Michael Jung and fischerChipmunk at the 2019 European Championships in Luhmuhlen
Next Wednesday, the Longines CCI5*-L trot up will kick off the Longines Luhmühlen Horse Trials, which will take place in a smaller setting and without spectators due to the pandemic
Michael Jung will compete two horses in Luhmühlen, saying that "With fischerChipmunk, a start in the four-star competition and the German Championships is planned. For fischerWild Wave the premiere in the CCI5* is on the agenda. He seems ready for five-star level – and it it’s great to achieve this with a horse that I have trained from scratch.
Luhmühlen has always been a special competition for me, and this year, so close to the Olympic Games, it takes on a special significance once again, as a test of performance."
Due to the pandemic, the legendary Prices have to take a much longer and more complicated route to compete in both competitions with several horses – including their CCI5* winners Faerie Dianimo and Ascona M.
“Covid has made it extremely difficult to get to the event, but we are determined and are trying to make it happen. We are lucky to have a solid team of horses at 5-star level and we feel we owe it to them to get them to Luhmühlen. My plans are to have four healthy horses in good positions on Sunday, ready to jump lovely clear show-jump rounds” says Tim Price.
Most of the riders from Great Britain are not going to make it to Luhmühlen, due to the current pandemic-related travel regulations. British Team Performance Coach Chris Bartle sums up the disappointment of the circumstances as “such a disappointment for the British Event riders and their horse owners who were planning to come to take part in the Longines Luhmühlen Horse Trials, that due to the pandemic and the travel restrictions that have had to be introduced, they will mostly not be able to come.”
“I personally had been so looking forward to visiting Luhmühlen again and meeting up with friends and my German family.”
To date, the CCI4*-S Meßmer Trophy with German Championships has an exciting, large field of entries, in which many nations can compete against each other, before they meet again either at the Olympic Games or the European Championships, to take place in the autumn.
In addition to the strong field of participants from Germany - with Julia Krajewski, Michael Jung, Sandra Auffarth, Andreas Dibowski, Anna Siemer, Christoph Wahler and Nicolai Aldinger - unfortunately without Ingrid Klimke due to injury - Belgium, Sweden, Poland, the Netherlands and Switzerland have also entered.
The entry list still shows Andrew Hoy, Sammi Birch and Chris Burton as competing from Australia but Kevin McNab's horses have been withdrawn
