10 December 2017
Geneva: Record 10th consecutive win for Boyd Exell
After a controversial competition, Boyd Exell won the FEI World Cup™ Driving leg in Geneva for the 10th consecutive time. Germany’s Georg von Stein performed very well and finished in second place, ahead of rookie Bram Chardon from the Netherlands.
Boyd Exell
Photo: Krisztina Horváth
After the first round there was a discussion amongst the competitors and judges after Boyd Exell had displaced a ball of obstacle 15 before he had driven it. The jury rang the bell, the clock was stopped and the obstacle was rebuilt. A discussion followed about the exact moment of the bell and the moment of Boyd’s restart of the course. The President of the Ground Jury decided to let the fourth placed driver Jérôme Voutaz start in the Winning Round until a final decision was made. After the Winning Round, in which Exell was the fastest ahead of Voutaz, the video was used and the jury decided not to eliminate Boyd. This resulted in Boyd’s 10th win in a row in Geneva and dropped wild card driver Jérôme Voutaz to fourth place.
International level 4 Course Designer Johan Jacobs from the Netherlands had laid out a nice course in the large arena, including two marathon obstacles, the spectacular lake and the new speed box. All drivers agreed this was the best course of the season so far.
Sad for the sport
Boyd: “It is sad for the sport that this happened, but the rules are the rules and it was a judges’ decision. Georg von Stein and Bram Chardon were very sportive and remained concentrated. I am pleased with my team, I used Demi again in the wheel today and with her 19 years old she is still very fit. I am looking out to replace her, that is why I used the Swiss horse from Werner Ulrich during yesterday’s competition. But I am still negotiating to buy it,” laughs Boyd.
No knock downs
Georg von Stein was the only driver this weekend that did not have one single knock down: “It is the second time in Geneva that I finish second behind Boyd, but that is ok. My horses are improving fast and I have become more certain as well. I keep working on my team to find out where I can be faster so I can get even closer to Boyd.” Von Stein was helped last indoor-and outdoor season several times by Boyd and the German Federation has an agreement with Boyd to train the German drivers next season. “If I qualify for the Final I will probably ask Boyd to help me there again as well,” said Georg.
Rookie
Geneva was only the second World Cup start for Bram Chardon and he was pleased with his performance: “My time in the first round was very good, it was a shame that I had two knock downs. But I knew Von Stein’s time and when I finished, I knew I had qualified for the Winning Round.” The course remained unchanged and Bram managed to beat his time with three seconds: “I knew that I could not go for a safe round because Von Stein was performing so well. I tried to drive fast and it worked, but the chance to mistakes is obviously bigger so I had three balls. But all together I am still happy and I hope I can make it to the Top Three in Mechelen in order to get to the Final.
Jérôme Voutaz
Photo: Krisztina Horváth
Extraordinary horses
Jérôme Voutaz did an excellent job in the Winning Round, staying clear and would have won the Geneva leg if Boyd had been eliminated in the end: “It was a very sportive decision of the jury to let me start. My horses were extraordinary and the crowd was incredible. My team was working well together. I feel it is a shame that this happened and it is definitely not good for the sport.”
Chester Weber had two knock downs in the first round and finished in fifth place, ahead of Edouard Simonet, who nearly got tipped out of his carriage coming out of the lake. Second wild card driver Benjamin Aillaud finished in seventh place.
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Uitslagen CAI-W Genève 2017
- Boyd Exell (AUS) 152.16
- Georg von Stein (GER) 157.66
- Bram Chardon (Schipluiden) 165.73
- Jérôme Voutaz (SUI) 167.10
- Chester Weber (USA) 175.95
- Edouard Simonet (BEL) 179.32
- Benjamin Aillaud (FRA) 180.69
Stand na 4 van de 7 wedstrijden:
1 Boyd EXELL AUS 30
2 IJsbrand CHARDON NED 12
2 Edouard SIMONET BEL 12
2 Georg VON STEIN GER 12
5 Chester WEBER USA 11
6 Koos DE RONDE NED 10
7 Bram CHARDON NED 8
8 Jérôme VOUTAZ SUI 7
9 Benjamin AILLAUD FRA 4
10 Glenn GEERTS BEL 2
