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Federation
Equestre Internationale News
FEI
World Cup Driving
Schrijvers wins FEI World Cup Driving at home soil
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Gert
Schrijvers has won the FEI World Cup Driving competition during
the Flanders Christmas Horse Show in Mechelen, Belgium. Encouraged
by the enthusiastic crowd in the sold out Nekkerhal, Schrijvers
drove his team of Arabo Friesian sport horses fluently through
the course, designed by German course designer Falk Böhnisch.
For Schrijvers it is his first win in the three year old history
of the World Cup. OI am very pleased with my performance. The
horses went very well and I did not make any mistakes myself,¹
explains Schrijvers, who used the same horses as he does during
the outdoor season. By winning in Mechelen, Schrijvers has climbed
to the second
place in the standings, which is led by Michael Freund. Germany¹s
Rainer Duen, driving his first World Cup event of this season,
made up for his elimination in the warm up competition by driving
the only clear round of this evening, and came second. Werner
Ulrich, winner of the warm up competition, took the third place,
driving his team of Swiss horses. Ulrich has climbed to the third
place of the standings and has, like Schrijvers and Freund, two
more competitions to go. Tomas Eriksson from Sweden passed the
finish line two seconds faster than the winner of the World Cup,
but the double World Champion knocked three cones down and dropped
to the fourth place. The special indoor team of triple World Champion
Ijsbrand Chardon from the Netherlands was still missing the indoor
routine. Chardon drove a fast round but had 15 penalty seconds
added to his score and had to be satisfied with the fifth place.
The Belgian wild card drivers Valere Standaert and Achille Snoeys
took places six and seven. Walcon, a
construction company owned by Walter Goudsmet, sponsored the World
Cup Driving competition in Mechelen. Goudsmet, who got involved
into carriage driving through Achille Snoeys, announced that he
would continue his sponsorship for the next years.
The
next World Cup competition takes place in Leipzig, Germany, on
25 January 2004.
Created
in 2001, the Driving World Cup has provided an innovative new
style of competition for indoor events, with courses combining
marathon and cone driving obstacles. The 2003/2004 season of the
World Cup includes seven events with eight competitions: Stuttgart
(GER), Stockholm (SWE), Mechelen (BEL) in 2003; Leipzig (GER),
two competitions in Vigo (ESP), 's-Hertogenbosch (NED) and Göteborg
(SWE) in 2004.
The
winner of the first two editions of the World Cup was Michael
Freund (GER).
Relevant
internet addresses:
Flanders
Christmas Horse Show: www.jumping-mechelen.com
World Cup Driving: www.worldcupdriving.com
FEI: www.horsesport.org
www.horsesport.org
.
