Catching a bit of the dressage today.
Chester Weber usa team was just amazing!:).
I am not knowledgeable about driving so won’t display my ignorance trying to impart details. Thought there might be some discussion from knowledgeable types here.
Enjoying the dressage. Marathon tomorrow.
This may be my second favorite sport to watch.
eta Anyone have a quick link to details about each team?. Commentators don’t give much detail about breeds,etc.
At the top of this page is a green tab that says Horse sports. Click on that. It goes to at the bottom of the page, WEG 2014. Go there. Coth has at least a bit about the Driving. If you have the hard magazine, they go through all the sports, and all teams, some with more info than others.
I am following along. The US drivers are doing well. Chester Weber is favored to medal, possibly win it. The two other Americans are mid-pack after dressage. I’m looking forward to the marathon tomorrow.
I know very little, just from others who compete in it at a far lower level, but LOVE watching driving when I can! Those of you who get to watch are lucky!
I can’t watch but Chester Weber is having the best year of his career, winning just about every big competition including Royal Windsor and being the first American ever to win Aachen’s Four In Hand competition recently. I hope his success continues and he comes home with the gold.
Is the entire marathon course timed? I know the time is scored within obstacles, but what about in between? Do they need to go as quickly as possible or just reach the obstacles within a proscribed amount of time?
It’s complicated - There may be variations at the FEI level but at the regular level, the course has a 3 minute window of time in which you must complete - too fast or too slow you are penalized.
THEN - each obstacle is timed and the goal is to get through it as fast as possible without incurring any other penalties - there’s a list of 20 things you can get points for -
The times for each obstacle is converted to penalty points, then any other errors added on, then all the obstacle scores are combined and combined with the scores for the other marathon sections - which I don’t know the FEI levels, for but at normal levels are a long trot section and a walk section both of which are basic timed events. These added to your dressage score. There is a boatload of math in combined driving!
I’m pretty new to this but that is my understanding. Feel free to correct/add what I missed!
Here at WEG and loving the driving. Heart belongs to Show Jumping so missing some but caught the dressage show down 
[QUOTE=Hilary;7749106]
It’s complicated - There may be variations at the FEI level but at the regular level, the course has a 3 minute window of time in which you must complete - too fast or too slow you are penalized.
THEN - each obstacle is timed and the goal is to get through it as fast as possible without incurring any other penalties - there’s a list of 20 things you can get points for -
The times for each obstacle is converted to penalty points, then any other errors added on, then all the obstacle scores are combined and combined with the scores for the other marathon sections - which I don’t know the FEI levels, for but at normal levels are a long trot section and a walk section both of which are basic timed events. These added to your dressage score. There is a boatload of math in combined driving!
I’m pretty new to this but that is my understanding. Feel free to correct/add what I missed![/QUOTE]
Thank you!
Hilary is correct. We compete in the Prelim level (4 levels for CDE’s - Training, Prelim, Intermediate and Advanced (FEI). The lower your level, the less obstacles you will have to do and you will have more generous times during the marathon. Of course the dressage tests get harder the higher the level you drive and the cones get tighter (I believe its 35cm in training, 30cm in prelim, 25cm in interm and 20cm in advanced).
For the marathon, they give you a minimum time and maximum time (3 mins apart). For example, they give a time for Section A (first “phase” of the marathon - trot section) and say the min time is 20min and max is 23 min and say its 5km long. They state the speed for your level (always stays the same unless weather gets in the way - they could make your normal time slower so you get more time). For ponies, say its 13km/hr. Then you break it up on a km bases - at 1 km you should be between 4min (min) and 4:36 (max)- 2km at 8 min (min) and 9:12 (max) - 3km at 12 (min) and 13:48 (max) - 4km at 16:00 (min) and 18:24 (max) 5km at 20 (min) and 23 (max). Its the navigators job to make sure at each km marker on the trail that the driver is inbetween the times. If you come in too early or late, you get penalties. Then you have a transfer station (which is the walk) which is around 1km and they just give you a max time. For section B, which is the marathon part with the obstacles, they give you a min and max time as well which will be based on the same timing as section A. You get penalities for every second you are in an obstacle as well. Timers are at the start/finish of each obstacle and start as soon as you enter. You of course get penalty points for groom down, going through letters backwards, no whip in hand etc, etc. Lowest combined score wins! 3 penalty points for a ball down on cones day and penalty points for being over the time allowed as well. Very similar to cross country which is what the sport of course was based on
Thanks DJ!
[QUOTE=BAC;7748489]
I can’t watch but Chester Weber is having the best year of his career, winning just about every big competition including Royal Windsor and being the first American ever to win Aachen’s Four In Hand competition recently. I hope his success continues and he comes home with the gold.[/QUOTE]
Powered by Campell’s soup!
Out of curiosity, when people are competing in 4-in-hand, how many horses do they take over as reserves, if any? Are they allowed to bring an extra horse in case something happens to one in their regular team?
Spares are allowed at competitions as follows
Pair may bring a spare horse
Teams (4-in-hand) may bring two horses
I’m sure they bring a few extra along to the country and decide on the actual spares at the last minute, but you can only bring the 1 or two horses to the actual competition with you.
Unfortunately we are being downsized in the competition much like the ridden eventers. What used to be 5 sections over 25 k is down to two sections and an oddball transfer section (for FEI level) over a much shorter course. Lost the walk to many international people not making the marching forward pace.
Have the same issues around our cones/obstacles as eventers do over show jumping where they can’t decide what to do with it once it leaves the last day of competition position.
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