be hard-fought.
Price is bringing Bango (owned by the Numero Uno Syndicate – Andrew Nickals, Ed Wilson, Lucy Sangster and Tim and Melissa Brown) for the nine-year-old chestnut’s first four star outing. He’ll be keen to back up his excellent result on Wesko last year, which is the only other time he has competed at the top-flight event.
Jonelle has her 10-year-old grey British-bred mare Faerie Dianimo (owned by Trisha Rickards and Jacky Green), who has just one other four star start to her credit, with a fourth at Pau last year.
Nicholson is no stranger to victory at Luhmühlen, having won the title in 2013 aboard Mr Cruise Control. This time he has Qwanza (owned by Mark and Rosemary Barlow and Nicholson).
Tait is having his first shot at Luhmühlen aboard Xanthus III (owned by Jane Lovell-Smith and Tait).
Todd is looking to bring his London Olympic horse NZB Campino (owned by New Zealand Bloodstock and Todd) back into top competition after a break with injury. The competition had an impressive win at Tattersalls International Horse Trials in Ireland, in the CIC3*.
Having their first-ever four star starts this week are Brown and Campbell. Brown and Henton Attorney General (owned by Tessa Grant and Brown) have been very consistent in their last four starts with three wins and a second at two and three star level, while Campbell will be champing at the bit to get Kaapachino (owned by Jesse and Dr Craig Campbell) out on a four star course after disappointingly having to withdraw from Badminton.
Wigley has Frog Rock (owned by Sally, John and Annabel Wigley) entered.
The combination has had four star starts at Luhmühlen, Pau and Badminton and will be keen to post a solid result.
Also lining up is Fraser King, with his horse Nadal KSNZ, current National One Day CIC3* champs, but rather than riding under the silver fern, he is representing The Netherlands.
King, who plans to be based in Europe for the “foreseeable future”, managed the swap through his Dutch mother.
“The Dutch have access to some of the best riders and trainers in the world that I hope to learn a lot from,” says King.
“Also, the Dutch eventing team have been very accommodating, arranging for me to stay in a great yard in Holland and setting clear results-based performance criteria to enter their elite eventing squad.”
He has not been part of any New Zealand squads to date.
The Prices, Brown and Campbell each also have a start in the CIC3* class.
Equestrian Sports New Zealand high performance director Sarah Dalziell says it is exciting to see such a good turn out of Kiwi combinations half way through the Northern Hemisphere season.
Selectors will undoubtedly be watching closely with the high performance squads to be renamed at the end of June.
Dalziell welcomed the return of former Olympian and World Champ Tait, who was making a concerted push for the 2016 Rio Games. He last competed at four star level in 2011.
“It’s great to see him back up at this level.”
And she is chuffed to see accelerator squad riders Brown and Campbell making the big step up to four star level.
Luhmühlen cross country designer Captain Mark Phillips has reversed the direction of the course this year, giving it a “completely new approach”.
“The DHL Water Complex doesn’t come up so early in the course, giving the horses and riders a better chance to warm up and get into the rhythm,” says Phillips. “Furthermore, we have increased the use of frangible devices approved by the FEI and are going to use the English frangible pin and the Swedish MIM systems. If a system triggers, it will be fined with eleven penalty points. Essentially, I think the penalizing makes sense – for the most important safety aspect is the riders’ respect for the jumps. Therefore we are always trying to find the balance between forgiving fences and tasks that are taken seriously by the riders.”
What: CCI 4* Luhmühlen International Horse Trials
Where: Germany
When: June 18-21
For more info: http://tgl.luhmuehlen.de/Home
