Australian Boyd Exell showed fans once again why he is the one to beat as he blasted to victory at the second leg of the new FEI Driving World Cup season in Maastricht, The Netherlands. Despite finishing last after Friday night’s opening round due to a corrected error of course, he dominated when it mattered to soar ahead of the rest and win Saturday night’s drive-off in 143.40 seconds – 15.39 in front of second placed Dutch driver Bram Chardon.
Re-watch the action via ClipMyHorse.TV.
It’s rare indeed that Boyd’s name appears at the bottom of any leaderboard, but there was a moment during Friday’s first round in the second marathon-style obstacle when he had to make a quick choice and double back on himself which incurred extra penalties. Adding 28 to his time, he excluded himself from the drive-off which opened the door to a different winner. But it was a brief aberration because although he and his trusted team were first to drive in Saturday’s first round, they sped round clear and were over ten seconds faster than anyone else. Their place in the drive-off guaranteed, Boyd was last to go and shaved off even more time over the same course to cross the line in 143.40.
Another win for ‘Bundy’
Boyd’s equine team included 22-year-old Bajnok (‘Bundy’) – whose World Cup career card now stands at 104 winning rounds – alongside Katydid Duchess, Barny and Max Max.
Twelve-year-old Oldenburg stallion Mad Max 81 (Millennium x Relevant 5) is also part of Boyd’s World Championship and Nations Cup-winning outdoor team, and is by Millennium – a Gestüt Sprehe stallion who was once ridden by fellow Australian Simone Pearce.
Bram was a relatively late addition to the line-up as a wild card but he and his grey Lipizzaners showed consistency on both nights to finish second each time. He was second placed after the first round on Saturday night, so was second into the drive-off and although he had two knocks, one in obstacle five and the other in the oxer in the middle of the arena, his impressive time of 150.79 allowed enough room to allow for him to retain his podium place on 158.79.
History was made as German legend Christoph Sandmann made a welcome return to the FEI Driving World Cup – his first qualifying appearance in ten years – and took a surprise win on the opening night. Speaking to FEI TV before the event, he said how proud he was to be competing alongside his daughter Anna, which is quite a unique situation in any equestrian sport at this level.
Exuding confidence with a newly put together team for the indoor season, he cruised round the course on Friday night and was the fastest to qualify for the drive-off, then he matched his first performance to retain the lead. It meant he was last to drive on Saturday night, and although he couldn’t match Boyd – who had undoubtedly upped the ante – he secured a place in the drive-off. Taking a slightly longer route to the oxer number eleven, which he hadn’t done in his first round, he seemed to play it a little safer and finished on 163.50, four of which was a ball added in obstacle number nine.
Wild card Koos de Ronde of The Netherlands was only 0.28 away from a drive-off place, narrowly finishing behind Christoph, so was fourth on Saturday with 159.57. His time had been faster, but he collected four seconds at a late stage in the round, and it helped him improve on his fifth place the previous night. It is unusual that he is not competing as a qualified driver as he has been a mainstay of the World Cups for a long time, but he was pipped to the qualifying post by Christoph at the end of the outdoor season.
Belgian Glenn Geerts had a great Friday night to secure a drive-off place and third but could not repeat the form and although his time was competitive, he tallied an additional sixteen seconds in penalties to finish on 171.27 for sixth on Saturday.
Swede Fredrik Persson was fifth on both nights, totalling 171.01 on Saturday to keep himself marginally ahead of Glenn. Interestingly, his total on Friday was a close 171.81.
Making history alongside her father, Anna Sandmann made her World Cup debut in Maastricht. Stating that they have been experimenting with different combinations to give them two indoor teams, she said that they never disagree over it! She was sixth on the first night, then seventh on the second, with a score of 182.51, eight of which were penalties.
Boyd Exell leads the 2025/26 series
All the qualified drivers have now competed after two events, although Bram did not gain any ranking points as he was a wild card – he will be eligible later in the season in Geneva, Switzerland – and Boyd has forged further ahead with a maximum twenty points. Christoph and Ijsbrand – two titans of the sport who have crossed the generations – sit in joint second on seven points.
There’s not much time to turn around for some of the crews from Maastricht as they are destined for the third leg at the Stuttgart German Masters, one of the first events to include the indoor driving format. It’s always a captivating course with dramatic elements, including the water splash, and the large capacity crowd are famously supportive. Although Dutchman Johan Jacob’s technical course in the MECC arena this weekend will take some beating.
Source: FEI press release by Sarah Dance
