BOYD & TOR: A DRIVING FORCE

At CHIO Aachen this year, Australian carriage drivers Boyd Exell and Tor Van Den Berge made history in winning the Baron und Baronin von Buchholtz CAIO Nations Cup – becoming the first Australian team to do so.

Seven-time world champion Boyd Exell is no stranger to success at CHIO Aachen; this year, he claimed the Prize of Family Richard Talbot individual title for an incredible thirteenth time. However, the Nations Cup team win was a new achievement for the Australian driving legend.

“CHIO Aachen 2025 was certainly one to remember: my thirteenth individual win and a first ever Team Australia win with Tor Van Den Berg. The horses were in top form and showed us all what they can do,” said the driving maestro following the event.

While it was a historic victory for the Australian team, it didn’t come out of nowhere. It’s been a goal of Boyd’s for many years – one that has gained greater focus in recent times with the rise of teammate Tor Van Den Berge. The duo already has an FEI Driving World Championship team medal to their name and have come agonisingly close to Nations Cup medals in the past.

This year’s Nations Cup gold was further sweet retribution – made all the more impressive given Australia was the only team of two with no drop score.

“To do it with only two people on the team is absolutely massive,” reflects Tor. “I don’t know the difference, but everybody comments on it. It’s history making to do that. You must have a teammate like Boyd to make it happen, but it’s incredible to have done it like that.”

Boyd notes that it’s not always easy to beat the Germans or the Dutch, with the latter having won the title at CHIO Aachen for 18 years straight. “We were on form, and they weren’t on form. We were there at the right moment to be the winners,” he says.

“Aachen was an incredible experience,” continues Tor. “I felt really good for Boyd, because he’s wanted this from the beginning. He never says it, but you could see it this time. That’s what he’s always wanted. A little bit like Carl Hester; he’s produced an English team to gold medal teams now. It’s the same thing.”

MARATHON ‘MELBOURNE CUP’

As a team, Boyd and Tor have led at previous events following the dressage before dropping away a little in the marathon and cones phases – however at Aachen they only extended their lead. Boyd says this was one of the most pleasing aspects of their historic victory: “To actually pull ahead after cross-country and then pull ahead again after the cones phase was extraordinary, really. It was amazing.”

Tor was relieved that it all came together for his team. He says Aachen is an event like no other when it comes to the atmosphere and pressure – and the marathon phase in particular is very challenging. “The first Aachen we did in 2022, that marathon almost gave me PTSD. It really is a tough course; it’s definitely nerve-wracking. You just learn to rely on your horses. Aachen’s marathon phase is a little bit like the Melbourne Cup. Anyone can win it.”

IN FOR THE LONG HAUL

From a childhood spent watching his father work heavy horses on the farm in New South Wales, to riding Grand Prix dressage in Queensland – and now claiming team driving medals for Australia while based in The Netherlands, Tor Van Den Berge’s career with horses has carved an interesting path.

He completed his first FEI level four-in-hand driving competition in September 2020, although didn’t start to compete consistently at the level until 2022.

“You can’t be good after one or two years. You need four years to get good at it. And then five years, you start clocking up results,” explains Boyd. “Tor is just coming into that phase now and that’s why the results are just coming a bit stronger.”

For Tor, having a teammate of Boyd’s calibre is of course an advantage when it comes to chasing team accolades – however there is also a certain pressure that comes with that. “It’s just trying to get better and trying to be able to support the team and not take the points away from the team. Boyd’s incredible how much he can win by, and how consistent he is,” says Tor, adding, “I’ve just been chipping away at it. Boyd always says to you after a show, ‘keep working’ and that’s what I’ve been doing. I had to get quicker in the marathon, better at the cones. And the dressage team had to settle.”

“It’s a big move [from Australia to the Netherlands],” continues Boyd of Tor’s big life changes to tackle the sport. “Family, children, school, upheaval… Tor was a big fish in a little pond in Queensland and then came to Europe and became a little fish in a big pond. He’s had to deal with that and then come through… credit to him that he’s got that tenacity. He’s now starting to reap some benefits of five years’ hard work.”

THE HORSEPOWER BEHIND TEAM VAN DEN BERGE

“It’s been an interesting journey to produce the team, as none of them had any clue… the mares that I brought from Australia probably had the most training,” says Tor, referring to Carbery Estate Cato and Carbery Estate Chino. “They’ve been fantastic. They’ve been really the rocks of the team.”

Tor competed with these two mares at the 2021 and 2023 FEI Driving World Championship for Pairs and placed tenth and ninth respectively. “They were fifth in the marathon at Le Pin au Haras in 2023; it’s quite an incredible feat for those mares, they’ve done some amazing things.”

THE HORSEPOWER BEHIND TEAM XL

“My outdoor team of Celviro, Checkmate, Mad Max, Hero and Mr. Bono [Mister Bono Van ‘T Hooge] were simply the best,” reflects Boyd of his CHIO Aachen team. “They were on fire, fast and accurate throughout the competition.”

At Aachen, Celviro, Hero and Mister Bono Van ‘T Hooge contested all three phases for Boyd, with Checkmate competing in the dressage and cones, and Mad Max stepping in for the marathon.

Thirteen-year-old KWPN gelding Hero and 12-year-old Oldenburg stallion Mad Max 81 are the middle-aged members of the team. Mad Max – whose sire, Millennium, is a Gestüt Sprehe stallion once ridden by fellow Australian Simone Pearce – also features prominently in Boyd’s indoor World Cup teams.

“Mad Max is a bit of a freak,” explains Boyd. “Normally if you take a horse from your indoor team across to the outdoor season, you tend to take an indoor leader because the leader is often smaller with a pony-like mentality. But I’ve done the opposite. I’ve actually got Mad Max as a wheeler. He just brings so much easy speed and power into the team.

“Since I’ve had him in the outdoor marathon teams – he just does marathon only – we won that phase at the World Championship last year and also at Aachen this year. We won Aachen last year overall, but I was second or third in the marathon. Now I’m consistently winning the marathon.”

At age eight, Mister Bono Van ‘T Hooge is the new kid on the block and related to Celviro on his sire’s side. “It’s not clever to have more than one or two new ones [at a time]. The experienced ones bring on the younger ones. Mr. Bono did his first CHIO Aachen as an eight-year-old, and that’s a tall order, really. They don’t often get to Aachen until they’re 10 or 11 after three international seasons, but sometimes you get a freak.”

“Mr. Bono and M are two eight-year-olds I’ve produced since they were two and a half years old,” says Boyd, referring to Maestro HM, who has been a part of previous teams. “I’ve just slowly brought them on, using them a little bit in pair competitions and then filtering them into my team.”

Maestro and 11-year-old Jelviro, who were at home on this occasion, are fast gaining experience and know-how – making them formidable reserve horses. “I’ve got one more young one coming through, a six-year-old, that’ll step up soon as well,” adds Boyd.

“The difference for the team this year is more movement and softness. Before I had power and transitions and movement, and then with the addition of this new one [Mister Bono Van ‘T Hooge] and taking Checkmate and putting him on the back as the wheeler [in the dressage phase] has brought softness as well.”

“It’s a bit of an unstoppable combination. If everything goes to plan, for the World Championships next year in Aachen, it’ll be the same.”

TAKES A VILLAGE

“It’s such a big thing. The driver’s just a very small part,” says Tor of the village that accompanies five horses to a four-in-hand competition. “Our groom Kat, she’s been with us 15 years. She’s absolutely incredible. She runs the whole thing.”

Also grooming for Team VDB is Czech groom Nella, and Tor and wife Mel’s daughter, Olivia, who is now 16 and an integral part of the team. “I joke with Mel that breeding a groom is well worth it when they turn out like Olivia. She’s just fantastic. She works so hard.”

Tor says it’s incredible the sacrifices people make to help the team succeed. “I’ll never forget one of our previous grooms, Gemma, who sat in the stables for the whole of the marathon at Aachen with the dressage leader [Jeerbert], as he gets upset when the rest of the team is out. You need people that are willing to miss out on actually hitting the fun stuff… just to sit there in the most boring place on earth.”

Tor’s wife, Mel Van Den Berge, is of course important team support – and when she’s not helping at driving competitions, she’s chasing her own dressage aspirations. At present she has a few up-and-coming young horses, as well as an exciting mare who is not far off Prix St Georges. Watch this space!

Although previously a Grand Prix dressage rider, Tor’s sole focus has been on the carriage horses in recent years, and he explains that while some benefit from being ridden, he hasn’t found that the case with his. His two mares especially aren’t fans of carrying a rider.

While a couple of the others don’t mind being ridden, Tor says he’s kept it fairly limited to date. “I wouldn’t let the girls break in the left leader, Kerosene, because if they fell in love with him, they’d ride him too much,” he laughs. “Indiana actually likes being ridden. He enjoys it. After his riding session, I don’t feel any improvement in the carriage, but he loves it. So sometimes the girls ride him, he just likes any company.”

However, while Tor isn’t riding his carriage horses, he is starting to hop back on the dressage horses when time allows. “I’m trying to get back in shape and ride a bit more dressage now. It’s such a strong sport over here!”

Boyd is also appreciative of the village behind Team XL. “I am very grateful for my family, sponsors and my team of people who travel from far and wide to support me,” says Boyd. “A special mention to Karen Everett Chef D’équipe working for over 20 years towards the recent Team Australia win [at CHIO Aachen]. It takes a village!”

Boyd explains that with so many shows to attend, his crew varies depending on the calibre of event. “For national shows, I try to just bring on future people… and then the international crew are the experienced people that have been around me for 30 years. They come in for the big occasions during CHIO Aachen or Windsor Horse Show, or World Championships and World Cup Finals. Hugh Scott-Barrett [Boyd’s former long-time backstep], he’s coming to all the shows as a tactician. My wife Preetha is always there, fully involved in everything.”

Team XL also includes Denise Hertroijs in charge of catering – which is no small job at competitions – as well as a backstep (usually either Wannes Larsen or Ned Andrew) and then three grooms led by Emma Olsen.

Earlier this year, Boyd also formed an Australian partnership that is now a driving force behind Team XL. “We’re thrilled to have formed a partnership and sponsorship with Katie Page from Magic Millions. It is great to have an Australian company support Australian competitors internationally. Gerry [Harvey] and Kate have been very easy to work with and a pleasure to get to know.”

“We have to keep people happy, the horses sound, the horses happy… that’s the first goal and then whatever comes from that, hopefully we’re on [the team].”

While the four-in-hand team are winding down for the season, Tor will be hitching up a set of pairs for one of his sponsors at the 2025 FEI Driving World Championship for Pairs from 20-24 August in Beekbergen, The Netherlands.

Things are no less busy for Boyd. When Equestrian Life spoke to the driving legend, he was at a qualifier for the upcoming FEI Driving European Championships (4-9 September) in a support role – and between that and CHIO Aachen, he’d been away in Poland training. The next big competition on the Australian’s calendar is the Nations Cup in Baborowko. “I won’t use my experienced old ones for this event, I’ll use three new ones and just give them a run to conclude my season,” he explains.

At present, both drivers are enjoying the Dutch summer – although for Tor, who still has recent memories of the balmy climate in northern Australia – it’s “about the same as a Queensland winter!”

“When we message home it’s often hotter there than it is here,” he laughs. “I must say in December, I question it; the weather can be very depressing here.” Weather and daylight hours aside, Tor says it’s still family and friends he misses the most about Australia. “We visit there quite often but you do miss your friends and you miss the way of life – even though the Dutch are similar to the Australians in the way of being quite outgoing.”

From there, winter descends, and the World Cup indoor season begins – marking a busy time again for Boyd. “There’s no break when you’ve got this many horses. If you get off the bus… the bus keeps going, you know? So you don’t ever get off the bus.” EQ