Boyd Exell’s winning streak continues.
Last fall (good grief, has it been a year already?!), Boyd won the individual gold medal at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games here at the Kentucky Horse Park. And he’s continued his winning ways since then. Just this past weekend, he emerged as the winner of the Open European Driving Championships for Four-in-Hands. The event was held (in Breda, the Netherlands) for the first time since 1981.
Boyd, who lives in England but drives for Australia, was allowed to compete in the four-in-hand competition because the event was designated an “open” championship. But the gold medal in the European Championship portion of the event went to Dutch driver Ijsbrand Chardon, who was a mere 3.1 points behind Boyd. The silver medal went to Jozsef Dobrovitz (Hungary), and the bronze went to Koos de Ronde (Netherlands). In the team competition, the Dutch team won the gold medal, the Hungarians won silver, and the Germans won bronze.
Paul Harding of Lewis Harding Ltd. sent us these photos from the event:
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Boyd Exell driving his dressage test ... (photo by Paul Harding)
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... and on the marathon course (photo by Paul Harding)
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Ijsbrand Chardon (NED) is the first European Four-in-Hand Champion since 1981 (photo by Paul Harding)
The Slower Road 