Most horse lovers know all about three day eventing, many have tried it or have their own ambitions to compete in the Olympics or at major events like Badminton or Kentucky. It’s a great test of horse and rider – do you have the control for dressage, the courage and fitness for cross country, and the precision for show jumping? Not many horses and riders can excel in all three events, that’s for sure. But let’s make it a little tougher – try it with a horse and carriage, or better yet, a team of horses! That’s what combined driving is all about – a three day event for carriage driving!
Just like ‘regular’ eventing, combined driving events start with a dressage phase. The next phase is the ‘marathon’ a combination of roads and tracks and a cross country course with challenging obstacles. Finally, the ‘stadium’ or cones event, when tired horses and drivers have to negotiate their way – at speed – through a complex course of ‘gates’ which can be ‘knocked down’ (they are actually pairs of cones with tennis balls on top – hit the cones, and the ball falls off and you get penalty points).
Combined driving is an internationally recognized sport – the FEI (Federation Equestre Internationale, the major international governing body for equestrian events) has recognized it since 1970, and there are World Championships held every other year for the sport. There are several categories too – ponies and horses compete separately, and you can compete as a single horse and cart, a pair or ‘four in hand’, or team of four horses. There is a also a ‘world cup' Series, just for four-in-hand teams, which started in 2001 and these happen indoors as a series of exciting timed events, to keep horses and drivers competing in the winter months.
The individual events are a little more complicated than regular eventing too. The dressage phase, for example, includes a penalty score for turn out, or presentation, alone, as well as the quality of the test itself. The arena is a little bigger, usually 40meters by 80 meters, but it’s also marked with letters just like a standard arena. Horses will have to move at dressage paces, walk, collected, working and extended trot, and canter, plus the rein back. In pairs or four in hand, the score will reflect not just the overall quality of the test, but how well the horses have moved together – that’s why you often find teams where the horses are of a very similar build and movement.
The marathon phase has three to five sections, depending on the level of the event. The last section is the cross country part. Just like a regular cross country course the teams have to cover the distance in a set time, and negotiate the obstacles cleanly. There will be water crossings, combined with narrow passages called gates), as well as ditches, sinkholes, combinations of gates made from stone, wood or hedges, and steep hills to go up and down. Penalties are awarded depending on the time overall, but also on the time taken at each obstacle, with extra penalties for refusals or other disobedience. Unlike ridden eventing, there’s also a minimum time limit – go too fast, and you will be penalized too!
The third phase is the stadium, or cones event. The teams have to negotiate a series of up to twenty pairs of cones, passing through each one at speed without knocking the balls off the top. Time matters, but penalties are warded of the balls fall too, an d as the cones are set only a few centimeters wider than the wheels, it is a real test of accuracy. The arena might also have U-turns, or a bridge, and any refusal will incur more penalties.
Want to try it? Finding stables that offer driving is a bit harder than looking for riding lessons. But they do exist, and search of websites (see the end of the article) will help you get started. It’s big investment to compete too horses need to be highly trained – an unruly horse is very dangerous in harness – and you need to spend a lot more on equipment to get the harnesses and carriages you need. Larger carriages need more than one person on board too – you need other people to balance out weight and help keep the wheels on the ground on tight turns at high speed!
Before you get to take the reins, chances are you’ll try out one of these other roles, called grooms. It’s not just about grooming – but as a passenger groom you have to be able to handle the horses, assist at the stops, but also you will navigate and be expected to advise the driver. On four in hands, the groom at the back is called the ‘backstepper’, and helps to balance the carriage on turns and through obstacles, so you need to be quick, strong, and able to remember the course so you know what to do when you can’t always see the obstacles!
Horses of all breeds get used for combined driving, but some are proving more popular for their combination of strength, temperament, and endurance. Warmbloods and Morgans are especially popular, and in the pony events Welsh ponies are making a big impact. Drivers tend to choose horses that look alike to improve their presentation points. The carriages are specially designed for combined driving too – they usually have four wheels for stability, and are designed to be maneuverable, robust, and light. Harnesses are normally leather, but nylon and other synthetic materials are becoming more common for the marathon phases. If you are starting out, you can get a nylon harness, and an ‘all-in-one’ carriage that you can use for all three events. However, expect it to be an expensive sport – you need good animals, good equipment, and a big truck or trailer to haul everything to events!
Want to know more, or find an event to watch?
www.fei.org, www.americandrivingsociety.org, www.horsedrivingtrials.co.uk, and www.acds.org.au.
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