The Swedish team in the final of the League of Nations was not lacking in stars. All four from Sweden's Olympic Games team in Paris last summer were competing, Henrik von Eckermann, Malin Baryard-Johnsson, Peder Fredricson, and Rolf-Göran Bengtsson.
And it all became a dramatic story.
Several teams with problems
In the first part of the competition, Sweden incurred four penalty points and fell behind faultless Germany and the Netherlands.
In the second part, the obstacles continued to fall, but not just for Sweden. Several teams had major problems with the difficult course in Barcelona, and the faults came thick and fast.
The Netherlands looked set to win, but after Kim Emmen on Imagine incurred 12 penalty points, the competition opened up again.
It was not decided until the final jump, where a faultless jump was required of Peder Fredricson and Catch me Not S to secure a podium place and still have a chance of winning.
"A disappointment"
But it did not happen, as Fredricson incurred four penalty points. However, Sweden still secured a podium place, after French rider Kevin Staut fell off his horse and was forced to withdraw.
In total, Sweden incurred 20 faults, which was enough for a third-place finish.
Despite this, Henrik von Eckermann was not particularly pleased with the performance.
It's a disappointment in the end, you have to say. I had hoped for more. It wasn't our year this year. We have to get better and come back again next year. The horses jumped well, but it's small margins.
The best for Sweden was von Eckermann on his horse King Edward. He incurred only one fault and four penalty points.
Germany won.
