Tag Archives: Boyd Exell

World’s Best Out in Force at Royal Windsor Horse Show

Her Majesty The Queen was present to watch the afternoon action in the Castle Arena, presenting several awards, including the Best Turned Out Trooper and The Challenge Cup and Queen’s Plate for the winners of the Land Rover Services Team Jumping.

Daniel Deusser continued his stellar Royal Windsor form to take the pinnacle of the day’s competition, The CSI5* Kingdom of Bahrain Stakes For The King’s Cup with Britain’s Guy Williams taking the evening’s Falcon Stakes, much to the delight of the home crowd.

In the Driving, a familiar face sits in pole position of the horse four-in-hand ahead of the cones phase, with eight-time Royal Windsor winner Boyd Exell occupying the top spot.

SHOW JUMPING: DEUSSER AND EQUITA MAKE IT TWO FROM TWO WHILE WILLIAMS POSTS A WIN FOR BRITAIN

Daniel Deusser and Equita Van T Zorgvliet made it two from two on their Royal Windsor debut, winning the feature class of the day The CSI5* Kingdom of Bahrain Stakes For The King’s Cup.

Bob Ellis and Kelvin Bywater’s 1.55m course posed several challenges in the first round, with a difficult line of two doubles catching several combinations out early on and a particularly spooky swan themed fence causing a few problems too. 10 of the 30 starters jumped clear to make it through to the competitive jump-off, which featured many of the world’s best riders.

First to go in the jump-off was the class winner from two years ago, Laura Kraut (USA), riding Catwalk 22, who jumped immaculately to set the standard with a clear round in a time of 38.99. Canada’s Tiffany Foster took over the pole position as fourth to go with a particularly tight turn to fence eight, the swans, to shave 1.87 seconds off Kraut’s time; however, her lead was short-lived as Britain’s Robert Whitaker rode an immaculate round, turning especially tight to the double down the final line to take over the top spot. Next into the arena, 2008 Olympic Champion Eric Lamaze (CAN) showed that the time could be beaten, riding a very fast round, but the twelve-year-old gelding Chacco Kid clipped the vertical going into the final double to finish on four faults.

With two former world number one riders still to come, Whitaker’s lead was never secure, and Kent Farrington (USA) came close, his nimble chestnut gelding Creedance covering the ground quickly, but with slightly wider turns they finished 0.03 seconds slower. As last to go, Daniel Deusser, riding Equita Van T Zorgvliet, retained his top form, making all the turns and striding out between the fences to post an exceptional time of 35.51 and take the victory, lining up a meeting with Her Majesty The Queen, who presented The King’s Cup to the winner.

Speaking after the presentation, Deusser said, “It’s turning out to be a good show for me this week. I’m wondering why I haven’t been here before! I’m really happy with how it went today. I managed to make a couple of really tight turns, so I thought I was quick, but I knew Robert’s horse was big striding, so I couldn’t relax. The win is extra special as I will now get to meet the Queen, which is a great honour and I am really looking forward to it.”

The highlight of the evening performance, the CSI5* Falcon Stakes, provided top class entertainment with the world’s best riders back in action. Speed was a major factor from the start, with only 10 places available in the jump-off, it was only the fastest of the 16 clear rounds from the first round that made it through. The top ten then returned in reverse order, with the advantage falling to USA’s Laura Kraut as the fastest clear in round one to be the last to go in the jump-off.

Qualifying in tenth position, Italy’s Emanuele Gaudiano was first to tackle the shortened jump-off course and put the pressure on from start, with his foot flat to the floor throughout and smooth tight turns posting a clear round in 35.75 seconds. Britain’s Scott Brash followed him into the arena and immediately took over the lead with an incredibly slick round, saving time with the tightest of turns, to record a time of 35.40. The lead changed several times before the end; first it was Steve Guerdat from Switzerland, who flew straight out of the gate, making up time across the ground to overtake Brash, with William Funnell (GBR) coming close too, but it was Britain’s Guy Williams as the penultimate to go, who took the victory. Riding the thirteen-year-old stallion Rouge De Ravel, Williams kept up the pace throughout and pulled off an exceptional turn to the Hermès vertical at the far end to make up 0.36 seconds on Guerdat.

Williams praised his horse following his victory. “He’s a really good horse and I know he’s fast, so with a good draw, I knew I was in with a chance. It’s always good to win on home soil and the crowd here tonight was fantastic, so it’s been a great night.”

SHOWING: PONIES TAKE TO THE FORE

India Till scooped the biggest prize of her career so far when her 128cm show pony, Rotherwood Rainmaker, landed the coveted Martin Collins Enterprises Show Pony Championship title, one of the most sought-after accolades on the pony Showing circuit.

After winning a strong class, the diminutive pair defied the rain to command the Castle Arena, prompting judge D Price Jones to comment: “We were looking for a quality pony that would carry a child safely and prettily. This pony does exactly that.”

A former Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) reserve with previous jockey Poppy Carter, the exquisite bay has introduced India to top flight showing, still produced by Poppy’s mother, Katy Carter.

Reserve went to the 148cm victors, Phoebe Price and her 2016 HOYS champion and last year’s HOYS class winner, Litton Enterprise, a 12-year-old produced by Julie Templeton.

The Novice Show Pony Championship title is equally sought-after. This year it fell to Robert Walker’s son Sam, who celebrated his 14th birthday five days earlier, with Julie Rucklidge’s homebred five-year-old 138cm class winner, Jackets Dynasty, also produced by Julie Templeton. The charming bay mare is following in illustrious footsteps, as both her dam, Jackets Maybee, and granddam Jackets Maysong won at Royal Windsor and went on to triumph at HOYS.

After some strong classes, the BSPS Mountain and Moorland Ridden Championship — and coveted ticket to the Heritage Finale at Olympia, The London International Horse Show in December — went to Becki Penny with Lynn Scott’s ultra-consistent homebred Welsh section C stallion, Lynuck The Showman.

Two Connemara ponies dominated the popular Mountain and Moorland Working Hunter Pony classes. Riverside Daffodil, owned and ridden by Renee Nichols, jumped a super round to head the exceeding 143cm division and stand champion, ahead of the exceeding 133cm but not exceeding 143cm class victor, Hearnesbrook New Moon, owned by Phyll Buxton and ridden by Ella Dalton.

DRIVING: EXELL EXCELS IN TRICKY CONDITIONS

In horse four-in-hands, the leader – reigning world champion and winner here eight times – Boyd Exell (AUS) drove surely and confidently in wet conditions, recording the fastest time in five of the obstacles. He won this section and increased his lead to an impressive 20 penalties. His closest challenger at this time is Belgium’s Edouard Simonet whose careful marathon – he was third in the phase – moved him into second place overall, from fifth after the dressage. Father and son competitors from the Netherlands, Ijsbrand and Bram Chardon, the latter competing in horse four-in-hands for the first time here, moved up the leader board to take third and fourth places, respectively, less than one penalty separating them.

Horse pairs saw a change in leader when second placed Beat Schenk from Switzerland moved up to first place ahead of France’s Franck Grimonprez, a member of France’s bronze medal winning team at the 2017 World Horse Pairs Championships in Slovenia. Germany’s Sebastian Warneck, a silver team medallist in Slovenia last year, moved up a place to third.

Positions changed, too, in pony four-in-hands. Overnight leader Tinne Bax (BEL) dropped from first place to third, while Great Britain’s young pony four-in-hand competitor, Roger Campbell, drove an outstanding marathon to win this section and secure him second place ahead of the cones phase. He is less than three penalties behind the new overnight leader Jan de Boer from the Netherlands, who has six previous wins at Royal Windsor with his team of Welsh ponies.

Tickets for Royal Windsor Horse Show are still available via www.rwhs.co.uk.

Gayle Telford, Revolution Sports + Entertainment
E: gayle@revolutionsports.co.uk T: +44 (0)203 176 0355

Seventh FEI World Cup Driving Title for Boyd Exell

Boyd Exell (FEI/Stefan Lafrentz)

Lausanne (SUI), 26 February 2017 – After a breath taking competition at the renowned Gothenburg Horse Show in Sweden, Boyd Exell (AUS) won the FEI World Cup™ Driving Final for the seventh time in his career. The silver went well deserved to Jérôme Voutaz (SUI) who was the winner the day before. Koos de Ronde (NED) took home the bronze.

Level 4 Course Designer Johan Jacobs (NED) had laid out a technical course with three obstacles and a brand new bridge, which suited most of the drivers. It was Jacobs’ first time as Course Designer at an FEI World Cup ™ Driving Final and his goal was to see controlled speed, which worked out well in the course.

After Competition 1 on Saturday, the drivers carried 50% of the time difference in seconds between the winner and themselves forward into the Final.

Boyd Exell had to make up 1,74 seconds to Jérôme Voutaz and decided to change his route to avoid making any mistakes like he had done the day before: “Today I was more focused; I drove better. My horses were just as good as yesterday. It is always difficult to deliver a good round, but today it went really well.” After the first round, Boyd had an advantage of a little over four seconds to Jérôme, so he was the last man in. The Winning Round took place over a shortened course and Boyd drove fast and clear, securing his seventh World Cup title and the second one in Gothenburg. Boyd won his first ever Final in the Scandinavium in 2009.

Jérôme Voutaz was not amongst the top favourites before the Final but that changed quickly when he drove an impeccable round in Competition 1. Jérôme had never won a World Cup round before and was very pleased, but also felt the pressure of being the last starter in the first round of the Final. Jérôme turned his team of Freiberger horses very tight around the obstacles and set a good time. Unfortunately, one knock down prevented him from widening the gap with third placed Koos de Ronde. Before the winning round, the difference between De Ronde and Voutaz was only 0,53 seconds, but De Ronde knocked two balls down which gave Voutaz some air: “I was very pleased with my rounds and happy to be able to keep the pressure on. But I made a few mistakes with my rein handling, so I know I can be a little faster still; there is more to win with this team!” The Swiss auto mechanic is an amateur driver and used three of his outdoor horses, amongst which two dressage horses and a marathon horse, in his team.

Koos de Ronde used a different horse in the lead of his team Saturday and decided to change back to his regular team for the Final. Koos was now able to change gear all the time and had a better feeling. Unfortunately he had two balls down, but because he put the throttle on after his second mistake, he qualified for the Winning Round: “The first ball was my mistake, but I was happy to be in the Winning Round. I didn’t expect that after two mistakes. I then knew I had to drive fast in order to win, so I took some risks and I had two balls down again. I was hoping for a podium place before the Final and I am pleased that I made it, despite the mistakes.”

Jozsef Dobrovitz (HUN) finished in fourth place, driving a team he had just put together for this Final, including two new horses. Dobrovitz drove clear, but his time just wasn’t fast enough to enter the Top Three.

Title defender IJsbrand Chardon (NED) had bad luck in Competition 1 where he knocked three balls down. Chardon had to make up over seven seconds to Voutaz and even though he gave his best and stayed clear, this wasn’t enough for a podium place.

Wild card driver Fredrik Persson (SWE) felt a little rusty on the first day as he had not been competing for two months, but he drove his team of nice, aged Swedish warm blood horses to the sixth place. The average age of his horses is 21 years old, but they are still fit as ever.

Georg von Stein (GER) was assisted by is compatriot and international four-in-hand driver himself, Christoph Sandmann, as his navigator. Unfortunately Georg had an error of course in the last marathon obstacle, which dropped him to the seventh place.

For more information on FEI World Cup™ Driving, please check the FEI website.

By Cindy Timmer

FEI Media Contact:

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

For Gothenburg:

Lotta Amnestal
Lotta.Amnestal@ridsport.se
+ 46 709 79 56 35

Boyd Exell Is the Best in Bordeaux

Boyd Exell (FEI/Pierre Costabadie)

Bordeaux (FRA), 5 February 2017 – Boyd Exell (AUS) has won the eighth and last leg of the FEI World Cup™ Driving in Bordeaux (FRA) after an exciting battle with his Dutch opponents Koos de Ronde and IJsbrand Chardon. This was Boyd’s third win for World Cup points of this season, which puts him in the lead of the final standings before the FEI World Cup™ Driving Final.

For the first time in years, Bordeaux played host to a Leg instead of the Final, but the seven top drivers guaranteed excitement nevertheless. International Level 4 Course Designer Jeroen Houterman (NED) had laid out a very challenging course, in which technique and speed were well combined. According to some, this was the best course of the season so far.

The top three drivers all have great memories of Bordeaux since they all have won the Final here at least once. Koos de Ronde was the first man in the arena in the Winning Round, which took place over a shortened course and in which the drivers started from scratch again. Koos drove an amazing fast and clear round which put the pressure on Ijsbrand and Boyd: “The last two shows I had the feeling that luck was not on my side, but here it all came together for me. I had a very good feeling, especially because I drove faster than IJsbrand this time. I knew it was a difficult course in which it was easy to have a knock down, but I really went for it and all went okay. I will most likely use the four horses I used today in the Final in Gothenburg as well. I definitely feel I have a chance for a podium place with this four-in-hand; they feel very good.”

Reigning World Cup Champion Ijsbrand Chardon was the next driver in the arena, where the enthusiastic spectators filled the stands. Chardon, however, made an error of judgement by taking a turn too short in the first marathon obstacle. It went well, but the longer route would have been faster: “It was more difficult than I thought. Instead of winning two to three seconds, I lost them. I wanted to force Boyd to take the same route, but it didn’t turn out like that. It was a gamble and I lost it, but that is okay.”

Boyd Exell just came back from a short holiday after Leipzig, which had obviously done him good. The reigning World Champion attacked the course and came out nearly three seconds faster than De Ronde: “I like a tougher course and this one suited me well. It gave us the chance to use our power and to show the technical skills of our team. I decided not to take any risks because the positioning in the Final does count. I am now the last driver to go into the arena in the first competition in Gothenburg later this month, which is important. My horses’ fitness is getting better and I am not afraid that they will become too fit.”

Edouard Simonet (BEL) put down an excellent performance in Bordeaux in both competitions. The talented driver drove his team of Arabo Friesian horses clear and smooth through the course and finished in fourth place. The battle for the sixth place in the Final went between Simonet and Georg von Stein (GER). The latter finished in fifth position, which qualified him for the Final. Wild Card drivers Benjamin Aillaud (FRA) and Sébastien Mourier (FRA) claimed the sixth and seventh place.

For the complete results, click here.

The 2016/2017 FEI World Cup™ Driving series now moves on to the Final in Gothenburg (SWE) on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 February 2017.

The FEI World Cup™ Driving competition in Gothenburg will be broadcast live on FEI TV, the FEI’s official video platform, on Sunday 26 February.

For information on Gothenburg, go to www.gothenburghorseshow.com or contact Press Officer Lotta Amnestal, Lotta.Amnestal@ridsport.se, + 46 709 79 56 35.

For more information on FEI World Cup™ Driving, please check the FEI website.

By Cindy Timmer

FEI Media Contacts:

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

At Bordeaux:

Pascal Renauldon
p.renauldon@rbpresse.com
+33 608759407

Boyd Exell Dominates Leipzig’s “Pop Concert”

Boyd Exell (Photo: FEI/Stefan Lafrentz)

Leipzig (GER), 22 January 2017 – It was the most exciting battle you could think of at the FEI World Cup™ Driving leg in Leipzig. In the end, Australia’s Boyd Exell won with two tenths of a second advantage in front of Swiss driver Jerome Voutaz. Third place was for Dutchman Ijsbrand Chardon. All three of them showed clear rounds in the drive off.

After seven out of eight legs, Exell and Chardon are now together on the top of the World Cup Ranking list with 27 points. Koos des Ronde following with 25 points. Because Exell had a wild card for Leipzig, second placed Voutaz, earned a full ten points and is now in fifth place with 20 points.

“Leipzig is definitely one of my favourite shows,” explained Exell and added, laughing, “even if the result was closer than I wanted it to be.”

Exell ended up third in the first round after having the fastest time but one ball down in an obstacle. So he was the first to go in the drive off.

“On that position I only had one chance: to drive clear and put some pressure on the other drivers.” It was the third win for Exell in Leipzig after the World Cup final in 2011 and 2016.

Jerome Voutaz was undeniably happy about being second behind the three time World Cup winner from Australia. “I have been second in Leipzig behind Boyd last year and I am very happy to be so close to him this year. That alone is not easy. And next year I will try again to beat him,” said Voutaz with a smile.

Conversely, Ijsbrand Chardon started with bad luck in the driving competitions of Leipzig. During the first day, he had big problems with his reins and finished up last. He then had to go first in the FEI World Cup™ Driving competition on Sunday, where he did a very fast round with one ball down, but ended up second in the first round.

“So I had to wait for about 25 minutes until the first round was over and it was my turn in the drive off. During that time I could only walk my horses and it was not easy to ‘wake them up’ again. I didn’t have such a good feeling in the drive off as in the first round, but nevertheless I am happy.”

Course designer Dr. Wolfgang Asendorf was especially pleased with the seventh leg of the FEI World Cup™ Driving: “I liked the combination of technic and tempo in the course and what the drivers made out of it.  I was absolutely thrilled by the atmosphere during the drive off. It was like being at a pop concert.”

For the complete results and standings for the FEI World Cup™ Driving, click here.

For more information on FEI World Cup™ Driving, please check the FEI website.

By Kim Kreling

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

Six Times Champion Boyd Exell Triumphs Again at Olympia

Saturday’s sell-out crowd watched admirably as The FEI World Cup™ Driving Leg presented by Dodson & Horrell took to the arena with Boyd Exell demonstrating an unbeatable performance and taking home the title.

Lorenzo De Luca, the Italian rider who is proving such a hit, won the Martin Collins Enterprises Christmas Tree Stakes and is now second in the H&M Leading Rider of Show rankings behind Sweden’s Malin Baryard-Johnsson ahead of H&M Sunday.

Jessica Mendoza was masterful when taking the under-23 title; Laura Renwick notched up Britain’s first senior win and the talented young Irishman Bertram Allen triumphed in the Christmas Masters.

The world’s leading driver Boyd Exell (AUS) showed the enthusiastic full house at Olympia just why he deserves that title. The six times World Cup™ Driving Champion and four times individual gold medallist drove two peerless rounds in the final leg of the FEI World Cup™ Driving to take the win.

Finishing in third place last night in the qualifying round, behind Hungary’s Jozsef Dobrovitz snr and Koos de Ronde (NED), meant Exell took on the course before them. Up until then only one of the four previous drivers – Georg von Stein from Germany – had posted a clear round. Exell showed his intent by driving clear and clipped ten seconds off von Stein’s time. Following him, Dobrovitz and de Ronde both drove clear but Exell took the lead by some three seconds.

The top three competed again over a shortened course, starting from a zero score. Dobrovitz lost time at obstacle one attempting a tight turn and then had a knockdown at obstacle two. De Ronde pulled out all the stops and secured a very fast time but in doing so picked up five penalties.

Exell only had to drive clear but that was no barrier to him putting his foot flat to the floor. He galloped home clear two seconds faster than de Ronde to notch up his third win in FEI World Cup™ Driving qualifiers this season, keeping him in the top of the rankings.

All three top drivers paid tribute to the highly-charged atmosphere at Olympia where the crowd is so enthusiastically engaged with the competition.

“I feel on home ground here,” remarked Exell who moved from the UK to Holland two years ago.

“That does increase the pressure for me but equally we are all lifted by the crowd. The Show is the one we want to be at.” A sentiment endorsed by Dobrovitz competing here for the second year running.

Daniel Naprous (GBR) remarked, “Olympia gives British drivers the most wonderful platform to compete against the best in the world. They are so welcoming to us and we are getting better as a result. It’s a thank-you to Olympia.”

Italian rider Lorenzo De Luca brought the crowd to their feet with a stunning performance in the jump-off of the Martin Collins Enterprises Christmas Tree Stakes.

The Olympia crowd has taken the young Italian to their hearts this week and he did not disappoint, pulling off an audacious round on the white-faced chestnut by Heartbreaker, Halifax van het Kluizebos, to clinch victory from his Stephex Stables team mate Daniel Deusser on Hidalgo VG.

The competition involved a timed first round from which 14 went through to the jump-off. Ben Maher put up a spirited challenge to finish third and best British on the eight-year-old Don Vito.

Lorenzo, a member of the Italian Air Force, is trained by Dutchman Henk Nooren and is based in Brussels with the Stephex Stables. This is his first appearance at Olympia. He will ride Limestone Grey in the Longines FEI World Cup™ Qualifier presented by H&M and Halifax in the Grand Prix.

“Halifax is very fast and careful and he wants to do his best,” said Lorenzo, 29, who is 17th in the Longines FEI World Rankings. “This is a super show. Everyone told me it was great, but now I know. It’s a proper horse show.”

The Italian star is now second in the H&M Leading Rider of the Show rankings, 18 points behind the runaway leader, Sweden’s Malin Baryard-Johnsson, ahead of H&M Sunday.

Laura Renwick secured Britain’s first outright show jumping win of the week in The Shelly Ashman International Ltd, E M Rogers (Transport) Ltd Father Christmas Stakes. This was an accumulator competition in which a clear jump over a fence accrues points, with a final optional joker fence offering a tempting double, its easier counterpart.

Remarkably, Laura has only ridden her winning partner, Con Chilli, for just two months. “She’s usually ridden by Yazmin Pinchen, but I have the ride on her as Yazmin is pregnant,” Laura explained. “The other two horses I have here are also Yazmin’s, but this will only be my second show with those. They are all going really well here and I am very fortunate to have them.”

Laura was also in the final shake up of The Christmas Masters, in which the top seven leading riders of the show so far were eligible to compete.

In this class, riders nominate a fence to go up before they jump. If they jump it clear, the prize pot increases by £500; if not, the prize fund stays the same and the fence is dropped back to its previous height. After each round, all those still clear jump again until the fifth and final round, in which the jump-off is against the clock.

Laura (Dominant H), Sweden’s Malin Baryard-Johnsson (H&M Indiana) and Irishman Bertram Allen (High Valley) remained after four rounds, and went head-to-head for the winner-takes-all purse of £14,000.

Unfortunately, first-drawn Laura finished on four faults, but Bertram posted a fast clear, with a time that Malin could not match.

“It wasn’t an easy class to win. Often, if you get to the fifth round, you’ve won,” said Bertram. “It was difficult to know how fast to go as I was mid-drawn, so I didn’t want to risk going too fast and having a fence down.”

However, the young Irishman rode his round to perfection to take the spoils.

Team GBR Olympic reserve, Jessica Mendoza, has enjoyed a meteoric rise in show jumping, but until now there was one gap in her CV: The Dodson & Horrell and The World Class Programme U23 British Championships at Olympia, the London International Horse Show.

She put that right with a masterful victory on Wan Architect, despite 15-year-old Jack Whitaker, the European Pony Champion, running her close to the wire with a mature performance on the grey stallion Grade A Valentin R, one of three horses he qualified for Olympia.

Yazmin Davis finished third on Zilverster ll, having incurred a time penalty in the jump-off.

Jessica, Jack and Yazmin all jumped clear in the first round and were joined in the jump-off by the fastest of the four-faulters, who knew they had nothing to lose by going for speed and pressurising the top three.

Graham Gillespie set a blistering target with a clear round in 35.86 seconds on Celine, which was good enough to take fourth place, and Millie Allen, a star of the Pony and Junior circuits, was fifth on the stallion Balou Star.

Despite all her experience, Jessica, 21, commented that she felt Kelvin Bywater’s track was “stiff enough” and said: “I watched everyone’s rounds very carefully. Jack did a very smooth round which was hard to gauge so I knew I had to go for it. I’ve been second and third in this class so winning it at last really means a lot.”

Jessica, who has been competing Wan Architect in other classes at Olympia, was 4.54 seconds faster than Jack but his calm, classical approach was impressive and father Michael, who was in the audience for once, was visibly as proud as punch.

“I’m very, very pleased,” Jack said afterwards, “though I should have gone quicker! This is a prestigious class and I’ve been trying to get here for ages.”

Other highlights include Lee Windeatt and Ag Ch Darleyfalls Pipistrelle taking the victory in The Kennel Club Large Senior Dog Agility Finals.

For more information, please contact:
Gayle Telford, Revolution Sports + Entertainment
gayle@revolutionsports.co.uk
0203 176 0355
www.olympiahorseshow.com

Boyd’s Team ‘On Song’ at London Olympia

Boyd Exell (FEI/Trevor Meeks)

London Olympia (GBR), 17 December 2016 – Boyd Exell (AUS) has won the fifth leg of the FEI World Cup™ Driving at London Olympia after an exciting battle with Koos de Ronde (NED) and József Dobrovitz (HUN). Boyd took the top honours, but since he competed with a wild card, the 10 World Cup points went to De Ronde.

Boyd’s team was ‘on song’ in the electric atmosphere of the London International Horse Show at Olympia on Saturday evening. ”I qualified for the winning round in which I was last to go. I knew Dobrovitz and De Ronde had made mistakes, so my plan was to drive smooth. Half way through the course my back stepper told me I was six seconds up, so in the last phase of the course I did not take any risks.” Boyd finished two seconds faster than Koos de Ronde, thanks to a very clever turn in the first marathon obstacle. It is the third time that Boyd has won the FEI World Cup™ Driving competition in Olympia, he also won the editions in 2012 and 2014.

Koos de Ronde’s team went even better than in the first competition, which he had won. Being the last man to go in the first round, Koos knew his opponents had driven clear rounds so he had to be fast and clear. Half way through the course he realized his time was good and decided not to take any risks, which resulted in the second place. The three drivers started from scratch again and Koos went for it in the second round, in which Dutch level 4 Course Designer Johan Jacobs had taken two gates out: “I am very pleased with my team of horses; they went very well. I really went for it, but I had an unfortunate knock down in the second obstacle, so the rest of the course I drove fast but without risk,” said Koos. The 2016 bronze medallist at the World Championships has now picked up 10 World Cup points, which puts him in second position in the provisional standings after his win in Budapest two weeks ago.

József Dobrovitz fully concentrated on finishing in the top three in the first round, and he succeeded. Dobrovitz truly enjoys competing at Olympia and he brought two new horses to London, which only competed in his team twice before: “My right wheeler horse is only young and after three days of competition, he was very tired, but I am very pleased with my horses.” Dobrovitz missed a turn in the second round and had one knock down. Both Dobrovitz and his son József Jr. have now finished their four events – Dobrovitz is in second place in the standings and junior in fourth place. It will depend on the results of the other drivers in the next competitions if they will stay in the top 6 to qualify for the Final in Göteborg at the end of February.

Georg von Stein (GER) drove a smooth and clear round, but was not fast enough to qualify for the winning round and finished in fourth place, ahead of Dobrovitz Jr., who tried a shortcut from obstacle 7 to 8, which cost him a knock down. Second wild card driver Daniel Naprous (GBR) dropped a loop in the first marathon obstacle, turned up his speed but picked up two balls and finished in sixth place. Theo Timmerman (NED) lost precious seconds when he missed a gate in the first marathon obstacle and finished in seventh place.

For the complete results, click here.

The FEI World Cup™ Driving competition in Mechelen will be broadcast live on FEI TV, the FEI’s official video platform, on Friday, 30 December at 21.15 hrs. CET (local time in Belgium, GMT+1 hour).

For information on Mechelen, go to www.jumping-mechelen.com or contact Press Officer Edith de Reys, edith.dereys@skynet.be, +32 475 659 281.

For more information on FEI World Cup™ Driving, please check the FEI website.

By Cindy Timmer

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

At London Olympia:
Jo Peck
Press Officer
JoPeck@hpower.co.uk
+44 1753 847 900

Christmas Comes Early for Holly in the Cayenne Puissance

Olympia, the London International Horse Show had crowds sat on the edge of their seats, as the Cayenne Puissance took flight. Holly Smith (GBR) and Christopher Megahey (IRL) both went clear in the 5th round to take home the title in front of HRH The Duchess of Cornwall. Olympic Gold Medallist Nick Skelton, was also in attendance as he took part in a Q&A session with some lucky fans.

Holly Smith, who had never ridden in a puissance competition until this year, and the teenager from Ireland, Christopher Megahey, 18, a first-timer at Olympia, The London International Horse Show, shared the spoils in a thrilling finale to the Cayenne Puissance.

With The Duchess of Cornwall, who was paying her annual visit to the show, looking on, the pair both cleared 7ft 1in in the fifth and final round.

Holly (nee Gillott), riding the huge bay Irish sport horse Quality Old Joker, showed all her experience from the hunting field, saw the perfect stride and cleared the massive wall in superb style.

But then the young Irishman matched her for nerve and pinged over on another Irish-bred horse, his brother’s former eventer Seapatrick Cruise Cavalier, in a result that will thrill fans of horses from the Emerald Isle.

Norwegian rider Rebekka Lie Andersen finished third, having retired in the third round on Want To Do, and Britain’s Laura Renwick, who withdrew from the third round, was fourth on Top Dollar Vl.

“It’s fantastic,” said Holly, 27. “All my friends are here to watch. I tried to treat it as a normal show, but it’s just got such an amazing atmosphere. The first three rounds didn’t actually go that well, but then I managed to see a forward stride in the fourth and he jumped brilliantly.”

Christopher was equally thrilled. “I loved it – it didn’t faze me at all. It’s just brilliant being here, being around top riders like Marcus Ehning and Scott Brash.”

Earlier on in the day the Stephex Stables enjoyed a fantastic start to the show, with its riders claiming the first two international Show Jumping classes.

The initial victory came from Germany’s Daniel Deusser, who took the Santa Stakes with nine-year-old stallion Hidalgo VG.

“It’s great to start with a win as it gives you confidence for the rest of show,” said Daniel, who beat 11 rivals in the jump off and relegated Britain’s Ben Maher (Don Vito) to second.

Italian rider Lorenzo De Luca took the Christmas Pudding Stakes, a speed class, riding Halifax van het Kluizebos, one of the Belgium operation’s nine-year-old stallions.

“He’s a very good horse now, having continued to improve and become more competitive in bigger classes,” said Lorenzo, who is an Olympia first-timer. “Getting the invitation to compete here was a dream come true,” he said. “To win on the first day is just fantastic.”

Preceding the first round of the FEI World Cup™ competition, the Dodson & Horrell Extreme Driving at Olympia saw all seven competitors representing five countries. But it was the world’s leading driver, current reigning World Champion both indoors and out, Boyd Exell (AUS), who snatched victory.

Over a challenging course set by course designer, Johan Jacobs from the Netherlands, Exell was the last to go in the first round and was fastest at the midway point. However, the brakes locked on his carriage as he drove over the bridge in the centre of the arena, making for a difficult turn into the first gate of the second obstacle. A resulting knockdown gave him penalties and put him into third place behind Koos de Ronde from The Netherlands and Jozsef Dobrovitz from Hungary. Dobrovitz, whose son is also competing in the competition, was the only driver to post a clear round at this stage, giving him the top slot.

In the second round, in which the top three placed drivers compete again for first to third place, Exell set the bar high with an excellent round despite one knockdown. Even with 5 penalties added the other two were unable to better his score and he claimed the win again, repeating last year’s success in this competition.

“I’ll be making a few changes in my team for the World Cup competition tomorrow,” Exell remarked. “But today’s competition was outstanding. This Show produces an amazing atmosphere and really allows us to showcase our sport. To compete to such an enthusiastic crowd and a full house spurs us all on.”

Course designer Jacobs commented, “I expect all the drivers to make fewer mistakes tomorrow – there are always difficulties in the first competition. They will be competing over a different course although the obstacles are in the same place – I don’t plan to make it any trickier than today though!”

Along with the evening’s Show Jumping and the Dodson & Horrell Extreme Driving, a special presentation took place as Tim Wilks was awarded the Raymond Brooks-Ward Memorial Trophy, presented to young riders demonstrating potential for future success in the forthcoming season.

The Kennel Club ABC Dog Agility Final thrilled the crowd, but Jo Gleed and her dog Bonvivant With Extra Zoom were too quick for fellow four-legged competitors to clinch the victory.

Olympic champion Nick Skelton spent the day being feted by journalists and the crowd, who will no doubt be voting in their thousands for him on Sunday night in BBC Sports Personality of the Year. Speaking of his Olympic Gold Medal, Nick said, “I never thought it would happen – I’d tried and failed so many times, but I think it means more to me winning a gold medal at my age than it would have done if I was younger.”

For more information, please contact:
Gayle Telford, Revolution Sports + Entertainment
gayle@revolutionsports.co.uk
0203 176 0355
www.olympiahorseshow.com

Ninth Victory for Boyd Exell in Geneva

Boyd Exell (FEI /Dirk Caremans)

Geneva (SUI), 11 December 2016 – In a thrilling competition in which Boyd Exell (AUS) was put under pressure by Georg von Stein (GER), Boyd put the accelerator on and claimed his 9th consecutive victory at the FEI World Cup™ Driving in Geneva. Von Stein finished in second place, while József Dobrovitz jr. (HUN) picked up important World Cup points by finishing in third place.

Dutch level 4 Course Designer Johan Jacobs had laid out a nice and fluent course in the very large arena in Geneva, where the beautiful water splash and the hill always ensure spectacular images. The Ground Jury included a former fellow four-in-hand driver; Swiss level 2 Driving Judge Daniel Würgler, who won the inaugural edition of the CAI-W Geneva in 2002.

The second round took place over an altered course and the drivers started from scratch. Dobrovitz jr. was first to go, but he lost precious seconds: “I wanted to go fast to put the pressure on, but in the second marathon obstacle I turned too slow and I lost time. I wanted to go even faster to make up for it and I turned onto the bridge too fast, so I had a knock down. I became a little tired and lost concentration, which caused another two balls to fall. But I am very happy with my top three place!”

Next driver in the arena, Georg von Stein, put the pressure on Boyd by driving a fast and clear round. The reigning German Champion finished third in Stuttgart where he competed with a wild card and now took home his first World Cup points of this season: “I have a very fast team; especially on the long lines, I can make up a lot of time. I have watched the videos of the first competition and I learnt that my turns in the obstacles cost much time, so I know what I have to work on.”

The many enthusiastic spectators in the Palexpo arena held their breath when last starter Boyd Exell had one knock down, but the four-times World Champion passed the finish line 10 seconds faster than Von Stein and secured his 9th win in Geneva since he first won in 2008: “I have been helping Georg lately to make his team better, so on the one hand I was pleased for him, but on the other hand I really felt the pressure. At the split time I was four seconds up, but then I had that ball, which was really a driver mistake. I turned my wheeler horse too fast into the obstacle. But I made up time in that very same obstacle and in the last part of the course.”

Home driver Jérôme Voutaz finished in fourth place with his team of fast turning Freiberger horses, ahead of József Dobrovitz (HUN) and wild card drivers Benjamin Aillaud (FRA), driving a team of beautiful Lusitano’s and Werner Ulrich (SUI). For Ulrich, Geneva was his last competition as four-in-hand driver. The 57-year-old very successful Swiss competitor retires from the four-in-hand sport, but will continue as a pair driver and trainer.

For the complete results, click here.

The FEI World Cup™ Driving competition in London Olympia will be broadcast live on FEI TV, the FEI’s official video platform, on Saturday, 17 December at 17.30 hrs. CET (local time in Switzerland, GMT+1 hour).

For information on London Olympia, go to www.olympiahorseshow.com or contact Press Officer Jo Peck, jopeck@hpower.co.uk, + 44 1753 847 900.

For more information on FEI World Cup™ Driving, please check the FEI website.

By Cindy Timmer

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

At Geneva:
Corinne Druey
druey@syntagme-lausanne.ch
+41 21 312 82 22

Boyd Exell Class of His Own

Boyd Exell (AUS) (FEI /Roland Thunholm)

Stockholm (SWE), 27 November 2016 – Boyd Exell (AUS) has proved once again to be in a class of his own in the FEI World Cup™ Driving competition in Stockholm. The six times FEI World Cup™ Champion went into the second round with over 19 seconds advantage to József Dobrovitz (HUN) and passed the finish line with an even larger advantage to his Hungarian fellow competitor. József Dobrovitz jr. (HUN) finished on a humble third place, only 1,5 seconds behind his father.

After his disappointing performance during the first competition on Friday evening, World Cup debutant Edouard Simonet (BEL) drove a very secure and safe round, only picking up a ball in the corner at the tricky 9th gate. Simonet finished in the fourth place, ahead of wild card driver Fredrik Persson (SWE). The home driver had to use his spare horse, which on Friday was not focussed at the right time. The horse insurance salesman hit one ball too many to qualify for the second round, which took place over a shortened course. Germany’s Rainer Duen picked up three balls and was placed sixth in his second World Cup competition of this season.

The enthusiastic spectators in the Friends arena cheered the six drivers in the technical course, laid out by Sweden’s level 3 Course Designer Dan Henriksson. Both rounds times were added together, but this didn’t affect Exell’s tactics. The Netherlands-based driver was the only one who drove a clear round and the one knock down in the second round did not endanger his leading position at all: “My horses were very excited when they came from the warm up arena into the main arena. I tried to slow them down, but they wouldn’t let me, so I just went very fast. In the second round again, their rhythm was excellent and I decided to go with the team. If I try to slow them down, I make mistakes. Compared to Stuttgart, I had my concentration back again because my father is back home after an operation.”

József Dobrovitz started his World Cup season in Stockholm, a show that he likes very much: “I was very pleased with my horses, but I made a mistake myself. I missed a gate in the first marathon obstacle, which cost me much time.” Dobrovitz then didn’t want to concentrate too much on gate 9 and knocked this one over, as well as a ball in the linear obstacle.

Dobrovitz’ son József Dobrovitz jr. also started his season in the Friends Arena, where he had to drive with an alternative set of leader horses after his experienced horse Cselentano was declared unfit to compete in the first horse inspection. The spare horse that he used had never experienced an indoor show before, but junior found the right pace and qualified for the second round. Unfortunately his reins went around his fingers in the second marathon obstacle and later on his whip got caught in the harness, which caused one ball to drop: “My horses were very good today; the leaders really started to get together. We compete in Budapest next week and I am not sure that I want to change again!”

Results in detail can be viewed here.

For information on Budapest, go to http://lovasshow.hu/ or contact Press Officer Ezster Kovács, lovasvk@gmail.com, +36 70 366 6494.

For more information on FEI World Cup™ Driving, please check the FEI website.

By Cindy Timmer

FEI Media Contact:

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

At Stockholm:
Lotta Amnestal
Lotta.Amnestal@ridsport.se
+ 46 709 79 56 35

Chardon Beats Exell in Stuttgart

Ijsbrand Chardon (FEI /Stefan Lafrentz)

Stuttgart (GER), 19 November 2016 – After an exciting battle in the nearly sold out Schleyer Halle in Stuttgart (GER), reigning World Cup Champion IJsbrand Chardon (NED) beat his rival Boyd Exell (AUS) in the first FEI World Cup™ Driving competition of the season. Wild card driver Georg von Stein (GER) finished in the third place.

Chardon set the time to beat in the second round, in which the top three drivers started from scratch. Last starter Boyd Exell knocked down two cones and was unable to beat Chardon’s time, which resulted in Chardon wining Stuttgart again, for the first time since 2007.

Boyd Exell used a new left leader horse in his team as well. The 18-year-old gelding Costa contributed to Boyd’s very fast team of horses. Being the last man in, Boyd was so focused in the first marathon obstacle, he completed with an extra circle. Whilst trying to make up for this mistake, the four-times World Champion went even faster, but knocked down two balls and finished in second place.

Georg von Stein thanked the organiser for his wild card, which allowed him to test his horses: “I made changes to my wheelers; I took one out and changed position of the other. The spectators were amazing; the atmosphere was great. It is a shame that I knocked some flowers over in the second round, but I am very pleased with my results.”

Theo Timmerman (NED) used two new leader horses and his team was very fast. Unfortunately he had three knockdowns, which dropped him to fourth place. The four-in-hand of Rainer Duen (GER) lacked the proper settings and Duen could not get into the right rhythm, finishing in fifth place, ahead of Jérôme Voutaz (SUI) whose round did not go as well as he had hoped for.

The 2016/2017 FEI World Cup™ Driving series now moves on to Stockholm (SWE) on Sunday, 27 November. Boyd Exell and Rainer Duen will drive their second competition in Sweden’s capital city. József Dobrovitz (HUN), József Dobrovitz jr. (HUN) and Edouard Simonet (BEL) will kick off their season there. Fredrik Persson (SWE) will compete with a wild card.

Quotes:

IJsbrand Chardon used a new horse in the left lead of his team, the 10-year-old piebald gelding Casper: “I have had this horse for two years and I normally use him in my riding school. I started to use him in a few small indoor competitions and he did very well, so I decided to use him in Stuttgart.”

Boyd Exell: “I wanted to stay tight to the elements and I forgot to think ahead; this was a driver mistake! I did cut every edge though and I am very pleased with my horses; they form a very good team.”

Results in detail can be viewed here.

The FEI World Cup™ Driving competition in Stockholm will be broadcast live on FEI TV, the FEI’s official video platform, at 13.00 hrs. CET (local time in Sweden, GMT+1 hour).

For information on Stockholm, go to www.swedenhorseshow.se/english/news/ or contact Press Officer Lotta Amnestal, Lotta.Amnestal@ridsport.se, + 46 709 79 56 35.

For more information on FEI World Cup™ Driving, please check the FEI website.

By Cindy Timmer

FEI Media Contact:

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

At Stuttgart:

Hartmut Binder
hartmut.binder@mps-agentur.de
+49 172 972 2848