Bank Holiday Saturday (24 August) saw the last of this season’s Midlands Carriagedriving (MC) fun One-Day Events, held at Anslow in Derbyshire. Those who take part enjoy the relaxed atmosphere and the opportunity to educate and refresh ponies and horses in friendly competition, or just use the event for a practice run. Husband and wife, Jon and Sandra White, probably were the most competitive even though they were in separate classes as they do like to outdo one another. Jon, driving in the Novice Horse class, described his dressage as a bit of a ‘car crash’ so was delighted to score a double clear in the cones. Sandra, competing with her little Hackney in the Small Pony class added just 4.5 time penalties to her dressage score after cones. However, she did come out on top in the short marathon with the fastest times of the day, marginally beating Jon’s times so both went home happy. Jon White Sandra White Also in the Small Pony class were Fiona Clayton and Julie Barker, both hav...
Ten Midlands Carriagedriving competitors travelled to Ashfields Carriage and Polo Club for the 2024 British Carriagedriving National Championships (13 – 15 September). While Peter Young (Pony Fours) was the only driver to take a National title, successfully defending his 2023 win, Peter Bennett (Advanced Horse Pair), Mary Fuller (Novice Horse) and Sue Mart (Open Horse) were all Reserve Champions. Megan Wheeldon repeated her performance of last year, pulling herself up from ninth after dressage in the very competitive Open Pony championship to complete in third place thanks to a superb double clear in the cones. Also achieving a double clear in cones was Sandra White in the Small Equine section. Karen Bassett was third in the Horse Fours, which produced an extremely tight contest at the top, Karen only missing out on the Reserve Championship when one of her team kicked off a ball in the first cone. Other Midlands’ drivers taking part were Sandra’s husband Jon, Rosemary Armstrong (b...
A brave decision by organiser Paul Hart resulted in happy drivers at the recent Midlands Carriagedriving’s event at Anslow, Derbyshire (16 June). Originally scheduled as a One-Day Event, thanks to unending wet ground conditions, the informal competition morphed into a successful ‘PlayDay’. Having battled the elements for several days plus heavy overnight rain, Paul stuck to his guns and gave the go ahead. Despite deep going in the dressage and cones arenas, those who made the most of the opportunity all emerged with smiling faces. Other than regular Anslow competitor Margaret Wharmby’s pony, all the equines were new to outdoor driving trials or, as in Joseph Adams’s case, in a new pairing. Grateful thanks to Paul – who now has the task of repairing the ground! – and Ann Hart, who provided a wonderful lunch, as well as the judges and stewards who helped the day go ahead. There will be a final ODE at Anslow on Saturday 24 August. Next up on the calendar i...
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