Stockholm International Horse Show is the biggest annual event of the Globe Arena (bigger than for example the Swedish Hockey Games). The spectators are from all over Sweden: 40% of the spectators come from places outside the greater region of Stockholm. A member of the royal family is always present at the prizegiving ceremony for the "Prince Carl Philip Prize". 7 million viewers watch the TV coverage on SVT which broadcasts about 5 hours of the action from the show. As well as international and national show jumping competitions, the event hosts World Cup Dressage and World Cup 4-in-Hand Driving qualifiers, Horseball, a dressage clinic with Kyra Kyrklund, a jumping clinic with Maria Gretzer and Peter Eriksson, and displays. This year's show ran from 30 November to 2 December, and the course designer was the distinguished Finn, Akki Ylänne.

The most important jumping class was Sunday afternoon's Stockholm Suzuki Grand Prix (1.50m) in which the winner's prize was a car, a Suzuki Grand Vitara. 6 of the 16 starters went clear in the 1st round. John Whitaker on Cortaflex Utah van Erpekom had 4 faults, finishing 12th. Sweden's Niklas Jonsson with Amorina (10-year-old bay SWB mare by Cortez, out of Gallia, a mare by Galant) opened the jump-off with 4 faults in 43.40 which earned 5th prize (SEK 25,000). Dutch rider Gerco Schröder with Eurocommerce Acapulco (12-year-old grey Holsteiner gelding by Calido, out of D-Callgirl, a mare by Abel) had 8 faults in 42.54 which left them in 6th place (SEK 10,000). Sweden's Erika Lickhammer with Magic Dream (10-year-old bay Holsteiner mare by Contender, out of a mare by Landgraf I) went clear in 42.86, and this took 2nd prize (SEK 75,000). Denmark's Tina Lund with Zamiro (11-year-old bay DWB mare by A'Khan Z) were fast, stopping the clock at 39.58 but at the expense of 4 faults, which put them 3rd (SEK 50,000). Robert Whitaker and Lacroix 9 (12-year-old dark bay Holsteiner gelding by Lacros, out of Cherie, a mare by Caletto I) produced a clear round in 39.69 to claim their 2nd Grand Prix win in a fortnight. Last to go was the Dutch veteran, Piet Raijmakers with Van Schijndel's Curtis (12-year-old chestnut Holsteiner gelding by Coriano, out of Zalouba, a mare by Aloube Z) had 4 faults in 41.61, and took 4th place (SEK 40,000).

Friday afternoon's Libresse Cup was a 1.40m 1-round class, offering SEK 12,000 (approximately £912) to the winner. 11 of the 17 starters went clear. The early leader came from the 2nd draw: the host nation's Peter Eriksson with Camiell-Flamingo Z (9-year-old bay stallion KWPN by Catango Z, out of Etalonda, a mare by Ronald) whose time was 47.79. This performance took 4th prize of SEK 6,000. Starting 7th, Piet Raijmakers from the Netherlands with Van Schijndel's Now or Never (12-year-old bay KWPN gelding by Burggraaf, out of Galanda, a mare by Jasper) were round in 49.16, earning SEK 4,000. Next in was Sweden's Caroline Persson with Filip (11-year-old bay SWB gelding by Feliciano, out of Finess, a mare by Falstaff) whose time was 47.24, good enough for 3rd place (SEK 8,000). They were immediately followed by Malin Baryard-Johnsson with H & M Tamina (14-year-old bay FWB mare by Ramiro, out of Tonigen, a mare by Hertigen) who took over the lead, their time being 46.31. The penultimate rider was Robert Whitaker with Rusedski II (9-year-old bay BWP gelding by Darco, out of a mare by Concorde) whose time of 47.01 won SEK 10,000 (£760). John Whitaker with Cortaflex Utah van Erpekom (10-year-old skewbald BWP gelding by Landetto, out of Lakotah, a mare by Calimero) was clear in 49.59 to finish 6th.

12 took part in the evening's Suzuki Cup, a 6-Bar. Piet Raijmakers Jr. with Van Schijndel's Lys Platiere and Tina Lund with Zamiro both had 4 faults in the 1st round. In the next round Gerco Schröder with Eurocommerce Acapulco, Sweden's Helena Persson with Carambole (8-year-old bay SWB gelding by Quite Easy 958, out of Modell, a mare by Modesto 622) and Peter Eriksson with Jaguar Mail (10-year-old bay SF stallion by Hand in Glove, out of Elvira Mail, a mare by Laudanum) all had 4 faults. Linda Heed and Columbus H (11-year-old dark bay gelding by Cortez, out of Chaddidja, a mare by Colombian Friend) had 4 faults and were the only pair to drop out in the 3rd round. Robert Whitaker lost his chance of prize money when Lacroix 9 had 4 faults in the 4th round. Under FEI rules only 5 rounds are allowed, and with the last fence standing at 1.90m, Erika Lickhammer with Magic Dream opened with 4 faults, as did Helena Lundbäck with Conan (10-year-old dark bay SWB gelding by Cortez, out of Lisethe, a mare by Labrador). Norway's Tony André Hansen with Brokers Rhani de Puuvil (13-year-old bay BWP mare by Latano, out of Orchide de Puuvil, a mare by Darco) jumped clear. Piet Raijmakers with Van Schijndel's Curtis followed suit. Last in was John Whitaker with Pauline Woodward's versatile Lactic 2 (16-year-old grey Holsteiner gelding by Landjunker 2, out of A-Cover Girl, a mare by Capitol I), and they had 4 faults. He and the Swedish ladies each won SEK 15,000, and the joint winners took SEK 27,500 each.

The next competition was the H & M Fancy Dress Show, a novel class open to 6 pairs by special invitation. Each pair consisted of 1 jumping and 1 dressage rider. Horses for the dressage riders were provided by the Organising Committee, and selected by Mr Eric Lette. Each pair of riders was allowed to use a maximum of 3 minutes before the starting signal. The dressage competitor scored points for their performance of piaffe, passage and pirouettes, and the jumpers rode a short course against the clock. The dressage scores and points for the fancy dress were deducted from the jumping times to give the final scores. 1st to go were Sweden's Pether Markne with Equador and John Whitaker with Lactic 2. John's time of 44.80 minus 23 dressage and 4 fancy dress points gave them 17.80 points and 5th place, worth SEK 46,000. USA's Heather Blitz with Mandela and Tony André Hansen with Brokers Rhani de Puuvil finished with 12.61 (43.61 minus 21 and 10) which earned 2nd prize (SEK 12,000). Sweden's Tinne Vilhelmson-Silfvén with Zorino and Peder Fredricson with Non Stop R had a final score of 23.04 (53.04 minus 24 and 6), which left them 6th (SEK 4,000). Sweden's Kristian von Krusenstierna with Norma Rae and Tina Lund with Chiquitta had the winning score of 12.02 (45.02 minus 21 and 12) and received SEK 15,000. Sweden's Per Sandgaard with Quarzo and Helena Lundbäck with Conan scored 13.71 (40.71 minus 25 and 2) which put them 4th (SEK 6,000). Last to go was the Swedish "superstar" pairing of Jan Brink with Heaven and Malin Baryard-Johnsson with H & M Tamina, whose total of 13.10 (44.10 minus 23 and 8) earned them 3rd prize (SEK 8,000).

There were only 2 international classes on Saturday, both of them in the evening. The 1st was the Libresse Cup (1.40m) a 2-phase with the 2nd phase being a Table C with 3 seconds added for each fence knocked down. 7 of the 15 starters had 1st-phase clears, and the 3 who remained unpenalised took the top 3 prizes. From the 3rd draw, Malin Baryard-Johnsson with H & M Tamina set a good standard, and their time of 33.64 earned 2nd prize (SEK10,000). Linda Heed with Columbus H took 3rd (SEK 8,000) in 34.01. Peter Eriksson with Jaguar Mail had the time of 36.65 including a penalty of 3 seconds, which was good enough for 5th place (SEK 4,000). From the 11th draw, Jannike West with Careful 28 (12-year-old Oldenburger stallion by Contender, out of Gesandte, a mare by Quidam d'Or (ex Veritas) produced the winning performance, stopping the clock at 33.09. to take the SEK 12,000 prize. Tony André Hansen with Brokers Rhani de Puuvil were round in 32.72, but had to add a penalty of 3 seconds which put them in 4th place (SEK 6,000). Having had 4 faults apiece in the 1st phase, Robert Whitaker on Rusedski II and John Whitaker on Lactic 2 shared 8th place with another father & son, Piet Raijmakers and Piet Raijmakers Jr. 23-year-old Jannike and Careful 28 won the Grand Prix at the Aarhus CSI 2* in January.

The 2nd class was the Suzuki Cup (1.50m), a 1-rounder, offering the generous 1st prize of a Suzuki Grand Vitara car. The early leader was 2nd-drawn Linda Heed with Thunderbird (11-year-old bay SWB gelding by Robin Z, out of Beach Buggy, a mare by Beach Boy) who had 4 faults in 58.24, and earned 4th prize (SEK 13,000). Tina Lund with Zamiro had 4 faults in 59.07 and took 5th (SRK 10,000). Helena Lundbäck with Conan produced the 1st clear round, and their time of 62.70 gave them 3rd (SEK17,000). Piet Raijmakers with Van Schijndel's Curtis took 6th (SEK 7,000) with 4 faults in 59.14. Malin Baryard-Johnsson with H & M Espri (12-year-old bay SWB mare by Guinness, out of Elsa, a mare by Good Future) went clear in 59.95, which earned 2nd prize (SEK 23,000). Malin's former trainer, John Whitaker, with Cortaflex Utah van Erpekom, recorded the fastest time of all, 58.58, but at the expense of 2 fences down. 14th to start, Peter Eriksson with Camiell-Flamingo Z went clear in 58.95 and this was the winning performance. Robert Whitaker with Lacroix 9 had 8 faults in 66.00.

48-year-old Peter Eriksson has been on the Swedish team in 4 Olympics, 4 World Championships, and 7 European Championships, the 1st of these having been in 1983 at Hickstead. Riding the grey stallion VDL Cardento, he won a hat-trick of Team Silver Medals: European in 2001, WEG in 2002 and Olympic in 2004. Since the early 1980s he has lived and worked at Flyinge. training the stallions. Flyinge is one of the world's oldest active national studs. It was established as a Royal Stud almost 350 years ago by King Carl Gustaf X Sweden.

Sunday morning's Libresse Cup was a 1.40m 1-rounder. 10 of the 15 starters went clear. Drawn 1st, Jannike West with Careful 128 set a good standard with the time of 49.11, which earned 5th prize (SEK 4,000). They held the lead until the 10th to go, Linda Heed with Columbus H, went 1.30 faster, and this was good enough for 2nd (SEK 10,000). Peter Eriksson with Jaguar Mail recorded the time of 49.04, which took 4th (SEK 6,000). Robert Whitaker with Rusedski II had the time of 48.72, adding the 4th prize of SEK 8,000 to their winnings. John Whitaker on Lactic 2 surprisingly incurred 14 faults in 66.13. Last to go, Malin Baryard-Johnsson and H & M Tamina had the fastest time of all, 47.72, to end the show as they had begun it, with a good win worth SEK 12,000.

A third Suzuki Grand Vitara car was awarded to the leading rider of the show, Piet Raijmakers, who with 61 points finished just 1 point ahead of Malin Baryard-Johnsson.