A gypsy cob who started life as a vanner is headed to France this week to represent Britain at the FEI combined driving World Championships for ponies (Haras Du Pin, 15-19 September).

Woodie (Elwood) was spotted pulling a wagon near Kelso and was bought off the road from his breeder, Gary Davis. He has gone on to be an unexpected success in top-level driving trials.

His new career direction began when his owner Caroline Church sent him to well-known tandem driver Carol Boswell for schooling.

He did some work as an Riding for the Disabled Association pony and then returned the following summer for some more schooling, leading him to begin his career in driving trials with Carol’s daughter Rebecca March.

“I got into a bit of a bet with Mum,” Rebecca said. “She was at the nationals with her tandem, that she competed with her ex-partner, and when he left there was a bit of a gap. I said to her ‘if you go and aim for the nationals again, Jamie [Rebecca’s husband] and I will drive next season as well and we can both try to qualify.’

“Mum had other ponies but she thought I’d have the most fun with Woodie. He is so different to anything I was used to but she was right and we have had a ball with him.”

Rachel’s grandmother Gladys Dale bred Welsh ponies and Rachel had driven them “for fun around the field” but had never competed seriously, having had more interest in riding sport horses.

She had to give them up because of work commitments but thought driving a pony “would be easier”.

“That idea soon went out the window, as just the same level of training is required!” she said.

They first realised Woodie may have the talent to go on in driving trials during their first ever lesson, which was with world four-in-hand champion Boyd Exell.

“Someone cancelled so mum said ‘could Becs come?’” Rebecca said. “Boyd drove him and said ‘he’s got an extension, you’ve got something here to work with.’”

Rebecca went on to buy Woodie and they tackled their first nationals at novice that year before starting to wonder whether it was feasible to draw up a World Championship campaign.

“We aimed to get to these worlds but never really thought it possible,” she said. “Breaking it down into years helped and my trainer [former pony fours world champion] Jan de Boer also helped hugely.”

Rebecca said that Woodie, now 14, has become a “very good marathon pony” and is also strong in the dressage.

“On the marathon he has the heart of a lion. The girl that rides him for me events to intermediate level and she says he is faster than her intermediate horse, he has a serious engine,” she said.

“You wouldn’t think he was sporty to look at him though because he has cankles as soon as he grows any hair — and his canon bones are so short and fat that we can’t use boots on him because none of them fit.”

She added that he also had fabulous paces with a “fantastic” extended trot, and because he started life as a vanner, his “discipline is unbelievable”.

“He has done a bit of everything and I think if we hadn’t driven him, whatever he would have done he would have gone to the top.”

Rebecca said that her aim for their World Driving Championships debut, where they compete as individuals in the single pony, would be to finish in the top half of the field.

“The trick is keeping the consistency in all three phases. We usually get two out of three but at international level you need three out of three,” she said.

“It’s going to be our first time abroad because of Covid, so it’s a bit nerve-racking but a lot of other people are in a similar position as so many couldn’t go to the test event either.”

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What does it take to keep a harness horse in good health? Driving vet Rosie Mould MRCVS offers her advice

From a fun outing with a pony and trap to the four-in-hand championships at international FEI level, driving encompasses a huge variety of activities.

Any type of horse or pony can learn to pull a carriage, as long as he is confident and well trained enough to go forwards with a wheeled “creature” chasing him. The sport offers a second career for riding ponies who have been outgrown, an alternative for ponies not compatible with small children and a shared experience for families and friends.

Just as the ridden horse should carry weight on the hindlimbs to free up the forelimbs for movement, the driving horse should push with his powerful hindquarters – rather than pull – and use his shoulders and bodyweight to propel the carriage forwards. Once momentum is achieved, the effort required to keep the carriage rolling will depend upon the surface, the gradient and the requirement for twisting and turning.

The horse’s level of training will then come into play, along with the skill of the driver and the “backstepper” (the passenger positioned in the rear of the carriage), to reduce the load and produce a smooth ride.

Instead of carrying a rider of, say, 70kg, the horse must in effect push the weight of the vehicle and its passengers – which represents quite a difference in effort. As a result, driving can exert pressures on hindlimb function that differ in their intensity and occurrence from those on ridden horses.

Wear and tear

Training for any driving competition requires a methodical approach to fitness. As it takes several years to develop a high-level competition driving horse, much like in any other discipline, various orthopaedic “wear and tear” challenges can be encountered along the way.

If the horse has to negotiate obstacles, it is important to give him the best chance of cornering securely at speed to reduce the risk of self-injury, so pay attention to shoeing and the type and tting of any studs or pin nails used. But self-injury is relatively rare and overreaches unusual. Leg injuries more often occur during accidents or are occasionally caused by the other horse in a pair or a team.

Joint pain, sacroiliac joint issues, hock problems and, in particular, hindlimb tendon sheath injuries and in ammation are all common. Addressing and diagnosing these at the outset will almost always produce a better long-term result.

Those horses who perform in the S-shaped outline often seen in driving, where neck flexion comes mainly from the poll and not from the lower neck as well, tend to suffer more, as their hindlimb muscle structure does not support their activity. An occasional stride of lameness turns into an “every stride” issue, or a single “unlevel” comment from one dressage judge becomes the opinion of all three.

Some lamenesses, particularly in the hindlimb, are difficult to see and might only manifest themselves while the horse is in the carriage. I sometimes get onto the carriage in the backstep position while the horse is working to identify the issue.

As veterinary expertise increases and with the use of lameness detectors, it is now often possible to diagnose problems earlier and o er orthopaedic treatments more speedily. An equine physiotherapist qualified with the Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Animal Therapy will help with this, particularly if they see a patient regularly, as they can detect changes quickly and bring them to an owner’s attention.

Whether you’re driving a horse for leisure or competition, harness must be well fitted and maintained to prevent rubbing or bruising.

Driving bridles and bits are chunkier and heavier, especially in pairs and teams where the bits incorporate more metal to avoid trapping the coupled reins that cross over between horses. Driving saddles look more like rollers, but require the same attention to detail as a riding saddle to ensure that they are comfortable and do not put pressure on the spine. A double girth is used, so there are more buckles, and usually a crupper that ts under the tail.

Athletic demands

The competition driving horse is not only pushing extraordinary weight around a dressage arena and demonstrating accuracy and speed around a cones course, but also must complete a marathon – the most strenuous part of which is a section of up to 9km that includes up to eight timed obstacles. The marathon lasts for between 60 and 90 minutes and incorporates a 10-minute halt, with vet checks en route and at the finish.

Surface and gradient can have a profound e ect on the effort required; hard ground is often preferred to soft, while sand, mud, water and hills all make additional demands. A low-grade lameness or poor shoeing can be sufficient to make that extra effort impossible, while a subtle respiratory condition such as equine asthma may only become symptomatic under athletic stress.

Accidents do happen, sadly. Usually, the faster the pace, the more disastrous. Horses can be trapped if the carriage overturns; once freed, however, it is amazing how many seem to stand up relatively unscathed.

Injury can also occur if a horse is accidentally turned into a post, or a pair is “split” with one going either side of it. Remember that a driving horse’s sight is limited by blinkers; these must be fitted correctly to allow a sufficient range of vision. A positive spin-off is that blinkers afford good eye protection.

Shoulders tend to receive the worst of the damage in collisions, although modern harness is well padded over crucial places and will provide some protection. Most drivers use protective boots in the faster phases, to reduce the risk of traumatic injuries to the lower limbs.

As with any equine athlete, meticulous preparation and appropriate competition aftercare will go a long way in helping the driving horse cope with the rigours of the sport.

Dual disciplines

Many driving horses are also ridden, switching happily between the disciplines.

When introducing a horse to a completely new activity, however, bear in mind that established riding and driving animals are very different. Riding horses usually have better developed shoulder and forearm muscles, whereas driving horses tend to develop the medial (inner) thigh muscles – which can only add power to the ridden capacity. A horse who has only ever been driven will lack muscle across the withers and back, so this area must be developed gradually with “long and low” work, through a mixture of riding and lungeing.

A programme of static and active exercises, including stretching, polework and circles, will further help the driving horse adapt to being under saddle. He may already be familiar with lateral work, such as leg-yielding and shoulder-in, as part of his dressage and cones training, so this can be built on for ridden dressage. Remember, too, that a driving horse will be used to blinkers and may not be familiar with what happens behind him, even if he has been ridden before. He’ll also have undergone some voice training.

Generally, it is the inflection of the voice, rather than the actual words used, that gives the command. The universal continental expression for “slow down” or “halt” is a rolled “rrrrrr” sound, so be careful what you ask for. Once verbal communication is established, it is easy to combine this with the ridden aids and then to drop the speaking altogether to remain within ridden competition rules.

Ref: 18 February 2021

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After all of our exciting plans to take the national circuit by storm I’ve had a very quiet couple of months recovering from our tip up at Keysoe.

At least Alfie was OK and our back specialist was amazed when he checked him over that nothing had been pulled. My backstepper and I weren’t so fortunate and are still nursing our injuries.

Although I’m still meant to be on crutches I have been determined to get back into driving and took Alfie to my second British Young Drivers (BYD) training session with Boyd Exell at the end of May. As this is subsidised as part of the Advanced Young Drivers squad, I really couldn’t afford to lose my place.

We worked on dressage, obstacles and cones at the equestrian centre at Onley and I managed to join in for the majority of it. Obviously the biggest thing for me was to regain my confidence driving the obstacles and Boyd was definitely pushing me on from the start urging me to go for it at full gallop!

After a steady drive through we were soon cantering forward confidently and really covering the ground. Boyd urged me to keep the power on through the turns and allow Alfie to keep on moving forwards and not keep checking him back. Alfie was, as ever, smooth and responsive and I was very proud of him.

I hadn’t been able to drive Alfie at any trials type competitions since Keysoe and it felt great to be working properly together again, even though I suffered for it big time afterwards as bracing in the carriage requires a lot of pressure through the legs — especially with the manoeuvres at speed we practised with Boyd. In fact on the second day I had to sit out the obstacle driving and just drove the cones. I have the same problem at home as our hills are so steep there is a lot of strain on my injured leg when driving so a friend has kindly taken Alfie for ridden fitness sessions and he has enjoyed being under saddle again.

This time last year a university friend rode him in some British Dressage (BD) competitions and qualified for the Welsh Championships. This time around he has been doing interval training and enjoying hacking out up and down our hills where he is seeing the mountainous scenery from a new blinkerless perspective!

A worthwhile trip

The season was well underway without having driven in any outdoor HDT competitions, let alone qualifiers, so I entered Sandringham, as this was where we were scheduled to have further training from Boyd actually at the event. It is also one of the flatter marathons which would help me and of course Alfie, who had been working under saddle rather than pulling the carriage.

The day before the dressage Boyd worked us hard practising our test and was very complimentary. What a fantastic boost that gave us! There were a few hiccups on the day. The lamp brackets were nowhere to be found thus throwing away precious marks for presentation and due to a timing blip Boyd was still coaching other BYDs when he was due to be going through the warm-up with Alfie and I. But I tried to focus on calm preparation and building on what we had discussed the day before. In fact, Boyd arrived in time to watch my test so I benefitted from a debrief instead. When the scores were announced I was thrilled to find I was in second place, less than a penalty behind the leader.

Dad has been a lifesaver and got hold of a small quadbike for me to take to events so I can get about more easily, and my doctor has sent in a request that I be allowed to drive the obstacles rather than physically hobble around.

We had a course walk with Boyd which provided good insights into possible routes. I was prepared to take Alfie very steadily, aware that he might find the distance and eight obstacles hard going. I

hoped to take him around all three phases but was resigned to adjusting to what I could cope with too and if this meant pulling out of the marathon part way through then so be it!

It was wonderful to have experienced backstepper Vicky Irwin on board who had volunteered to partner us at Sandringham. It was one of the rare occasions when I had someone at a national who could confirm routes in the obstacles, which took a lot of pressure off as Alfie wasn’t hanging around!

I was so pleased with his attitude as he really listened while being very keen. I like to choose a flowing smooth option and in hindsight should have kept to my original route in some obstacles where the route Boyd recommended was tight — more suitable for the shorter coupled ponies than my long lad. Otherwise Alfie’s times were very good with second place in four of the obstacles.

The open pony was a big, strong class with eight experienced entries and it was beyond my wildest hopes to be going into the final phase just one ball away from second place.

Going in reverse order it was apparent that people were struggling to make the time on the technical course and nobody had gone clear. It was all to play for and Alfie flew round the course for me, easily making the time but sadly we tapped one ball. Would this be enough to go up to second overall? Yes! Although we each had three penalties for a knocked ball, time penalties were incurred and in fact we won the cones phase!

What a great outcome, as we also secured our qualifier to take part in the National HDT Championships at Cirencester in September. Happy days!

Emily

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Trehewyd Brenin Arthur — one of the most successful private driving ponies of the past decade — has been put down after collapsing at home on Monday (20 April).

The 18-year-old Welsh section C won the Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) harness championship on three occasions with owner Nigel Fuller, taking the title in 2006, 2007 (pictured below) and 2010.

Well-regarded for his easy temperament, exemplary looks and eye-catching extensions, the gelding was prolifically successful in the show ring, securing many major driving titles including the British Driving Society Annual at Smiths Lawn. He was also partnered to numerous young driver successes by Nigel’s niece Oakley and pupil Angus Rowe before switching to driving trials two years ago.

“He was a once-in-a-lifetime horse,” said Nigel, who bought the pony as a six-year-old after spotting him being exercised on local roads. “He was a really special person who did it all so effortlessly. He went on to prove it was possible to do two disciplines successfully.”

After retiring from the show ring, the drive was handed over to Minta Winn, who took the pony on to a new career at the age of 16. Last year he took his first advanced pony win in the national driving trial at Lowther.

“After his marathon at Lowther I could’ve stopped driving right then and there because I had the best drive of my life,” said Minta. “He was looking fantastic and he loved the job.”

Following a run of form, British team selection had been firmly in their sights this season.

“We competed at the weekend and he was just awesome. I thought ‘we’ve cracked it, bring on the worlds’ [championships],” said Minta. “On Monday morning he came out a bit stiff, which you’d expect in an 18-year-old, so I turned him out for a bit in the sunshine and kept an eye on him.

“I thought he didn’t look happy so I went to bring him in, he came round the corner and his back legs gave way,” she explained. “We called the vet and when he did an internal it looked like everything had flipped over and wasn’t where it should be. We got him relaxed and rehydrated him but he collapsed again and we decided it was best to put him down.”

She added: “It took a long time to get into his inner circle but when you were in you were there. He drew everybody in, everybody knew him and wanted to watch him.”

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There is great excitement in Wales with preparations well underway for the first ever World Championships for scurry and trials at the Sandringham Game Fair in September. This is an exciting arena sport open to singles, tandems and teams of ponies, as well as the pony pairs you see in the usual scurry competitions.

As competitors can drive any four-wheeled competition vehicle, this means drivers like myself, who enjoy three-phase driving trial events, can use our marathon vehicles, while scurry drivers can take part with traditional scurry vehicles. In the pony pair classes you will see both types of vehicle flying round.

Scurry and trials competitions are run as arena entertainment at county shows and game fairs around Britain. The crowd enjoy cheering on ponies of all shapes and sizes as they tackle the timed obstacle course comprising cones, arches, barriers, flags and ramps. Music and commentary adds to the atmosphere for the crowd and competitors alike.

It’s really exciting racing through the cones and round the obstacles. The challenge is combining accuracy with speed. You need to avoid knocking down balls while keeping time penalties as low as possible. Mr J (pictured right) is tremendous fun to drive, can turn on a sixpence and really responds to a cheering crowd making him ideal for this type of competition.

The sport began back in 2012. It was founded by Ivor Williams and Carole Davenport, who are still the main organisers and driving force (excuse the pun!) behind it today. Carole explains: “We wanted to start something that was attainable for all carriage drivers, giving a weekend of fun with their pony or ponies. We didn’t want anyone to have to go out and buy specialist equipment and we also wanted it to be entertaining to a predominately non-horsey audience.”

They have certainly met their objectives. Newcomers are made very welcome and quickly become addicted to the atmosphere and social side, as well as the thrill of speed driving in front of an appreciative crowd. The sport has gone from strength to strength and they are busy throughout the season at shows across the country.

This year I took Alfie (pictured top) to the selection event for the Welsh team at Bridgend. At 14.2hh he is a full-up size for this sport. I found it much more of a challenge to keep his momentum up through the obstacles, which were tight for him, compared to driving Mr J. I was also a bit cautious as I didn’t have my usual experienced back stepper and could tell we were ‘light’ at times as Alfie surged round! He did me proud though. We came second in each of the mixed classes, being the highest place single turnout, and on Sunday (championship day) he won the single pony event.

So now we are busy preparing with the other Welsh team members. I will be driving Mr J for the team and we really cannot wait. Team kit is ordered — kindly sponsored by Tristar — and training is in full swing. We are all very much looking forwards to the inaugural World Scurry and Trials Championships at the Sandringham Game Fair on 12-14 September.

Emily

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As this is my first blog for Horse & Hound I’d better introduce myself. My name is Emily Ham. I am 22 years old and have always been passionate about horses.

From the age of 2 ponies have been the centre of my life and a growing herd at home of outgrowns and veterans testifies to a happy childhood and misspent youth enjoying Pony Club, Riding Club and carriage driving.

What I love about carriage driving is how I can still enjoy ponies who are too small for me to ride. In fact, outgrown Pony Club ponies excel at the sport of driving trials. This is the fast-paced driving equivalent of eventing and provides a real adrenalin buzz.

Driven dressage can look extremely elegant at national and international events where presentation vehicles and best harness are used. Drivers, grooms and horses are immaculately turned out. It requires skill to drive the carriage accurately with the horses working correctly at the different paces — which includes canter at advanced level.

The excitement of the speed and power of hurtling on your 4 wheels behind your horse on the marathon across country, with up to 8 gated obstacles to drive, often with water, is indescribable. This phase is very popular with spectators, especially when the pairs and teams thread their way skilfully between trees and posts and thunder out through the finish gate.

The final phase of cones is the test of precision as you complete a driven course between pairs of cones with only centimetres to spare either side of the wheels… 1 rub and down falls a ball to rack up 5 penalty points! It is very easy to pick up time-faults too.

The Pony World Championships is taking place at Pau in France this week, with Team GB represented by 2 teams, 2 pairs and 2 single pony turnouts. Ideally I would be there supporting the team, but university commitments have kept me here in Wales.

Sadly these amazing World Championship events are not really televised, but if there’s a chance to watch any I will be glued to my TV! I think driving trials should be an Olympic Sport and it is now being marketed as British Carriagedriving or BC, in line with British Dressage (BD), British Showjumping (BS) and British Eventing (BE). When you look at recent “sports” that have been added to the Games, I feel we should have a strong case!

The parent body has an excellent record of supporting young drivers like myself through their young drivers programme, which offers top quality training at twice yearly camps. I am also extremely lucky to have James Broome as my trainer at home in Wales.

I’m lucky to have been selected for all the international events that the young drivers have competed in — representing Wales at the Junior World Trophy in Austria in 2008 and Hungary in 2010, as well as the Channel Cup in 2009. In 2012 the young drivers went to the World Trophy in Austria as Team GB instead of as separate nations and they won the gold trophy — many using their retrained Pony Club ponies.

I was one of the older drivers at the event taking part in the inaugural FEI European Youth Championships with my lovely Welsh section C cob Crossfield Glory, aka Mr J. He is a very talented driving pony and extremely versatile. We have developed a very special partnership over the 6 years we have been together, enjoying successes not only in national and international driving trials, but also driven Trec, scurry, show demos, attelage and all the categories of driven showing, as well as pure pleasure driving.

When Horse & Hound rate carriage driving as one of the top 36 horsey things to try before you die, I totally agree! There is so much to enjoy and I would really recommend you give it a go.

If you are interested in finding out more about my carriage driving and ponies there are photographs and video clips on my Facebook page: Emily Ham British Carriage Driver.

Emily

Report from Pony World Championships in H&H magazine (14 November issue)

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The loss of Lowther (news, 26 November) could be the final straw that drives competitors away from national three-day horse driving trials| to regional events, say drivers and show organisers. But they don’t all think that’s such a bad thing.

Lowther Driving Trials and Country Fair is the seventh British Horse Trials Driving Association (BHDTA) national event to end since 2006.

Joanna Broadbent, a single horse driver from Devon, said: “Losing Lowther means drivers in the north have very few national events to choose from.

“The sport is growing at club level but we don’t want to lose all our national events. People at the high end already go across the Channel to compete.”

Next year there will be six national competitions, but then an eight-week hiatus to the championships in September.

In 2011, there could be one less as Brighton Driving Trials finishes in 2010, although Farleigh and Normanhurst hope to return for 2011.

But the BHDTA seems content that the trend is moving towards regional and indoor competitions.

BHDTA vice-chairman Barry Hilditch said: “I don’t believe our sport is dying. It has problems, but what sport does not?”

BHDTA secretary Mary Kusin agreed: “Losing events is a blow, but we introduced regional events to encourage more people to move into nationals.”

She said three regionals would be held in the gap between Erddig and the national championships.

Zoe Morgan, who runs Ashfields Driving Trials, said: “It is devastating. Lowther was the one show that had a country fair that brought in sponsors and spectators. If you don’t get them, you don’t get the back money to go into your event.”

This news story was first published in Horse & Hound (3 December, ’09)

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The British Horse Driving Trials Association (BHDTA) is consulting members following a row over the shortening in format of national events.

The BHDTA website forum has been awash with complaints from competitors that all 10 British national events will this year run three-section rather than five-section marathons. Event organisers must decide whether to take out the fast-trot section and the second walk.

Horse tandem driver Pat Cooper said: “Nationals were always five sections, club events were always three.

“Reducing the sections just puts more emphasis on dressage and driving trials is about the whole scenario — obedience, stamina, speed, precision — by reducing the marathons, you are losing the stamina element.”

Horse four-in-hand driver and former European pony teams champion Georgina Frith is concerned the BHDTA is not listening to its members.

She said: “Why should people pay three times more for a competition that can be of better quality at club level?”

In 2007, three national events were scheduled to run five-section marathons, but bad weather and foot-and-mouth restrictions resulted in them running the shorter format. This year, no five-section marathons have been scheduled.

BHDTA and Hopetoun driving trials committee member Ian Gilbert explained: “I like driving a five-section marathon but organisers have to find eight extra stewards, a second vet and a judge.”

He said a questionnaire has been sent to BHDTA members.

But International Equestrian Federation (FEI) technical delegate Phillip Bateman said that even if the membership proves in favour of five-section marathons, organisers cannot be forced to run them.

“Since 2000, all world championships have run three-section marathons, due to lack of space and the change in type of horse,” he said. “As people have moved towards finer types, it is getting more difficult to get them up to the standard of fitness required for a five-section marathon.”

But Georgina Frith warned: “If you’re not offering people a product they want, they will vote with their feet.”

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After being turfed out of the offices that have been home to Horse & Hound for the past 30 years on Friday lunchtime in preparation for our move to a new building, I headed off to the indoor driving finals at Keysoe.

Not long after turning up, I spotted James Broome schooling his open pony Fred Bojangles in the outdoor arena. Never one to miss a free ride, I asked James if I could jump on the backstep. He slowed down to a fast walk to let me climb aboard, but I mistimed my jump and ended up falling flat on my face. Fortunately, I emerged physically unscathed, although the same could not be said for my pride as I’d performed my unsuccessful leap in front of about 30 people.

Later on, it became clear I was not going to quickly live my mistake down. I was kneeling on the floor beside an official’s car while helping to measure a cones slalom, when James passed by. He joked from the back of his vehicle: “Oh dear, have you fallen out of the car as well?”

The following day I enjoyed providing some commentary during the cones competition before sitting in with scorer Tom Petitpierre and commentator Phil Nadin during the obstacle phase of the competition.

Having watched Sarah Garnett become the winner of the inaugural veterans’ class and Alan Clarke take the teams division, I spent a few hours catching up with Chariots of Fire Amanda Nisbett, who had tackled one obstacle driving a pair of sheep! Amanda is an amazingly enthusiastic character and helps an army of children, who wouldn’t otherwise have the chance, get involved and compete in driving trials.

Sunday was an early start with a lot of classes to get through. Unfortunately, there was one nasty incident when talented youngster Ollie Dernie, from Amanda’s camp, tipped up in the final open pony obstacle with her pony Prince. As the carriage overturned, Prince’s leg got caught in the shafts and he became trapped while Ollie and her mum, Merlin, who was on the backstep, were thrown from the vehicle.

One of the arena party quickly pinned Prince’s head to the floor to prevent him struggling while fellow competitors rushed to free him from the shafts and harness. Merlin was still on the floor and an ambulance was called. Ollie went with her mum in the ambulance, but I am delighted to report that it was only bruising and mum, daughter and pony are all fine.

During the course of the day I watched James Broome become supreme champion and open pony champion, while Dick Lane finished reserve supreme champion and open horse champion. Lesley Cox claimed the tandems class, Paul Mills took horse pairs with Amanda Nisbett taking the pony equivalent and Dan Wilson was crowned champion young junior. Mark Bell kept his senior junior title, Janet Doe was an ecstatic novice horse winner and Colin Wheeler left as novice pony champion.

The indoor driving crowd are one of the noisiest and friendliest bunches of people you are ever likely to meet, and I left the show with a feeling of excitement for the season to come. The winter season’s over, and Brighton beckons as the start of the summer outdoor national driving trials season.

Read a full report on the indoor driving finals, with photos and further analysis, in Horse & Hound (12 April, ’07)

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The blood, sweat and tears shed while trying to qualify for the Ssangyong National Carriage Driving Championships will prove worthwhile this weekend, as Britain’s combined driving elite set up camp in Windsor Great Park.

Billed as the “ultimate driving experience”, the championships are the biggest carriage driving competition to take place in Britain. During the next three days (16-18 September), some 150 drivers and more than 250 horses and ponies will compete to become the national champion in their chosen class.

The competition caters for the single novice pony driver through to the spectacular four-in-hand horse teams. The driven equivalent of ridden three-day eventing, the drivers are required to coax a beautiful and obedient test of precision and paces from their exceptionally fit equine partners on the first day (Friday).

Saturday heralds the excitement of the marathon, when the fitness, bravery and boldness of the entire turnout, including horses, driver and grooms, is put to the test. The marathon is broken down into five sections, with brief halts between each. There is no such thing as “short-format” in driven eventing.

An active trot section (A) is followed by a cool down walk (B) and the first 10min halt. An even faster trot section (C) is then followed by a second walk (D) and 10min halt before the turnouts head into the excitement of section E, which is home to the obstacles.

Placed on seemingly impossible gradients, with the added challenges of natural hazards, such as water, banks and extremely solid tree trunks, the driver must negotiate numbered pairs of flags in the correct order as quickly as possible.

Section E is where the grooms earn their keep as they fling themselves around “scurry-style” to keep the carriage on four wheels. Carriages tipping over, grooms on the floor and misunderstandings between horse and driver can lead to plenty of entertainment for spectators.

Having survived the efforts of marathon day, calm is restored as the drivers prove their accuracy and ability to cope under pressure in the cones phase on the final day. The driven equivalent of show jumping, it is also the one least enjoyed by most drivers, but it must be faced before the prestigious national titles can be awarded.

In addition to top class combined driving, the event also hosts the Windsor Classic Car Show on Saturday. The main arena entertainment will include show driving as well as sheepdog displays and the famous St Giles horse drawn fire engine. There will also be a shopping village, craft marquee and a play area with bouncy castle and rides for the little ones. Tickets cost £5 each for adults on the gate, with free entry for children. Parking is free. For more information visit: www.windsordriving.co.uk

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Catton Park in Derbyshire is to host the second World Combined Pony Championships on 14-17 July 2005. The venue secured the bid over Pratoni del Vivario, the driving and eventing venue for the 1998 Rome World Equestrian Games.

British Horse Driving Trials chairman Tom Pettifer says: “We have spent a lot of time and effort trying to bring the event here and worked very hard with the FEI driving committee.

“This is a great achievement, particularly after the success of the first World Combined Pony Championships in Austria this year.”

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