Not For Wimps

Horseback riding does demand a certain level of physical ability. Just getting into the saddle requires leg strength and balance; staying on with any degree of comfort, let alone style, makes you an athlete. That's one reason horseback therapy for the disabled is such a beautiful exercise.

Many riders have been heard to remark that when they're too old to ride, or to broken up from the inevitable falls, or too arthritic and weak...then they'll drive horses instead. And that will be good for them, as long as they aspire to no more than a little jog down a lane without traffic, behind an old, well-fed horse without imagination.

But driving is not an inherently safe and easy occupation. Our TBone is as placid a pony as they come, but he once thew my husband out of the cart. He bolts upon occasion, and has attempted to back us into the pond. These episodes call for delicate negotiation between driver and rider, if we are all to escape unhurt.

And then there is competitive driving. Combined Driving Events, these occasions are called, and there's nothing safe or easy about them.

The weekend of April 10-12 marked the Southern Pines CDE at the Carolina Horse Park. Friday was the simplest day, during which each driver and their horse or horses performed a dressage test for the judges. Simple, that is, if you don't include cleaning the harness and cart and horse(s), putting them all together correctly, then getting yourself dressed in your finest driving togs, including hat, gloves, and driving apron, and--only when it's all perfect to look at--performing an intricate series of maneuvers within a circumscribed space at a specific gait while looking as if you haven't got a care in the world. One-handed, even.

Try that with four 17-hand young geldings and see how relaxing a "nice drive" can be!

Saturday is "Marathon" Day, equivalent to the cross-country phase of Three-Day Eventing. In the first section, the driver and horse cover approximately 5 km of country within a given time--not too fast, not too slow. A vet check is performed, and the horse rested until pulse, respiration and temperature meet certain levels. The second phase of the marathon is a 1 km walk, which must be accomplished within 12 minutes.

Then the extreme driving starts. The team travels another set course within a specific time limit, only this course includes obstacles, or hazards, that must be negotiated as well. These hazards are mini-mazes with labeled gates designed to be taken in order ABCD.... Most hazards are quite solid, so misjudging your turn might slam your carriage into a post. Teams get stuck, grooms fall out, horses back and rear and kick...and if you're good, you still manage to clear the hazard and continue the drive to the finish.

I worked at one of the hazards on Saturday--there were many good examples of how to drive, several excellent demonstrations and not a few troubling performances, too. No one fell out or was hurt at my obstacle. But the water hazard defied several teams and drivers. Your horses must be brave, to persist through challenges like these.

On the third day, the same carriages and drivers and horses compete on the cones course, another maze where the gates are marked by cones set a defined distance apart. Each cone has a tennis ball sitting on top. Each fallen ball or tipped cone counts against the team. Time penalties are assigned, as well.

And this particular cones course offered plenty of excitement. One driver fell out of the carriage, leaving the horse to gallop back to the stable on its own, carriage still attached. And when one pony staged a protest at the entire proceeding, the other three ponies on his team joined in, putting the driver in a precarious position. Fortunately, neither humans nor equines were hurt (except for some pride on the drivers' parts, probably.) And the spectators all got a nice jolt of adrenaline to enliven the day.

Combined driving was developed by Phillip, the Prince of Wales, as an equivalent sport to the more familiar Horse Trials for riders. CDE driving takes place at the highest levels of equestrian sport, and is featured at the World Equestrian Games, including next year, when I'll get to watch from the stands in Lexington, Kentucky!

My point, in case you've lost track of it: driving can be as demanding and skillful as riding, if you put your heart into it the way these CDE competitors do. Wimps and sissies need not apply!

Cheryl

(These photos are not the Southern Pines CDE. I'll work on getting some of those.)

(These photos are not the Southern Pines CDE--I'll try to get some soon!)