"Introduction to Carriage Driving 2010"
A Warm welcome to our new club members who joined at the " Intro" event on Sunday afternoon. Several other people took away with them membership or supporters application forms.
Club Chairman Ken Walmsley welcomed our visitors before explaining the club's activities
Those guests who indicated that they may be willing to help at our events were met by our volunteer coordinator Penny Hartley who explained what stewarding entailed and were assured that they would not be "thrown in at the deep end" by always being paired with experienced people, either obstacle stewarding or on other duties.
Advice on choosing a Horse/Pony for driving, followed by a demonstration of the different types of harness and how to harness up was next on the programme.
A "hands on " session followed to see if everyone had remembered what they were shown, leading on to how to safely "put to".
The afternoon continued with a long reining demonstration, several people being willing to come and "have a go"
It was then time for willing participants to ride behind and eventually drive, under the supervision of our clubs volunteer drivers, the very patient "Zippy" and "Magic".
Refreshments were served throughout the afternoon by our dedicated members ably overseen by Averil (sorry!). Video and photo presentations were also available for the duration of the event for the benefit of those people who wished to simply watch.
A demonstration of obstacle driving and backstepping by Ken, Pat and Alwin followed.
Backstepping through our makeshift obstacle proved very popular, several people wishing to "have a go". Perhaps we may have some new grooms in the offing.
An offer to anyone interested to come along to OUR indoor competition next weekend at Ledston Hall Equestrian Centre and watch Carriage Driving in action also gained interest.
The afternoon ended with a prize draw, the main prize being a free Carriage driving lesson which one lucky gentleman won.
Our grateful thanks must go to all who helped to make the afternoon a success.
Para Equestrian Drivers Take on the "Eggheads"
Commiserations to Heather Clark, Margaret Lupton, Lyndsay Tyas, James Marshal and team captain Terry Kirby following their recent appearance on the BBC 2 quiz programme "Eggheads"
The "Para Equestrian Drivers" were just beaten in the final round following a sudden death tie-break.
ANYONE FOR SIX IN HAND?
N.E.D.T.L. TRAINING POLICY There is now a copy of the clubs training policy available to see, either follow this link I BET YOU DIDN’T KNOW THAT?
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MEMBERSHIP DETAILS:As I’m sure you all know, as we keep a list of members we are bound by the Data Protection Act 1998. This means that we cannot divulge any of your contact information to anyone else without your permission. This has caused the membership secretary some difficulty as apparently she is often contacted by one person in the club wanting the telephone number of another! Being bound by the DPA, she is of course unable to give this information out.However, we know that some other clubs produce lists containing names, addresses and telephone numbers for their members, which is then given out to all the members. We would like to know therefore, what your thoughts are on this. It is something we could perhaps think about doing for next year, assuming we have specific permission from each person on the list. Perhaps a “tick-box” could be included on the membership form? In the meantime, please don’t ring Joanne up for anyone’s contact details – she can’t give them out! |
Epic Victory - 2008 national Driving Championships A programme about the 2008 National Carriage Driving Championships, produced by Cavewood Productions, is now available to buy on DVD. A short sample clip can be seen HERE. DVD's of the programme will be available to purchase from 2nd Dec. Cost £20 inc VAT & Postage. Orders from 01430 425546 or email tim@cavewoodproductions.co.uk