27 November 2021

Stockholm: Second World Cup victory for Boyd Exell

Boyd Exell won the World Cup competition in Stockholm tonight. In the first round he was clear and lightning fast and he repeated that in the winning round. With this second World Cup victory, Exell is in the lead in the World Cup standings.

The atmosphere was great. Test driver Fredrik Persson (SWE) explained the course to the spectators with a commentator on the carriage, what resulted in a huge involvement and enthusiasm from the Swedish spectators.

Different line

Glenn Geerts (BEL) narrowly missed the winning round on Thursday, but Saturday he qualified with a nice clear first round in 151.28. Boyd Exell’s team worked together better than Thursday and he also drove clear at a high pace. He drove a beautiful line in obstacle 10, where he rode from C to D through the middle of the obstacle. The result: clear in 139.29.

Mareike Harm (D) was surprisingly second Thursday, but now drove 3 balls off, as a result of which she missed the drive off. Michael Brauchle again had a very fast time, but knocked off two balls and qualified second for the second round.

Becoming second behind Boyd feels like winning for Glenn Geerts
Photo: Karolina Swärdh

Being clear pays off

The drive off covered the entire course, with the three finalists starting with a clean slate. Glenn Geerts went for a clear round, but took a lot of risk on his way to the first oxer by choosing an extra short line. That worked out well: he remained clear in 144.39. “My horses are not as fast as the others, so my tactic was to stay clear,” he explains afterwards. “These horses have not been working together for very long, it is their first indoor season and the second major competition. I am very happy and proud of how they performed.”

The fact that Michael Brauchle’s horses are faster was shown by his good time of 140.56. But on the F gate of obstacle 10 one ball dropped. His final result was only 0.2 seconds slower than Glenn’s and he finished third.

Perfect change

Boyd Exell performed wonderfully. He stayed very close to the wood in the marathon obstacles and the team ran smoothly. His time of 135.80 was unprecedentedly fast and with that the world champion took his second World Cup victory in a row. Exell had fallen back on one of his experienced horses Saturday. “On Thursday, Hot Rod did his first show. He has no experience, so today I put 17-year-old Rocket as the right leader.” And it went much better than Thursday. “It took quite a while to get back into the right rhythm and condition, but tonight they flew,” he laughs. “In the first round I went off the bridge a bit too fast, but in the second round I was able to make a transition back there and go through the speedbox with more control and more speed.”

Boyd Exell was by far the fastest in the drive off
Photo: Karolina Swärdh

The drivers are very pleased with the course and the spectators in Stockholm. “The course had everything in it, from technical to pure speed,” said Glenn Geerts. “The Swedish public is very enthusiastic. I have been a trainer of the Swedish drivers for a few years now, so I know a lot of people in the audience too. It felt like coming home. The audience gave me wings. Finishing second behind Boyd feels like winning to me.”

With the victory in both World Cup competitions Boyd Exell has put himself in a good starting position. Does he feel that way himself? “Winning is nice, but my competitors are also performing well. We will see what this season will bring.”

Click here for the results

Click here for the photoalbum

World Cup ranking after 2 (out of 7) competitions:

Boyd Exel (AUS) 20 points

Glenn Geerts (BEL) 10 points

Dries Degrieck (BEL) 7 points

Michael Brauchle (GER) 5 points

Koos de Ronde (NED) 5 points

Mareike Harm (GER) 4 points

József Dobrovitz (HUN) 3 points