Following his dressage test on Friday, Boyd Exell said: “It’s a fast marathon team, so that’s my phase!”
He wasn’t wrong. The reigning World champion, chasing an eighth consecutive Individual title, now sits 5.38 points clear at the top of the standings on 142.34. Belgium’s Dries Degrieck is second on 147.72, with USA’s Chester Weber third on 149.61, while Australia leads the Team competition ahead of the Netherlands and Belgium.
Behind only Chester Weber after the dressage phase on Thursday and Friday, Boyd switched his high-stepping horses into marathon mode on Saturday, aided by the addition of his FEI Driving World Cup specialist Mad Max 81.
Alongside Mad Max 81 was Daan 18, Hero and Mister Bono van’t Hooge, as well as grooms Emma Olsson and Wannes Larssen.
With the guile of a battle-hardened warrior, Boyd stuck to his strategy and steered his team deftly through the eight obstacles without fault.
Boyd said: “It was hard work out there – you had to work from the beginning to the end and you couldn’t take your foot off concentrating. But my four horses, like [Friday], were at an optimum. They did it again for me today, and they were safe and fast. We didn’t try to win the marathon, but we just tried to stay by the top three in every obstacle, which was our goal.
“The ground was ‘holding’ after 50 carriages and teams, although Aachen has done everything possible to keep the ground stable. I had an unlucky slip in obstacle six when my left wheeler stumbled in the mud, but he got up straight away and I was so grateful he found his extra legs.”
Boyd Exell’s marathon score of 110.48 was the third best of the day and included one fastest obstacle time. Combined with his dressage score, it puts him 5.38 points ahead on 142.34 and gives him a manageable margin for Sunday’s cones, when he will be last to drive.
Tor van den Berge’s marathon performance also helped Australia leapfrog Germany to reach the top of the Team standings on 308.06. Both men acknowledge that with only two of them on the team and no drop scores, they will have to maintain full focus.
Tor’s team of Carbery Estate Chino, Carbery Estate Cato, Indiana and Kerosine – plus Mel van den Berge and Catharina Matschurat on the carriage – posted a marathon score of 116.41, the sixth best of the day from 54 starters. Combined with his dressage mark, Tor is 12th overall on 165.72.
A fitting finale on Sunday
Like the gripping climax of the Aachen World Equestrian Games 20 years ago, Sunday’s cones will be decisive.
Boyd takes a 5.38-point advantage over Dries Degrieck into the final phase of the Individual competition, with Chester Weber a further 1.89 points behind in third.
The Team competition is even closer. Australia leads the Netherlands by just 2.31 points, with Belgium only another 0.45 behind. Will the Netherlands make it 13 golds? Will Australia win their first? Or can Belgium continue their winning streak?
Australian start times
Sunday, 23 August: Team & Individual Cones
- Tor van den Berge (Horses: Carbery Estate Cato, Carbery Estate Chino, Indiana and Kerosine / Grooms: Mel van den Berge and Catharina Matschurat): 8.35pm AEST (12.35pm local time)
- Boyd Exell (Horses: Checkmate, Daan 18, Hero and Mister Bono van’t Hooge / Grooms: Emma Olsson and Mel van den Berge): 9.30pm AEST (1.30pm local time)
View the full start list here.
Watch the action from the FEI World Championships here via ClipMyHorse.TV.
For a full list of results, click here.
Source: FEI press release by Sarah Dance, edited by Equestrian Life
