Sweden International Horse Show takes flight in Stockholm this weekend

Stockholm, the largest city in Scandinavia, is situated on several islands in a region where Lake Mälaren meets the Baltic Sea, and this weekend it will also be a meeting place for horses and riders from around the world competing in four disciplines at the Friends Arena: dressage, show jumping, World Cup driving and indoor cross country. Also on tap is one of Sweden’s largest equestrian fairs, where visitors can meet horses, browse a wide range of products and services and check out performances in the paddock area.

Alongside Ireland’s Allen, some of the other top jumping riders on the planet are in Stockholm this weekend, including World No.1 Harrie Smolders of the Netherlands, Belgium’s Nicola and Olivier Philippaerts, the home nation’s Peder Fredricson and Henrik von Eckermann, and the United States’ Lauren Hough.

“I’m extremely proud of Harrie’s choice to come back for the second year and compete with us,” the event’s sports director Malin Baryard Johnsson said of Smolders. “It shows what an amazing competition we have created.” 

The CDI5* Dressage Top Ten, created by Swedish rider Patrik Kittel, is back after its inaugural edition last year, and will bring together 10 of the best riders in the world chasing after unparalleled prize money in the sport. The competitors this year include Germany’s Isabell Werth with Weihegold OLD, the Netherlands’ Edward Gal with Glock’s Zonik N.O.P. and Denmark’s Daniel Bachmann Andersen with Blue Hors Don Olymbrio. Werth’s compatriot Sönke Rothenberger, with his partner Cosmo, was forced to withdraw from the competition due to mandatory attendance rules for his university exams.

“We have tried everything,” his family said in a statement, “but unfortunately we can not change university rules, despite major efforts. We regret it very much and ask for understanding.”

Elsewhere, Great Britain’s 2018 eventing World Champion Rosalind Canter is entered in this weekend’s indoor cross-country event at the Horse Show, which features both show jumping- and cross country-type obstacles like banks, water, logs and brush in an indoor setting. As last year’s winner Louise Svensson Jähde of Sweden commented, some eventing horses have a hard time doing cross-country inside in an arena, but her Waikiki 207 was able to make the adjustment and the pair edged out Germany’s Ingrid Klimke and Parmenides. This year, Klimke is back with the same horse and is one of the favourites in the event.

Finally, Sweden’s Axel Olin is one of the six riders from six nations taking part in the FEI World Cup driving stage in Stockholm, where he and his team will face perennial contenders Australia’s Boyd Exell and the Netherlands’ Koos De Ronde, amongst others. The full entries list for the competition is here.