Henrik von Eckermann of Sweden didn’t just win the Longines FEI World Cup Show Jumping Final this afternoon, he did it in a style worthy of his number one global ranking. The defending champion was fault-free in each segment of the competition in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, until he was reunited with the special trophy he won last year.
Henrik and the World Cup, together again. (FEI Photo)
The magnificent chestnut King Edward, who understands the game as well as his rider, made a supreme effort not to dislodge a rail — even when things looked iffy while he was in the air – as he carried out his role in a perfect partnership for success.
Henrik von Eckermann and King Edward.
It was the second championship for Sweden at the competition, with Patrik Kittel also scoring for his homeland in taking the Dressage World Cup on Friday.
Winning the way Henrik did took a toll, and he understandably was exhausted by the tremendous effort.
“I’m so tired. I’m so empty. It’s like someone pulls the plug out of you. It didn’t help that I fell off in the warm-up,” he noted. The mishap came when King Edward had an uncharacteristic refusal.
“It doesn’t help to get nervous or stressed, because the horse feels everything and King Edward is anyway a very, very sensitive horse, so for him when that happened, I just said, `Don’t worry, let’s stay calm and don’t let him feel that everything is a little not like it should be,’ ” he explained.
“I think I paid the price for my jump-off on Friday,” Henrik observed, saying maybe he “exaggerated a little bit” with the wild gallop he took to the final fence in that tie-breaker to insure victory.
“I was so fed up with being second from the other shows, I did three 5-stars and was second in every one” he explained, noting that was what happened when he played it safe.
But the key to victory at the first Final in the Middle East was the teamwork between horse and rider.
“It went well and we’ve been together so long and know each other so well that I had the biggest confidence in him, and that helped to have that feeling that, even with this mistake, what happened, happened. It was still zero on the scoreboard and that’s what counts! So I just focused on that,” Henrik said.
He joins a short list of back-to-back winners of the Cup, including Britain’s John Whitaker (Milton), Canada’s Ian Millar (Big Ben), Austria’s Hugo Simon (who won the first Cup final in 1979, then went on to do two in a row in 1996 and 1997), Rodrigo Pessoa of Brazil, who won three times in a row; Meredith Michaels Beerbaum of Germany, who won twice in a row in 2008 and 2009, after winning the first time in 2005 and Steve Guerdat of Switerland, who won back-to-back in 2015 and 2016, then won again in 2019.
The field that was lined up against him was filled with formidable names, including France’s Julien Epaillard, known for his ability to ride at speed He was just one rail behind the winner on the mare Dubai du Cedre, and would have been dangerous if it came down to a jump-off.
Round A course
Julien said the idea of coming to the World Cup was to “make another championship with her before the Olympics (in Paris this summer) to see what we have to work (on), what at the moment was not 100 percent. Today we have a top feeling and I think the mare and I have a nice program for the Olympics now.”
Julien Epaillard, Henrik von Eckermann and Peder Fredricson on the podium.
Henrik’s teammate, Peder Fredricksen on the 18-year-old Catch Me Not, was just two penalties back of Julien. The USA’s Kent Farrington barely missed the podium on his rising star Greya, only 10 years old and a mere four penalties behind Peder after having a rail in the second round.
Peder Fredricson and Catch Me Not, part of the Swedish power pack. (Photo © 2024 by Melanie Smith Taylor)
“That’s a very impressive finish,” U.S. chef d’equipe Robert Ridland observed, noting Kent has brought his mare along “really carefully.” Robert pointed out the finish really means something because, “The caliber of this competition is very impressive.”
Kent totally agreed.
“Obviously, coming here with my two lesser experienced horses (Toulayna went in the initial speed leg) I knew my chance at winning was going to need everything to go my way. They are short on experience, but havea lot of talent and finished fouorth behind the best horses in the world, I think, was a great finish and both horses will have learned a lot also,” he said.
The U.S. wound up with two riders in the top 20, as Devin Ryan finished seventeenth overall on veteran Eddie Blue, who was second in the 2018 World Cup finals.
“He and Eddie Blue got better every round,” Robert said, noting that if Devin hadn’t had three rails in the first leg on Wednesday “it would have made all the difference.”
Even so, he told me, “Devin had a solid World Cup final.
Saturday’s second course.
Devin, tied for tenth in the final day’s competition, was asked how he thought his horse did. The rider replied, “he felt amazing,” while noting the final round designed by Frank Rothenberger was really big.
He had a rail at the third-to-last jump, saying he believed, “I had enough rhythm, but I got a little close and he really got careful off the front pole and it was a bit of stretch the back pole, and we just tipped it down.”
When I asked Robert what the Cup showed us about the competition the U.S. will be facing in Paris this summer, he replied, “I try to pay no attention to our opponents because we have no control over that.”
Devin Ryan and Eddie Blue. (Helen Cruden Photography)
Then he went on to say that “the French are strong, there’s no question. The Swedes obviously proved they are consistent and a threat, to say the least. They’ve been strong all the way back to the world championships in Tryon (2018) when we jumped off against them. They just missed winning the world championships by us beating them in the jump-off.
“Then the tables were turned three years later in Tokyo (the 2021 Olympics). And we all know the Irish are strong, too. They didn’t have their strongest riders here. We’ll have some competition, there’s no question about it. I think the level of the sport has never been higher.
Kent Farrington and Greya. (Helen Cruden Photography)
“You saw all these top riders here, and there were still some missing.”
“With ours, it’s an Olympic year, so it’s not a priority for Laura (Kraut) or McLain (Ward) this close to the Olympics in Paris.”
The show jumping prize money of $2.89 million set a record for the World Cup, which has drawn raves for the way the event had been put on, and Robert was no exception in praising the Saudi effort.
Saudi spectators were very enthusiastic about the competition.
“It was a great World Cup Final from their side. They put a heck of a lot into it. Everything was top notch. No question about how they did it. Everybody friendly, warm-up area was magnificent, the main arena was magnificent; courses obviously, I thought Frank Rothenberger did a good job. The organizing committee went all out. Pretty impressive.”
It can’t go without mentioning the loss of the U.S. mount Chromatic BF after he jumped brilliantly on Thursday.
“It was incredibly sad,” said Robert, noting Jill Humphrey “rode a great round on the horse.” To learn more about what happened, click here.
Click here to see the results of the final competition
Click here to see the final standings
