17 September 2016
Elsegem: Chardon, Maricourt and Leijten leading
On the beautifuly decorated grounds of Domein De Ghellinck in Elsegem, Belgium the International driving competition and Belgian Championship began today with the dressage and cones. While the skies were at times threatening it remained dry and the day ended with even a little sunshine.The international pony four-in-hand division was made up entirely of dutch drivers, and after the dressage and cones Edith Chardon holds the lead.
The Frenchman Maxime Maricourt leads in the international four-in-hand horse division, ahead of Harry Steutker from the Netherlands.
With the horses of Scott Dancer (USA) Gerard Leijten (NL) drove a good dressage for the second place and moved up to the first after the cones. Sven Stuyck moves into the lead in the Belgian Championship.
Tomorrow the competitors will be taking on the marathon on the grounds of De Strohoeve. The course is made up of eight marathon obstacles, designed by Beglian course designer Wilfried Blockx, under the supervision of level 4 course designer Jeroen Houterman.
Across the divisions there is very little difference in the scores of the top drivers, which will make the marathon tomorrow the deciding factor in naming the new champions.
At 11:00am the marathon will be paused for 45 minutes for the K3 concert. With over 10,000 tickets sold large crowds are expected.
