Geneva Makes 12 out of 12 for Boyd Exell

Australian star Boyd Exell continued his perfect season with another win in Switzerland...

Boyd Exell of Australia was victorious again on Sunday at Geneva, making it the 12th time the former champion has won there in FEI Driving World Cup™ competition.

Exell, who has held the World Cup title eight times, turned on the speed in a blistering drive off, holding off Glenn Geerts of Belgium, who finished second.

Third place at Geneva was awarded to defending FEI Driving World Cup™ champion Bram Chardon of the Netherlands, who entered the drive off in first place but picked up penalty points in the final round that added to his time.

The huge arena in Geneva was beautifully decorated for the holidays, with Christmas trees, candy canes, and gingerbread men to cheer the packed stands.

Jeroen Houterman’s course this weekend took advantage of the ring’s size, and there were plenty of places where driving teams could go full out. In addition to two marathon obstacle segments, a speed box and a water element added drama and tested the dexterity of the four-in-hands teams.

Defending champion Bram Chardon was at the top of the leaderboard on Sunday, having beaten out the rest of the field in Saturday’s action, a highlight for the 59th Concours Hippique International de Genève.

Exell, with a substitute backstepper since Hugh Scott-Barrett hurt his knee in Maastricht, was right behind him, followed by Benjamin Aillaud of France, Geerts, Mareike Harm of Germany, and local Swiss favourite Jérôme Voutaz.

After another turn around the course on Sunday, only three would make it through to the drive off to determine a winner for the event, with Saturday’s results deciding the starting order.

Geerts, Exell, and Chardon had the best times of the six, and the crowd waited in excitement to see who would take home the gold medal.

“This is a very fast team. I decided to replace my new horse Orias today with one of my more experienced horses because this course was not about speed. I knew I could not afford to make mistakes and I am happy that I took this decision.”

First up, Glenn Geerts, with his wife as navigator and best mate as backstepper, put up a fast time of 150.55 seconds, a good five seconds faster than his first round. But a ball down on one of the cones cost him 4 points for a total of 154.55. Would it be enough to overtake the two champions?

Always one to step up to a challenge, Boyd Exell’s team clocked in even faster, finishing in 146.19. Also having 4 penalty points, they finished on 150.19 total, topping Geerts and throwing down the gauntlet for Chardon.

Sadly for Chardon, his speed came at the expense of accuracy this time around, and whilst his raw time of 144.16 seconds beat Exell’s, he racked up 16 penalties for a total of 160.16 seconds and third place.

Benjamin Aillaud finished fourth, followed by Voutaz and Harm.

“Bram Chardon was pushing me all the way,” said Boyd Exell of his strategy for the drive off. “But starting from zero again, I thought, ‘Let’s put the pressure on him.’”

“All I can say is thank you, Geneva! You’re really lucky for me!” gushed Exell. “What a great public--a full house on a Sunday!”

After Sunday’s event, Exell maintains his lead in the overall standings with 40 points to qualify for the finals at Bordeaux next February. Bram Chardon is in second place, and his father Ijsbrand Chardon, another former FEI Driving World Cup™ champion, is in third.

His second-place finish this weekend moved Glenn Geerts up to fourth place, a good position for him, as only the top six will get a berth in the Finals.

However, the tickets to Bordeaux haven’t all been punched yet. The action heads next to the London Olympia show, followed by legs at Mechelen and Leipzig.

• Supplied by FEI*