Unaffiliated Horse Trials the SHOW


Sunday 28th April 2019 To be held at


West Wilts Equestrian Centre, Melksham Road, Holt, Wiltshire, BA14 6QT


Sunday 14th July 2019 at Chepstow Racecourse


Classes from 80cm - 110cm for all riders over 12


and horses over 5 years of age Schedule & Entries via


www.equoevents.co.uk Horse Trials advert 1


Exclusively for registered M&M Native Ponies Breed In-hand classes, range of mixed M&M ridden classes and WHP classes.


NEW FOR 2019 DRESSAGE


Join us for a fun filled friendly


day out full of Native Ponies Pre-Entries close 23rd April 2019 Entries will be taken on the day


For more information visit www.thenativepony.co.uk Or contact 01380 730888


DO YOU LOVE ALL THINGS DRIVING?


Perfect Partners Feature In her next column, Sharon Wootton tells us more about attelage and what it involves, as well as revealing some of her plans for 2019.


For those who don’t know much about attelage, what does it entail?


Attelage is a competition designed to promote original carriages built before 1945, along with traditional carriage driving skills. Carriages built on traditional lines post 1945 are allowed, but they attract additional penalty points. The event is open to singles, pairs, tandems and multiples, along with traditional trade turnouts. Attelage events are run in 14 different countries across Europe.


The competition consists of three stages:


 Presentation. Standing presentation takes place in front of three separate judges who look at your turnout and give you a score for overall impression, horses/ponies, harness, vehicle and driver, groom and passenger.


 Routier (road drive). This includes up to a 15km optimum timed road drive, which may include tracks with five difficulties along the route. There are a number of difficulties that the organisers can choose from, for example being asked to halt when going downhill, a one-handed circle or a rein-back.


 Maniabilite (cones). This stage of the competition is a flowing


Ernie and Harry chilling in the field after a roll in the mud


course of 20 pairs of cones with an optimum time.


As I stated in my last column, attelage is a competition but it is also a very social weekend. The event usually starts on Friday evening with a social gathering to welcome everyone. On Saturday, before the competition begins, competitors are taken around the routier and shown where the difficulties are positioned and what they consist of. A formal dinner is held on Saturday evening and at the conclusion of the competition, a prize giving ceremony for all turnouts is held in the main ring.


For more information, visit: www.attelagedetradition.co.uk


Sharon says R


ommel was purchased as a three month old foal, along with fellow miniature Shetland Monty


(Helawi Mountbatten), after his owner Tigg Bays-Griffiths broke her back in a riding accident and decided to downsize her equines and instead set her heart on driving a pair.


Unfortunately, the ponies had other ideas, with Rommel only growing to 29½ inches, so rather than making a pair they were put together as a tandem. Tigg competed them in indoor horse driving trials, and gained her BDS tandem bars in 2013, with the small ponies completing the six mile drive in Dorset with temperatures reaching 31 degrees.


What has Harry been up to since your last column?


Through the winter we keep Harry ticking over by taking part in indoor events, and our last one was our Christmas event where we all dressed up, which got us all in the Christmas spirit. We use the indoor events to give Harry a bit of variety and also use it for schooling through the winter. Our aim is to achieve a good precision and paces score (we are really chuffed with Harry for getting the best score of the day for this at the last three events) and hopefully drive a smooth clear in the cones. I try to drive the obstacles in a balanced, flowing way which means we are by no means the fastest.


When Tigg learnt that her young neighbour Alice (Julia’s daughter) was having driving lessons, she very kindly offered her the chance to drive sensible Monty. With lots of help and advice from Tigg, Alice was very soon competing successfully in show driving classes and went to the British Young Drivers (BYD) Easter Camp in 2014 where she got a real taste for cones driving and obstacles.


and the pair have never looked back. Soon the ponies were back at the BDS tandem meet again, but this time in the Welsh hills in the pouring rain – where once again the six mile drive proved no issue for them. Alice then gained her tandem bars at the age of 14 and she was possibly the youngest person to achieve this with what was believed to be the smallest tandem too.


Tigg and Alice both drive Bennington Mini Magnums, with Alice regularly travelling to the Bennington Driving Academy in Nottinghamshire for lessons with Sue Mart.


With Sue’s support, Alice qualified Rommel for the IHDT Champs at Keysoe in both 2016 and 2017. At the other end of the scale, Alice attended BYD Camp in 2018 with Sue’s larger


14.2hh medal-winning advanced pony Zac, who she continues to have lessons with, and competes in Bennington’s popular fun days. She has also had a bit of back stepping experience with Sue, which she really loved.


Rommel is stabled at night and depending on the weather, the time of year and his work regime, he is either turned out in a large grass field with his three companions, in a smaller paddock with limited grass or a small all-weather sand/rubber turnout pen if it’s very wet or muddy.


The pony might be very small but he has a huge heart – no one has ever told him that he isn’t very big. Anything a bigger pony or horse can do, Rommel certainly believes he can do too. He’s enthusiastic and willing, with a real ‘can do’ attitude to life.


Private driving Competing at Keysoe Perfect partners Julia Rutherford tells us about the special pony in her family’s life – Helawi Masquerade (Rommel), a 29.5-inch miniature Shetland.


in harness inharness


Magazine enjoy driving horses and ponies Issue 61 February/March 2019 £4.75 Out on local tracks


Making use of Harry’s rosettes and sashes to decorate the tree


When at short notice Monty was unavailable for the BYD Camp in 2015, Tigg suggested Alice take the rather more enthusiastic Rommel instead –


8 inharness Issue 61 | February/March 2019


To prepare for these events, I long rein for obedience and suppleness and do driven schooling for precision and paces, working on the movements and paces within the test. This schooling helps with the cones, as basically a cones course consists of dressage movements with different paces.


During your days doing trials did you have many memorable wins? What was it like driving a tandem and tell us a bit more about the ponies that made up the tandem?


Back in the 90s I was lucky to compete all over the country at club and national events driving single, pair but mostly tandem. Apparently, people think you are totally mad if you drive tandem! Tandem driving can be exciting, challenging but very rewarding when it all goes well. It is a skill to drive tandem but really you are only as good as your ponies.


Sunset and Chip doing an obstacle


The ponies in my first tandem were Welsh section Cs. The shaft pony was a 12.3hh bay mare called Sunset who


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For advertising telephone 01380 734373 | ALL HORSE MARCH 2019 27 ISSN 1759-2526 61 Just one of the boys Rommel as a foal 9 771759 252019 18/02/2019 15:2


& Pony Club Area 10 Qualifying Classes


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© L H Photography


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