The USA’s Chester Weber had a tough go today in the cones competition at the FEI World Driving Championships in Pratoni del Vivaro, Italy, finishing 17th in that section to end up eighth overall as Boyd Exell of Australia kept his crown. It was Boyd’s sixth straight victory since his inaugural gold in 2010.
Chester, third individually after the dressage phase, slipped to fourth following yesterday’s marathon . Nine penalties on the cones course and 16.02 time penalties were costly.
Boyd had a total of 156.06 penalties for the event, retaining his edge because of his victorious 34.13 penalty score in the dressage. He had no knockdowns on the cones course, but accumulated 5.92 time penalties with a wise element of caution to his driving in rain and a damp surface.
Boyd Exell along the cones course on his way to his sixth world title. (Photo courtesy FEI)
Ijsbrand Chardon of the Netherlands led his country to its eleventh gold (313.93) in the team competition, while he took silver individually on 159.82, failing to add to the five individual golds he already had. Third went to Germany’s Michael Brauchle (164.89) as his nation earned silver (327.45) over Belgium (356.39) in the team contest.
Ijsbrand’s 25-year-old son, Bram, the youngest ever to win a world driving championship as he did with the indoor FEI World Driving Cup in Bordeaux earlier this year, was the only driver to go double-clear in the cones to win that section. He was using his “A Team” for that phase, having had issues with his combo in the dressage and marathon.
“I’m the current Dutch, European and World Cup Champion,” said Bram, “but on the World Championship I had unusual mistakes, the same as Tryon (the 2018 world championships in North Carolina.) I needed revenge on the Sunday, I needed it…to show that I can do it”, Bram said.
Boyd said, “I have the pressure of having fantastic horses and you mustn’t let them down.That’s one of the hardest things–they are 15 years old now and so experienced.
“The team of people around me, all the helpers, it’s about not letting them down too. Plus Koos (de Ronde of the Dutch team), Bram and Ijsbrand they add to the pressure too. So even when you have great horses, you also have to watch out for these guys.”
Boyd added, “When you look back in history, other drivers have had fantastic horses, and I’ve also had them over the years. Over time, everybody has great horses. It’s nice to remember them too.
“The pressure was also about keeping the reins dry.I had a second pair of gloves which I hadn’t thought I’d need! Also, the horses and carriage were starting to slip in the corners. The course was a good testing course today, but only in good conditions.
“With all the many U-turns in the wet conditions, it made it much harder. I used the information my team fed back to me about the rounds before me and I didn’t expect my horses to spook at the wooden horse in the middle, which cost me a few seconds. But overall, I tried to stay calm and not knock any balls“, Boyd added.
The U.S, which won gold in the championship at the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games, did not have a team in this year’s competition after Misdee Wrigley cancelled her participation due to health reasons.
There were only six driving teams at Pratoni, compared to 16 for the eventing championship the previous week. And Australia’s driving squad had just two members. Boyd’s teammate, Tor van den Berge, was eliminated, which meant Australia did not finish as a team.
Four-in-hand driving is expensive to pursue. That’s particularly so for Americans, since the major competitions are in Europe and it’s costly to ship so many horses and carriages abroad.
At the USA’s national championships last year, only Chester and Jimmy Fairclough participated. It’s a beautiful sport, but the money factor limits involvement to the wealthy or those who have great sponsors.
Click here for the individual standings. Click on this link for the team standings.