Scandinavium Rose to Its Feet for the King

On Saturday evening, the Gothenburg Trophy by Volvo Cars was traditionally presented. In front of a packed audience, 38 riders competed, and after a thrilling jump-off between 12 faultless pairs, Henrik von Eckermann emerged as the fastest. Rarely has the crowd seen the usually reserved Swede so joyful.

- These circumstances make the victory even sweeter. I wasn’t sure if I would even be able to come here with my hand—I broke a finger two weeks ago—and I really wanted to compete, said Henrik von Eckermann.

The victory marked Illiana’s eighth win over fences at 1.55/1.60 meters. She has done 15 jump-offs at this level, been faultless in ten of them, and won five. Henrik von Eckermann is the fourth Swede to win the Gothenburg Trophy.

- My horse is very fast, and it’s a great feeling to know that no matter who is ahead of you in the starting list, you can always beat them.

Second place in the class went to Frenchman Kevin Staut, who competed with New Libero One d’Asschaut. It was the pair’s first time taking on a five star 1.55m.

- I’m so happy to be in this jump-off and less than a second behind Henrik, although he was riding with only one hand, said Kevin.

The quick stallion Staut was riding was previously ridden by a fellow countryman.

- Thibault Touron is a talented French rider but doesn’t have the opportunity to compete in many five-star events, so I got the chance to take over the horse, which I’m very grateful for, said Kevin Staut.

It has been 46 years since an Austrian rider won the Gothenburg Trophy—back then, it was Hugo Simon. On Saturday evening, the competition’s only Austrian rider attempted to claim the victory, but Max Kühner wasn’t quite fast enough.

- Electric Blue has been resting for a while and hasn’t jumped much, but he felt really good, so I let him go for it, said Max Kühner, who has had the gelding, ranked among the top ten horses in the world, since the horse was three years old.

On Sunday, the Longines FEI World Cup will take place, with all three top-placed riders set to compete.