Boyd Exell and his team on the way to victory in London. Image: Boots & Hooves Photography.

Boyd Exell leads the FEI Driving World Cup in London

The opening competition that determined the order for Saturday’s leg of the FEI Driving World Cup at the London International Horse Show was won by Australian Boyd Exell.

Boyd has been crowned champion at the show an impressive 12 times, including both legs of the FEI Driving World Cup that took place here last year.

The two phases of the testing obstacle competition on Friday had only the fastest three (in reverse order) take on the shortened course. The drive-off was a battle between the best, seeing three of the world’s top four drivers; Koos de Ronde, Ijsbrand Chardon, and Boyd Exell go head-to-head. Exell demonstrated why he is top of the FEI rankings, as he once again magically steered his team of four around the arena to finish on a time that was one second quicker than the impressive Chardon.

Speaking after the class, Exell said: “I could hear the crowd helping us, they were obviously aware of how much I needed to push to beat Chardon, so we galloped down the back straight and really went for it until we reached the finish line – it was such an amazing atmosphere in there.”

When commenting on his team of horses, he said: “My two back horses, Mad Max and Barny are the galloping power, they are brilliant to drive, Jupiter is my fantastic 14-year-old right leader, and Bajnok is my 20-year-old left leader, he is the brains behind the operation and is so fast, clever and very hard to replace.”

Source: FEI press release/edited by EQ Life

Published 16 December 2023.

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