Swedish newcomer Stephanie Holmén has out ridden the best in the world to win the eleventh leg of the Longines FEI World Cup Jumping League in Zurich, Switzerland.
Agonising wait
Partnering Flip’s Little Sparrow, Stephanie set the pace early on as she was second to go in the jump-off out of 14 combinations. She then had an agonising wait until the end of the class, which also kept spectators on the edge of their seats.
This was only Stephanie’s second World Cup qualifier, but she got advice from the very best. The 27-year-old is based with Olympic silver and European gold medallist Peder Fredricson, who was on hand to give her some instructions.
Birthday gift
“Peder told me to go outside my comfort zone, to be faster than I’m used to,” said Stephanie, who took over the ride from Peder last year.
“I watched him competing her for many years and I never thought she’d jump with me like she did with him, but he believed in us. This was the perfect jump-off round, and I think it was Sparrow’s gift to me because it was my birthday yesterday!”
Near miss for Whitaker
Second place went to Pius Schwizer, who was competing on home turf. Pius won the World Cup qualifier in Zurich on two previous occasions, but was happy with the performance of his nine-year-old mare About a Dream.
Britain’s Michael Whitaker narrowly missed out on a podium place, coming fourth on JB’s Hot Stuff. The pair jumped a great double clear and was just 0.13sec behind Kevin Staut and Silver Deux de Virton in third. The French rider was full of praise for the winner.
“Stephanie was fantastic, it’s great to see new faces in our sport and it’s also great to be part of the last edition here in Zurich, he said.
Major contribution
Sadly, after 30 years on the calendar, this was Zurich’s last show. FEI Director of Jumping, John Roche, thanked the organisers for the major contribution the event has made over the years.
“You were the first OC to combine top-class sport with entertainment, a concept that has been copied by many others around the world”, he said.
With just two qualifiers remaining ahead of the Longines 2018 Final in Paris in April, the Western European League now moves on to Bordeaux next week.
You can watch FEI World Cup Jumping: Zurich online when it premieres on 1 February at 8pm on Horse & Country TV and Amazon Video. It’s also available to watch on Sky 253.