2 December 2023
Brilliant World Cup victory for Bram Chardon in Stockholm
With a super tight clear round in the drive-off, Bram Chardon won the World Cup competition in Stockholm Saturday night. Everything was right on Saturday evening for the Dutchman, who was keen on victory. Just like in the warm-up round, the drive-off was between Bram Chardon, Boyd Exell and Michael Brauchle.It wasn’t Exell’s night. He only just made it into the drive-off, because in the first round he had problems in obstacle 9 where the horses wanted to shoot into the wrong gap and the team came to a standstill. Hitting the obstacle elements also resulted in an additional 8 second penalty. Due to his lightning fast time, Boyd was still more than a second ahead of Glenn Geerts. The Belgian made a nice and smooth round, but immediately tapped a ball at the first gate. In the end he came fourth. Michael Brauchle remained clear in 160.13 and Bram Chardon once again made his mark with a clear round in a super time of 153.35.
Same participants, different final
Even though the same trio reached the drive-off, it was a completely different competition than yesterday. The drivers were supported by the enthusiastic Swedish audience.Everyone was on the edge of their seats when Boyd drove into Exell. He immediately went at full speed and drove a ball already at gate 4. A ball also went to the ground in obstacle 5. Without delay and at a breakneck pace, the world champion continued to ride with a fantastic final result of 160.85.
It became a tough task for Michael Brauchle. The German opted for wider lines in obstacle 5. He quickly passed obstacle 9 and then pressed the accelerator again. Everything remained unchanged and he finished in 160.29, narrowly beating Boyd. Last starter Bram Chardon drove a perfect drive-off. He stayed very close to the obstacles and his horses responded well to his aids. He improved his time from the first round and crossed the finish line without mistakes in 151.01. A convincing winner. He immediately took the full 10 World Cup points. This puts him in 6th place in the World Cup standings after his first appearance for points this season
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Bram Chardon in Stockholm
Photo: Karolina Swärdh
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