Our News

Feedale Farm Event 2026

2026 event at Feedale Farm was a success with 29 competitors enjoying the competition. The sun shone on Friday and Saturday but it rained hard overnight into Sunday and continued during the day which softened the ground and introduced a water splash on the famous farm track we use on the marathon. It was a good starter event for the season with only 1 double clear in the cones by Rosie Mould. You can see the results here https://www.hdtforum.co.uk/scores/viewone.php?id=NEDTL-2026-05-02-Feedale_Farm&desc=Feedale%20Farm%202%20May%202026&club=NEDTL&yr=2026

AGM 2025 and Points Trophies Awarded

The Club held the 29th AGM on the 23rd November 2025 at the Bridge Hotel. Thank you to those who attended and it was a great to see you, The report of the financials was very good and confirmed that due to the number of entries at events and the funds from sponsorships the Club made sufficient profit that covered the purcchase of the new equipment trailer, which you will all see at the 2 day events next year. A number of questions were debated during the Members Forum and we will update you all through the Newsletter that will be out soon.

The points trophies and rosettes were awarded after the AGM and here are the results.

Herbie trophy for contribution to the Club – Tommy Thomlinson

Presidents Salver – Mary Longbottom

Best Dressage of the Season – Leslee Wilkinson

Best Marathon of the Season – Sandra Ormerod

Best Junior Driver – Charlotte Hollingworth

VSE – 1st Laura Wray

Short Format Pony – Joint 1st Julie Lockey Sara Ashby-Arnold , 3rd Wendy Mason

Short Format Horse – 1st Melody Jones, Joint 2nd Laura Iveson, Carol Sayer, Charmian Haigh

Novice Pony – Nina Fitzgerald

Novice Horse – Kathryn Marsden

Intermediate Pony – 1st Shona Playfair, 2nd Sara Asby-Arnold

Intermediate Horse – 1st Melody Jones

Open Pony – Joint 1st Gary Brown, Sandra Ormerod, Kim Usher

Open Horse – 1st Neat Sharrock, 2nd Leslee Wilkinson, 3rd Graham Clements

Advanced Horse – 1st Leslee Wilkinson

Pairs – 1st Margo Smith, 2nd Angela Flanagan

Teams and Tandems – Joint 1st Angela Smith, Pat Cooper, John Wilkinson

December 2024 Newsletter

The December 2024 Newsletter has been emailed out. If you have not received it then contact Charmian Haigh for your email address to be checked. You can view the Newsletter online at the following link https://www.nedtl.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/NEDTL-Newsletter-Dec-2024v1.pdf

Minutes for the Member’s Zoom Meeting on 12th June

The Members Zoom Meeting on the 12th June was well attended with alot of questions asked and answered. There were some points that the Club Committee will need to discuss and report back as to the action that is going to be taken. Thank you to everyone who attended and to Melody Jones for hosting the meeting. Remember its your Club and we really want to make sure we are involving you and listening to what you are saying. We will let you know when the next Zoom meeting will be. Here are the minutes if you want to read about what was covered https://www.nedtl.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Your-clubyour-voice-NEDTL-Zoom-minutes-12.06.2024.pdf

NEDTL Chit-Chat is the new Facebook Page

The new Facebook page for NEDTL is NEDTL Chit-Chat https://www.facebook.com/groups/332394076448116/

Melody Jones and Charmian Haigh are contacts for the Facebook page. We have set it up so our members can post to it and we encourage you to post any questions you want help with (obviously carriage driving related), any photographs or news items you want to share.

Results of the Catterick Indoor Event 17th March 2024

Askham Bryan Indoor Event 3rd March 2024

The sun shone and it was a dry day for the 21 competitors at Askham Bryan on Sunday. John and Alwin constructed the Wilkinson Bridge again to add a challenge to the cones and obstacles. It was the last event where those hoping to qualify for the ICD Championships could gain the necessary % score. It was an opportunity to exercise your horses and ponies in readiness for the outdoor season which will be starting in 8 weeks time with 1 Day events at Feedale Farm and Manor Grange.

Thank you to everyone who has helped organise and run the events this season, they have been successful judging by the number of people who have qualified from our region. And thank you to the competitors who make it worthwhile.

The results can be found on the ICD website :

https://www.indoordriving.co.uk/viewresults.php?id=North_Yorks-2024-03-03-Askham_Bryan_College&yr=2023-24

To see the list of who has qualified and more details of the ICD Championship then follow the link https://www.indoordriving.co.uk/finalsApr2024.php

If you cannot go to cheer NEDTL members on, or help out, then the Saturday and Sunday competitions will be on https://horseandcountry.tv/

Catterick Indoor Event

The results of the Indoor Event on 18 February:

Askham Bryan Indoor Event 4th February 2024

There was a good turnout of 24 competitors for the event. As a challenge John Wilkinson had brought along the Wilkinson Bridge which was driven as part of the cones course and in the obstacles. Some horses and ponies needed to be encouraged over it but most took it in their stride and it was a good experience for those competitors who had never encountered it before.

Even though it was a wet day everyone kept to time and the event finished before 3pm. Thank you to everyone who helped organise and run the event on the day. And thank you to the competitors who make it worthwhile with alot of happy faces.

The results can be found on the ICD Website. https://www.indoordriving.co.uk/viewresults.php?id=North_Yorks-2024-02-04-Askham_Bryan_College&yr=2023-24

Facebook

The Club Facebook page is now called NEDTL Chit-chat https://www.facebook.com/groups/332394076448116/

You can now post photos and comments to interact with other Club members. Please be polite and courteous when posting, and do not post anything that will offend anyone. If in doubt contact Charmian Haigh or Melody Jones.

Please check on the website for all notices and announcements.

Achievement Award for Faye:

On the 9th of November, NEDTL member Faye O’Hara made a trip to the annual British Horse Society awards ceremony at Newbury Racecourse for a very special event. Faye was nominated for a BHS Exceptional Achievement Award by Kate Tora, who met Faye when she wrote an article all about her and Majestic for the UK Friesian Federation magazine. Faye was indeed presented with this award for “notable triumph against the odds, showing determination, courage and sportsmanship”. It was an emotional day for Faye and her friends and family members who accompanied her. “It was a great honour” said Faye “and I’m really looking forward to continuing to promote the sport of carriage driving, along with doing more motivational speaking and demonstrations”. Congratulations Faye, very well-deserved!

Two new officials for 2024:

We are delighted to announce that we are welcoming two new officials for next year, both of whom are taking on extremely vital roles. Peter Carter is taking over as Entries Secretary from Kim Usher, who is stepping down to concentrate on competing in 2024. Peter has been a staunch supporter of the club for many years with his partner Janet Lennard and between them they have fulfilled many roles. Peter has also been a valuable member of the scoring team this year and most certainly has the necessary computer skills to help him in his new role. Secondly we welcome Christine Haddock, who is taking over as Steward Co-ordinator from Jenny Woodward. Christine and her husband Bill have been keen competitors for a lot of years, firstly with a selection of home-bred Highland ponies and latterly with slightly larger sports horse, Top Gun! She will be a familiar and friendly face to everyone and hopefully ensure a smooth transition for our stewards. I hope you will all join me in welcoming Peter and Christine to their new roles, as well as sending our greatful thanks to Kim and Jenny for their previous hard work.

40th Anniversary Celebrations at Allerton Park.

It was wonderful to have the chance to get together with members, competitors and everyone else who helps to make up the wonderful band people who are involved in carriage driving, in order to celebrate 40 years of the North Eastern Carriage Driving Trials group. A hogroast in the marquee was followed by the cutting of the cake by Chairman Alwin Harrison and guest James Marshall, who used to compete with us regularly some years ago. Music was provided by the excellent band Top Kat and very soon everyone was up and dancing – in fact, there were a couple of senior horse team drivers who, later on in the evening, gave a very enthusiastic display of pole dancing in the marquee, not to mention one of them dancing on a table!

Without doubt, carriage driving has seen many changes over the last 40 years but it’s nice to know that a group of like-minded people can still get together in their mutual love of horses and driving and have some fun! Here’s to the next 40 years!

‘

Presentation of Awards:

The presentation of the Club’s annual points trophies and special awards took place at The Crown Hotel, Boroughbridge on Saturday 3rd December. Members gathered for a pleasant meal and the champions, reserve champions and runners-up in each class were handed their awards by Chairman Alwin Harrison. The Open Horse category was a clean sweep for the Wilkinson family, with Leslee winning the championship, husband John the Reserve Championship and daughter Tara finishing in third place. Leslee also won the best dressage trophy with a score of 29.28 from the Escrick Park event in September. Other trophy winners were as follows: Novice Pony – Ruby Gray; Novice Horse – =1st – Neat Sharrock and Sarah Jopling; Intermediate Pony – Sandra Ormerod; Intermediate Horse – Gary Pigney; Open Pony – George Wood; Open Horse – Leslee Wilkinson; Pairs – Hamish Reid, Teams and Tandems – Pat Cooper. Best Dressage – Leslee Wikinson; Best Marathon – George Wood; Junior of the year – Ruby Gray. The President’s Trophy, which each year is awarded to someone who has made an outstanding contribution to the club was this year awarded to Julian Hartley. A staunch supporter of the club, Julian has consistently worked hard in various capacities on behalf of the club, including as course builder and event organiser, assisting at every single outdoor event as well as almost all of the indoor events. He has attended training courses for course builders and TDs in order to hone those particular skills on behalf of the club. A very worthy recipient indeed!

Northern Champions Crowned!

The Northern Championship was held at Escrick Park over the weekend of 24/25 September and saw some keen competition. With some drivers who travelled down from Scotland, along with competitors from the North East and North West and down as far as Cheshire, all points of the Northern compass were included! Results were as follows: Short Format Champion – Gary Pigney; Novice Pony Champion – Ruby Gray, Novice Horse Champion – Lorraine McIndoe, Intermediate Pony Champion – Sandra Ormerod; Intermediate Horse Champion – Miriam Parker; Open Pony Champion – Joyce Simpson; Open Horse Champion – Leslee Wilkinson; Pony Pairs Champion – Ian Gilbert; Horse Pairs Champion – Dan Stafford; Pony Tandem Champion – David Wagstaff Myers; Horse Tandem Champion – Pat Cooper; Team Champion – Angie Smith. Well done everyone.

Fastest Through the Water:

Bennington Carriages very kindly sponsored the water obstacle at Allerton Park this year, and put forward a cash prize to the competitor who put up the fastest time. The winner on this occasion was Harvey Clegram-Brown with his pony pair, in a time of 45.63. Narrowly beaten into second place was Megan Wheeldon, with Susan Henry in third. Well done to all three of you and a huge thank you to Bennington for their generosity. We will hope to be able to present the winner’s prize to Harvey and rosettes to the rest at the Newby Hall Event on 6th and 7th of August so we hope to see you all then. Super photo of Harvey in the Bennington Carriages Water obstacle courtesy of Maurice Wilson.

Allerton Park Event

Coming up next will be the Club and Regional event at Allerton Park on 9th and 10th of July. I’m pleased to say that we are planning a good, traditional event with three proper, distinct phases consisting of Sec. A (approx 6 – 7 km), a transfer (1km) and a full Sec. B (approx 6 – 8km) around the extensive and lovely parkland of Allerton. There will be seven obstacles, including Allerton’s trademark water complex and we hope you will all come and enjoy competing with us. There will also be a short format class for those who want to cover less distance for whatever reason. Everyone is welcome. On Saturday night we will be having a Hog Roast and fun Team Quiz in the marqee, to give us all a chance to have a great get together and enjoy the social side of our sport. Tickets are £12 per person and can be booked through Pat Cooper by phone or text on 07961 564348. Entries for the event close on Monday 27th June but as always, early entries are most welcome! Look forward to seeing you all there.

Successful Training Day

Club drivers had the opportunity for some excellent one-to-one assistance with their driving at Feedale Farm on 29th May. Kindly hosted by Terry and Elaine Mason, who went to great lengths to make sure we were well taken care of, trainer for the day was Tara Wilkinson. Despite her youth, Tara is extremely experienced up to international level and is, of course, a previous gold medal-winning pony pair driver. The morning was spent polishing flatwork, where there were both individual issues to deal with, as well as those problems we all seem to have in common! Afternoon was given over to obstacle driving where without doubt, everyone saw some improvement in their progress through the gates. Thank you to Tara for her hard work – despite having sustained an injury to her knee earlier in the week, to the Masons for their hospitality and to Mary Longbottom who took on the vital role of tea lady!

Training Opportunity Sunday 29th May

We are arranging a training day next Sunday, 29th May with Tara Wilkinson. This will be at Feedale Farm (courtesy of Terry and Elaine Mason), Copt Hewick, near Ripon. Drivers can have an individual flatwork lesson and help with obstacle driving in a small group. We appreciate this is short notice, but dates have been very hard to come by! If you would like to put your name down for this training, please contact Jane Wilson on 01430 828133 or by email on jane.m.wilson@outlook.com before the end of Wednesday 25th May. Cost will be £45 per person (£50 if you want to stay over at Feedale on Saturday night)

Success at the British Indoor Driving Championship.

NEDTL members and supporters of our indoor events at Askham Bryan performed with great success at the Indoor Championships at Arena UK this last weekend. John Wilkinson was crowned Open Horse Champion, closely followed by Steve Hoyle in Reserve place. Ruby Gray, in only her first season of indoor driving, took the Reserve Champion slot in the Novice Junior section, amongst competitors, many of whom had much more experience. At the other end of the scale, in the Veteran class, Leslee Wilkinson and George Wood were placed fourth and fifth respectively in a very competitive class. Leslee, driving Cruz also won the Leonie Marshall Memorial Trophy, awarded to the driver with the lowest dressage score of the competition – no mean feat out of 120 entries! In the Novice Pony class, Julie Lockie finished in eighth place out of 21 competitors – the kind of numbers we haven’t seen per class for a long while! Angie Smith was another Askham supporter who did well, driving her team of greys Welsh ponies to finish Reserve Champion in the Pony Fours, whilst Vicky Smith drove the diminutive Little Man to finish fifth in the Small Pony class. Well done to everyone.

Forthcoming Club Clinics

The following Club clinics are being organized by BC shortly. Anyone is welcome to attend and the only one with a cost attached is the Club CD’s clinic, which is £25 per person. BC members can book a place on line using the member’s log in on the BC website, non-members can email Mary Kusin on email@britishcarriagedriving.co.uk to sign up. Details are:

Club TD Clinic – via Zoom: To be held over three evenings on Wednesday 23^rd and 30^th March and Wednesday 6^th April. Hosted by Malcolm Aickin, the clinic will cover all aspects of the TD’s role in club event organization. Sessions will start at 7pm

Club Course Designer’s Clinic (North) – Sunday 3^rd April – North Lakes Hotel, Penrith, Cumbria: Hosted by Ian Gilbert. Tea and coffee at 10am for prompt 10.30 start. Light lunch provided. Places must be booked no later than 30^th March. £25 per person.

Club Judges Clinic – via Zoom: Hosted by James Rooney, International judge. Covering all aspects of judging as they relate to Club events. Clinic will be held over two evenings, Wednesday 30^th March and Wednesday 6^th April, starting at 7pm, each session lasting approx two hours.

Safety Clinic – on Zoom – Saturday 7^th May, 10am – 4pm: To cover: 1. Medical cover at events; 2. Accident and incident reporting; 3. Casualty screens.

Farewell to Steve Nichols.

Steve’s friends from across the driving world – and beyond – gathered yesterday to say goodbye this popular and much loved man. I have been asked by Steve’s wife Janet and his daughter Emma, to pass on this message: “A huge thank you to everyone who joined us to celebrate Dads life yesterday! What an amazing send off he had …….. fly high Pa “.

RIP Steve.

Steve Nichols R.I.P.

It is with great sadness that I report the passing of Steve Nichols on 8th January 2022. Steve, along with his wife Janet, has been a staunch supporter of the Club and a keen competitor, latterly with his distinctive blue and white horse Sky, until his retirement from competitive driving. A popular figure, always ready to offer assistance to anyone and possessed of an excellent sense of humour, Steve was a greatly welcome presence at all of our events. Chairman Alwin Harrison said; “ Steve was a true gentleman, a great horseman and a very good friend. I will miss having him around”. I’m sure you will join me in offering our deepest sympathy and condolences to Janet and her family at this sad time. He will be very much missed. JW.

NEDTL Welcomes New President

At the AGM on 2nd January 2022, members voted unanymously to elect Douglas Strachan to the post of President of NEDTL. Douglas has been a long-time supporter of the club since the mid-1980s as well as an avid competitor at both Club and National level. He also served as a Director on the committee for a considerable number of years and continued with his support as a regular steward at all of our events. Douglas takes over from out-going President Derek Holah, who was warmly thanked by Chairman Alwin Harrison for his service to the club in many and various capacities over many years. We are sure all members will join with us in wishing Douglas the very best of welcomes into his new role.

Congratulations to George and Jean Wood!

George and Jean celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary this weekend. We took the opportunity to add our congratulations to them for their 50 years of tenacity and devotion! In the absence of Chairman Alwin Harrison, a bottle of bubbly supplied by their children Nichola and Mellisa was presented to them by Pat Cooper at the Askham Bryan indoor event – where they also won the Open Pony class!

Busy Time at Feedale Farm!

Out in the freezing December weather, Terry and Elaine Mason are making a start on building some permanent obstacles around the farm. We can all look forward to the opportunity of driving them at the Feedale Farm two day event in May 2022!

Catterick – November 2021

Home and thawing out after a bright but extremely chilly, breezy day at Catterick indoor! Big thank you, as always, to John and Leslee and team, Alwin, Sue, Jill and Liz for officiating in all your various capacities.

(The scores for the obstacle and cones rounds are given in seconds and added to the P&P score. None of the scores are converted to penalties)

Horse pulling carriage with two drivers in a wooded area

National Championships – August 2021

Well done to all those NEDTL members who have been at the Championships this weekend.

Mixed fortunes but I’m delighted to report that Tara Wilkinson is British Open Horse Champion, Rosemary Armstrong is British Novice Horse Champion and Angela Smith is British Pony Fours Reserve Champion.

Other results are as follows: Julie Howard, 3rd Intermediate Horse, Dan Stafford, 3rd Intermediate Pony, John Stafford, 3rd Open Horse Pairs, Fred Pendlebury, 6th Advanced Horse Pairs and Gary Brown, 9th Open Pony.

Well done to you all. Photo of Tara reproduced with permission, courtesy of Evelyn Radnai of Event to Event Photography.