Aachen and Luhmühlen cancelled

THE world famous CHIO Aachen has been cancelled due to Covid-19, and so too has the five-star Sopot CSIO5* which was due to host a leg of the Division 1 Longines FEI Nations Cup series.

Initially postponed to a later date, the organisers of CHIO Aachen announced on Wednesday that the 10-day World Equestrian Festival would not take place. “People’s health takes top priority,” said chairman Frank Kemperman.

This is the first time that CHIO Aachen has been cancelled since its inception in 1898. Other international events have been staged in Aachen since the 1920s and the only time the event didn’t take place was during WWII, from 1940 to 1945. Aachen was due to host competitions in jumping, dressage, vaulting, driving and eventing.

The Sopot cancellation is the fifth of seven Division 1 Nations Cup shows to be cancelled, following the decision from the Dublin Horse Show on Monday. Knokke Hippique also announced on Friday they would not host the 2020 edition of their popular show.

Eventing

Just three five-star eventing competitions remain this year following the cancellation of Luhmühlen and the Australian International Three-Day Event at Adelaide, which wasn’t due to take place until November. This leaves Burghley (September 2nd-6th), Pau (October 12st-25th) and the new five-star at Maryland at Fair Hill in the USA (October 15th-18th) as the only top-tier events left at this stage in 2020. Organisers of Luhmühlen made the decision following the German government’s decision to ban gatherings of more than 5,000 until October 25th.