Stockholm (SWE), 3 December 2012 – Werner Ulrich (SUI) got off to a flying start in the FEI World Cup Driving 2012/13 season when he won the series’ fourth leg held in Stockholm (SWE) on Sunday 2 December evening. Runner-up Tomas Eriksson (SWE) made up for his two knockdowns in the first round with a great performance in the Winning Round. Georg von Stein (GER) finished in third place.
The atmosphere was electric in the Ericsson Globe Arena as thousands of enthusiastic spectators cheered the six four-in-hand drivers and especially the three home competitors. Swedish international course designer Dan Henriksson had designed a challenging course in the small arena which included many technical parts and fast lines.
In 2013, the Stockholm International Horse Show will be held in the Globe Arena for the last time. From 2014 onwards, the event will be known as the Sweden International Horse Show and will move to the Swedbank Arena in Solna, north of Stockholm.
Werner Ulrich set a solid base for his victory as first starter in the Winning Round. Photo: FEI/Rinaldo de Craen
What nobody expected in Hungary’s capital city happened today: Switzerland’s Werner Ulrich stayed ahead of top favourite Boyd Exell from Australia and won the FEI World Cup Driving competition in Budapest. Exell made two mistakes and came second, ahead of Ulrich’s compatriot Daniel Würgler. This was the second FEI World Cup Driving win in Ulrich’s 31 year long driving career. His first World Cup win came in Mechelen back in 2005.
Heart for Driving The Papp Lászlo Budapest Sportarena was filled with enthusiastic driving fans this afternoon. In Budapest you feel that driving has a special place in the people’s hearts. The driving sport is extremely popular in Hungary, stimulated even further by the Lázár brothers who are very successful in both pairs and team driving and who enjoy celebrity status in Hungary.
Hungarian O-course designer Gábor Fintha had designed one of the best courses of the season for today’s competition, with technical challenges and fast lines, including a bridge with fireworks.
