Wikipedia

Boyd Exell

Boyd Exell (born July 29, 1972, in Bega) is an Australian horse driver, trainer, judge and horse owner who specialises in competing with four-in-hand teams in the combined driving sport. He has won the World Cup indoor driving finals ten times and won eight world champion titles. As of October 2024, Exell is ranked number one in the world for his sport. Stationed in the Netherlands since 2015, he travels to Australia, the United States and around Europe holding events to train drivers.

Boyd Exell
Boyd Exell in 2014
Personal information
Born (1972-07-29) 29 July 1972 (age 52)[1]
Websiteboydexell.com
Sport
Country Australia
SportEquestrianism
Event(s)Carriage driving, combined driving
Medal record
Representing  Australia
FEI World Equestrian Games [2]
Gold medal – first place 2010 USA Individual driving
Gold medal – first place 2014 France Individual driving
Gold medal – first place 2018 USA Individual driving
World Championship [2]
Bronze medal – third place 2008 Netherlands Individual driving
Gold medal – first place 2012 Germany Individual driving
Gold medal – first place 2016 Netherlands Individual driving
Gold medal – first place 2022 Italy Individual driving
Gold medal – first place 2024 Hungary Individual driving
FEI World Cup Final [2]
Gold medal – first place 2009 Sweden Individual driving
Gold medal – first place 2010 Switzerland Individual driving
Gold medal – first place 2011 Germany Individual driving
Gold medal – first place 2012 France Individual driving
Silver medal – second place 2013 France Individual driving
Gold medal – first place 2014 France Individual driving
Gold medal – first place 2015 France Individual driving
Silver medal – second place 2016 France Individual driving
Gold medal – first place 2017 Sweden Individual driving
Gold medal – first place 2018 France Individual driving
Gold medal – first place 2020 France Individual driving
Silver medal – second place 2022 Germany Individual driving
Gold medal – first place 2023 France Individual driving
Silver medal – second place 2024 France Individual driving

Career

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Along with competing in four-in-hand driving sports, Exell has been active in breaking, training, buying and selling horses. He has trained drivers in America and across Europe, and sought talented drivers to mentor. He has provided horses and carriages for weddings and funerals, and driven coaches for sponsors and owners.[3][4]

The nice thing about carriage driving is that we can host our sponsors and owners and we can take them to Royal Ascot on a coach (an English Park Drag) with a team of horses. We can take 10 to 12 guests and we can have three days of racing. We set off from the Royal Mews in Windsor Castle, head down through Windsor Great Park, spend the day racing, have lunch and take the guests home. That is one of the upsides of driving, to be able to host your owners and your sponsors in that way.

— Boyd Exell (2020) [4]

Exell was a judge for the Fédération Équestre Internationale (FEI) from 2010 to 2020, and Deputy Chair of the FEI Driving Committee from 2012 to 2014.[1][5][6]

Annually, he hosts the Driving Valkenswaard International combined driving competition at his farm in the Netherlands.[4] Exell trains other drivers at his farm and travels internationally to hold seminars on driving.[7][8]

Competitions

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Boyd Exell became the individual world champion for the first time at the 2010 World Equestrian Games in Kentucky. He repeated this success at the 2012 World Championships in Germany with the same team.[2][3]

 
Exell during the 2013 World Cup series in Geneva, Switzerland

In August 2013, Bill 22, Exell's best lead[a] horse, died at the age of 21. Bill was an Orlov Trotter born in 1992, previously driven by Michael Freund [de; fr] with whom he won five consecutive World Cup Finals, beginning with a 2002 victory in Sweden. Exell started driving Bill in 2007, and won a bronze medal with him at the World Championships in the Netherlands in 2008. They went on to win four consecutive World Cup Finals, from 2009 to 2012. According to Exell, "Bill taught me that you could trust him at top speed through the obstacles and he could still be careful and responsive."[2][9][10]

 
Exell performing driven dressage at the 2014 World Equestrian Games

In 2014, Exell won the title of individual world champion in France. He repeated his win in the Netherlands in 2016, in North Carolina in 2018, in Italy in 2022, and in Hungary in 2024.[2]

Exell at the 2014 World Cup finals in Bordeaux, France

Boyd Exell has won 75% of his FEI competitions, with 161 wins out of 216 starts.[11][b] He won the world championship competitions in 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2022 and 2024, and placed third in 2008.[2] He won the World Cup indoor driving competition ten times (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2023) and placed second four times (2013, 2016, 2022, 2024).[2]

Exell was British National Champion eight times,[3] and won the driving competition at CHIO Aachen twelve times (2003, 2009-2013, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024).[12]

In 2023, Boyd Exell won his 10th World Cup Finals.[13][14] In January 2023, the announcer declared Exell "number one in the world... more titles than any other driver in history."[15]

Accolades

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Boyd Exell was awarded an Order of Australia in the 2014 Queen's Birthday Honours list for services to equestrian sports.[5] In 2017, Exell was inducted into the Equestrian Australia Hall of Fame for his achievements in driving.[16] Equestrian Australia named him the International Athlete of the Year in 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016.[17][18] In 2015, the FEI honored Exell with the Reem Acra Best Athlete award.[c][20][6]

In 2014, his team of horses was named IRT International Horse of the Year.[d] The team of five geldings were aged 7 to 20 years old; two were Dutch Warmbloods (KWPN).[21]

"It's hard to find reliable leaders[a] who are honest and forward. Horses at the back need to be honest, reliable powerful and hard-working – but the ones at the front that need to be brave and independent are harder to get... chasing the perfect team is like chasing the pot of the gold at the end of the rainbow." —Boyd Exell [8]

As of October 2024, FEI ranked Boyd Exell number 1 worldwide for Driving World Cup Standings, Driving World Cup Qualification Standings, and Driving World Ranking - Four-in-Hand.[11]

In a 2021 presentation of his competition career, FEI said of Exell, "Behind Boyd's success lies his genuine love of horses and a deep sense of connection with his animals, and it's this mutual understanding between Exell and his horses that has made them a formidable partnership on the international carriage driving stage, and truly an equestrian icon".[22]

Personal life

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Boyd Exell was born July 29, 1972, in Bega, Australia,[23] where he and his siblings were raised. His father was a civil engineer and his mother was a schoolteacher. Exell is married, has two children, and enjoys boating and water skiing. Boyd always loved horses. He and his brother Kent learned to drive horses early on and competed as young boys. At 16, Boyd started to compete seriously in driving competitions in Australia and won the Australian National Championships with a Hackney Pony pair. As a backup to a career with horses, and due to pressure from his mother, he apprenticed with a local engineering firm.[24][3][4][25]

When he was 21, he travelled to the United States, then settled in England near London to learn more about horse sports and carriage driving, and to improve his riding and driving talent. He stayed in England for 20 years before moving to Valkenswaard, Netherlands in 2015.[17][26]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b "Leaders" are the two horses at the front of a team of four. The two horses at the rear are called "wheelers".
  2. ^ Statistics counted from 1 January 2010 to 11 October 2024.
  3. ^ Fashion designer Reem Acra is a patron and sponsor of numerous FEI awards and events.[19]
  4. ^ IRT is an international horse transport company, and the sponsor of the award.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Person detail - Boyd Exell (AUS)". FEI. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "Athlete performance - Boyd Exell". FEI. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d Stafford, Chris. "Boyd Exell's Excellent Adventure". Equestrian Life. Archived from the original on 28 May 2024. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d "The Secret to Boyd Exell's Success". Horse Deals magazine. 8 October 2020. Archived from the original on 28 May 2024. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Queen's Birthday Honours for Boyd Exell". British Carriage Driving News. 2014. Archived from the original on 9 December 2023. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  6. ^ a b Floyd, Noëlle (13 November 2015). "Show Jumper Jessica Mendoza Among Winners at 2015 FEI Awards". Noëlle Floyd. Archived from the original on 16 January 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  7. ^ Phelps, Mary (February 2018). "Top Teaching Takeaways and Videos From Combined Driving World Champion Boyd Exell". horsedaily.com. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  8. ^ a b "Boyd Exell's Champagne Campaign". Equestrian Life. 4 October 2022. Archived from the original on 20 October 2022. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  9. ^ "Exells Spitzenpferd Bill 22 verstorben" [Exell's top horse Bill 22 died]. hoefnet.nl (in Dutch). 21 August 2013. Archived from the original on 31 December 2021.
  10. ^ "Boyd Exell's Bill Passes Away". Equestrian Life. Archived from the original on 9 December 2023.
  11. ^ a b "Athlete - Boyd Exell - Australia". FEI. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  12. ^ "Boyd Exell reigns at Aachen". Equestrian Life. July 2023.
  13. ^ "FEI Driving World Cup Final (Bordeaux)" (PDF). FEI. 5 February 2023. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 June 2023.
  14. ^ Dance, Sarah (8 February 2023). "Boyd Exell gallops to 10th World Cup driving title". FEI. Archived from the original on 7 February 2023 – via Horsetalk.co.nz. (alt link)
  15. ^ Kidman, John (27 January 2023). "The unknown Aussie who can't stop winning". Perth Now.
  16. ^ McMaster, Jacob (27 March 2017). "Exell, Beresford named Australia's best". Bega District News. Archived from the original on 26 March 2017. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  17. ^ a b "Hall of Fame - Boyd Exell". Equestrian Australia. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  18. ^ "Equestrian Australia is proud to announce the winners of its annual Sport Achievement Awards". Equestrian Australia. 7 May 2014.
  19. ^ Burkhardt, Marianne. "Reem Acra "very proud" of her association with FEI's Best Athlete Award". FEI. Archived from the original on 6 September 2014.
  20. ^ Etchells, Daniel (14 November 2015). "Australian Exell crowned Reem Acra Best Athlete at 2015 International Equestrian Federation Awards". Inside the Games. Archived from the original on 28 May 2024.
  21. ^ "IRT International Horse of the Year". Equestrian Australia. 2014. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  22. ^ The Greatest Horse Driver of All-Time! - Boyd Exell. FEI Icons. FEItv. 16 May 2021. 25:18 minutes in.
  23. ^ "Boyd Exell". Equestrian Australia. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  24. ^ Exclusive Interview with Driving World Champion Boyd Exell (video). Equestrian Australia. 29 January 2018. (part 2)
  25. ^ Pasto, Kirsty (10 February 2020). "Boyd Exell Regains His Crown With Ninth FEI Driving World Cup Final Championship Win". Equestrian Australia.
  26. ^ FEI World Cup Driving Final 2015 - Bordeaux - Boyd Exell (Interview). FEI. 7 February 2015. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
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