Breda, The Netherlands – The marathon day proved to be influential at the 2016 FEI World Driving Championships for Four-in-Hand, with a challenging course laid out by Jeroen Houterman (NED). The U.S. Driving Team of James Fairclough, Allison Stroud, and Chester Weber, along with individual Misdee Wrigley Miller, had respectable performances on Saturday under the guidance of Chef d'Equipe Ed Young. At the end of the second phase, Weber is the top U.S. driver in fifth place with a score of 187.92 and the U.S. Team is in ninth place with a score of 423.55. The Netherlands held their position atop the leaderboard with a score of 354.30, followed by Hungary with a score of 377.20. Germany sits in third with a score of 379.61.

Weber (Ocala, Fla.) put forth a determined effort with his own and Jane Clark’s KWPN geldings in the marathon phase. They had great performances in obstacles one, two, four, and six to finish the phase in 21st place with 146.98 penalty points. Weber and his team lie in fifth place overall with a score of 187.92 heading into Sunday’s cones phase.

“It was a really tough, physical test, and it proved challenging for the Americans,” Weber said of the marathon course. “From our team’s standpoint, we were pleased to stay in the top five with as challenging as the course was.”

Stroud (West Grove, Pa.) and Willow Star LLC’s KWPN geldings had steady performances at each of the obstacles to collect 188.26 penalty points and finish the phase in 40th place. After the first two phases, they are in 34th place overall on a score of 235.63.

Fairclough (Newton, N.J.) had a solid start to the marathon phase with his mixed team of Warmbloods, finding a good rhythm at obstacles five and six but unfortunately ran into problems at obstacles seven and eight. They finished the phase in 45th place with 225.92 penalty points, putting them in 42nd place overall with a score of 280.55.

Individual Wrigley Miller (Lakewood Ranch, Fla.) started off slow with her own and Marco Freund’s team. They picked up the pace in the final three obstacles to finish strong, tallying 280.59 penalty points for 49th place in the phase. After the first two phases, Wrigley Miller and the team are in 48th place with a score of 327.02.

Boyd Exell (AUS) maintained his lead in the individual standings with a score of 158.40, while Koos de Ronde (NED) is in second on a score of 177.47, and IJsbrand Chardon (NED) is in third with a score of 180.13.

The championship will come to a close on Sunday with cones phase beginning at 10:00 a.m. local time.

Marathon results

Team results following the first two phases

Individual results following the first two phases

Find out more information on FEI World Driving Championships for Four-in-Hand.

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