Reigning World Champion Boyd Exell (AUS) has won the prestigious CAIO Aachen (GER) for the sixth time in his career and has taken the lead of the FEI World Cup™ Driving qualification standings. Exell finished second behind Chester Weber in the individual and team dressage. Although Australia did not field a team, the team dressage and cones were compulsory for all individual competitors. Exell secured a score of 34,80 penalty points in the dressage test with the beautiful black horses owned by the Hungarian Támas Vincze and drove a double clear round in the cones course. The difference with dressage winner Chester Weber was only 2,41 points before the marathon in which the competitors started in reverse order of merit.

The marathon footing had become heavy because of the rain during the previous night and on the morning before the competition, but all 25 drivers and their horses finished without severe problems. The Australian was the first to last starter and wisely decided to stick to his plan. By setting top scores in the majority of the eight challenging obstacles, he gradually overtook the overnight leader. By the time both drivers had crossed the finish line, they knew Exell had won Aachen for the fifth time in a row and for the sixth time overall in his exceptional career as a four-in-hand driver.

Second place for De Ronde

Reigning World Cup Champion Koos de Ronde had started off well by placing fourth in the dressage with his matching team of KWPN-geldings. The Dutchman has a reputation for being a double clear cones driver which he confirmed in Aachen. He scored one of only four double clears and moved up to third place. Despite his successful performance, he had some doubts before the marathon and was not sure he would be able to close the gap that separated him from Weber and Exell. But the Dutch driver gave it his all in the last phase of the individual competition finishing second in the marathon and overtaking Chester Weber, for whom he often acts as a marathon navigator when he does not compete himself.

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