Patrick Stühlmeyer claims long-awaited victory in the Gothenburg Trophy presented by Volvo Cars

In total, eight of the 35 combinations advanced to the jump-off in what was described beforehand as one of the toughest classes of the weekend.

“I’m really, really happy. My horse jumped fantastically today—unbelievable. The last shows in Mechelen and Amsterdam were also good, but today was truly our day,” said Stühlmeyer after the win.

Stühlmeyer’s most recent individual five-star victory prior to this came in the Sopot Grand Prix in 2016. In the years since, he has claimed German championship titles and enjoyed success in young horse championships, but this win clearly signals a return to the very top.

“The jump-off with eight riders was really good. The course designer did a great job—the track was fair, the time was tight, and we saw fantastic sport,” he continued.

Now, Stühlmeyer has just one wish left: to be able to keep his star horse for a little while longer.

Linda Heed second – family joy at Scandinavium

Behind the winner, Linda Heed impressed by taking second place with Crack Blue, further underlining that Scandinavium is an arena that suits her well. Last year, she won Sunday’s World Cup class at the same venue.

“I would say it’s my favourite arena. It feels okay to say that now,” she smiled after her round.

The day became even more memorable for Heed as her daughter won the pony class earlier that morning in the same arena.

“It’s even better to see her win than to finish second myself in this class. I’m so incredibly proud of Isabelle. She has worked so hard, and to then be able to win here is amazing,” said Heed.

Crack Blue has followed a special road back to the top. The horse last competed at a high level in 2022, was sidelined by injury, and then made a comeback with Heed during 2025.

“We started very carefully in August and have built things up slowly. With every show, it’s felt like the ceiling has lifted a little,” she explained.
“It was fantastic to be able to show everyone what an incredible horse I’m riding.”

Before the competitions in Gothenburg, the horse had never jumped higher than 1.45m classes.

“You never really know until they’ve done it, but Crack Blue has a lot of quality and really wants to do the job for me,” she added.

International podium and strong overall class

Third place went to Denmark’s Lars Bak Andersen with Leviathan, completing an internationally strong podium. Leviathan has Swedish ties: the owners at Hyperion Stud purchased him as a foal and placed him with Anna-Clara Pettersson outside Strömsholm. He was prepared for licensing but had to be gelded for medical reasons.

“We were keen to keep him in the sport,” said owner Vicky Castegren.

The newly gelded horse eventually ended up with Lars Bak Andersen and was initially intended for sale.

“He’s quite small, and we thought he could become a good 1.45m horse, but about a year ago Lars said he was starting to sense more capacity,” Castegren explained.

On Saturday evening, the horse truly announced himself to the international competition, and the future looks bright.

Another rider who made a strong impression was Sweden’s Adam Carey, 25. He was one of the eight riders to jump clear in the first round with Quebello D, but two rails in the jump-off saw him finish eighth. Newly naturalised Swede Tomas Ryan also impressed with Million’s Grey, jumping clear in the first round and finishing seventh after one fence down in the jump-off.

Event director Thomas Torgersen was pleased with both the field and the execution of the class.

“There were many really strong performances. It’s a classic Grand Prix-type class where new riders meet more experienced names, and the course design created a very exciting jump-off,” he concluded.