December 10, 2022 
Swedish show jumper Henrik Von Eckermann is running low on career achievements to cross off his bucket list.
Especially after CHI Geneva. The reigning world #1 topped the 2022 Rolex IJRC (International Jumping Riders Club) Top 10 Final.
The Rolex IJRC Top 10 Final is exactly what it sounds like; a class comprised of the top ten riders based on November’s FEI jumping rankings. Well, sort of. Riders have to remember to pay their dues to enter the class, and for that reason it was lacking world #5 Conor Swail (IRL).
Yet when the reigning world number one von Eckermann zeroes in on a goal there isn’t much room for error, neither bureaucratically nor in the ring. Especially when he is aboard his Olympic gold medal partner, 12-year-old gelding King Edward, the horse that’s jumped him to the top of the rankings.
von Eckermann and Simon Delestre (FRA) were the only two riders to post a double clear round over the Gérard Lachat designed course, but when it came down to speed Delestre just didn’t get to the timers fast enough. With that, von Eckermann and King Edward were crowned winners of the 21st edition of the Rolex IJRC Top Ten Final.
“It was one of my focuses after the World Championships when I gave King Edward a bit of a rest, and wanted to build up slowly again, and this was one of the targets, absolutely. It has been a target for many years,” said von Eckermann.
“When we had the Rolex IJRC Top 10 Final in Stockholm when Daniel Deusser won it; I walked the course and spoke to Eleonora [Ottaviani] and said one day I would like to win this one, so it’s a very special moment for me.”
It’s been a season of special moments for the Swede, who notably won both individual and team gold at the ECCO FEI World Championships in Herning, Denmark in August.
Like so, predicting a win for the pair would have been a safe bet even as far as show jumping is considered, a sport which contends with countless variables. King Edward has an impressive 63% clear round rate and a 61% top 10 finish rate at 1.60m out of 46 rounds.
Curiously, they are better than his 1.50m statistics, where the gelding posts a 36% clear round and 28% top ten finish rate out of 25 rounds according to Jumpr App. In other words, when the stakes (and the rails) get high, King Edward and von Eckermann rise to the occasion.
While King Edward was getting some R&R after Herning, von Eckermann’s cornerstone life moments didn’t cease. In October, he celebrated his marriage to fellow show jumper Janika Sprunger in a proper barn-style wedding.
Friday’s Top 10 Final is far from the only desired class there is to win in Geneva this week. The Rolex Grand Prix will take place on Sunday as part of the Rolex Grand Slam of show jumping. The class has only gotten more dynamic over time. Horses are both sportier and more careful, and riders more tactical.
“I have to say [the class] has changed incredibly. Thirty years ago, perhaps eight or ten riders could win the Grand Prix on Sunday, but these days 30 out of the 40 starters are in contention. It’s not even guaranteed that the best riders will even qualify for the Rolex Grand Prix. It’s remarkable how close the competition is nowadays…The horses today are so good. This means you have to have an almost perfect horse to be in with a chance of winning,” said organizer Alban Poudred.
“The riders’ technique has also improved a lot, the size of the riders’ teams have grown, and overall everything is just so professional. So, sometimes I think where can we go next. In the end, I realise that the situation is fair, which in part is a testament to the course designers, who are very clever, and they understand they have to push the riders and their horses, but only very delicately and gradually.”
The one responsible for knowing exactly how to challenge the riders on course for this class is Lachat, yet the experienced designer knows that no matter who is exhibiting top form it’s still anyone’s game.
“There is always a rider who experiences periods of great form and victories. These riders are often the ones who are at the top of the rankings, such as Steve Guerdat, Martin Fuchs and Henrik von Eckerman,” said Lachat.
“These riders have achieved incredible success recently. But all of a sudden there can be a relatively new rider, such as Julien Epaillard, who comes along; someone who has never been ranked number one in the world, who certainly has the ability to achieve this one day. There is a possibility that Julien does well this weekend if, for example, von Eckermann has a weak performance.”
