Boyd Exell (AUS) winner of the FEI Driving World Cup™ 2026/27 - Maastricht (NED)© FEI/Leanjo de Koster

07.11.2026

Boyd Exell (AUS) launched his FEI Driving World Cup™ campaign in winning style at the second leg in Maastricht (NED). The only driver to produce four clear rounds, he won the drive-off in 142.62 seconds, 10.81 seconds ahead of Glenn Geerts (BEL).

The Australian dominated both competitions late on Friday and Saturday nights at Jumping Indoor Maastricht, the second of nine legs in the 2026/27 series. Competing as a qualified driver, he earned 10 ranking points for his win.

Crediting his horses while noting the close competition between the leading drivers, he said, “They felt like a million dollars! The horses were flying – fast and furious. My team is very experienced but Glenn, Koos, Bram and Dries all have fast teams, and the standard is getting higher and higher. But my horses – it was like they were ‘on rails’. I didn’t have to push or hold them. I just gave them the information, and they finished it for me.”

Course design

He commented on Johan Jacobs’ (NED) course, which he said had been tweaked from the previous night after consultation with the drivers and judges. He said the changes worked well and made it exciting for the audience.

Exell confirmed he will be at the third leg in Stuttgart (GER) next weekend as a wild card. As for his strategy, he said, “I’m trying to preserve my team, and my daughter has been training the right leader Duchess under saddle and is doing a great job.”

Consistent top three

The top three finished in the same order as in Friday’s opening competition. Geerts was second on 153.43 and the Netherlands’ Koos de Ronde was third on 162.21. Both knocked balls down, adding penalty seconds to their times. Both competed as wild cards, so neither earned ranking points. With only three places in each drive-off, earning the right to drive again two nights in a row was an achievement.

Geerts and his new team of Hungarian horses, which he debuted last week in Lyon, were even more harmonious a week on, and he could ask more of them.

De Ronde, who won the first Maastricht World Cup leg in 2018, was popular with the home crowd. He began Saturday night with a clear round to earn a drive-off place. Like Geerts, he picked up penalties as he pushed for more speed in the final round.

Chardon consolidating

Bram Chardon (NED), the third of the wild cards, was fourth on 154.75. His Friday night round was marked with an uncharacteristic tally of penalties, and on Saturday, although his first-round time was less than a second behind Exell, the eight penalty seconds put him out of drive-off contention.

But Chardon is a keen tactician and, when he’s in Stuttgart as a qualified driver, he’s more likely to show the sort of form that has seen him win the title on three occasions.

Valuable points

Making his mark, Radek Nesvacil (CZE) gained seven valuable ranking points as the next highest-placed qualified driver on 161.69. He has been based at Exell’s in the Netherlands to benefit from the training and facilities while he and his horses make their way in the World Cup.

Only 0.31 seconds separated the Czech driver, in his first series, from experienced World Cup competitor Christoph Sandmann (GER), who was sixth on 162.00 after producing a well-judged but steady clear round.

His daughter Anna, who made history last weekend in Lyon when she was the first woman to win an FEI Driving World Cup™ leg, could not replicate her form. The more compact arena and different style of course meant her team could not show the speed and flair they had shown in France. Having been fifth on Friday night, she slipped two places to finish seventh on 166.43.

Her German outdoor teammate, Anna Mareike Meier, was eighth on 176.24. Meier has also made Driving history by being the first woman to qualify for the Final, held in Leipzig (GER) in April 2022. Using a different combination of horses from previous series, she incurred fewer penalties on Saturday night but was over 30 seconds off Exell’s leading time.

Next stop Stuttgart

The third leg moves to the German Masters in Stuttgart, one of the biggest arenas on the circuit. All the qualified drivers have now competed at least once, so the competition is likely to become even fiercer. Jeroen Houterman (NED), who was responsible for the Lyon course, returns as the designer.

Although Exell will be a wild card, his will to win will be as strong as ever. But with a line-up of Koos de Ronde, Ijsbrand and Bram Chardon, Christoph Sandmann and Glenn Geerts, it is going to be extremely tight at the top.

FULL RESULTS