In the World Cup in La Coruna last weekend, the world number one and his star horse jumped for victory. With only one obstacle left, the gelding decided not to jump.
The same thing happened in the prestigious Top 10 final in Geneva on Friday evening. The pair entered the second round as leaders after a faultless and fast first round.
As the last rider, von Eckermann put everything on one card to be able to beat the Swiss rider and winner Martin Fuchs' time. It ended in something that looked like a mix of a break-out and a refusal.
A riding mistake, according to von Eckermann.
I felt that I was a bit late to the wall and took a risk, but it turned to crap, I did the turn really badly, he said in the organizer's broadcast.
The pair also reached the jump-off when the star-studded meeting concluded, but after a few obstacles, 14-year-old King Edward broke out. Eight faults in total gave ninth place.
Even national team colleague Peder Fredricson reached the jump-off. On Catch Me Not, he got a fault and two time faults, which still earned him sixth place and 570,000 kronor in prize money.
Dutchman Harrie Smolders won on Monaco. For that, he received nearly 4.6 million kronor.
