Reigning Luhmühlen Champion Withdraws from German Five-Star Title Fight

This week’s Longines Luhmühlen Horse Trials CCI5* field has suffered a major blow ahead of the start of competition tomorrow afternoon. 2025 champions Ros Canter and the thirteen-year-old KWPN Izilot DHI have withdrawn from the competition, in which they were the odds-on favourites for a repeat victory – and Ros’s intended second ride, MHS Seventeen, is also sitting this week’s event out.

Germany’s sole five-star is now down to a surprisingly scant 21 entrants, down from an initial 31; last year, the initial entry list had 55 competitors, while 2024 had 50.

Lighter entries this year have largely been attributed to this summer’s FEI World Championships, due to take place in eight weeks’ time at Aachen. In 2022, the last World Championship year, the Luhmühlen start list did run lighter than usual: that was a field of 36 starters, though 2018, also a World Championship year, saw 50 start the competition.

Other notable recent withdrawals include Laura Collett and Hester, Harry Meade and Jet Fighter, the USA’s Lucienne Bellissimo and Kitsch Couture HPK, and Grace Taylor and Game Changer, while New Zealand’s Sam Lissington hasn’t withdrawn Delarado from the competition entirely, but has instead moved him into the CCI4*-S.

There have also been two additions to the start list: Jonelle Price has added Capitaine de Hus Z to her list for the week, alongside former Pau champion Grappa Nera, while British-based US rider Hallie Coon, who already had an entry with first-timer Lucky Fortuna, will now pilot the former Julia Norman ride Kapriccio instead his first go at the level after a spring season that has seen the pair win North Holland CCI4*-S and take seventh in the Royal Jump CCI4*-S last month.

This week’s competition, while on the petite side as far as numbers go, will be plenty interesting nonetheless: it’s a diverse field that mixes experience with some very exciting first-timers, and no clear front-runner at this early stage, which tends to set the stage for previously unsung horses and riders to break through and bring new stories and superstars to the fore. We’ll be boots on the ground giving you all the nitty-gritty, as well as providing coverage from the 50-strong CCI4*-S, which incorporates both the German National Championship and serves as a crucial final selection trial ahead of the World Championships.

Here’s a look at how our five-star starting list is shaping up currently:

Luhmühlen begins tomorrow afternoon with the first horse inspection, starting at 4.30 p.m. local time (3.30 p.m. BST/10.30 a.m. EST). The competition will be streamed in full by Horse&Country TV.

Longines Luhmühlen: [Website] [Schedule] [Entries] [Live Stream] [EN’s Coverage]