On Saturday, he thrilled the crowd in the class counting towards the 2025/2026 FEI Driving World CupTM Final (start of February 2026 in Bordeaux/France) with his fighting spirit. It seemed as if he had no trouble at all in claiming victory in the time obstacle driving competition. His winning time of 139.84 seconds earned him 5,900 euro. It was the eleventh time that the Australian had come out on top (2009, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2022-2025) in capital of the Federal State of Baden-Württemberg – and the eleventh time that he had turned the arena into a cauldron.
The Swiss Jérôme Voutaz was the runner-up for the second year in a row after posting a time of 156.06 seconds. His performance was rewarded with a 4,450-euro purse. Germany’s Anna Mareike Meier, nee Harms, came a fantastic third, this after the 40-year-old finished fourth in the warm-up class. She only incurred four penalties when recording a time of 171.38 seconds. A World Championship silver medallist with the German team in 2022 and 2024, she today took home 3,450 euro.
A visibly highly delighted Boyd Exell praised the course designer Jeroen Houterman at the press conference saying, “The balance was perfect, a fantastic mixture of speed and technical finesse.” He was also full of praise for the audience: “The Stuttgart crowd is very enthusiastic and knowledgeable. The music is super here, as is the commentary – I love it!“
Second-placed Jérôme Voutaz commented: “I’m very happy with my horses, just a little dissatisfied with myself. I made a few mistakes.”
Mareike Meyer battled a high temperature in the lead-up to the horse show but was fit again just in time for the World Cup class. “I watched the first drivers and they were all quicker than I was yesterday, so I knew I had to go full gas.”
Mark Wentein, FEI representative put it succinctly: “Stuttgart has the world’s best public.”
In the current four-in hand FEI Driving World Cup standings after three stopovers (Lyon, Maastricht, Stuttgart), Boyd Exell leads with 20 points ahead of Voutaz und Christoph Sandmann (Germany) who are both on 12 points. Fourth is Anna Mareike Meier (10), three points to the good of Ijsbrand Chardon (NED) and Frederik Persson (SWE).
