Milan, Italy – August 31, 2023 – Meanwhile another superb performance from Sweden’s Jens Fredricson (SWE) and Markan Cosmopolit has maintained their place at the top of the individual leaderboard.
Jens Fredricson (SWE) blew that target out of the water however when galloping through the timers in 71.98 seconds with Markan Cosmopolit, and that would prove unbeatable at the end of the day. Others might be quicker, but they wouldn’t leave all the timber in place and would therefore be penalised with expensive seconds to add.
A costly mistake at the very last fence saw Switzerland’s Martin Fuchs (SUI) and Leone Jei drop from overnight second spot to 15th place, so another super-smooth performance from Germany’s Philipp Weishaupt (GER) and Zineday has moved them up from third up to second, while Fuchs’ team-mate Steve Guerdat (SUI) is now lying third with Dynamix de Belheme.
Clear
A total of 14 horse-and-rider combinations jumped clear today and they were all full of praise for the tracks set for them so far this week.
“The course was super, all compliments to him (course designer Uliano Vezzani) also from yesterday”, said world number one Henrik von Eckermann (SWE) after finishing his fault-free run.
“Today there are some big jumps out there but they are not completely demanding on the horse. But you need to be able to ride accurately, to have all the gears to go forward, backwards for the last line, to the water, to the triple combination. So it’s asking a lot from the rider and I think that’s how it should be. If you ride good you have good chances, and not only that it’s the last hole on the jumps”, he pointed out.
“I felt a little bit of pressure after Germany’s clear and Steve’s clear and I wanted to give them (the rest of the Swedish team) a good feeling and I think I did. We still have the drop score in our pocket and I hope we don’t need to use it”, he said after coming out of the ring. Unfortunately however they did…
Flawless
Weishaupt’s rides with Zineday have been flawless, and he’s clearly already eyeing up not just a team medal but an individual one as well.
“So far it’s only two days of competition but Zineday felt very good in the warm-up, I had an amazing feeling yesterday in the speed class, he was really relaxed and focused. And today he continued what he showed yesterday, his great performance, his great talent and it was a pleasure to ride him and I hope we can keep that form for the next three rounds!”, he said.
Talking about the nine-year-old Oldenburg gelding he said his expectations were always high coming to Milan. “He was third in the Grand Prix of Aachen and if you are selected for the German team they expect you are capable of jumping that level so I was expecting this”.
He described Italy’s Uliano Vezzani (ITA) as “a fantastic course designer! We had a fantastic speed class yesterday, it wasn’t the biggest jumps but he showed all his experience with the beautiful way he built. The footing was great and today it was a great course again, very tricky and long, you needed control and scope but he did a great job!”
And he described Zineday as “a bit special, he has his own head so you have to leave him a little bit like he is, but he has just tremendous qualities”.
Dream week
Meanwhile Jens Fredricson’s dream week continues. He goes into tomorrow’s competition on a zero score, but Weishaupt is only 0.31 behind followed by Guerdat, the flying Frenchman Julien Epaillard with Dubai du Cedre, von Eckermann in fifth and Italy’s Emanuele Camille in sixth with Odense Odeveld. In the individual standings there is less than a fence between the top 14, but there is a long way to go before the new individual champion is crowned next Sunday.
It’s still pretty extraordinary to be leading the posse with a horse that was originally bought for the Swedish riding school in Strömsholm but who proved too naughty to do his job there. So he eventually found Jens in the saddle and together they finished third at the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final 2022 in Leipzig (GER) before helping to take the team world title in Herning (DEN) a few months later.
“I’m enjoying myself, it’s a fantastic show and my horse is in great form!”, Fredricson said this evening. To find himself in individual contention at a championship is a first-time experience, and he is relishing it.
“I’ve been around, I’ve been in some finals but I’ve never really been up there. So to have a horse like this when you are 55 is special. He’s like a cat now, he can lengthen and shorten and he’s self-confident – he’s just a great horse!”, he pointed out.
He didn’t have to listen to any rock music before he went in the ring today. “Yesterday I needed to get in in a better mood so I was listening to Iron Maiden but not today because I had almost too much energy, I was almost jumping around so I think Beethoven would have been better!”
It’s way too close to call which means it’s going to be a cracker, so don’t miss a hoofbeat….
Final Results – FEI Jumping European Championship Second Qualifying Competition – Round 1 Individuals
1) Jens Fredricson (SWE) & Markan Cosmopolit – 0.00 / 0 – 0.00
2) Philipp Weishaupt (GER) & Zineday – 0.31 / 0 – 0.31
3) Steve Guerdat (SUI) & Dynamix de Belheme – 0.43 / 0 – 0.43
Source: Press Release by Louise Parkes for FEI – Fédération Equestre Internationale
Photos: © FEI / Leanjo de Koster
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