Posted: Friday, December 16th, 2011
In no-one was this more apparent than first-to-go, UK’s lady driver Pippa Bassett. Her debut time nerves were now a thing of the past – her horses more accustomed to the indoor excitement – and she stormed round the course to post a highly competitive score. Next and third at the previous performance, World Champion Boyd Exell’s (AUS) determination to better his placing was apparent to all. His fast round was clear and breathtaking. Koos de Ronde (NED) just about matched him for time but had 10 penalties to add to his score from knockdowns.
The stage was set for the Netherlands’ top driver, serial gold-medallist, Ysbrand Chardon, who was clearly not going to give up the winning slot without a fight. His drive had the crowd gasping, pivoting his four horses in what looked like impossible manoeuvres to take six seconds from Boyd’s score – with no knockdowns.
If possible, the second round was even more spectacular, none of the drivers giving any quarter. To pounding music they all gave urged their horses to ever faster speeds, mercurial driving resulting in knockdowns for the first three. Again Ysbrand had penalties in hand, but this did not stop him from going at top speed, setting a time that was less than a second behind his first round.
‘The Flying Dutchman’ Ysbrand Chardon was thus the double winner of Extreme Driving’s debut appearance at Olympia, challenged most closely this time by Boyd Exell. The rivalry – albeit friendly – was stoked again; watch out for it at next year’s Show.
