One Leader and the Pack Beneath: Germany's Top Ten Event Horses by Elo

The German National Championship runs this week as part of the CCI4*-S Messmer Trophy at Luhmühlen, eight weeks out from a home World Championships in Aachen. It is a useful moment to ask a simple question: who are the best event horses in Germany right now?

Below are the ten highest-rated by Elo, the running rating that tracks how strong a horse’s results are over time.

Germany’s Top Ten Event Horses by Elo

#	Horse & Rider	Horse Age	Elo
1	fischerChipmunk FRH Michael Jung	18	939
2	Uelzener’s Nickel Julia Krajewski	12	769
3	Black Ice Jerome Robine	16	763
4	Carlitos Quidditch K Malin Hansen-Hotopp	14	761
5	The Phantom Of The Opera Calvin Bockmann	15	760
6	Altair De La Cense Calvin Bockmann	16	697
7	Carjatan S Justus von Paepcke	17	685
8	Tullabeg Platinum Julia Krajewski	12	661
9	Timmo Nicolai Aldinger	16	660
10	FRH Butt’s Avondale Anna Siemer	19	659

Horse Elo, current ratings. View the full world list →

fischerChipmunk FRH sits 170 Elo points clear of the next German horse. He is the world’s highest-rated event horse, the Olympic champion, and one of the most decorated horses in the sport since records began. He is likely to compete at Aachen, where the head-to-head that matters is with Laura Collett’s London 52, the reigning European champion. That is the rivalry the home World Championships is building towards.

Behind him, the picture is tighter. Four horses sit within nine points of one another, from 769 down to 760. Uelzener’s Nickel heads them on 769, the second-best German horse and an Aachen winner under Julia Krajewski. The Irish-bred Black Ice is third on 763, a top-ten finisher at both the Europeans and Aachen last year for Jerome Robine. Then Carlitos Quidditch K on 761, ride of Malin Hansen-Hotopp, a member of Germany’s gold-medal team at the 2025 Europeans. The Phantom Of The Opera completes the cluster on 760, the first of Calvin Böckmann’s two horses in the list. 

Depth often shows in riders with more than one horse on the list, and two names appear twice. Calvin Böckmann backs up The Phantom Of The Opera with Altair De La Cense, sixth on 697 and the higher-placed of his pair’s stablemates. Julia Krajewski pairs Uelzener’s Nickel with Tullabeg Platinum, eighth on 661, and both her horses are just 12 years old, the youngest in the top ten.

Carjatan S, seventh on 685, is a proven four-star horse now ridden by Justus von Paepcke after his career with Christoph Wahler, campaigning at one and two-star this season as the new partnership builds.

Four horses on the list have not run in 2026:

• Black Ice (Jerome Robine)
• The Phantom Of The Opera (Calvin Böckmann)
• Timmo (Nicolai Aldinger) 
• FRH Btt’s Avondale (Anna Siemer)

Of the ten, three line up at Luhmühlen this week, and the model rates them as serious title contenders. Carlitos Quidditch K and Malin Hansen-Hotopp are the favourites on a 19% win chance, the highest in the field, off the back of strong, consistent form across all three phases.

Krajewski’s Uelzener’s Nickel is second favourite on 18%, an Aachen winner returning from a quieter season having sat out of selection for the European's last year. Her second ride, Tullabeg Platinum, holds a 7% chance and carries a record few can match: twelve consecutive show jumping clears. If you have not watched him before, this is the week. He is a serious option for Julia, alongside Nickel, for this year's World Championship.

See where every combination sits in the EquiRatings Prediction Centre.

Germany will host a home World Championships at Aachen in August, and they will be aiming for the team medal. The list above is why. One horse stands alone at the top of the world, and behind him is a championship squad with more contenders than team places. This week at Luhmühlen will be a big moment for the selectors.