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In our series ‘That Special Bond’ – first introduced in 2016 – World of Showjumping highlights what equestrian sport is truly about; a unique connection between horses and humans. This time around, WoSJ speaks with Louise Barraud to learn more about the exceptional horses she has had the privilege to care for. For the past three years, Louise has worked alongside Sweden’s Henrik von Eckermann – the current world number one, double world champion and European team champion.

To no surprise, when asked about the horse that has been the most special to her, Louise names the already legendary King Edward. With Louise’s employer Henrik von Eckermann in the saddle, the mighty chestnut gelding has written history. As an 11-year-old at the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games, King Edward became one of only three horses to not make a single mistake during the Games – the two others being H&M All In at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and Eliot at the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam – and brought home a team gold. A year later, von Eckermann and King Edward claimed both individual and team gold at the 2022 World Championships in Herning, and then went on to dominate the following two FEI Jumping World Cup™ Finals with back-to-back titles in 2023 and 2024.

“It has to be him,” Louise says. “However, he has also been the hardest to get to know. He needed time to let me in, but once he got to know me, we built a nice relationship.”

Louise and King Edward’s paths first crossed when von Eckermann’s wife Janika Sprunger – who Louise worked with when she joined the team at Cyor Stables in 2019 – was still riding the talented gelding. “He was quite shy and quiet in the stables. He was very nice to deal with, but always a bit grumpy. Already back then, he loved to hack out and be in the paddock, it was really nice to go ride him out in the woods,” Louise tells.

“He is quite easy to travel, he is good on the truck and on the plane – he is very easy going,” Louise continues. “It is nice to have him with because he has a calming effect on other horses as well.”

“The quiet moments at home are my favorite moments with him; our night check routines or just taking him for a hand-walk and some grass. He is not a big fan of hand-walking though, and he always stops to cuddle. When I come for night check, he is the only horse who keeps his head out of the box and ignores the hay until he gets his cookie. That has become our little routine… Sometimes I just stay and sit with him for a moment. These moments are what I enjoy the most. At shows, I love seeing him perform like the star he is – making it look so easy. At home he is more like a grandpa that's living his best life, being the king – because he knows that he is the number one in the stable.”

If any of their successful moments are more memorable than others, it’s this year’s World Cup Final in Riyadh, Louise reveals. “It was a bit of a roller coaster of emotions, because of course we wanted to do as good as the year before, but we knew that was going to be very hard to achieve. We won on the first day, and that got my hopes up a little bit. However, I knew that we just needed to stay grounded, because with horses, anything can happen. And then we had a little scare when Henrik fell off in the warm-up on the last day! After the fall, we only jumped one or two fences and then they went in – and I was petrified. All I wished for was for them to feel ok, to finish the course and come out healthy and happy. My emotions were already running high, and to win after that whirlwind was very special.”

On the other end of the scale, this year’s Olympic Games in Paris did not end as well as Louise had hoped for. “It was a bitter pill to swallow for sure, because Edi deserved to be up there and fight for a medal or at least a top ten finish. I'm really proud of him anyway, but with all the work that led to that point, it was a very difficult moment. However, the most important thing is that they did not get hurt; they are back and I am sure there will be more memorable moments to come.”

While King Edward is the special one for Louise, he has also been a challenge to get to know. “He needed time to get to know me, and I also needed time because for me everything was a bit new when I started to work at Cyor Stables,” Louise explains. “It was a new, higher level of competition and a more professional way of taking care of horses than what I had experienced before. It was an adjustment for me, but once I was into the system, I really got to focus on the horses and get to know each one of them.”

In 2020, as von Eckermann took over the reins on King Edward, the gelding went on to be the responsibility of Henrik’s show groom Tiia Karhu. When Tiia left in December 2021, Louise was asked to replace her – and got reunited with King Edward.

“I felt a lot of pressure,” Louise recalls about the transition. “First of all, to work for Henrik and second of all, to replace someone like Tiia, who had been with him for so many years. She is such a well-known and good groom, and someone I always went to for advice. Tiia was very nice towards me during the transition; I knew I could always text or call her if I had a question because she knew Henrik’s horses inside out. Even though that was reassuring, it was still intimidating to take on this role after her. Luckily, we took it quite slow in the beginning. We did a tour in the Emirates, so it was not like I had to go directly to a five-star show.”

“With Edi, I needed to be careful and very mindful of my own body language,” Louise continues. “I had to let him come to me; he needs his own alone-time and when he is in his bubble, there is no point to approach him. I learned by observing him and spending time in the stable to see how he behaves. Brushing is one thing he really does not like, and I had to accept that he is always going to be grumpy about it.”

“That would be a Little Magic d’Asschaut (Back Gammon x Non Stop),” Louise tells about a horse that left a lasting impression on her.

“I took care of him when I first worked with Janika, and Henrik rode him a bit as well. He took him to Florida and he got sold when he was there. We are quite lucky in our stable because it doesn't happen so often that our horses get sold, but when they do, for sure it is hard because we spend so much time with them. We care for them every day and want them to be healthy and happy. It's a challenging part of this job when a horse leaves.”

“Little Magic is a horse that I connected with straight away, I cannot even explain it,” Louise tells. “There was something about him that really resonated with me, and to this day I can’t really put words on it – we simply clicked, from day one. He was a great jumper, but not the prettiest… He was not the most attractive, but I loved him.”

“When I went to Florida for a week this year, I went to see him in his new stable. I called him like I always used to do and he responded. That was really nice because it had been two or three years since I last saw him. I know we somehow left a lasting memory on each other.”

26.11.2024 No reproduction of any of the content in this article will be accepted without a written permission, all rights reserved © World of Showjumping.com. If copyright violations occur, a penalty fee will apply.