8 August 2022
Chablis: Dress rehearsal for Single Driving World Championships
Last week the two- and three-star competition was held in Chablis, France. For the single driving horses this is about one month before the World Championships in Haras du Pin. A nice dress rehearsal for the 59 single drivers that had entered the three-star competition.Marion Vignaud wins
Marion Vignaud won the dressage with 41.33 penalty points. The second through fifth place finishers (Fabrice Martin, Laure Philippot, Marie Tischer and Kelly Houtappels-Bruder) were only one penalty point away from each other. As a result, great differences could be made in the marathon, designed by Bruno Kempf.
Marion Vignaud held onto the lead and Canadian Kelly Houtappels-Bruder moved up to second place. Marie Schiltz from Luxembourg climbed to third place thanks to her fast and fluid drive.
There were hardly any changes in the standings after the cones. No fewer than 31 singles remained double clear and as a result the entire top six remained unchanged.
“I’m very happy with the control I had in the marathon,” says Marion Vignaud. “First Quality has been very fast from the start of this season, making it difficult to keep driving correctly. So we decided to take it easy in the first two obstacles and then slowly pick up the pace. That was a good decision. In the cones, we are still looking for the right balance between pace and control.”
Marion Vignaud
Photo: Melanie Guillamot
Erik Evers second
Erik Evers drove a very neat dressage test and presented his pair of chestnuts in a friendly and correct manner. With a score of 46.35, he was in second place after the dressage, behind the Swiss Werner Ulrich. In the marathon Erik finished third, behind Werner. Frenchman François Vogel won the marathon.
In the cones, not a single participant managed to stay clear in the pair horses. Erik Evers let three balls roll, but his performance still earned him second place in the final standings. Werner Ulrich won and Eve Cadi Verna completed the podium.
Ponies
With his first place in dressage, fourth place in marathon and fifth place in the cones, the German Edwin Kiefer won the pony single driving class. France’s Marie Verna finished second, followed by Switzerland’s Karin Huser, who only had 0.20 penalty points more than Marie.
In the pair driving ponies, the Frenchman Antoine Jeanson returned home with the win. He scored 46.98 penalty points in dressage, won the marathon and had one ball down in the cones. Switzerland’s Christof König finished second, followed by Germany’s Nea-Renee Bonness.
The Swiss Yannik Scherrer convincingly won the ponies four-in-hand class. With his win in dressage and marathon, he could afford the eight penalty points he incurred in the cones. Julien Vanhoenacker from Belgium finished in second place with 6.5 more penalties and will be competing at the Belgian Championships this weekend. France’s Arriat Gilles completed the podium.
“The competition went well,” says organizer Marion Vignaud. “The atmosphere was great, we saw good sport and many happy drivers and grooms. I think we can be proud of the organizing committee, the officials and the volunteers! This was a good preparation for the World Championships in Haras du Pin for the single drivers.”
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Yannik Scherrer
Photo: Melanie Guillamot
