After successfully opening the gates to the public again last year, Turniergesellschaft Luhmühlen is looking forward to preparing this year’s event, which will take place from 15-18 June 2023.

Event director Julia Otto is excited about potential entries: “Obviously, it’s way too early to predict the rider’s plansthis far in advance but quite a few riders have already made it clear that they’d like to come to the Longines Luhmühlen Horse Trials.

Four German riders are expected to compete in the Longines CCI5*-L, lots of others will try to recommendthemselves for the European Championships in Haras du Pin by successfully competing in the Meßmer Trophy /German Championships.

We are also very pleased that several international Luhmühlen winners have announced their plans to travel to Luhmühlen again.”

Prize-money increase

The Longines CCI5*-L prize money will be increased from EUR 100,000 to EUR 125,000, complying with the newFEI requirements for the organisation of the highest category of eventing.

Julia Otto is grateful to the sponsors for making this adjustment possible: “Thanks to our reliable partners, Luhmühlen is able to take this big step and thus create further incentives for competing at Luhmühlen.”

Partners at Luhmühlen’s side

In addition to Luhmühlen’s title partner Longines, Meßmer and Lotto Niedersachsen are reliably at Luhmühlen’s side as main sponsors, complemented by Nord Pool GmbH, which will focus on presenting its new market segment photovoltaics this year. LVM Versicherungsagentur Bernd Bamberger has also extended its sponsorship.

“I’m thankful that we have also have succeeded in finding additional partners and are now supported by the established banking house C.L. Seeliger from Wolfenbüttel and two regional companies: Therapiestation fürPferde Hof Fehmbusch (Eyendorf) and Physiotherapie-SPORT-PHYSIO Egestorf.”

Cross-country changes

“The cross-country courses will be turned!” A short sentence with big consequences: Luhmühlen’s course directorMike Etherington-Smith has decided to turn the direction of the cross-country courses again.

“It’s new and exciting, a great way to give variety and interest to the course. I don’t want to give too much away, but all the waters have a different look this time. The Longines and Messmer waters have had all the revetting removed and the ground has been landscaped which gives more variety in the future. Changing the direction requires a complete  review  of  the  ‘package’  of  the courses to get the balance and the flow and feel good whilst trying to come up with new ideas. The courses need towork together – designing one on its own is much more straightforward than having two courses which have to complement each other. The safety of horse and rider is at all times paramount – our number one priority – which is not only mirrored in the use of frangible devices (MIM systems) but directs all of our planning decisions”, explainsMike Etherington-Smith. This year, Kai-Steffen Meier is involved as assistant course-designer.

Show programme

Eventing is based on the trust between horses and riders. A fact that is reflected in this year’s supporting programme.

On Thursday, some riders will make use of Luhmühlen’s set-up to train horses that are not entered but will profit from the experience. The riders and a judge will then comment the ride. On Friday, the Kids Cross-Country Fun will once again show that children and ponies are a perfect match.

On Saturday, LeMieux is going to present a show programme by Lisa Röckener, who impressively combines competing her horses with horsemanship: “I am so happy to be a part of this great event inLuhmühlen. I have evented for a long time and I still love it – so in my new show I’m linking eventing with horsemanship.”

On Sunday, Wildpark Lüneburger Heide’s falconers are going to present their fascinating birds with a bird flight show.

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