He was eagerly awaited and didn’t disappoint: three-time title-holder Martin Hölle simply dazzled in the Pôle International de Sports Equestres (PISE) arena during the second day of competition in the FEI Driving World Championship – Pairs. The five judges in this dressage test placed him atop the leaderboard of 92 competitors as the only rider to score fewer than 40 points. The Hungarians also took the lead in the team ranking thanks to the supporting performance of Kristof Osztertag, who placed third.
Martin Hölle is quite simply the best pairs driver in the world today. At just 26 years of age, he already boasts an imposing list of achievements, with three consecutive individual and team World Championship titles won in 2017, 2019 and 2021. His performance was an example of fluidity and precision. With his pair of Dutch horses, Eppie (grey) and Juventus (black), he impressed the judges, who all placed him first with a score of 36.92 pts – the only competitor to slip under the psychological 40-point mark. He holds a lead of just over 4 points over his nearest rival, the French No. 1 Franck Grimonprez. The rider from the north of France produced a very fine performance, scoring 41.45 pts, two points better than at the Concours d’Attelage International held at the Haras du Pin in July, where he won outright. The provisional podium was completed by another Hungarian, Kristof Osztertag, who was well behind the leading duo.
Hungary now leads the team rankings with a total of 85.38 pts. For the time being, France remains close to the leaders in second place with a score of 93.04 pts. Germany, with two top-performing teams – Anna Sandmann, 4th, and Marco Freund, 5th – is now in third place.