Peder Fredricson to join Maher, Brash and others in LGCT Super Grand Prix after win in Cannes

“I’m very excited to go to Prague, and I’m looking forward to the [Super Grand Prix] – it’s going to be a tough competition!”, said Fredricson after the triumph Saturday with his stallion Hansson WL at the Stade des Hespérides on France’s Mediterranean coast. ““I’m really, really happy about the win today. It feels fantastic. And I’m very impressed with my horse. It came at a good time as All In has been out for a few months – he’ll be doing his first show next week – but of course getting this new horse in the stable means a lot.”

Cannes was the 7th stop of the 5* Show Jumping series after Mexico City, Miami Beach, Shanghai, Madrid, Hamburg, and St.-Tropez, with the next leg scheduled for another coastal resort site, Cascais/Estoril, Portugal, from June 14–16. And while they did not pick up any new points in Cannes, Maher and Brash remain in second and third in the series standings, behind Australia’s Edwina Tops-Alexander.

In Cannes, course designer Uliano Vezzani’s first-round track proved to be challenging for the field of riders, with Ireland’s Bertram Allen, France’s Kevin Staut, Great Britain’s John Whitaker and Switzerland’s Jane Richard Philips among those to retire from the ground. And under the spotlights at the evening event – a favourable time for pleasant conditions – eight riders advanced to the jump-off, with all eight repeating their faultless first rounds. It was Fredricson and Hansson, however, who raced to the finish line fastest in 38.05 s, ahead of World No.1 Harrie Smolders and Emerald in 38.46 s and France’s Simon Delestre and Hermes Ryan (38.53). The top prize was €99,000, plus 40 points to go along with the Swede collected last week, also on the French Riviera. 

After the Grand Prix, Jan Tops, LGCT Founder and President, commented that, “It’s absolutely top sport, this level of show jumping. These courses are very difficult but if you see the level of horses and riders and the ease they do the round, it’s amazing. Uliano [Vezzani] produced exactly the right competition….”

For his part, runner-up Smolders said: “It’s tough to beat the Swedish! And he was already a few times in the way! His horse jumped incredible and this combination are on top at the moment, and it’s well deserved. Emerald had a few weeks off, and last week I needed to get back in the rhythm. This show I felt him getting better and better, so I had good hopes for the Grand Prix and it turned out very well! I’m looking forward to the rest of the season as I have all my horses in the show rhythm. I have three good results in the Global and hopefully we’ll get more in the next few shows.”