Boyd Exell heads the field in the Land Rover International Driving Grand Prix

Boyd Exell heads the field in the Land Rover International Driving Grand Prix
Current World Horse Four-In-Hand Champion, both indoors and out – Boyd Exell from Australia – was awarded first place by each of the five dressage judges in the first phase of the International Driving Grand Prix. This gives him a clear six-point penalty lead over his closest challenger, Theo Timmerman from the Netherlands, putting him in prime position to record his eighth win at Royal Windsor. Timmerman, a previous European Champion and a long-standing member of the record gold medal winning team from Holland, is a regular competitor in the Land Rover International Driving Grand Prix but has yet to come home in first place. 22 horse fours competitors from nine nations will battle it out over the cross-country marathon course, which includes eight formidable obstacles, on Saturday before the final cone driving course on Sunday.

In the pony four-in-hands the field is lead by Jan de Boer from the Netherlands driving his team of Welsh ponies. Last year’s winner, when he claimed his sixth Royal Windsor title, de Boer has a narrow lead of less than two penalties from Jacqueline Walter of Germany. GB’s National Champion, Sara Howe, is the highest placed British competitor in sixth place.