Gothenburg, Sweden—Aug. 27  

It was a dream come true for all of Sweden as Peder Fredricson and H&M All In claimed individual jumping gold in front of Her Royal Highness Queen Silvia and over 15,000 noisy fans at Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg to bring the Longines FEI European Championships to an emotional end.

Peder Fredricson enjoying a victory lap aboard H&M All In in front of an ecstatic hometown crowd. Photo by FEI/Richard Juilliart

Leading the individual standings from the outset on Wednesday, the pressure was immense on the man who took individual silver with his brilliant gelding at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. But he held his nerve over two thrilling final day rounds that had spectators on the edges of their seats to finish just ahead of the Netherlands’ Harrie Smolders, while Ireland’s Cian O’Connor claimed the bronze.

A clear first round on the last day ensured that the host nation hero would be feeling the maximum weight of expectation as he brought this fabulous week of top sport to a close when last to go. But Fredricson could handle it.

Peder Fredricson and H&M All In. Photo by FEI/Richard Juilliart

“Like any athlete you are not enjoying the pressure, but you just have to be comfortable with it and try to not let it get to you,” Fredricson said. “Focus on what you should do and focus on your horse and your team, and try to make all the preparations right and deliver on the day and not start thinking about other things. I’m really happy I could give my horse this gold medal!”

Carrying just 2.25 points, O’Connor, who helped Ireland to team gold on Friday night, was his biggest threat as the last round began, while Smolders had rocketed up from ninth to lie third with 5.52 points after producing one of eight first-round clears. And over the final 10-fence course that included a massive 1.80 meter-wide oxer three from home, and a really testing penultimate treble, Smolders and Don VHP Z stayed clear yet again.

Harrie Smolders and Don VHP Z on the way to silver. Photo by FEI/Richard Juilliart

Second-last to go, O’Connor’s single mistake allowed the Dutchman to edge ahead of him, so Smolders was now the man that Fredricson had to beat. He had a fence in hand as he set off, but there was a gasp of horror when All In hit the middle element of the triple combination. Fredricson didn’t flinch however, adding only 1 further time penalty to finish on a final tally of 5, just 0.52 ahead of Smolders.

Hear Fredricson’s reaction to the big win:

“To win a medal is always hard, and I must give credit to Peder for his horsemanship, and to All In who is almost unbeatable—he’s the horse of a lifetime I think!” Smolders said.

“My horse has been placed in every grand prix he’s jumped this year, Harrie’s horse percentage-wise jumps more clear rounds than any horse in the world if you look at the stats, and All In is probably the best horse in the world!” said O’Connor.

Cian O’Connor of Ireland added individual bronze to his team gold with Good Luck. Photo by FEI/Richard Juilliart

Asked if last summer’s silver medal success helped him in any way today, Fredricson agreed that it did. “I was a bit annoyed that I was too slow in Rio in the jump-off,” he said. “It has been my main goal since Rio to be a quicker rider, and this year I’ve won more than ever before. It helped me get this gold that I was fastest on the first day and for sure I’m more happy with this color medal than silver!

“I knew I was going to be under pressure when I came here, but riding in a championship in Sweden in front of this crowd has been amazing! Ever since I arrived and unloaded my horse a week ago everybody I met said, ‘best of luck, I hope you win!’. It’s been a long week and this has been my goal for the whole week but at the same time I knew I had only one thing to do—go in and jump clear inside the time.”

The individual medalists from the Longines FEI European Championships: (from left) Harrie Solders of the Netherlands in silver, Peder Fredricson of Sweden for gold, and Cian O’Connor of Ireland for bronze. Photo by FEI/Claes Jakobsson

Of All In, Fredricson said: “I bought him when he was 7 years old. I saw him at the World Championship for Young Horses, he was ridden by Nicola Philippaerts, and he was already then I think one of the best horses in the world. Of course you never know with a 7-year-old how they are going to develop, but he has been a super horse and any questions I have asked him he has given me a fantastic answer.”

See full results of the individual show jumping and results from the entire Longines FEI European Championships.