I am usually a competitor in the equine driving world, but I had an opportunity to be a spectator at a prestigious carriage-driving event near Lodi, Calif. and I took it!
The event was held at a gorgeous driving facility named Shady Oaks near Lodi. There were over 50 entries including one entry from Cochrane. Our own Barb Murphy was competing and did very well capturing Reserve Champion in her division – congratulations to Barb!
I enjoyed watching two days of outstanding driven dressage, one day of challenging obstacles and another of cones competition. The entries ranged from very small ponies to four-in-hand Dutch warmbloods and everything in between – it was great fun.
I saw the most athletic Fjord horse I have ever seen – flying lead changes in obstacles that were outstanding. Haflingers are quite popular in the driving world and they were well represented at this event, including two entries from one farm (Clay Station Horse Park in California). One of the entries was a stunning four-in-hand of Haflingers driven by owner Stan Packard. They are affectionately known as the Bare Naked Blondes – the accompanying photo show them in one of the obstacles going full tilt.
Attending this event reminded me how much a person can learn by observing others doing your discipline. In the first two dressage days, I observed the importance of being accurate when driving dressage figures, the visual difference between acceptable movements and really good movements and even what looks good and not so good in turnouts (the combination of the appearance of the driver, harness, carriage and horse).
On day three, I observed the impact of route planning, use of gaits and strategy in the obstacles. Strategies varied depending upon the skills of the driver and the physical abilities of the horse and it was interesting to see different ways that different drivers chose to drive the obstacles. It was a very close competition between some really good drivers.
Day four was the cones competition, where competitors have to drive through 20 pairs of cones (or combinations of pairs of cones) set slightly wider than the carriage without touching the cones. It was a very tight competition, so it made for some exciting spectating. In the end, the overall single horse championship and second place were separated by 12/100th of a point – yikes!
This competition included several disabled drivers who really were inspirational to us all. One competitor (who actually won the single horse championship) is an amazing disabled driver who can’t use her hands – she is attached to the reins by cuffs around her wrists, is strapped into the carriage because her body doesn’t work and is an amazing driver with a wonderful horse.
It was a fun few days and I learned quite a few tips from this great bunch of drivers.
