Bram Beats Boyd in Bordeaux - Bram Chardon FEI Driving World Cup Champion 2019

Bram Chardon of the Netherlands is the new FEI Driving World Cup™ champion, after taking the title from reigning king Boyd Exell of Australia in a stunning upset this  in Bordeaux.

Chardon, who was the backstepper when his father Ijsbrand Chardon won the title in 2016, was joined in his elated victory by his sister Jeannette Chardon, a competitive eventer who served as his navigator, and Maurits Hallo, his backstepper. Chardon, the youngest  driver ever to win the FEI World Cup was three times FEI World Driving Champion for Ponies before graduating to horse teams in 2016.

The series of nine events done in eight countries from November 2018 - February 2019, the 21st Century Gladiators drew huge crowds filling the stands for the exciting event which combines speed, accuracy, concentration and the best driving skill in the world.

The 25-year-old champion fought valiantly for his first ever FEI Driving World Cup™ championship, beating second-place finisher Koos De Ronde of the Netherlands and bronze medalist Glenn Geerts of Belgium in a thrilling drive off.

In a stunning upset, the young Chardon had been pushing the multiple World Cup Champion, Boyd Exell throughout the series. With the new change in scoring, the first round at Bordeaux counted for 100% , where the young Chardon has a spotless first round. With the pressure on in the first round Exell gambled driving even more aggressively having an unusual ball at 1 on the straight line. Distracted as he looked back in an uncharacteristic move, this caused a ball 2. He then had to push harder in round two of the first day and a route mistake with another ball in an obstacle, put the eight time World Cup Champion in last place going into the final phase.

Chardon finished the series with a final faultless round and the largest margin ever recorded of 19.2 points proving to win is to be perfect. 

FEI World Cup™ Driving 2018/2019: who starts where