CAIO Rastede: Dries Degrieck Takes Overall Victory
What a thrilling finish to the CAIO Four-in-Hand Nations Cup in Rastede! With third place in dressage, third in the marathon and fourth in the cones phase, Dries Degrieck (BEL) produced the most consistent overall performance to claim the individual title. His result also secured victory for the Belgian team, alongside Glenn Geerts and Tom Stokmans.
"I’m incredibly happy with the horses. We knocked down a ball in obstacle four during the marathon—that was a steering mistake. In the end, I found the marathon more challenging than I had expected. There were a few very narrow lines, which made the obstacles come at you quite quickly," Degrieck said afterwards.
Final Standings
After winning the dressage and finishing ninth in the marathon, Anna Sandmann (GER) started the cones phase in second place overall. A knocked ball, combined with 5.34 time penalties, dropped her just off the podium into fourth place.
Boyd Exell (AUS) began the final day in third position and kept his composure. He drove a faultless cones round, adding only 0.50 time penalties, which moved him up to second overall.
Chester Weber (USA) completed the podium. Starting the day in fourth place, he incurred just 1.22 time penalties in cones, allowing him to finish ahead of Sandmann and secure third overall.
The best-placed Dutch driver was Koos de Ronde. After finishing fourteenth in dressage and sixth in the marathon, he produced the fastest double-clear round in the cones phase to win that discipline. His consistent performances earned him fifth place overall.
Nations Cup
The battle for the Nations Cup remained undecided until the very end. Belgium and Australia were closely matched throughout the competition, but Belgium ultimately emerged victorious.
Australia’s runner-up finish was particularly impressive, as the team consisted of only Boyd Exell and Tor van den Berge. With only two drivers, Australia had no drop score available and finished just 0.52 penalty points behind Belgium.
The Netherlands claimed third place, thanks to the combined performances of Bram Chardon, IJsbrand Chardon and Koos de Ronde.
Source: Hoefnet. Republishing without permission is prohibited. For permission requests, please contact info@hoefnet.nl.
Photo: Karl Lohrmann
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