Aachen, 06. July 2008

Koos de Ronde siegt im Preis der Coca-Cola Erfrischungsgetränke Rheinland GmbH
Der 18-jährige Michael Brauchle fährt im Stechen auf Rang zwei

Michael Brauchle (Lauchheim) narrowly missed claiming a second victory at his debut appearance at the CHIO - at the age of only 18. However, unfortunately the driver from Baden Württemberg picked up faults in the drive-off of the Prize of the Coca-Cola Erfrischungsgetränke Rheinland GmbH, the obstacle course with a single drive-off. So this time Brauchle, who won the Wohnwelt Pallen Marathon driving event yesterday, had to make do with second place behind Koos de Ronde. The Dutch driver was the only competitor to drive clear in the drive-off in a time of 77.03 seconds. The Swiss driver Daniel Würgler, who picked up six faults in 82.92 seconds, finished third.

Koos de Ronde, who comes from Zwartewaal, near Rotterdam, won the Wohnwelt Pallen Marathon last year at the CHIO Aachen. The 31-year-old, who won team silver at the World Championships in 2004 in Kecskemét, Hungary with the Dutch team and also won bronze at the FEI World Equestrian Games 2006 in Aachen, took over his successful team of horses from the Australian driver Boyd Exell.