Chester Weber in Saturday’s Marathon (Shannon Brinkman Photo)

By Andrew Minnick for USEF

A fantastic four-in-hand driving season for American star Chester Weber got even better on Saturday with a hard-earned win at CHIO Aachen. The CAIO4* field full of international talent and former world champions, and the crowd of spectators at the historic show, made the weekend’s win one of the biggest of Weber’s career

With his and Jane Forbes Clark’s team of KWPN geldings, Weber (Ocala, Fla) took the early lead on Wednesday with a stellar 36.22 score in the dressage phase. He and his team were the only ones to break 40 in the dressage. Weber’s closest competition came from Boyd Exell of Australia, who earned a 41.00 score, and would keep the pressure on for the remainder of the competition.

In the cones phase (at CAIO4* Aachen the cones precede the marathon) Weber was clear through the obstacles. He added 0.66 in time penalties, to finish 6^th in the phase.

Exell was excellent in the marathon, winning the phase with a 91.63 score, but Weber was game. With a score of 97.60, Weber finished on a total of 134.48 and the win.

“Today was a big day for our team and what will be a highlight of my career,” Weber posted to his Facebook page following the marathon. “We won the CHIO Aachen 2014. I am humbled to drive such a wonderful group of horses and work with such a fantastic staff and have the best sponsor in the world.”

Exell finished second with a total score of 135.63 and Koos de Ronde of The Netherlands was third with 149.54.

The Team:

Boris W  (Talos x Tovitha/Fabricius, L. van de Put)
Boy W  (Manno x Dereda/Wilhelmus, S. Daniels)
Parava  (Harmonie x Irzela/Renovo, C. van Etten)
Splash  (Nando x Lydra St/Cambridge Cole, J.A. Slijkhuis)
Uniek  (Nickson x Humalya/Allegro, W. Wout)