Luhmühlen, Germany—June 16
New Zealand’s Tim Price captured his second career win at the Longines Luhmühlen CCI5*-L with Ascona M in a nail-biting finish. He jumped clear, but didn’t quite make the time allowed, adding 3.6 time penalties. Tom McEwen of Great Britain with Figaro van het Broekxhof and his compatriot Alex Bragg with Zagreb finished second and third respectively.
Twenty-two riders presented in the final vet inspection on Sunday morning, and all were passed by the ground jury and the veterinarians.
The show-jumping course by Martin Otto of Germany was demanding and quite a few riders added penalties to their scores.
Tim Price and Ascona M. Libby Law Photography Photos
Price, the eventing world No. 1, follows in the footsteps of his wife Jonelle Price, who was victorious at Luhmühlen in 2018. “It’s very special for me to compete here again,” said Tim. “I won my first four-star competition here in 2014, and I’m so happy that things went so well again this year. It makes me really proud that the mare has performed so consistently in all three phases. She does have a bit of an unconventional jumping technique, but that’s because she always tries so hard to do everything right.”
McEwen worked his way steadily up the leaderboard. After the dressage, he was sitting in 11th place, but with a spotlessly clean cross-country round he moved up to fourth place before the final show jumping.
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With only three seconds above the allowed time, he finished in second place. McEwen, who has been riding the 14-year-old Belgian Warmblood since 2018, was full of praise for his horse. “He has a very special character and always tries his best to please. I couldn’t be happier,” he said.
Bragg and Zagreb, the penultimate starters, missed their chance of winning with one rail down.
Frankie Thieriot Stutes and Chatwin.
“My horse felt fantastic,” he said. “That’s why I tried to put some pressure on Tim with a fast round. The time was very tight, so after we had cleared the triple combination, I felt like most of the work was done and took a little risk on the way to the next vertical. Unfortunately, this cost us the win. I’m super happy to be on the podium and with Zagreb’s performance.”
Frankie Thieriot Stutes completed her first five-star with Chatwin, jumping a clear round and adding .8 time penalties to finish fourth. They were the only American pair to finish after Allie Knowles fell from Sound Prospect on yesterday’s cross-country.
