Henrik von Eckermann (Photo: Archives)

Six hundredths decided the victory…

It was a „blink of an eye“ finale, with Henrik von Eckermann and his King Edward clinching victory in the LONGINES GLOBAL CHAMPIONS Grand Prix of Stockholm, presented by Fabege by 0.06 seconds. In the jump-off, which nine riders achieved, Shane Breen (IRL) and Haya put the competition under pressure with a time of 46.23 seconds. For Ben Maher (GBR) and his mare Dallas Vegas Batilly, the clocks stopped at 46.88 seconds and Belgium’s Pieter Devos finished with Mom’s Toupie de la Roque in 47.41 seconds. Then it happened in quick succession. Marcus Ehning, currently number 21 in the world rankings, was only 0.16 seconds ahead of Shane Breen after a furious ride with his stallion Stargold. With this result, the two took third place. Malin Bayard-Johnsson was very quick in front of his home crowd, but had a knockdown. Henrik von Eckermann, number 1 in the FEI world rankings, was the last rider in the jump-off. He took his chance and stayed six hundredths of a second under the best time with his dream horse King Edward. That was winning the LONGINES GLOBAL CHAMPIONS Grand Prix of Stockholm.

The results in the LONGINES GLOBAL CHAMPIONS Grand Prix of Stockholm

Photos: Silvia and Hans-Joachim Reiner