Tag Archives: Longines World Ranking

Five-Time Olympian Peder Fredricson’s Sensational Rise to World Number One

Photo: Peder Fredricson (SWE) (FEI/Christophe Taniere)

Peder Fredricson (SWE) has secured the number one spot of the Longines World Ranking for the first time in his career, taking the reins from Olympic bronze medallist, Daniel Deusser (GER), who took over the position for the third time back in June 2021 and now sits in second position.

Fredricson (49), who shot up the rankings last month from number 17 into second position, one that he has held frequently, is now at the top of this elite list on 3015 points, earning further recognition for his consistent performances this year, with one breathtaking ride after another.

”Finally! I can almost not believe it’s true. I’ve been close so many times before. Right now it feels incredibly good,” said Fredricson.

“To be number one on the world ranking is a goal I set a couple of years ago. It has at times felt like climbing the highest mountain in the world and I’ve almost reached the summit several times, but always fallen down. It feels amazing to finally reach the top and to be able to put down the flag.

“I dedicate this to my whole team. To be number one is something we’ve been working for during such a long time. It’s also very special that this success is made up of so many competitions with different horses during a whole year. To reach number one takes more than just good horses; you have to have good horse owners, good grooms, and a very dedicated and hardworking team on the ground. In that way, I rank this much higher than winning just one big class during one weekend. I’m very grateful to my team and we will celebrate this together.”

His trophy cabinet includes four Olympic medals, including team silver from the 2004 Athens Olympics and individual silver from the Rio 2016 Games, where he was the only athlete who was clear in all six rounds. Along with winning the individual silver at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in August this year, his outstanding performances helped Sweden to its first Team Jumping Olympic gold medal in almost 100 years, and marked 29 years after he made his Olympic debut at the age of 20 at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games. Back then, he was an accomplished Eventer – and the youngest-ever Olympic equestrian athlete for Sweden.

With his loyal partner H&M All In, Fredricson was crowned the 2017 European Champion on home soil in Gothenburg (SWE), and took a silver medal with the team. He was a member of the Swedish squad that took team silver at the FEI World Equestrian Games™ in Tryon 2018 (USA), and in 2019 at the FEI World Cup™ Final Gothenburg (SWE), he took bronze in front of his home crowd. More recently, he won the individual bronze at the Longines FEI Jumping European Championships in Riesenbeck (GER).

In 2016 and 2017, he received the Athlete of the Year award at the Swedish Sports Gala. The ‘Jerring Prize’, which is Sweden’s most prestigious sporting prize, is awarded for a successful sports achievement. He earned this honour by a popular vote which put him above the likes of Swedish football star Zlatan Ibrahimovic, golfing sensation Henrik Stenson, and rallycross champion Mattias Ekström. In February 2019, he was presented with the Medal of Honour from Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf. This month, Fredricson was one of four athletes nominated for the Peden Bloodstock FEI Best Athlete Award, which will be announced in November.

Born into an equestrian family, Peder started riding at the age of 5. His father Ingvar is a veterinarian as well as the former boss at Flyinge, the largest breeding station in Sweden. His brother Jens, also part of Sweden’s equestrian elite, competed at the London 2012 Olympics, as well as two FEI Jumping World Cup™ Finals and FEI European Championships in 1997 and 2013. His wife Lisen, also a Jumping athlete, rode at the Olympic Games in Sydney in 2000 and London in 2012.

The latest rankings reflect some strong performances with Martin Fuchs (SUI), Scott Brash (GBR), and Marlon Modolo Zanotelli (BRA) remaining in third, fourth, and fifth positions, respectively. A shuffle in the remainder of the top ten sees Steve Guerdat (SUI) take a leap from tenth to sixth spot on 2450 points, whilst Ben Maher (GBR) has dropped down to seventh with 2417 points. Sweden’s Henrik von Eckermann has dropped by one spot to eighth place, and the USA’s Kent Farrington finds himself back in the top ten in ninth position, only 22 points behind the Swede. Belgian’s Jérôme Guery now sits at number ten this month.

The full rankings list is published here.

FEI Media Contact:

Shannon Gibbons
Manager Press Relations
shannon.gibbons@fei.org
+41 78 750 61 46

Harrie Smolders Debuts as Longines World Number One

Photo: Harrie Smolders and Don VHP Z (FEI/Libby Law)

Dutch Olympian Harrie Smolders has secured the number one spot of the Longines World Ranking for the first time in his career, taking the reins from Olympic silver medallist Kent Farrington (USA) who held the position since May 2017.

Smolders, who turns 38 next week, made his Olympic debut at the 2016 Rio Games, has been snapping at the heels of Farrington (34) for several months from second position. Now at the top of this elite list on 3158 points, he earns further recognition after his incredible year in 2017 which was marked by one dominant performance after another. Smolders took individual silver with Don VHP Z at the 2017 Longines FEI European Championships in Gothenburg, and shortly after clinched victory for his country at the 2017 Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ Final in Barcelona (ESP).

He was awarded the Rider of the Year in the Netherlands in 2017, another first in his career, as an acknowledgement of his accomplishments in a single season and also made history with his double victory winning both the 2017 Longines Global Champions Tour and the 2017 Longines Global Champions league.

Kent Farrington (USA) who is well on the road to recovery after breaking his right leg in a fall in mid-February now sits in second position on 2913 points, followed closely by Peder Fredricson (SWE) who remains at number three on 2821 points.

After her electrifying win at the Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping final in Paris in April, Beezie Madden (USA) has moved up from number 21 to 11, with Germany’s Daniel Deusser leaping back into the top ten from 17th position.

About Harrie Smolders

Harrie began riding at age eight, but was not initially keen on equestrian jumping. He won dressage and eventing competitions at the start of his career, and at age 16 he chose jumping over football.

Making his international début in 2000, Smolders has been part of the Netherlands Team at four FEI European Championships taking team bronze in 2001 Gijon (ESP) and individual silver in 2017 Gothenburg (SWE). He has competed at five FEI World Cup™ Jumping finals securing the silver medal in Gothenburg (SWE) in 2016. He also competed at the FEI World Equestrian Games™ in Lexington 2010 and will be looking to make his mark at the FEI World Equestrian Games™ Tryon 2018 in September.

Media contact:

Shannon Gibbons
Media Relations and Communications Manager
shannon.gibbons@fei.org
+41 78 750 61 46