Australian driving star Boyd Exell has truly made CHIO Aachen his own. The most successful four-in-hand driver in its history, he has now won the prestigious individual combined driving title an incredible 11 times.
No other driver comes remotely close to Boyd Exell at the greatest horse how on earth, CHIO Aachen. Boyd has this month claimed Aachen’s ultimate individual driving honour, the Prize of Family Richard Talbot, for a record 11th time.
The Bega, NSW-born and Netherlands-based Boyd has won the Aachen title in 2003, 2009-2013, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2022 and now 2023. This impressive tally sits alongside his six FEI World Championship titles, ten World Cup Final victories, and 12 wins at the prestigious Royal Windsor Horse Show, among many other accolades.
His quest for title No. 11 at CHIO Aachen began in the Dressage, where he and his team finished a narrow second to American Chester Weber – one of the few who can claim to have beaten Boyd in the top prize at Aachen, relegating him to second place back in 2014. Boyd and his team of four horses – Celviro, Checkmate, Hero and Ivor – scored 38.92 while Chester achieved a mark of 38.85 where, like eventing, the lower the score the better.
Celviro (Vulcano x Waterman), a 16-year-old KWPN gelding; Checkmate, a British-bred 17-year-old gelding; Hero (Nando), a 11-year-old KWPN gelding; and Ivor (Crescendo x Patijn), a 10-year-old KWPN gelding all are owned by Exell Holding BV and were part of Boyd’s sixth FEI World Championship win in Pratoni last year.
The second leg of the combined driving, the Marathon, saw another second place to Boyd and his team behind German speed specialist Michael Brauchle – again incredibly close, with the scores reading 105.54 to 106.46. Boyd’s trademark consistency across the two phases saw him take the lead in the overall rankings – would he be able to hold on in the final Obstacle Driving (Cones) phase?
Well, it was close! An uncharacteristic hiccup at Obstacle 6 pushed them down the results list for that class – but with still just 6.97 penalties to add to their overall score, once again Boyd could not be beaten in the Prize of Family Richard Talbot, ultimately finishing on 152.35, ahead of arch-rival Ijsbrand Chardon of the Netherlands on 154.63.
“To finish the
competition is an
achievement in itself,
but to win is just the
icing on the cake.”
The success didn’t end there for Boyd. With Australian teammate Tor Van Den Berge also competing this year and achieving a great result of 16th overall, Australia had a Nations Cup team for only the second time in recent years. Last year, the team finished sixth and this year Boyd and Tor climbed to fourth – just over three penalties off the podium and in contention with the top nations. Watch this space next year, here comes Team Australia!
Boyd was also third in the separate Top Score competition, and – harnessing his talented indoor team of horses – he also won the entertaining Jump & Drive relay under lights teamed with Aussie eventer Andrew Hoy and Swedish show jumper Fredrik Spetz. All in all, it was yet another amazing Aachen for Australia’s most successful equestrian.
“Aachen week brings all the excitement… the whole competition is an endurance run with Dressage, Top Score, Cones, Marathon, the infamous Jump & Drive on Saturday night, and then full concentration for Cones on Sunday morning,” said Boyd following the event. “We took 10 horses, 14 people, carriages, harnesses and a lot more gear. It’s a huge undertaking and to finish the competition is an achievement in itself, but to win is just the icing on the cake!” EQ
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