16-05-2010
Double World Cup Champion Boyd Exell dominated his first international outdoor competition at the Royal Windsor Horse Show. The Australian four-in-hand driver put down a wonderful dressage test which placed him no less than 13 points ahead of his fellow competitor Tucker Johnson from the USA and he did not give away his lead throughout the whole competition.
After winning the marathon as well, the one knock down in the final obstacle driving competition did not endanger Exell’s fourth four-in-hand victory at Windsor. Other than his colleague Chester Weber, USA’s Tucker Johnson is competing at several shows in Europe this season. The flamboyant driver is celebrating his 46th birthday this week and already celebrated this in Windsor taking the second place. Rainer Duen from Germany took the third place.
Jan de Boer from the Netherlands won the pony teams class. The 2007 World Champion came third in dressage, won the marathon and kept his lead to the reigning World Champion Tobias Bücker from Germany in the cones competition. The third place went to Belgium’s Tinne Bax.
World Champion Pair Driving Harrie Verstappen won the marathon in Windsor Horse Park and was in the lead after two phases. But the pressure of his advantage of less than 2 points to Frenchman François Dutilloy was too much for the Dutch driver. He knocked three balls down and exceeded the time allowed, which made him drop to the sixth place. Dutilloy won Royal Windsor Horse Show for the first time in his career ahead of Barry Capstick representing Ireland and Great Britain’s David Matthews jr.
