Barefoot horse King Edward has got shoes, a brand new pair.
But only on the front hooves.
World number one Henrik von Eckermann dared to make the change just weeks before the pair jumps for OS medals.
I'm extremely pleased and I hope that decision will hold, he says.
The world number one is the anchor in the Swedish team that on Thursday begins the attempt to defend the OS gold from Tokyo. He is also one of the favorites to go all the way in the individual jumping.
The gelding King Edward has always jumped without shoes with the Swede in the saddle – and achieved enormous successes. Despite this, Henrik von Eckermann has chosen to put shoes on the horse ahead of the season's biggest sporting competition.
Compact ground
The reason:
The ground in Versailles is similar to what he and King Edward rode on in Rotterdam and at Stockholm Stadium in June.
It's a lot of fiber and that makes it more compact. In a hall, it's more sand that you can water harder. When it's compact, it makes a difference in the uptake in the hooves, he says.
In the Stadium, many – and even the world number one himself – wondered what happened when the pair got four faults in the GP class in the Global Champions Tour.
We have a bit to tweak at home, said von Eckermann then.
And he went home and tweaked.
I had the feeling that he would need a bit of support up front. He held back a bit, if you say so. We've put on a material that we glue onto the hooves.
Fresh and alert
Henrik von Eckermann is very pleased with the outcome.
To make it through four days in the OS, I probably needed to do this.
I did the last jump at home three days ago. It felt great. He feels relaxed, fresh and mentally alert, but still with a very calm, which is important.
The jumping begins with the team competition qualifying on Thursday.
