Exell secures sixth Aachen victory and takes charge of the FEI World Cup Driving qualification standings

Boyd Exell secures his sixth victory at Aachen 
Photograph:Rinaldo de Craen/FEI

Koos de Ronde (NED) became the runner up whereas the leader of the individual standings before the marathon Chester Weber (USA) finished third. The Dutch team won the gold medal for the seventh time in a row.

Exell finished second behind Chester Weber in the individual and team dressage. Although Australia did not field a team, the team dressage and cones were compulsory for all individual competitors. Exell secured a score of 34,80 penalty points in the dressage test with the beautiful black horses owned by the Hungarian Támas Vincze and drove a double clear round in the cones course. The difference with dressage winner Chester Weber was only 2,41 points before the marathon in which the competitors started in reverse order of merit.

The marathon footing had become heavy because of the rain during the previous night and on the morning before the competition, but all 25 drivers and their horses finished without severe problems. The Australian was the first to last starter and wisely decided to stick to his plan. By setting top scores in the majority of the eight challenging obstacles, he gradually overtook the overnight leader. By the time both drivers had crossed the finish line, they knew Exell had won Aachen for the fifth time in a row and for the sixth time overall in his exceptional career as a four-in-hand driver.

“I decided not to try to win the marathon, but to try to win the event. It was a very heavy course, but my horses were 110%. I decided to stick to my game.”

Chester Weber proved worthy of his nickname Mr Dressage by winning the test. Driving his team to a personal international best of 31.2, Weber dominated the world-class field. Following this record score in the individual dressage, Weber also won the team dressage finishing on 38.21 points. Weber’s winning team was made up of his own Para and Senate, as well as Splash and Uniek, owned by Jane Clark. Together, the four horses were able to demonstrate their amazing power, grace and synergy.

Weber left all the balls in place in the cones course but collected 1.19 penalties for exceeding the time allowed. In the marathon however the American was unable to keep up the necessary high speed in the obstacles and finished third individually.

German O-Course Designer Dr Hartmut Kaufmann was in charge of the courses at Aachen for the first time in his career. The 64-year old former driver has been building courses for over 20 years and was also the course designer at the FEI World Four-in-Hand Driving Championships in Riesenbeck (GER) in 2012. Kaufmann and his team of 10 assistants changed the stability constructions of the obstacles after a test with several world-class drivers last April. Kaufmann listened to the advice of the drivers and made the necessary changes, which resulted in a very nice marathon for the horses, drivers and spectators.

CAIO Aachen was one of the 14 outdoor competitions held in Austria, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, The Netherlands, and Slovenia which serve as qualifiers for the indoor FEI World Cup™ Driving. The top ten drivers after the last competition will qualify for the series 2013-2014 season, which starts in Hannover (GER) on 17 October.

Individual results CAIO Aachen 2013:

1. Boyd Exell AUS 118.46
2. Koos de Ronde NED 124.81
3. Chester Weber USA 125.78
4. Georg von Stein GER 135.15
5. Theo Timmerman NED 136.93

FEI World Cup™ Driving qualification standings after Aachen:

30 June 2013

Boyd makes it six wins at Aachen

Despite finishing fourth in Saturday's marathon, Boyd Exell has won the individual four-in-hand driving title at Aachen.

The victory marks Exell’s sixth win at this event and it is his fifth consecutive time atop the leaderboard.

Exell remained well position throughout the duration of the competition sitting in second position right until the final day.

“My tactic was not to win the Marathon at all costs, but to win the overall classification. But in fact my horses gave 110 percent today,” revealed Exell after the race.

“It was a very difficult, but in comparison to last year, much better designed course,” was how the winner described the course, praising its designer, Dr. Hartmut Kaufmann.

After all three competitions, the 40-year-old and his horses Capone II, Curios, Sam, Spitfire and Winston came out on top with a score of 118.46 points.

Second place went to the Dutch driver, Koos de Ronde, who came second in the Marathon competition.

Third place was claimed by the US-American, Chester Weber (125.78), who had been in the lead after the dressage and obstacle driving competitions.

Full results are available at: http://www.chioaachen.de/en/