THE LONGINES EQUITA LYON, CONCOURS HIPPIQUE INTERNATIONAL KICKS OFF THE 2023/2024 SEASON, WITH ONE BURNING QUESTION: WILL BOYD EXELL BE CROWNED CHAMPION YET AGAIN?

Five years ago, the FEI Driving World Cup welcomed the world's top driver to the main arena at the Longines Equita Lyon, Concours Hippique International for the first time. Now, five years later, the Lyon stage of the International Equestrian Federation's elite winter carriage-driving circuit has become one of the calendar's key fixtures for the world's best drivers. And again, five years later, Australia's Boyd Exell still remains the master of the discipline, the undisputed king of indoor carriage driving. Between 1 and 5 November in Lyon, he will be looking to score some valuable points to get the 2023/2024 season off to a good start from the very first event.
 
EXELL, THE LYON KING!
During the twenty-two years that the FEI Driving World Cup has existed, and the twenty-one Finals that have taken place (the 2020-2021 Final being cancelled due to the Covid health crisis), one name stands out in the pantheon of the greats, the true greats: Boyd Exell. The Australian driver has ten titles to his name! By 2008, he had established himself as the master of the discipline. From that time on, the 'Cup' has only slipped through his grasp on four occasions! Boyd Exell started out in the discipline at an early age, and became Australian champion for the first time when he was just sixteen. As a twenty-one year-old, he moved to Europe to further his driving education, first in the United Kingdom and then in the Netherlands. Thirty years later, the king of the sport, and current world number 1, continues to train every day at his Dutch facilities. And his dominance looks set to last. Since 2010, Boyd Exell has started 192 international competitions, across every format. He has won 144 of them, including three FEI Driving World Cup stages presented by the Laiterie de Montaigu in Lyon.

Nonetheless, as he lines up to start this fifth World Cup stage to be held in Lyon, the Australian will have to contend with some stiff competition, notably in the shape of his long-time rival Ijsbrand Chardon (from the Netherlands), the current world number 2 and winner of the World Cup Final in 2016, as well as the Belgian drivers Glenn Geerts and Dries Degrieck, who are fifth and seventh respectively in the FEI rankings. As regards the French hopes, the country's two top drivers, Anthony Horde (ranked twelfth in the world) and Benjamin Aillaud (ranked thirteenth) will also be keen to perform well, notably since they will want to seize the last wild cards for the season, and thus ensure they receive invitations from organisers to take part in the other stages of the circuit.

A NEW TIMETABLE, TO CREATE AN EVEN MORE ELECTRIC ATMOSPHERE!
When the first FEI Driving World Cup stage was added to the programme of the Longines Equita Lyon, Concours Hippique International in 2018, the event was held on Sunday afternoon, after the Longines FEI Show Jumping World Cup. As of last year, however, the organisers decided to schedule the Driving World Cup at 12.45pm, just before the Longines FEI Show Jumping World Cup, so that drivers would also benefit from the presence of the visitors coming to attend the show jumping, who have access to the arena upon presentation of their entrance ticket for the Show. Reserved for the top drivers in the world, the FEI Four-in-hand Indoor Driving World Cup is a breathtaking competition in which the drivers demonstrate their incredible dexterity as they guide their teams around two courses against the clock.

FEI DRIVING WORLD CUP PRESENTED BY LAITERIE DE MONTAIGU: A BRIEF GUIDE
An FEI World Cup stage takes place over two rounds. On Saturday, the first round enables the drivers and horses to get their bearings. The horses have to discover the track, the lights, the public, and the drivers have the opportunity to test their carriages against the difficulties of the course, which remains the same the next day. The ranking after the first round determines the starting order for the second round. The drivers have fifteen minutes to memorise the course and decide which options they want to take. Often, they try out certain paths around the course on the first day and then watch the videos to determine the best choices for the second round. On Sunday, all the drivers start from scratch and have to complete the course as quickly as possible, without knocking anything over on their way. So, everything is possible in the final round!