June 20, 2026 
And then there were 15…
Great Britain’s Caroline Harris took over the CCI5*-L lead at the Longines Luhmühlen Horse Trials after a cross-country performance on Saturday with D. Day.
Mike Etherington-Smith’s influential five-star track took a toll on 25% of the field, resulting in eliminations for Heike Jahncke and Might Spring FRH, Abby Jones on Henton Audacious, and world no. 1 Tim Price on Happy Boy. Stephen Heal (Hagonda) and Vicky Browne-Cole (Cutting Edge) elected to retire.
But one pair made it appear remarkably straightforward. Harris and D. Day were the only combination to complete the course without adding to their dressage score. They now lead the division on 31.1 penalties.
“I was actually pretty nervous because Mike eased us into it until fence 10 and then it was intense the whole way home. But I just had my trainer’s voice in my head and really tied to ride each fence as they’d told me,” shared Harris.
“We know each other inside out,” she continued of her veteran partner, the 12-year-old AES gelding D. Day. “He always gives me everything.”
Friday’s overnight leader and fellow Brit Emily King and Valmy Biats added 6.8 time faults to their score to drop into second place on 33.8 penalties.
“Ultimately, he gave me a super ride,” said King. “He was so straight, he was so quick with his legs. He really listened to me and fought to the end. He’s an amazingly brave horse, which can sometimes make him quite hard to ride. Today, his crazy lion that I normally have to navigate round the course was suddenly not so ‘liony’. Basically, I had to adapt a little bit. But he was super, so good on the fences, straight, super fit and his heart rate was excellent after the cross country. So I couldn’t be happier.”
USA’s Boyd Martin and the Liz Halliday-produced Shanroe Cooley jumped from 11th into third place on 38.1 penalties.
It’s Harris’s five-star title to lose on Sunday. She’s jumped double clear in show jumping with D. Day in every international appearance they’ve made since August 2023. The won their last five-star appearance, Pau in 2024.
The Longines Luhmühlen Horse Trials are streaming on Horse & Country TV.
