Leipzig: German four-in-hand in sixth and seventh place
Leipzig (fn-press). At the World Cup final for four-in-hand drivers in Leipzig, the two German participants Michael Brauchle and Mareike Harm took sixth and seventh place. "Nevertheless, it was a great experience to ski here in the hall with this great crowd, even though I only finished seventh at the end of the day," says Mareike Harm (Negernbötel), summarizing her first participation in a World Cup Final. Victory goes to the Dutchman and reigning European Champion Bram Chardon, who has already won the warm-up test.
“My horses did a great job. The lines had slipped through my hand a bit, so I had to do an additional turn, which prevented a better result," Mareike Harm explained her result. The Vice European Champion with the 2021 team finished in 173.56 seconds - place 7. Michael Brauchle (Aalen), who was allowed to start with a wildcard in Leipzig and won silver together with Mareike Harm in Budapest in 2021, finished sixth in 166.79 seconds, having already cleared all the cliffs of the course without a penalty , when three more balls fell in. "I was probably a little too cheeky to motivate my horses because everything had worked so well up to that point," he suspects as the source of the error.
Duel for victory
There was a heated duel between nine-time World Cup winner Boyd Exell and European champion Bram Chardon for victory. After an exciting jump-off, the Dutchman Chardon with his lightning-fast Lippizaners was ahead by a nose, overall result after three rounds 258.73 seconds. “It was driving sport at its finest here, this final was great! I had made a precise plan and wanted to do the first lap safely. But that was no longer possible because Boyd was so quick. I was super nervous. I'm all the happier that it was enough to win, even though I had a down in the circulation and in the jump-off. I also have my father to thank for that, who helped me a lot with the preparations at home and here as well,” said the winner after the test.
World Champion Boyd Exell with driving error
The Australian Boyd Exell actually wanted to win his tenth World Cup victory, but a tiny driving error in the jump-off prevented that. After driving over the bridge to the end of the course, his team was not quite straight for a brief moment and ran over a cone. Exell had to pick up his horses briefly and received an additional four penalty seconds. 262.82 seconds were on the scoreboard, second place. You could see his anger at the missed victory, but as a professional he had a firm grip on himself, praising his horses and his team and also found words of praise for Bram Chardon's horses.
Glenn Geerts forgets the way in the jump-off
Third place on the podium went to Glenn Geerts (323.73s). "I'm super happy that I even reached the jump-off," said the Belgian. “That was my goal for this final. It was clear to me that I couldn't compete for the first two places, Bram and Boyd are too strong". So he heartily congratulated Bram Chardon. Glenn Geerts made another mishap in the jump-off, which in retrospect caused amusement. Because he had calculated few chances for the jump-off, he hadn't really remembered the course either. His "navigator", meaning the person standing behind the coach box who supports the driver on his way through the obstacles, is his wife. "She directed me to the left, I drove to the right, we knocked over a part of the obstacle, the journey was interrupted. I'm afraid that will be discussed in detail on the return trip to Belgium," he says with a smile.
Mareike Harm as the first woman in the World Cup final
The "navigators" in driving sports are often female, this is not a new phenomenon. What is new, however, is the participation of a woman as a driver in this unofficial world indoor championship. The Holsteiner Mareike Harm is the first woman who has conquered a place in this hitherto all-male domain. Bram Chardon explicitly mentioned this: “It's good that Mareike is proving how well women can do this sport. Driving is not a weight sport, with the right training and the right equipment, women can do it just as successfully as men.”
The media hype in the run-up to the Drivers' World Cup final in Leipzig was also exceptional. Even the Bild newspaper wrote about the fact that Mareike Harm was the first woman to drive in this male domain. "That would have been much less at a final in Bordeaux," the Holsteiner suspects. Even the ARD and ZDF lunchtime magazine broadcast a report about the successful driver.
A recurring question is that of physical strength, which is presumably a prerequisite for this equestrian sport. "Of course, I try to sensitize my horses as much as possible to make things a little easier. I can also imagine that some of my male colleagues use more energy. But no, I don't do extra strength training. I don't have to, the training with my horses is enough." The challenge is not the physical exertion anyway, but rather the task of forming a team out of four different horses, four different individuals, she describes the special appeal of this equestrian sport.
In contrast to many of her competitors, the 36-year-old, who has 15 driving horses in training on her boarding horse farm in Holstein, does not drive a special indoor team at the World Cup final, but rather the horses that she uses at tournaments all year round. A mainstay of the team is Quebec Sautreuil, called Sepp. The bay gelding has been with us for ten years and knows the sport inside out. Luxusboy goes next to him as the front horse. Originally he drove in a buggy and wasn't a big fan of indoor events before, "but now he's having a lot of fun with it," says his driver happily. Zatijn and Zazou complete the team as pole horses - these are the rear horses in a four-in-hand. “No one really thought I was capable of driving a four-in-hand, especially in a marathon. That's why I'm a bit proud today that I stuck it out like this," says Mareike Harm.
Driving is a team sport, not just in front of the carriage, but also on it. Mareike Harm's team is all female, which is also something special among four-in-hand drivers. In Leipzig, as elsewhere in the field, Linda Tödten stands behind the driver and gives instructions for the right way, at the same time watching the horses, being the co-pilot on the carriage, so to speak. She has been with the team for six years and knows her stuff very well. Nicole Bielemeier is responsible for the correct weight distribution and balance of the carriage. "It's actually a man's job," explains Mareike Harm, "but Nicole does it fantastically. Always put your weight on the inner rear wheel and then hold on tight. Has a bit of motorcycling. Even if Nicole doesn't bring as much weight with her as many men: We did well with it in the truest sense of the word and "never change a winning team". Nicole did her training with Mareike Harm and has been part of the company ever since. FN/Christine Meyer zu Hartum
