Flawless, fastest, and winner again.
Henrik von Eckermann's almost perfect ride over the obstacles on King Edward cannot help but raise expectations ahead of the OS.
He's an exceptional horse, says the world number one.
It was, as they say, a good day.
Around lunchtime, he was presented as the anchor in the Swedish OS team that in a month will set up their horses a bit away from the competition arena in Versailles.
When the sun set over parts of Stockholm's stadium, he trotted in to a deafening applause from the audience.
A good minute of silence followed. Whereupon the number of decibels increased even more when the last obstacle was cleared.
The pair's ride in the five-star 1.60-class was a statement that was good enough – and of course promises well ahead of Sunday's GP jumping. The ride will also be King Edward's last before the real deal awaits in Versailles' palace park.
"A nice feeling"
The only downside of the day was the two knockdowns on Glamour Girl in the afternoon class. Perfectionist von Eckermann was disappointed, but shook off the disappointment and delivered a round of absolute world class a few hours later.
It was fun. He felt much better than last week in Rotterdam, in the jump, in the body. It was a nice feeling. I'm very pleased. It was just like I wanted it. Rhythmically, everything matched like I wanted, he says.
I'm also pleased that the first round didn't bring me down, but that I reloaded and focused. That was important for me, says Henrik von Eckermann.
Wilma Hellström, who didn't make it into the OS team, finished fifth, faultless on Cicci. Erika Lickhammer-Van Helmond also cleared on Koberlina.
Peder Fredricson, on Vroom de la Pomme, got a penalty but qualified for the Grand Prix class.
Bad weather expected
The Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute has issued a yellow warning for heavy rain over large parts of southern and central Sweden on Sunday.
The forecast says that continuous rain will reach Stockholm in the early afternoon.
Therefore, the organizers have chosen to move forward the big class – the Grand Prix jumping – by three hours. The first start is 11.10.
They deserve a big praise for not just sitting and waiting for the storm, but for realizing that they need to move the competition for the horses' sake. A big praise, says von Eckermann, who won last year's GP in the old OS castle.
On, of course, King Edward.
