Three Times Gold For Germany
Monday, August 17, 2009
Host nation Germany won the team competition of the FEI World Combined Pony Driving Championships in Greven-Bockholt. German drivers also dominated the podium in the pony pairs class by claiming the gold, silver and bronze medal as well as the gold and silver medal in the four-in-hand class.
Singles
Dutch individual competitor, 17-year-old World Championship debutante Melanie Becker, won the gold medal in the pony single class. The silver medal went to German individual driver Franz-Josef Lehmkuhl and bronze to Suzy Stafford of the USA.
Becker drove a fantastic nearly double clear round placing third at that moment. Suzy Stafford knocked one cone down and had time penalties which made and this made Melanie climb one place up. When Melanie’s compatriot Arjo van Kekem also had several knockdowns, it became clear that Melanie Becker was the new World Champion.
Pairs
The gold medal in the pairs class went to another individual competitor: Daniel Schneiders from Germany. Schneiders drove a clear round and stayed ahead of his compatriots Stephan Koch (silver) and Steffen Abicht (bronze).
Schneiders came fourth in the dressage and second in the marathon and moved up to the first place even before the cones. The pressure was taken a bit off his shoulders when both Koch and Abicht knocked two balls down, which gave Schneiders some air. Schneiders, an 28 year old farrier, drove his pair of German riding ponies clear through the difficult cones course and passed the finishing line only a fraction of a second too late, which did not endanger his gold medal.
Four-in-hand
In the final – four-in-hand – class of the FEI World Combined Pony Driving Championships in Greven, Germany was again on top winning another individual gold medal – Tobias Bücker – and confirmed their team gold medal.
Tobias Bücker won the dressage and kept his lead after the marathon. In the cones competition he stayed clear with only time penalties and secured his first world gold medal in the four-in-hand class. Bücker had won double gold in 2003 driving a single pony. Bücker’s compatriot and team member Steffen Brauchle also stayed clear and secured the team gold. Title defender Jan de Boer was third before the cones but knocked a ball down, which took Belgian driver Tinne Bax onto the podium with the bronze medal.
Obstacle driving competition
Single pony
- Melanie Becker (NED) 0,19
- Johan Verswalm (BEL) 3,51
- Yvonne de Ruyter (NED) 4,65
Pony pair
- Kristof Osztertag (HUN) 0-176,08
- Yannick Scherrer (SUI) 0- 179,69
- Daniel Schneiders (GER) 1,93
Pony four-in-hand
- Martin Thiemann (GER) 0-189,69
- Jozsef Dobrovitz jr. (HUN) 0-193,33
- Aart van de Kamp jr. (NED) 0-196,82
Overall INDIVIDUAL results
Single pony
- Melanie Becker (NED) 131,11
- Franz-Josef Lehmkuhl (NED) 137,76
- Suzy Stafford (USA) 138,16
Pony pair
- Daniel Schneiders (GER) 131,57
- Stephan Koch (GER) 137,00
- Steffen Abicht (GER)
Pony four-in-hand
- Tobias Bücker (GER) 139,68
- Steffen Brauchle (GER) 141,67
- Tinne Bax (BEL) 143,78
Overall TEAM results
- Germany 407,48
- The Netherlands 410,08
- Belgium 422,98
Filed Under
Driving Trials
