On Sunday, the stands at the Carrière Internationale were packed to cheer on the six four-horse teams competing in the FEI World Driving Championships. In an electric atmosphere, Australia's Boyd Exell won for the fifth time in five appearances at the Longines Equita Lyon International Horse Show.
Driving is an impressive discipline, even more so indoors. It requires all the skill of the drivers and their teams to guide their four horses between cones spaced 1.9 metres apart, marathon obstacles and a wooden bridge, all without knocking down any balls and going as fast as possible.
This year's course was particularly tricky, as course designer Jeroen Houterman (NED) had placed the famous bridge in the middle of a marathon obstacle. The two courses were identical to yesterday's layout, so the drivers were already familiar with the course. The battle raged on at the Carrière Internationale.
In the first part of the competition, Ijsbrand Chardon (NED), who was second on Saturday, took the lead with the fastest time of 168.34 seconds. He was two seconds ahead of Boyd Exell (170.54), who made a small driving error on obstacle No. 5, costing him a few seconds. Dries Degrieck (BEL) completed the provisional podium in 170.60 seconds. Benjamin Aillaud, supported by the ever-enthusiastic Lyon crowd, crossed the finish line in 175.80 seconds, securing fourth place.
A crazy drive-off
Only the top three returned for a final lap, in reverse order of the rankings. Dries Degrieck slightly improved his time, completing his lap in 169.34 seconds. The 2024 winner finished third. World number one Boyd Exell then entered the arena, determined to set the record straight. He harnessed the power of his horses and their ability to accelerate to lower his time by almost eight seconds (162.55 seconds)! Ijsbrand Chardon knew what he had to do. Even though he managed to improve his time (165.85 seconds), it was not enough to overtake the Australian master.
Boyd Exell, winner of the FEI World Driving Cup: "I love my horses and I always try to do my best for them. However, today, in the first round, I made a driving error. I am lucky to have very fast and intelligent horses, so I didn't lose too much time. Lyon is a fantastic competition. The atmosphere was electric today. The crowd was incredible and gave us a lot of support. We are really valued as athletes here and everything is done to ensure the well-being of our horses. "
