The third FEI World Singles Driving Championships, held in the near-coastal town of Astorp, Sweden, July 22-25, was the biggest yet, with more than 60 competitors from 20 nations. The large event inspired no fears to the all-female Swedish team of experienced drivers: Marie Kahrle, Cecilia Quarnstrom and Carina Ekenberg (the 1998 team members). In a superb display of their skills they beat all comers, taking their team to gold for the third successive time. Sweden is still the only nation to have won a gold medal in single horse driving, and Kahrle–individual 2002 silver medalist–also snatched a last-minute individual victory this year.

“It does feel great,” she said with a smile. “We are lucky in Sweden that we have help from some really top people and also have very good drivers as examples.”

For the United States, Fred Merriam, Scott Monroe and Scott Padgett finished a team in ninth place, all of them driving Morgans.

Merriam, of Newfane, Vt., was the only one to have represented the U.S. in a World Championship before; he brought home the individual bronze medal from Conty, France, two years ago. Monroe, of Sharon, Conn., was the first alternate for that 2002 team and ended up navigating for one of the Canadians, giving him first-hand experience of a championship event.

The worst summer weather for decades in Sweden produced so much rain in the last month that the championships were in doubt the previous week. Torrential rain forced the opening ceremony inside in curtailed form, and dressage had to be conducted on the hard surface of the outdoor practice ground.

Two days of dressage under the watchful eyes of five international judges, including Martha Hanks-Nicoll from the United States, produced few really inspiring tests. This was possibly due to the difficult conditions (the final 10 minutes before each test had to be spent in the indoor in heavy going) and the unforgiving test surface. Many tests also appeared rushed.

“We didn’t see as much lightness or good collection in paces as I would like,” said Enno Georg, judging for Germany.

Arja Mikkonen, the 1998 individual gold medalist from Finland, led at the end of the first day. But the final competitor, Swedish team member Quarnstrom, guided her Swedish-bred gelding Marco Bay through a smooth test with good changes of pace and expression to take over the lead. Mikkonen was second and Dieter Lauterbach from Germany third. Sweden had the top team slot, with Poland second and Finland third.

Of the U.S. squad, Padgett, of Southern Pines, N.C., and Merriam, driving Sharon Davis’s Collector’s Right Stuff and Nick Mercede’s Gaitwood Lightwing, felt largely satisfied with their dressage performances, which earned them 23rd and 26th places, respectively, and put the U.S. team in ninth place. Monroe, who drives his own Bethesda After Dark, was disappointed to be 34th.

“I felt it was rather flat, and that was confirmed by one of the officials here who said they had seen us do better,” he said. “It was my fault, I just didn’t get the performance out of him.”

Chef d’equipe Sharon Chesson commented, “I think they all did well. However, I feel the team’s strong point is the marathon.”

Marathon Shakes Up Placings

With eight obstacles contained in 5 meters, most drivers believed the marathon would be tough on their horses. The obstacles, designed by U.S.-based international course designer, Richard Nicoll, were long; most of the times were close to a minute.

Two of the obstacles–numbers 4 and 5–had a water splash in them, number 5 being in a dip with entry and exit over a wooden bridge, while number 6 was classed as the water obstacle. Obstacle 2 was built on the side of a slope and had a steep up-and-over bridge. Yet the course presented very few problems with only one tip-up–Sarah Mullins from Ireland who turned over coming out of the water obstacle.

Fourth to go on the marathon, Anne-Violaine Brisou from France, who had been in gold medal position after the marathon in the 2002 championships, put up fast times through the obstacles. In fact, her time through the final obstacle was never bettered. However, she picked up time penalties on Section E, which dropped her down the placings. Her teammate Renaud Vinck proved himself a marathon specialist by coming fourth in this phase.

Merriam was the first to go for the U.S. team and posted highly respectable times in the obstacles, his only blip coming in obstacle 5 when Gaitwood Lightwing headed up a steep bank and had to be reversed back down. Like Brisou, however, Merriam picked up cruel time penalties on Section E. Padgett’s marathon followed a similar story, with his time on Section E collecting penalties. Monroe came home with the best U.S. score.

“After dressage, I was anxious to do a good marathon so as to make a positive contribution to the team,” he said. “It is not the fastest marathon I have ever driven, but it probably had the toughest hazards, which, being a World Championship, should be the case.”

All team members commented that the marathon was unlike those encountered on home ground, where there is generally more time between obstacles.

“It was quite tough for Morgans against the bigger warmbloods,” said trainer Lisa Singer.

Ekenberg and Kahrle produced superlative marathons for the home team, taking second and third overall and keeping Sweden in the lead. First place in the marathon went to Danish driver Henrik Hoper who drove Barbara and Harold Riewe’s Holsteiner, Cansler, with calm assurance and precision through each obstacle. His score brought him up to the overnight lead from 10th place in dressage. Finland and Germany ranked behind Sweden, while the U.S. team dropped to 13th.

U.S. Drivers Shine In Cones

Nicoll designed a superb cones course, setting the correct test of horses’ suppleness following the marathon. A four-cones zigzag along the middle of the arena comprised the only multiple element question. Time was the real challenge.

The U.S. team excelled in this phase, posting three double clears. There were just eight clear rounds, and competitors lying in seventh and eighth places, Jan van den Broek from the Netherlands and Ben Simonsen from Finland, accounted for two more of them. The scores were very tight above them, with just 5 points separating first place from sixth, and the next four competitors all picked up penalties and dropped below van den Broek and Simonsen in the standings.

By now the rain was falling in torrents, and it is a tribute to the drivers that they kept their concentration so well. In second place, Kahrle drove a well-judged clear, picking up 4 time penalties but keeping her position.

On his own admission, Hoper made the misjudgment of going for a double clear. In the attempt, however, he lost the rhythm and knocked down two cones, which together with 3 time penalties, dropped him to eighth place and shattered his medal hopes.

Kahrle claimed the championship, with van den Broek (who is 64 years old and at his first World Championships) and Simonsen picking up silver and bronze.

Finland retained the team silver, repeating their 2002 success, while Poland earned the bronze in the cones, ousting Germany. The U.S. team’s strong cones scores brought them back to ninth; individual placings included Monroe 12th, Padgett 24th and Merriam 36th. Monroe, who reached his goal of competing at the Worlds, now plans to put his driving career on hold to compete Bethesda After Dark in competitive trail riding.

Merriam won the cones barrage, just as he did in France two years ago. Monroe actually beat his time but had two cones down in doing so, giving him seventh place, with Padgett taking sixth.

“I am so proud of the team,” said Chesson. “Not only with their performances, which have been great, but with the way they have worked and pulled together as a team. It has been a real privilege to be involved with them and we have all gained immensely from being in Europe to compete.”