Saturday’s class determined the starting order for the seven drivers in this fifth leg of the FEI Driving World Cup, following Lyon, Maastricht, Stuttgart and Stockholm. In that opening round, everyone aimed to deliver their very best to qualify for the drive-off, reserved for the top three. Spurred on by an electric crowd, the fastest were France’s Benjamin Aillaud with his four-in-hand of Lusitanos, Palexpo’s standout and defending champion Boyd Exell from Australia, despite an injury to his left foot, and Belgium’s Dries Degrieck.
The three qualifiers then returned for the deciding drive-off, in reverse order of their first-round ranking. Who would add their name to the roll of honour of this traditional competition, the Frenchman, the Australian or the Belgian? Benjamin Aillaud, who seems to almost sing his horses through the course, was first to go. He was just a touch slower than in round one and stopped the clock in 165.19 seconds (164.19 earlier). Boyd Exell, already a thirteen-time winner in Palexpo, lowered the time to 153.06 with a breathtaking gallop down the final line. Dries Degrieck could not go any quicker despite all his efforts and finished in 157.92. Once again, the Australian turned Geneva into his kingdom.
Boyd Exell (AUS): “When I came here, I expected a drive-off with Dries and Bram Chardon, but in the end Benjamin also managed to qualify. Congratulations to him. In an arena like this it’s difficult to build a course, but today the course was perfect: spectacular and very enjoyable for the horses.”
Dries Degrieck (BEL): “I have a new horse in my team that did a really great job, and I’m very happy with this result. The track was flowing and pleasant. It was just as fun to drive as it was to watch for the public.”
Benjamin Aillaud (FRA): “The atmosphere here is simply incredible, and the crowd knows the sport. The idea was to drive as neatly as possible for the horses and show something harmonious. And when harmony comes together with rhythm, that’s when you start performing. My horses did liberty dressage and then became true driving horses. It’s a very emotional family adventure.”
Jérôme Voutaz (SUI), 7th: “I changed one horse compared to yesterday. I had a good feeling, but I made too many mistakes. I think it’s a lack of training, but I still take away a good feeling. Maybe I need to adjust two or three things, but that’s not so easy as a non-professional.”
Michael Mayer, course designer: “It’s a real challenge to build a course that isn’t too long and isn’t too difficult, with the lake, the hill, and so on. I think I found a good balance. Today was great sport and the crowd was fantastic.”
