The Swedish success continued in Rotterdam on Sunday afternoon, when Peder Fredricson went all the way to the top in the CSIO5* Longines Grand Prix Port of Rotterdam. Fredricson rode his Olympic silver medallist H&M All In (Kashmir van Schuttershof x Andiamo Z) to victory, a horse that has been on flying form over the last month following his comeback after the surgery that side-lined him during the winter season.
It was a tricky track in today’s 1.60m Grand Prix, and course designer Louis Konickx asked several questions of the horses and riders. The Longines triple combination at fence 8 with two wide oxers as the a- and b-element, the vertical as no. 11 that only consisted of three black poles placed four short strides after an oxer with white poles and the red and white combination as no. 13 were just some of the examples of the many challenges. Also the last fence, a very light green gate kept two riders – Mark McAuley (IRL) with Miebello (Flyinge Quite Easy x Cardento) and Pieter Clemens (BEL) with Horizon de Regor (Obourg x Cento) – out of the jump-off and added faults for others. But, it was one fence that fell again and again: The airy vertical set as no. 6 – placed on six strides on a bend line after the open water. It didn’t seem to matter how the riders approached the fence – it fell time and time again.
Still, eight riders out of the 50 managed to solve all the problems and cleared the course qualifying for the jump-off. In the jump-off riders started off at no. 15, a new fence for the shortened course. Then followed a soft bend left line to a vertical, a right turn to an oxer, a right turn again to the b- and c- element of the previous triple combination before a long left turn to an oxer, a very short right turn to a vertical and then a stretch to the last oxer waited.
The jump-off gave the riders the possibilities to show their skills both with short turns and full speed. First out were last year’s winners of the Grand Prix, Luciana Diniz (POR) and Fit For Fun 13 (For Pleasure x Fabriano). The two delivered a fantastic round with a great forward flow over the shortened course and crossed the finish line in 42,02 seconds.
Eduardo Alvarez Aznar (ESP) and Rokfeller de Pleville Bois Margot (L’Arc de Triomphe x Apache D’Adriers) did the impressive job of being double clear in the Nations Cup on Friday and double clear in today’s Grand Prix – finishing the jump-off in 42,79 seconds going in just after Diniz.
Martin Fuchs (SUI) let Clooney 51 (Cornet Obolensky x Ferragamo) use his big stride and went full speed in the beginning, to safe it a bit in the second half – ending in 42,26 seconds and squeezing in between Diniz and Alvarez Aznar.
Next to go was Cian O’Connor (IRL) with the big jumping Good Luck (Canturo x Furioso II). O’Connor started off with a good pace, but went faster and faster during his round, making a very short turn to the penultimate fence and then going full speed to the last oxer – taking over the lead in 40,46 seconds.
The Irish rider didn’t get to keep the lead for long though, as Peder Fredricson with his unbelievable little bouncy H&M All In was next to go. The two made the first round look like a walk in the park and the jump-off was no different, as they crossed the finish line in 40,15 seconds.
Darragh Kenny (IRL) took on the challenge, and did everything a little bit faster and the turns a little bit shorter riding Charly Chaplin S (Harley VDL x Burggraaf). Kenny did beat the time of Fredricson, but when the last fence fell he had to settle for 8th place.
Both Marc Houtzager (NED) and Sterrehof’s Calimero (Quidam de Revel x Achill) gave their all to give the audience a home win. Sterrehof’s Calimero jumped fantastic, but they couldn’t quite catch the time of the previous riders and had to settle for the 3rd place.
Now it was all up to home rider Harrie Smolders with Don VHP Z (Diamant de Semilly x Voltaire) – that also delivered a double clear in Friday’s Nations Cup. However, Smolders could not catch Fredricson and had to settle for the fifth place this time around – leaving the Swedes to celebrate one more time before they left Rotterdam with their suitcases full of trophies.
“I am very happy. Normally I sit on the other side of these guys, so I am very proud,” said Peder Fredricson at the press conference. “I think I was very lucky to have Cian just before me, because you never know with the number of strides you can choose. My horse is a fast horse, and an amazing horse!”
Fredricson was also full of praise for the event in Rotterdam. “It was a great competition here. The ground is super, as was the course design. Also the atmosphere and the crowd here is fantastic, it really keeps you motivated.”
Cian O’Connor was perhaps beaten, but not at all disappointed. “I was so happy with my horse,” said O’Connor after. “He was a little bit fresh here on Friday, and today the course was big and difficult – Louis did a great job, it was a super course. When you have someone like Peder and All In coming behind you, you always know there is a danger – but I am happy to be sitting second behind one of the best in the world. It was a great competition!”
Text and pictures © World of Showjumping by Jenny Abrahamsson