Exell on repeat at the R.I.D.E. in Deauville

The beautiful site of the Hippodrome de Deauville Clairefontaine in Normandy, France, was the stage of the R.I.D.E. Normandy this weekend. R.I.D.E. stands for Rencontres Internationales des Disciplines Equestres, which means an international get together of equestrian disciplines. International show jumping competitions, the Final of the HSBC FEI Eventing World Cup™ Final and a four-in-hand driving competition formed the attractive programme in Deauville. 

Two goals
The best four-in-hand drivers, including four additional French drivers, were invited to provide the spectators three days of spectacular carriage driving sport.

The drivers did not only compete to guarantee a starting ticket for the FEI World Cup™ Driving season 2008/2009, but also competed to win a share of the 50.000 euro prize money.

Australian success
Bronze medallist in Beesd 2008 Boyd Exell completed the Australian success in Deauville by winning this CAI-A competition for the second time in a row. His compatriot Clayton Fredericks won the Eventing Final earlier that day.

The fifteen drivers from seven nations competed against each other in two marathons on Friday and Sunday, while Saturday was reserved for an indoor type marathon competition in the main arena of the Deauville racecourse. Exell won the first and second competition and his second place in the last marathon behind World Champion Ijsbrand Chardon did not endanger his overall win in Deauville. Chardon started off with the eighth place on the first day but gradually got better and finished second in the final standings, ahead of World Cup Champion 2007/2008 Christoph Sandmann.

On it’s way to 2014
With its second edition, R.I.D.E. Normandy has gained popularity. More than 18,000 spectators visited the event throughout three days. The sponsors, including Hermes and HSBC, enjoyed Deauville and ASO’s organisation of the event. It will certainly bode well for Normandy’s bid to host the 2014 World Equestrian Games.

Boyd Exell (Aus): “I understood the game more than last year, I knew exactly what to do and how fast to drive in order to keep the lead in the overall results. I used my indoor team, although I used three horses as alternate leaders in my outdoor team this season. They competed in two or three shows last summer. I used the same three out of five horses as in the R.I.D.E. in Jardy in 2004.”
“The marathon obstacles in the indoor type competition on Saturday were good, but to my opinion the cones could have been a bit more challenging. The construction of the outdoor marathon obstacles was beautiful and included everything, from tight to flowing. Deauville altogether was a very good and nice event with enormous hospitality.”

IJsbrand Chardon (Ned): “I started off badly on Friday in the first marathon, one of my leader horses fell on the slippery grass. Luckily the horse got up and was not injured, but I couldn’t get back into my usual rhythm. On the third day my team went like I used to, I was able to keep the speed up in all obstacles. The leader horses I used in Deauville will also compete in the World Cup competitions, the outdoor wheelers will be changed for my regular and experienced indoor wheeler horses.”

Facts & Figures
Sponsor driving: Hermes
Course designer: Dr. Wolfgang Asendorf (Ger)
Technical Delegate: Jacques Tamalet (Fra)
Number of spectators: 18.000 over three days
Organisation: A.S.O.

Final result CAI-A Deauville 2008:
1. Boyd Exell (Aus)
2. IJsbrand Chardon (Ned)
3. Christoph Sandmann (Ger)
4. Mark Weusthof (Ned)
5. Jozsef Dobrovitz (Hun)
6. Thibault Coudry (Fra)
7. Werner Ulrich (Sui)
7. Koos de Ronde (Ned)
9. Benjamin Aillaud (Fra)
10. Gert Schrijvers (Bel)
11. Laszlo Juhasz (Hun)
12. Fabrice Martin (Fra)
13. Harry de Ruyter (Ned)
14. Stéphane Chouzenoux (Fra)
15. Jozsef Bozsik (Hun)

Final standings (competitors) FEI World Cup™ Driving qualification 2008-2009:
1.       IJsbrand Chardon (Ned)
2.       Boyd Exell (Aus)
3.       Jozsef Dobrovitz (Hun)
4.       Koos de Ronde (Ned)
5.       Daniël Würgler (Sui)
6.       Zóltan Lázár (Hun)
7.       Fredrik Persson (Swe)
8.       Werner Ulrich (Sui)
9.       Christoph Sandmann (Ger)
10.   Tomas Eriksson (Swe)