Dutch driver IJsbrand Chardon won the second to last FEI World Cup™ Qualifier at home soil in Breda. His teammate Koos de Ronde came second, and together with third Dutch driver Theo Timmerman, the Dutch team won the nations competition with a huge advantage over Germany and France. Sweden’s Tomas Eriksson moved up to third as Boyd Exell from Australia did not have his best weekend in Breda and finished fourth.
Competition statistics
33 four-in-hand drivers from 11 nations competed the field included 3 (former) World Champions: IJsbrand Chardon (NED), Tomas Eriksson (SWE) and Werner Ulrich (SUI) eldest competitor Eddy van Dyck (BEL), age 57 youngest competitor Axel Olin (SWE), age 23
Dressage for Exell
The very windy conditions in Breda on dressage demanded great concentration from the horses. The organisation had put stones on the dressage arena to prevent it from being blown away. Boyd Exell won the dressage, driving a very accurate test with his team of black geldings owned by his Hungarian sponsor Vincze Tamas and was placed first by four of the five international judges. IJsbrand Chardon kept the gap between Boyd and himself limited to two penalty points, he placing second. Riesenbeck winner Theo Timmerman took the third place.
Revenge for Chardon
IJsbrand Chardon took revenge for his second place in dressage by winning the heavy marathon. Dutch international course designer Johan Jacobs, who was recently promoted to FEI O-status, was responsible for the course. The long and technical obstacles with many sharp turns demanded great skill from both horses and drivers. The competitors had to pay attention from the first to the last gate. French marathon talent Thibault Coudry, who won the marathon in Saumur and in Conty this season, was the fastest in the obstacles. Penalty points in the walk section however prevented Coudry from a Top Five placing in the marathon. Jozsef Dobrovitz from Hungary set the fastest time in the first obstacle and was determined to set some more fast times, but his left wheeler unfortunately fell on the way to the finish in the third obstacle and Dobrovitz had to retire. The horse only suffered minor injuries. Boyd Exell and his team came 12th, which dropped them to the second place in the standings after dressage and marathon. Koos de Ronde and Tomas Eriksson had their teams working together well in Breda and took the second and third place in this phase of the only team competition in The Netherlands.
De Ronde does it in the cones
The final obstacle driving competition turned out to be decisive. Dutch driver Koos de Ronde was third last to start and he drove the only double clear round of the day, steering his team of Dutch harness horse geldings through the gates with great precision. This put the pressure on Exell, who was unable to deal with this and knocked three balls losing his chances to a podium place. Last starter IJsbrand Chardon had a big advantage over De Ronde and Exell and the small mistake at the eleventh gate could not prevent him from winning his 16th victory at the CAIO Breda.
Dutch domination
The Dutch team took the lead in the dressage and did not give this away during the competition. After winning the team gold at the World Championships in Beesd in 2008 and the nations competition in Aachen 2009, the Dutch team looks unbeatable at the moment. The drivers and the chefs d’equipe are all looking forward to next season to battle again in the various nations competitions with the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Kentucky as the big Final.
Quotes
IJsbrand Chardon (NED): “In the marathon I wanted to put Boyd under pressure, so I really went for it. I tried not to make any mistakes and it worked out well. I changed a leader horse to see how the horse would react because I would like to have as many options as possible for next year’s team for Kentucky.”
Tomas Eriksson (SWE):“My horses fortunately did not have any disadvantage from the win in the dressage. I am still looking for a good dressage horse in the lead of my team, but I am pleased with my dressage test in Breda. The marathon went very well for me although I prefer more technical obstacles. I had a small problem in the fourth obstacle when my leaders went into the wrong gate, which cost me the first place in the marathon.”
Boyd Exell (AUS) [Exell had initially not planned to compete in Breda but decided last minute to come over to The Netherlands]: “I was very pleased with my dressage test and the points the judges gave me. In the marathon it just didn’t work. I wasn’t concentrated enough, my horses weren’t working together well, and it was a combination of many factors. It was a heavy marathon for young horses, especially with the sharp turns.”
The last FEI World Cup™ Driving Qualifying event takes place at the CAI-A in Donaueschingen, Germany, from 17-20 September. The four best results are counted and the Top Ten after Donaueschingen qualify for the FEI World Cup™ Driving season 2009-2010.
Results:
1. IJsbrand Chardon (Ned) 135,64
2. Koos de Ronde (Ned) 143,60
3. Tomas Eriksson (Swe) 149,59
4. Boyd Exell (Aus) 150,74
5. Theo Timmerman (Ned) 157,84
6. Christoph Sandmann (Ger) 158,88
7. Daniel Wurgler (Sui) 159,92
8. Mark Weusthof (Rossum, Ov.) 168,55
9. Harry de Ruyter (Kessel, Lb.) 171,73
10 Thibault Coudry (Fra) 173,26
Nations competition:
1. The Netherlands 275,27
2. Germany 331,82
3. France 368,95
4. Switzerland 374,02
5. Sweden 375,04
6. Belgium 394,63