"I got a great start. He jumped really well all the way and then, up to the last combination, he tripped on the landing and took off both shoes. He's quite flat-footed, so it's like skating," Fredricson told SVT about the horse Alcapone.
For a long time, the pair looked to be on course for a flawless round, but after Alcapone slipped at the end, they lost their rhythm and hit one of the last obstacles.
“Never finished”
Sweden, the reigning world team champions, have, after the first day of jumping, gained a significant boost in their bid to repeat the gold from Herning 2022. The Swedish team is twelfth on 9.64 faults - Germany leads on 3.48 faults.
"It's never finished. That idea doesn't exist. We're working on it, one round at a time," national team captain Henrik Ankarcrona tells SVT.
Only Fredricson and Henrik von Eckermann remain from the 2022 gold team. At that time, von Eckermann also won individual World Championship gold with star horse King Edward - now he guided Minute Man, who is making his championship debut, to a flawless round.
I think he did it very, very well, von Eckermann says to SVT.
Minute Man was felt to be somewhat uncertain after the first combination, but despite that, von Eckermann was able to call for calm.
A year ago, there wouldn't have been a chance to ride like that against the clock, because he would have become insecure. But he has really grown and gained confidence, he says.
“Not what we wanted”
Petronella Andersson and the horse Odina started off with a knockdown and then the setbacks continued.
Wilma McMahon and the mare Cissi rode twice. However, the team's results were not counted in the team competition.
"It wasn't what we wanted today, unfortunately. That's how it is sometimes," McMahon told SVT.
+ Wednesday: Time trial, team and individual.
Knockdowns are converted into time penalties - four seconds per knockdown. After that, the riders' times are converted into faults - the fastest time gets zero faults and the others get faults on an increasing scale.
In the team competition, the three best results per nation count. In the individual competition, mistakes are taken into account throughout the championship.
+ Thursday: round 1, team and individual
Everyone who started in the timed jump is allowed to jump Thursday's 1.65m course.
+ Friday: Round 2, team final and individual qualifier
The ten best teams and the 60 best individual riders will compete in round 2 (1.65m course). After the second round, the team medals will be awarded - in the event of an equal number of faults, there will be a rematch for the World Championship gold.
+ Sunday: Individual final, rounds 1 and 2
The top 25 individuals after Friday will compete in round 1 on Sunday. The top 12 will compete in round 2. In the event of an equal number of faults, a rematch will be held for the gold. In the event of an equal number of faults in other positions, the riders' total time in rounds 1 and 2 will determine the winner.
Individual standings - top three and Swedes: 1) Julien Epaillard, France 0 errors, 2) Harrie Smolders, Netherlands 0.68, 3) Scott Brash, Great Britain 0.80, 28) Henrik von Eckermann 2.46, 42) Petronella Andersson 3.08, 54) Peder Fredricson 4.10, 78) Wilma McMahon 5.63.
