Photos courtesy Thomas Ix
“All roads are leading to the Europeans 2019” says Mike Etherington-Smith as he designs ‘a more intense course’ for Luhmuhlen in June
After his Luhmühlen debut in 2017, Mike Etherington-Smith is planning this year to design courses that will be up a notch in terms of degree of difficulty and size.
“Last year was really all about getting a feel for the course, the terrain, and the layout and how the event works. Now I am getting more familiar with the venue and the opportunities that present themselves I am feeling more comfortable. The courses will be a bit more intense this time and I am starting to use changes of direction to create a different feel. I am a great believer in looking afresh each year at the overall layout and route of the courses to explore what can be done better and whether we are making optimum use of what there is.”
At the same time, Etherington-Smith is aware of his key responsibilities: to produce courses that develop horses and athletes.
“I obviously hope that the best will come out on top yet at the same time I must recognise that some (horses and athletes) will be doing their first 4 star. The experience must be a positive one that sees horses grow as they go around.”
There are some major changes in this year’s courses: “We have built a number of new fences but the primary changes are at the two water fences, where we have done a lot of ground work. There are several reasons for this not least to give a different flavour to these fences and the questions being asked but also to give spectators something different to see. We need to look at the overall package and ensure that the courses continue to develop, offer new questions, and add variety I also have the European Championships very much in mind with these developments”, explains Etherington-Smith.
The DHL water complex has undergone the most visible changes: “I didn't really like the island as it was, since it provided limited opportunities.
Plus the ground on top of it had become soft in places which made the decision to change it very easy. The changes here are therefore designed to create different questions and I believe that there is now the opportunity for greater variety here in terms of the questions that can be asked going forward.”
While Ethington-Smith is happy to share his general ideas, he doesn’t want to show his hand concerning his plans for next year’s European Championships
“I am not going to give away anything at this stage other than all roads are leading to the Europeans. I have pretty much designed that course and am working backwards from it without hopefully giving anything away.”
