The warm-up round of the FEI World Cup™ Driving Leg presented by Dodson & Horrell produced a tight and tense competition that had its share of drama. In the final result, it was last to go, Koos de Ronde, from the Netherlands who went over the line first to claim victory by less than 0.3 seconds.
First to go in today's competition, GB's representative and the least experienced driver in this event, Daniel Naprous, head of the riding and driving stunt team, The Devil's Horsemen, posted a competitive round with just one five-penalty knockdown. Next to go, driving on a wild card, was Australia's Boyd Exell (pictured) - six-time FEI World Cup™ Driving Champion - who drove with his usual skill and dash. However, taking a short line through the second obstacle to get to the finish, he clipped a couple of elements to pick up ten penalties. So fast was his round that he remained in contention.
Hungarian driver, Jozsef Dobrovitz Snr, who was second to Exell in last night's Extreme Driving competition, drove surely and fast again to take the lead. His son, Jozsef Dobrovitz Jnr, followed by Theo Timmerman from The Netherlands and Germany's Georg von Stein, all collected knockdown penalties that dropped them down the order.
Knowing that if he drove clear he would win, de Ronde still put up a fast pace through both obstacles and the elements between them. It proved a good policy - a late five-point penalty still allowed him to cross the line by just 0.22 penalties ahead of Dobrovitz Snr. Exell was third.
"It was a tense moment going into the arena," de Ronde - World Cup Champion in 2013 - acknowledged. "I took a slightly longer route through the obstacles to try to go clear but I kept up the pace. It paid off - just!"
The placings today determine the order of competition for the Final tomorrow. All drivers will start from a zero score however, making for a competition that will again thrill the packed crowd at Olympia.
Other highlights included Charlotte Harding claiming the Kennel Club Small Dog Agility Final title, with his four-legged partner AG CH Daimonic Expelliarmus. The Olympia Senior Showing Series Championships, sponsored by Anthony D Evans Insurance Brokers, was a highlight for Kerrilee Wilson Smith and her family whose delightful grey cob Silver Maddigan won the ridden section; the former ridden pony Hampton Scandal, handled by Liam Keetley, won the in-hand classification.