The German eventing rider Bettina Hoy celebrates while on her horse, Seigneur Medicott, after having won the German Eventing Championship in Luhmuhlen, Germany, 18 June 2017. Photo: Philipp Schulze/dpa
Are you thinking of travelling to Germany to cheer on the British squad in the European Eventing Championships this summer (29 August-1 September)? Check out our top tips for planning your trip.
Where to fly to
The easiest way to travel to Luhmühlen is to fly and hire a car as public transport is limited. The obvious airports are Hamburg (approximately 40 miles to the north) or Hannover (approximately 70 miles to the south). Both are between an hour and 90 minutes drive from the venue — although Hamburg is nearer, the city is between the airport and Luhmühlen so traffic is likely to be more of a factor.
Where to stay
Luhmühlen is surrounded by pretty villages within 15 or 20 minutes drive with hotels and guest houses, such as Eyendorf and Egestorf, although many will be booked up early in this championship year. On a map, the A7 motorway to the west of Luhmühlen looks like something of a physical barrier, but it’s actually not far to drive to the other side of it, so that’s definitely worth considering.
Lüneberg, some 10 miles east of Luhmühlen, is the nearest decent sized town with a population of around 77,000. It is less than 30 minutes drive from the event.
When to travel
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The European Championships will follow a traditional three-day event format with the first horse inspection on Wednesday 28 August, the dressage on Thursday 29 and Friday 30 August, the cross-country on Saturday 31 August and the final horse inspection showjumping on Sunday 1 September.
Die-hard fans may want to travel on Tuesday, allowing Wednesday to soak up the atmosphere, walk the cross-country course, watch riders work their horses and see the trot-up (as well as ogling beautiful horses, it’s always worth turning out to see what outfits each country has settled on).
Those who are keeping a tighter hold on finance or holiday days from work can get in a decent trip by taking an early flight on Friday and arriving in time to see the last tranche of team riders do their dressage tests on Friday afternoon.
Times have not yet been released for the Sunday, but it should be feasible to see the end of the competition and medal ceremony and then make it back to the airport in time for a late evening flight home.
Tickets are on sale on the Luhmuhlen website. A season ticket costs €65 if booked in advance, or €78 with covered grandstand seating for Sunday or €73 with open grandstand seating for Sunday.
For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday.
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Pippa is a true eventing geek and has been H&H’s eventing editor since 2005. She has first-hand experience of competing up to British Eventing intermediate and international CCI2*-L level, and has worked in the industry on a top event yard. Pippa enjoys nothing more than immersing herself in the sport at the highest level, reporting from the five-stars and international championships, including the Olympics.
