Flying Dutchman Takes Olympia Driving Leg

The Netherland's leading and most experienced driver, Ijsbrand Chardon, pulled out all the stops in the final round of the FEI World CupTM Driving Leg presented by Dodson & Horrell, winning his first qualifier of the season. 

The win was all the sweeter as he knocked the favourite, Australian Boyd Exell, from his winning position. Expectations were high as Boyd came into the arena in the last round, and he set off with his usual intent. A ball down in the first obstacle meant he had to push harder; another ball down in the second obstacle and the round began to unravel, pushing him down to third behind Belgian driver Glenn Geerts.
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"It got messy from there on," remarked Boyd, who was competing on a wild card here and, with three wins under his belt this season, is first in the rankings. "Finally, I missed the finish and had to circle. It happens - and life goes on!" 

Ijsbrand, who is a regular at Olympia, and has two FEI World CupTM Finals to his name, was overjoyed with his win and paid tribute to the Olympia audience who create such a compelling atmosphere. 

"The public were amazing," he said. "I am so pleased with the way my new horse in the lead has coped with competing here. She has improved with each competition, the feeling they gave me today was terrific. I knew I could push them to their limits."