The King of Omaha

If nobody else at the Easter dinner table uttered the words “Henrik von Eckermann,” “King Edward,” or “Omaha,” we feel for you.

Feigning interest in mundane family conversations isn’t easy when all you want to do is relive the highlights from World Cup Finals.

Next time, just tell your family to subscribe to Beyond The Round so that they know about the important things going on in your life!

In this newsletter, we’ll discuss:

1. What went down in Omaha.

2. King Edward’s somewhat unlikely ascent to greatness.

3. Feedback from Grand Prix rider Alex Matz and breeding recommendations from Wiebe Yde van de Lageweg of VDL Stud.

But first, here’s the trivia of the day:

The Return of The King

After three intense days of competition that made Game of Thrones seem like a snoozefest, King Edward and Sweden’s Henrik von Eckermann were crowned World Cup Finals champions in Omaha.

The pair was leading after an impressive first round, but dropped down to tenth place after an unfortunate rail on day two.

“It’s been a bit of an up and down,” said von Eckermann, though he doesn’t let it get to him. “That’s my mentality. I don’t look backwards.”

Easier said than done, as not even the commentators could keep their cool as they cheered King Edward through the final round with helpful advice like, “get your back end up boy!”

Though unlike the Game of Thrones season finale, King Edward didn’t let us down and crossed the beam with just five total penalties to win gold.

You can relive his epic final round here:

Von Eckermann was lost for words after winning the title, though fortunately, his fingers continued to function as he later shared his gratitude on Instagram:

“After being two times on the podium with Toveks Mary Lou, King Edward wins the World Cup Final in Omaha 2023 . This was a childhood dream and a longterm goal to accomplish in my career.”

Hot on von Eckermann’s heels was Dutch athlete Harrie Smolders and Monaco N.O.P., who managed to claim silver… yet again.

Just last year, this pair finished silver at the World Cup Finals in Leipzig, right behind Martin Fuchs and Chaplin.

Nevertheless, finishing silver at The World Cup finals two years in a row isn’t too shabby and Smolders was more than grateful to his “Mr. Consistent.”

As an added bonus, he now has the hardware to decorate his tack room symmetrically.

The 24-year-old American Hunter Holloway snuck up right behind them to claim bronze, and her first World Cup podium position, on Pepita Con Spita.

Before her round, a determined Holloway told the FEI that her plan was to “fight for every inch and every second.” It paid off as she and Brazilian Yuri Mansur both tied with eleven total penalties, though Holloway just squeezed ahead by a single second.

The Plot Twist

Spoiler alert: von Eckermann and King Edward won.

But there was a rollercoaster of action that happened between the first and final rounds that deserves some attention.

Rewinding to the first day of competition, von Eckermann and King Edward set the bar high in the first round as the pair jumped a double clear to emerge victorious that evening. Great Britain’s Scott Brash and Hello Jefferson held the lead with an impressive time of 59.23 for most of the class, though they ended up second after King Edward clocked in at a scorching 59.09.

However, the next day took an unexpected turn as the World Number One had a rail and it was Germany’s Richard Vogel who won the night.

Vogel, who just won the $500,000 Rolex Grand Prix in Wellington aboard Cepano Baloubet last weekend, entered this competition on the talented 11 year old Untouched son, United Touch S.

You can see Vogel’s winning round here:

Side note: We found this fun video of United Touch S when he was just a three year old free jumping. So if you want to see what a champion in the making looks like, check it out:

This victory helped Vogel climb into the fourth position for the overall rankings, right behind von Eckermann, who dropped into the third position overall.

However, it was Andreas Schou of Denmark and Pius Schwizer of Switzerland who tied for the top spot in the overall rankings.

As the morning of the third and final battle dawned, von Eckermann and King Edward were still fresh as they hadn’t qualified for the jump off the day before. Taking just three warm up jumps, King Edward returned to the ring and reclaimed his throne to the roaring approval of his people.

Smolders ultimately added another silver to his growing collection and Holloway snatched her first podium title.

The Tale of King Edward

Like any good fairytale, the hero is always somewhat unexpected.

Bred by Wim Impens, King Edward’s tale begins in Belgium when Impens decided to breed his dam, Koningin de Lauzelle, to Edward 28.

While Edward 28 had some jumper offspring, he himself was a successful Grand Prix dressage horse. You can see the video of him below:

Impens said that he was never aiming to produce a 1.60 jumper when he bred King Edward and instead wanted a versatile horse that could go in any direction.

In fact, Impens, who is an AI vet and enjoys some showing, tends to breed more towards eventing style horses. If you look at Edward 28’s pedigree, he’s sired by Embassy I, who has produced several successful eventing horses, like Escada and Entebbe de Hus.

However, King Edward didn’t realize this and paved his own destiny to become one of the greatest showjumpers of our day.

Rider Feedback

We’re starting a new segment where anyone can submit a video of a round they own and Grand Prix riders will provide feedback. You can learn more about how to submit your video (for free) here.

This week, Grand Prix rider Alex Matz critiques an amateur’s round. Listen in as he provides commentary during the round and stick around afterward for the additional feedback and a few key exercises this rider can work on:

Breeding Feedback

We’re starting a new segment where any breeder can submit a video of a mare they own and we’ll ask top showjumping breeders to provide stallion recommendations based on her videos, pictures and pedigree.

Today’s breeding recommendations were made by Wiebe Yde van de Lageweg of VDL stud.

Farms We Love

We’ve been so caught up in Omaha that we forgot to tell you to meet us in Miami Beach next weekend for the CSI5* LGCT Grand Prix.

If you’re not sure where you should stay and have about $10 million to spare, consider buying this property, which is just a short drive away in Wellington, Florida.

It has 20 magnificent stalls, a stunning covered arena, owners lounge, and everything else you’d expect from a fairytale farm.

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