One of the early stars at Tokyo in the Showjumping has been Peder Fredricson and All in – Silver in the Individual. Silver seems to be a habit with the likeable Swede, when Christopher Hector interviewed him, he had just picked up a Silver at the WEG in Tryon. Peder has produced many top horses, I asked how he finds them…
Is there something… you suddenly see a horse and think, that could be a horse for me?
“First I check the results. I always look at the results. It doesn’t really matter the quality of the rider, a good horse normally goes clear. I check the pedigree, some videos of the horse jumping, then I go and try them, and when I try them, I just go with my gut feeling if I really like the horse or not.”
On course with All In in Tokyo…
“The main thing is when I try them, I get a good feeling. You should have the feeling that they really don’t want to knock a pole down, that’s the feeling you want to have.”
You seem to have the ability to bring horses out in big competitions, and win very quickly, you don’t seem to have to give them miles on the road to get there…
“I’ve been lucky. All in I bought as a seven-year-old, with him I took it fairly slowly as an eight and nine-year-old, and when he was a ten-year-old, he was ready to go. My other horse, Christian K, was going with another rider, not in the biggest classes, but he had mileage already, a lot of starts and seen a lot of courses, just not on a higher level. He was ready to go.”
With Christian K in Tryon
If you had to describe your style of riding, is there anything particularly Swedish about it?
“I think to describe my style, it’s fairly uncomplicated. Now when I’ve got older I have more found my own way of riding. When you are younger you have to try and learn, you watch others, and you try to ride in the different styles. You train with George Morris and you try to train like him. Then I was with Franke Sloothaak and I tried to ride like him, with Mark Todd, I tried to ride like him. All these things together create the base of your riding. I now have that as a foundation, but I ride the way my personality is. I think it is fairly uncomplicated. I have my system, of course I adjust to every horse, but I try to keep it uncomplicated and horse friendly.”
George Morris has been a big influence?
“I learnt a lot from George, he’s a big part of it. Even yesterday, he called me after my round, he’s so supportive.”
For you it is still important to come to the World Equestrian and Olympic Games – that is more important than making a lot of money on the Longines circuit?
“I don’t mind doing both. It is an interesting question because the sport is growing so much now, which I think is fantastic, more and more good shows, more money, I think is amazing – but still I think it is the Championships that count. At the end of your career, that’s what you are going to remember, championship titles. I do think it’s important that the championships also go in the same direction as all the other shows, if they want to keep it that way. The sport is always going to be a bit where the money is, and if the good riders and the good horses are not coming to the championships, they are going to lose value, and I don’t want to see that. I think it is very important that there is also good prize-money in the championships, so we get the best horses and best riders there.”
What does the sport hold for you now, you’ve been there done that…
“That’s why in the Swedish team, we were really eager to win the gold medal at the WEG. When I won my first team silver at the Olympics, I was really happy. Now I have a silver medal in the Olympics, silver medal team at the Europeans and now a silver at the World Championships – we were both really wanting gold. But it didn’t happen.”
So Tokyo?
“Maybe it will keep us fighting a few more years.”
Well Peder did get there here in Tokyo with All in, and collected a second Silver – could it be Gold in the teams?
