The Aussie team driving team consisting of Boyd Exell and Tor Van Den Berg are leading the Baron und Baronin von Buchholtz Nations’ Cup as they head into the Obstacle/Cones phase on Sunday.
Boyd Exell flew around the Marathon phase on Saturday topping the leader board individually with a time of 7:37.22 and 114.31 penalties. He now leads the competition with 146.04 penalties, 20 points ahead of second and third place which is currently held by Germany (Anna Mareike Meier on 168.01 penalties and Anna Sandmann on 169.28 penalties).
Tor Van Den Berg put in a strong performance in the Marathon phase getting a time of 8:30.34 and 131.59 penalties which put him into ninth place on 180.83 penalties heading into the final phase of competition.
Exell holds strong lead overnight
The World Champion, Boyd Exell, left the rest of the field trailing behind in the Marathon competition in the Prize of schwartz Group. He notched up a score of 114.31 minus points. He took 7 minutes and 37.22 seconds to reach the finish line. Second place went to the delighted Austrian driver, Daniel Schneiders. His score: 119.66 minus points. Koos de Ronde from the Netherlands came third on a score of 121.39 minus points. Michael Brauchle was the best German driver in fourth place (122.73).
Boyd Exell was elated: “I feel like a million dollars!” He praised his team: “They were incredibly fast and full of energy!” With his victory in the Prize of schwartz Group, he is on the best track to win the Prize of Family Richard Talbot, the overall classification of the four-in-hand drivers, for the fourth time consecutively. He is currently heading the field with a lead of 20 points, ahead of the individual driver, Anna Mareike Meier, who finished eighth today, followed by Anna Sandmann, who came tenth in the Marathon.
“We have a 20-point lead, so we can relax a little this evening.” But it is too early to celebrate, because Anna Sandmann, a pupil of his, is definitely on course to make the podium: “I am convinced Anna Sandmann did some great work today. And in second and third place – the two German drivers, Mareike und Anna, have put in superb performances,” he said delighted for the hosts.
Australia is still in the lead in the interim results of the Baron und Baronin von Buchholtz Nations’ Cup, represented by Exell and Tor van den Berge. They are lying in first place on a total score of 326,870 minus points, ahead of Germany (338.190) and Belgium (350.30).
The Prize of Event Rent GmbH, the concluding cone driving competition of the four-in-hand drivers starts at 10.00 a.m. tomorrow morning in the Driving Stadium.
The final phase of driving will take place Sunday 6 July at 6pm AEST.
Full results and start lists for the Driving at CHIO Aachen can be found here.
You can re-watch the action from CHIO Aachen via ClipMyHorse.TV
Source: CHIO Aachen press release
