Carole & Jeff Davenport with Wait & See
Mountain makes a molehill out of Scurry Driving TEAM DAVENPORT SCURRY DRIVING Photos by Dudley Wheatcroft
www.ADW-Media.com
Team Davenport travelled to Brabanthallen in s’Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands to represent the UK in the very exciting and fast sport of double harness scurry driving. This sport is where a pair of small ponies is driven at the gallop around a course of cones which all have a ball perched on top. The event is timed from start to finish and any ball dislodged is penalised with time penalty points. Both a driver and groom sit on a specialist cart and the groom keeps the vehicle from tipping over much in the same way as a motorcycle and sidecar racing team operates.
Team Davenport, headed by husband and wife team Jeff and Carole, have now represented
the UK for 5 consecutive years and have never been placed out of the top 10 but 2011 has been exceptional. The event, which took place from November 18th to 20th in Holland, saw the Davenports along with their driver, Jenny Mountain, take two pairs of ponies, ‘Song & Dance’ and ‘Wait & See’. Driving one heat on Friday, two heats on Saturday and a further heat on Sunday morning saw 16 teams in the main Championship. Countries such as England, Wales, Belgium, Netherlands and Germany had a close fought final with only 7seconds separating all 16 teams.
Martien van Veen from the Netherlands won the title with Jenny Mountain driving ‘Song & Dance’ less than a second behind to stand
Reserve European Champion with Carole Davenport just a second behind her with ‘Wait & See’ in 4th position only being split by a few hundredths of a second by Welsh driver, John Marson, in third.
The Davenport Team from Manby near Louth, Lincolnshire are all immensely proud of their four little ponies (all under 12hh) to all finish in the top four and be the best of the Brits in the Europeans. Jenny only joined the team in 2011 when Carole asked for her help due to her many judging commitments and Jenny has proved a formidable competitor for the team.
Scurry driving can be seen at county shows and game fairs all over the country throughout the summer months and
the season concludes with the National Championships and the European Championships. The team is always looking for sponsorship and support from local and county companies and can offer much to a sponsor in advertising and promotion as the Scurry Driving Association offers fantastic opportunities for logos, ads and clothing in this fast and furious family sport. Carole is also the secretary of The Scurry Driving Association should information be sought for membership, show inclusion, clinics or general information on the sport. Tel 07931876046 or visit the web site,
www.scurrydrivers.co.uk.
Jenny Mountain & Jeff Davenport with Song & Dance
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www.equestrianlifemagazine.co.uk
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