Switzerland’s Mario Gandolfo secured his first Individual FEI Driving World Championship for Single gold medal following a dramatic finish at Le Pin au Haras, France.

Crediting his 10-year-old mare Favela for their winning Marathon on Saturday, Gandolfo and his horse also produced a foot perfect double clear Cones round on Sunday afternoon to keep the pressure on overnight leader Marion Vignaud, of France. Gandolfo is pictured above at the FEI Driving World Championship for Young Horses 2023.

Last to go, it looked as if gold would be Vignaud’s until she knocked the final oxer, which added three to her score and meant a drop to silver by only 0.51. Switzerland’s Stefan Ulrich took bronze after a double clear Cones and a strong Marathon.

France Retains Team Title

It was equally close in the Team event, but France stayed in front by only 1.32 to retain gold ahead of Germany in silver and Switzerland in bronze, separated by a mere 0.84. The French therefore retained the title they won two years ago.

A delighted Felix-Marie Brasseur, French Chef d’Equipe, said: “The A team gold medal is the most sensational thing for the Federation. It’s the job of the Federation to help the riders as much as possible to achieve this goal. The best way to thank them is to be out in front and win. The drivers did that and that’s great.

“What’s also really nice is that all the drivers produced their best dressage, their best marathon and their best handling, and that’s the most important thing.”

Championships

The event was the 14th Singles Championship since the biennial series began in 1998 and the fourth time it has been hosted by France, more than any other nation. Conty was host in 2002, followed by Pau in 2020 and, most recently, Le Pin au Haras in 2022.