Australian Combined Carriage Driving Championships

3rd to 5th April 2010

Rodeo Grounds

Peterborough, South Australia

CARRIAGE DRIVING NEWS

On the Easter long weekend 2010, Peterborough will be host to the Australian Combined Carriage Driving Championships at the Rodeo Grounds. This will be in conjunction with the Peterborough Art & Cultural Festival, so there will be much to do & see.

The Gawler Plains Carriage Driving Assoc, now based in Peterborough, has built eight permanent obstacles at the Rodeo Grounds which includes a water obstacle built by Kevin Malycha, that is sure to attract a crowd on the day.

Combined Driving was developed in the U.K by HRH Prince Phillip and is the carriage equivalent of three day eventing.

The first Phase is a dressage competition which is marked on specific movements performed with accuracy, balance and harmony between driver and horse/s.

The Second phase is Marathon which is the equivalent to cross country in eventing. It consists of 3 to 5 sections over various terrains to be driven within time restraints. The final section contains marathon obstacles. These are exciting to watch as competitors are timed from the start gate of each obstacle until they complete it and cross the finish gate. Each obstacle may contain a maximum of 6 gates labeled A to F. Competitors choose the route that they think will get them to the finish gate in the shortest possible time. If a gate is missed & not corrected, the competitor is eliminated from the entire event & all obstacles are to be driven from memory.

The Third phase is the Cones Driving. This is the driver’s equivalent of show jumping, testing the team’s ability to negotiate a cones course. As the horse/s & carriage passes through the cones, there is less than 150mm of clearance either side of the wheels. The object is to drive accurately with speed in order to obtain a ‘clear round,’ not dislodging any balls.

At the end of the above three phases, the competitor with the least amount of penalties is the winner of the competition. All horses undergo a veterinary inspection to ensure they are fit & capable of completing the event.

These events need many volunteer helpers to ensure that they run effectively. These include stewards, time keepers, pencillers, announcers etc. If anyone is interested in helping with these or other positions, you are most welcome to contact Henry & Shirley Crossley 08 8651 2351 or Graham & Carol Mercer at Tyrepower Peterborough.

Already the club has run a very successful State Championship in October 2009 and our competitors have already started to fill up most of the accommodation in Peterborough for Easter.

We have already received entries from competitors from Western Australia, Queensland, Victoria & New South Wales. It will be another great opportunity to showcase Peterborough.

Competition commences Easter Saturday with the Dressage Competition, Sunday is the Marathon / Obstacle Day & Monday will be the Cones Competition. Food & refreshments will be available over the three days. Come along & enjoy this carriage driving spectacular!

Enquiries to Henry & Shirley Crossley 08 8651 2351 or Graham & Carol Mercer 08 8651 2165