Boyd Exell makes it four in a row at Aachen
Boyd Exell wins at Aachen - making it four years in a row |
Boyd Exell, the reigning FEI World four-in-hand and four times FEI World Cup Driving champion, has won the prestigious Driving competition in Aachen (GER) for the fourth consecutive time. Added to his victory in 2003, Boyd's name is now on the leader board in Aachen five times.
It wasn’t until the marathon though, which was the final phase for the individual rankings that it became clear that Boyd Exell would win again. US driver Chester Weber had a very comfortable lead after a superb individual Dressage test. Weber set an Aachen-record score of 33.54 penalty points in the opening phase.
The cones competition counting for the individual standings became a duel between Australia’s Gavin Robson and Germany’s Georg von Stein. Both drivers drove a double clear round and crossed the finish line in exactly the same time of 193.81. Individual driver Daniel Schneiders from Germany came third, ahead of Dutch team member Koos de Ronde.
Leader in the standings Chester Weber could afford a knock down and firmly kept his lead after dressage and cones.
The marathon was the third and last phase for the individual rankings and the second competition for the teams. With the best ranked drivers starting last, the tension grew as the marathon approached its end in front of tens of thousands of spectators, who enjoyed the sun and the performances of the 24 top drivers.
Boyd Exell set very fast times in the obstacles and won the marathon, ahead of the German team members Michael Brauchle and Georg von Stein. Koos de Ronde finished fourth in the marathon to secure second place in the final individual results behind Boyd Exell.
“After my disappointing dressage test on the first day, I was pleased with my second dressage test. In the marathon I used a new leader, Monty. It was only his second international marathon, but he turned out to be very fast. My wheeler horses were brilliant so I am very pleased.”
Horse and rider combinations now turn their attention to the FEI World Championships which will be held in Riesenbeck (GER) next month.
