15 of 20 starters completed the cross-country course at the CCI5*-L in Luhmühlen; British riders took the top two spots

Even before the event, Mike Etherington-Smith and his new assistant, Kai-Steffen Meier, had announced changes to the layout of the Luhmühlen course. According to the riders, the course didn’t feature *THE* one major challenge, but rather it was the combination of all the obstacles that made the course difficult—especially given the midsummer temperatures, which were tempered by the heavy rain in the morning but were still warm enough. As a result, a quarter of the starters did not reach the finish line, and even some of the riders who finished at the very front said their horses hadn’t quite been themselves today.

The German Debutantes Take the Stage

Unfortunately, one of the two German riders, Heike Jahncke riding Mighty Spring FRH, was among the pairs who will no longer be in contention for the title tomorrow. The 16-year-old daughter of Mighty Magic was still looking strong during the first half of the course. But at Meßmer Teich, obstacle number 13, the pair had two missed jumps. At the Irish Bank, obstacle 16d, they had another. That was the end of the road for the two five-star debutants.

Things went much better for the other pair making their CCI5* debut today, Katharina Meyer and Aspen T. Dressage isn’t something the 16-year-old Canstakko son enjoys. The pair finished second to last with 41.4 penalty points. But today in the cross-country, Aspen T—a descendant of the famous Butt line (including Butts Abraxxas/Ingrid Klimke)—fully demonstrated his strengths and crossed the finish line with just 4.4 time penalties. Katharina Meyer was overjoyed—and the reward was just as great. With this result, they fought their way up from 19th to 8th place.

Meyer: “It’s such an emotional moment to ride this course here just ten seconds over the best time—it’s just incredible. I can’t believe it—I immediately threw my arms around my horse and thanked him.”

The Only Round with Zero Errors

Only one pair finished within the allotted time today: Britain’s Caroline Harris riding D. Day, a 12-year-old son of Billy Mexico. The two know each other inside and out. When he was four years old, the breeders sent the gelding to Harris for training. Since then, nothing has changed for the “D. Day team”—the breeders are still the owners, and Caroline Harris is the rider. The pair had already placed twelfth in Luhmühlen in 2024. Shortly afterward, they won the CCI5*-L in Pau. In 2025, they represented Great Britain at the European Championships in Blenheim, where they were eliminated, however.

Today at the Heide, they showed how it’s done—finishing without any penalty points—and worked their way up from fourth place after the dressage to take the lead. Caroline Harris was full of praise, especially regarding the quality of the ground, which wasn’t affected by the heavy downpour that morning. Otherwise, she said she had been “pretty nervous,” because “Mike (Etherington-Smith) had set up the course very gently up to obstacle 10, and it wasn’t until after that that things really got going.” She then reminded herself of her trainer’s tips. “I tried to approach every jump exactly as we’d discussed. It worked out perfectly.” You can say that again!

With 31.1 penalty points, they and D. Day will be the last to compete in tomorrow’s final jumping round. They can’t afford to have a knockdown. However, they have also completed the course without any jumping faults in their last 14 final jumping rounds.

The pursuers

Close on the heels of the leader, with 33.8 penalty points, are Emily King (GBR) and her highly experienced Selle Français gelding, Valmy Biats. The fourth- and fifth-place finishers at Badminton in 2024 and 2025, respectively, had taken the lead in dressage yesterday with 27 penalty points. Today in the cross-country, they incurred an additional 6.8 penalty points for exceeding the time limit.

Emily King said her 17-year-old son from Orlando hadn’t been “quite himself” today. Normally, she said, he’s almost a little too bold, but today the weather had gotten to him. Still, she was “super happy” with him. “He was great over the jumps—very straight and quick on his feet.” But as a rider, she noted, you also have a great responsibility: “Our most important goal is to bring the horses home safe and sound. That’s why you have to really listen to the horse in temperatures like these,” she emphasized. She was accordingly pleased that Valmy Biats was still “super fit” at the finish line and that his heart rate was “excellent.”

For a short time, there was some discussion as to whether the two had a “missed flag.” But in the end, it was removed from the results list.

Horse with a special story takes third place

Boyd Martin (USA) and the 11-year-old Irish horse Shanroe Cooley are a relatively new team; they are currently in third place in their Luhmühlen debut. The son of Dallas had been trained by Elisabeth Halliday. But then the two had a serious fall, which forced Liz Halliday to switch from eventing to para-dressage.

The question that followed was: What will happen to his good horses? Boyd Martin admits frankly that, for his taste, Shanroe Cooley is actually a bit too big and too heavy. It took quite a few people to convince him to take on Shanroe Cooley. Martin now knows, however, that what the gelding lacks in fineness, he makes up for with tenacity and determination. Dressage, though, is still a work in progress, with “moments of greatness and moments of disaster,” as the world No. 5 and four-time Olympian puts it.

However, they can point to an impressive track record since Martin first presented the gelding last August: six starts, five at the four-star level, and five top-five finishes. Today marked their five-star debut, which the pair completed with just 2.4 time penalty points. Combined with their dressage score (35.7 penalty points, 11th place), that brings their current total to 38.1 penalty points—the third-best overall score heading into the final jumping round.

“We’re only here with a small team,” Boyd Martin said later. “But half of America got up very early this morning and was glued to the livestream. I think I’ll have to reply to about 400 text messages later. I’m incredibly happy for Liz, because she trained him.”

Light and Shadow from New Zealand

Behind the top three, Jonelle Price is lying in wait with her two horses. Riding the 15-year-old Grappa Nera, winner of the 2022 CCI5*-L in Pau, she finished just eleven seconds over the allowed time. With 35.5 penalty points from the dressage plus the equivalent of 4.4 time penalties in the cross-country, she has a total of 39.9 penalty points, putting her within striking distance of Boyd Martin—though his Irish horse has never had a jumping fault with him on the course.

Price’s second string to his bow is the 14-year-old Zangersheider gelding Capitaine de Hus Z by Cosinhus, bred at Haras de Hus in France. Ginny Thomasen (NZL) had introduced the gelding to competition and presented him at the 2024 CCI5* in Pau. However, the pair withdrew from that event. It was their last appearance together. Jonelle Price has been in the saddle since 2025 and has already won at the four-star level with Capitaine de Hus. Today marked their first appearance in a five-star course, which they completed with flying colors, scoring 7.2 penalty points. Combined with 33.1 penalty points from the dressage, the pair is currently in fifth place (40.3).

Things didn’t go quite as well for Jonelle’s husband, Tim Price, the world No. 1. He had entered the KWPN gelding Happy Boy in the five-star competition. A few days ago, Price had received a yellow card while riding the 14-year-old son of Indoctro. Today, they were eliminated after a run-on followed by a fall at obstacle 12 (Meßmer Pond).

You can find all the results here.