The Hippodrome de Wallonie in Ghlin (Mons) will host two major events on 16 August: the World Drivers’ Championship and the first leg of the European Tour of the French Trotter, the Mons organisers have announced.
Tix trotting competitions will be on the programme, five of which will count towards the World Drivers’ Championship. The best international drivers from the United States, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland and elsewhere will challenge young Belgian champion Hanna Huygens, 26, the first woman to be crowned “Golden Sulky” last year.
The first round of the world championship will take place at Wolvega in the Netherlands on 13 August. The programme will continue on 15 August at Gelsenkirchen in Germany and at Ghlin on 16 August. The 2023 World Champion Driver will be crowned on 18 August at the Berlin Hippodrome.
The participants, the ten best drivers in the world, will compete in a total of 20 races. The points counting towards the championship are awarded in each round according to finishing order.
Grand Prix de Wallonie 2019. Credit: Hippodrome de Wallonie / Facebook
The day of 16 August at the Hippodrome de Wallonie will also be reserved for the first leg of the European Tour of the French Trotter. This circuit, which is reserved for French Trotter horses, is made up of five qualifying races and a final contested in five different countries.
After Ghlin, the calendar will continue on August 27 at Wolvega, September 10 at Avenches in Switzerland, September 24 at Son Pardo in Palma de Mallorca, October 8 at Gelsenkirchen in Germany to return to Ghlin for the final on October 22.
The Hipprodrome de Wallonie will host other events in the coming months, including the Grand Prix de Wallonie and Darby finals on September 23, the Grand Prix des Géniteurs on November 21, the Grand Prix de Noël on December 24.
