At the start of the 2025 European Under 25 Championships in Kronberg, France will have to miss its team anchor rider, Mathilde Juglaret with Lightning Star.
The pair has withdrawn from championships as the mare is not fit to compete.
Lightning Star
Lightning Star RR is a 9-year old Dutch warmblood mare by Ferguson out of Daily Enjoy (by De Niro). She is bred by Indonesian Titan Wilaras.
Uder Kirsten Brouwer the spicy mare won bronze at the 2021 World Young Horse Championships in Verden and silver in the 2021 Pavo Cup Finals. In 2022 they returned to the World Young Horse Championships but there was more tension and they ended up 8th in the 6-YO Finals. Two weeks later they won the 2022 Pavo Cup Finals. In 2023 the duo travelled to Ermelo for the 7-year old World Young Horse Championships and got bronze. They also won the ZZ-Zwaar (M**) title at the 2023 Dutch Dressage Championships
Lightning Star sold to Françoise Niclaus and Isabelle Douce and moved into training with French Grand Prix rider Arnaud Serre. Arnaud's stepdaughter Mathilde Juglaret debuted the mare in 2024 and became French Young Riders Champions. In March 2025 they debuted at international Young Riders level at the CDI Ornago and won the team test. They also competed at the Aachen Festival 4 Dressage and CDIO Compiegne and won 7 out 8 classes with 70+ scores. At the CDI Hagen in June they were seventh twice with 68% marks.
Withdrawn
On Monday 7 July Serre announced the withdrawal of Lightning Star from the Europeans.
"Lilly's sciatica nipped the season's objective in the bud," the Serre-Juglaret family stated. "So it was with a heavy heart that she decided not to take part in the forthcoming European Championships, the welfare of her partner obviously taking precedence over everything else."
Mathilde's mom Anne Sophie Serre wrote, "Mathilde is dealing with this blow with great composure and maturity. Her own experience, already marked by the pain caused by the death of Scarletto and then the sale of Caporal, has taught her to tolerate frustration and look for solutions rather than give up. Because, strangely enough, this kind of misfortune makes you grow and forges a shell around you. Each pressure, each pain that crosses it does not put you in failure, but pushes you to abandon it to shape a new one, bigger, to the measure of the person you are becoming. Mathilde understands this, and that's why she'll go far. Not because of talent, but because of character! Not through luck, but through habit."
Reserve?
No reserve was named when the French equestrian federation announced the team. The other three team riders are Lou-Eden Commenge (Legend Dancarino), Anna Dupuy-Pelardy (Jarina des Vallées) and Emeline Schevingt (Borderline).
On the nominative entry list extra French riders such as Anne Louise Bertagne (Vivaldi de Maziere), Ines de Koninck (Feuerdorn VB), Eglantine Faussat (JOhnny Walker), and Lily Marlonier (Dubbusch) were listed.
Eglantine Faussat has been invited to substitute.
The 2025 European Young Riders and Under 25 Championships kick of on Tuesday 8 July with the horse inspection. The team test starts on Wednesday
Photo © Astrid Appels
Related Links
Eurodressage Photo Database: Lightning Star
Eurodressage Coverage of the 2025 European Young Riders and Under 25 Championships
French Junior Team Horse Caporal de Massa Sold to British Junior Rider
WCYH Medallist Lightning Star RR Sold to France