Henrik von Eckermann snatched victory in the Mechelen World Cup on Saturday afternoon. Two slight slips from his Iliana (v. Cardento 933) probably cost him the victory, forcing him to pass Ahlmann. However, the world number one's time of 34.67 seconds still earned him the silver medal. We spoke to him afterwards.
"First of all, I want to say that the course builders did a really nice job," von Eckermann started. "When I was stepping the course, I thought it was a nice course but I had expected more clear rounds. In the end, there were still mistakes on several obstacles and so the course did not seem as easy as first thought after all. Also my horse Iliana (by Cardento 933) was really in shape today. She already jumped very well in the first round and even better in the jump-off. Unfortunately, I got two small slips in the turn where I did lose some time. I need to ride her more balanced next time, anyway I'm going to lose some time from this," said the world number one.