17 augustus 2015

Aachen: Record number of nations represented at Driving Championships

A record number of 14 nations will be represented at the ninth edition of the FEI European Driving Championships for Four-in-Hand in Aachen (GER), which gets underway on Wednesday 19 August.

A total of 37 drivers will battle it out for the individual medals, with 12 nations fielding teams. Romania and Portugal have one individual each, while Germany has host nation privileges and will have both a full team of three drivers, plus three individuals.

The full list of nations competing in Aachen is: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

The FEI European Driving Championships for Four-in-Hand were first held in 1971 in Budapest (HUN) and continued to be held every two years until 1981.

The Championships moved to Windsor in Great Britain in 1973, Sopot in Poland in 1975, Donaueschingen in Germany in 1977 and Haras du Pin in France in 1979. The sixth edition took place in 1981 in Zug, Switzerland. These Championships were re-launched in 2011 in Breda (NED) and the most recent Championships were held in Izsák, Hungary, in 2013.