FEI DRIVING WORLD CUP™ presented by LAITERIE DE MONTAIGU A FIFTH TITLE FOR BOYD EXELL!

On Sunday, there was not an empty seat in the stands around International Arena, as the public turned out in style to cheer on the six four-horse teams taking part in the FEI Driving World Cup presented by Laiterie de Montaigu. The atmosphere was electric as Australia's Boyd Exell won yet again at the Longines Equita Lyon, Concours Hippique International, his fifth win in five participations in the event. Benjamin Aillaud, the only French driver involved in the class, took fourth place.

Driving is a truly impressive discipline, and even more so when it is held indoors. It takes all the skill of the drivers to guide their team of four horses between a series of cones, spaced 1.90 metres apart, around marathon obstacles and over a wooden bridge, while going as fast as possible and without knocking over any bails. And the course had a subtle new feature this year, since the course designer, Jeroen Houterman (NED), had placed the infamous bridge in the middle of a marathon obstacle.

The two courses to be navigated today were identical to those laid out yesterday. So, the drivers had already found their marks. The battle for victory was fierce in the International Arena. In the first leg of the class, Ijsbrand Chardon (NED), who was second on Saturday, took the provisional lead, setting the fastest time with 168"34. He was two seconds ahead of Boyd Exell (170''54), who made a small driving error on obstacle no. 5 that cost him a few seconds. Dries Degrieck (BEL) was third on the provisional podium in 170''60. Benjamin Aillaud crossed the finish line in 175"80 to take fourth place, cheered on by the enthusiastic crowd in Lyon.

A breathtaking drive-off 
Only the leading three teams took part in the final round, in reverse order of the provisional ranking. Dries Degrieck improved on his time slightly, completing his round in 169"34. The 2024 winner finally finished third in today's event. Then, the world number one, Boyd Exell, took to the track and was determined to put things in order. He used the power of his horses and their ability to accelerate to shave almost eight seconds off his time from the first leg (162''55)! Ijsbrand Chardon knew exactly what he had to do. However, even though he managed to improve his time (165''85), it was not enough to take first place from the Australian master

What they said: 
Boyd Exell, winner of the FEI Driving World Cup presented by Laiterie de Montaigu: "I love my horses and I always try to do my best for them. But today, in the first leg, I made a driving error. I'm lucky enough to have very fast and intelligent horses, so that meant I actually didn't lose too much time because of my mistake. Lyon is a fantastic competition. The atmosphere was electric today. The fans were incredible and really got behind us. We are shown real consideration as athletes and everything is done to ensure the well-being of our horses."  

Benjamin Aillaud, fourth in the FEI Driving World Cup presented by Laiterie de Montaigu: "As always in Lyon, the crowd and the atmosphere were amazing. I'm very pleased with my horses, who gave everything they had. They were really smooth and easy to handle. We were just a few seconds short of making the drive-off, but the other teams were very good too; that's sport. My horses have an unusual background. They used to perform in shows before they started doing sports events at the age of 12. Since then, they have gone from strength to strength. The journey we have been on to get them here today has been incredible, from both a human and technical point of view. Maybe that's my weak spot; the fact that I get completely taken up by this kind of adventure, trying to take them as far as they can go. But, for all the effort we put in, they always give us so much back. I really believe in them and by believing in them, they will become what we imagined. We don't know how high their limit is."