Just call him the Robert Downey Jr. of show jumping.
Last weekend at the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final in Riyadh, Sweden’s Peder Fredricson finished third aboard the 18-year-old Catch Me Not S in a field that included a handful of the best horse and rider combinations on the globe.
Ironically enough, the gelding’s “senior” status may actually be the least interesting thing about him.
Despite “Charlie’s” steely-grey good looks and seemingly reserved personality (not to mention the veritable ease with which he clears highly technical, 1.60m tracks), in his younger days, Catch Me Not S was a bit of what you might call, a hell-raiser.
Like a fine wine, the gelding has matured to become one of Fredricson’s most dependable mounts, dropping just 2.1 faults on average over 78 rounds at 1.60m and finishing in the top-10% more than half the time (57%), according to his Jumpr stats.
But the gelding’s path to the top has been anything but direct. Here’s a look back at just some of Catch Me Not S’s most career-making—and notorious—moments.
2006: What’s in a name?
On the hunt for a son of Cardento, Charlie’s owner, Ebba Berglöf, purchased a “wild” Cardento foal along with its mother, Ralmea, from her breeder-neighbor Krister Svedberg. Not long after, the gelding earns his unusual name, ‘Catch Me Not’ when Berglöf realizes she can’t get a hand on him—and is forced to leave his halter on for three months.
2009: Has talent, needs time
During a free-jumping test in his three-year-old year, Catch Me Not S performs well… until someone in the stands moves, and the gelding jumps out of the shoot barriers. “He always had a strong flight instinct,” Berglöf told World of Showjumping.
2010: Ups and downs
At age four, Berglöf, a former eventer, takes Catch Me Not to his first .80 cm class in southern Sweden. After the gelding fails to pick up the canter, Berglöf decides she’ll just trot the first jump. Charlie decides otherwise, jumping straight up and down—touching the back rail of the oxer and freezing in place. Berglöf has to dismount and walk him out of the arena.
2012: Timing is everything
Berglöf doesn’t feel Charlie is quite ready to compete in formal Young Horse classes and opts out of the national and international four, five, six and seven year old young horse championships.
At age six, they reach the 1.30m level and she takes him back to Peder and Lisen Fredricson’s Grevlunda Stables for evaluation. This is the second time Fredricson is offered a shot at the quirky gelding; he once again passes.
2018: Show him the money
For nearly a decade, Berglöf slowly and carefully produces Catch Me Not S up to the 1.50m level. While competing at a national horse show in 2021, she once again connects with Fredricson, who—after watching Charlie put in a strong performance under slippery, snowy conditions—finally agrees to take the gelding on.
Not long after, they win their first 1.50m CSI3* class at Knokke, Belgium, and by the end of the year, earn individual gold at the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ Final in Barcelona, Spain.
2019: World Cup-worthy debut
In their first appearance at Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Finals on home soil in Göteborg, Sweden, Fredricson and Catch Me Not—now a full-fledged member of the Swedish rider’s string—earn third place in good company behind champion Steve Guerdat (SUI) and Alamo and runner-up Martin Fuchs (SUI) with Clooney 51.
2021: A team player
Having finally hit their stride, Fredricson and Catch Me Not S earn $495,955 in 2021 thanks to GCL wins at Stockholm City, Ramatuelle/St. Tropez, and London during their most lucrative competition season to date (Jumpr). That same year, they take individual bronze at the Longines FEI Jumping European Championship in Riesenbeck.
But while they may have built a winning partnership, don’t expect Charlie to take it too easy on the Swedish rider—especially at home. “He doesn’t like veterinarians, or when we do blood tests, do his teeth, or clip him,” Fredricson told World of Show Jumping.
2024: “Better than ever”
After three days of championship jumping competition, Fredricson and Charlie—now 18—once again take third place at Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Finals Riyadh behind countryman Henrik von Eckermann and King Edward, and France’s Julien Epaillard and Dubai du Cedre.
A full five years after their World Cup debut and first podium finish, it’s a full-circle moment for the partnership and Charlie’s ever-faithful owner, Ebba Berglöf—who never doubted her horse’s talent for a moment.
“Thank you to Ebba for the confidence with amazing Charlie,” Fredricson wrote on his Instagram after their performance in Riyadh, adding simply, “better than ever.”