This past weekend, while doing an HDT with my Clydesdale, my drafty friends and I had the opportunity to watch a lot of the other competitors do their dressage tests, as well as one of the marathon hazards (we volunteered to “man” the hazard) and we saw some amazing horses. First of all, the reason we are doing an HDT with drafts is NOT because we want to be unconventional…the drafts are what we have and the event organizers have welcomed us with open arms and are educating us. Anyway, we saw breeds of horses we were not familiar with, talked to owners and got a lot of education. I saw a Hackney horse for the first time and fell in love (until it got really wound up and kept popping the cart up in the air. I had seen Hackney ponies before (and have been told that Hackney/Clydesdale crosses are often good CDE porospects) but the full size version really appealed to me. The other stunner we saw turned out to be a Buckskin Welsh Cob. Again, I had seen the pony version, but this one was large and just floated across the arena at a trot. At the hazard we watched, it was interesting to see which horses came in tired (we were the last hazard for training and prelim) and which came in still raring to go. Of course, I realize individual animals within a breed may or may not be good driving candidates, but I wonder what others on this board see as the best-of-the-best breed for these competitions.
I sure dont think you are going to get any absolute answer here as i think it depends on the horse/pony individually…
But i’m a fan of the welsh cob… 
They’ve got more heart, bravery, and loyalty than any breed i’ve ever worked with. (And the ability to be quite fancy in any situation.) The welsh crosses can be quite nice too. I’d love a little sec. A welsh one day just for cute factor.
Favorite
Welsh are the best, of course. :yes:
Any of the sports horse or traditional driving breeds work for me.
I’ve quite a few Welsh and all sections.
Trust me, I don’t have them out of some sense of sadomasochism. :winkgrin:
JoanR,
What I like best in your whole conversation is “we drive what we have”. Continue to do that and enjoy your horses in many different events. I have tried many many things with my Arabians and had a ball in all of them, just never mastered none --with the exception of competitive distance driving. My motto is anything horse–try it at least once.
I am at the complete opposite end of horsedom with what I drive–pure Arabians. They have endurance and agility that many horses are hard set to beat in marathon and cones. But the dressage factor is where they must do a 150% job to get a 70% score. Not to say some ARabians can;t do dressage, but that is not where they excel.
So recently I had an opportunity to buy another horse–I seriously thought about getting a driving horse capable of doing the dressage needed to win at CDEs. My first choice would be an Arab/welsh cross. ONe of the most incredible horses I ever watched :eek::yes:move had the extension of the welsh but that awesome float of the ARabian. That horse could cover more ground in 4 steps just by floating. That particular pony won Black Prong Prelim level her first trip out many year ago. The Arabian pulls the best out of the Welsh in my mind.
But alas, I gave in to my trail riding desires and bought a TWH. Glad to be able to ride for the first time in many years and not hurt afterwards!!
Welsh Cobs
I have heard people refer to the term “Section” A, B, etc. with Welsh Cobs. Can someone explain the differences? The Welsh Cob I saw at the HDT was so amazing and I keep thinking about how he floated across the arena. What are they like to ride? I also found the coloring (Buckskin, with black legs in front and white legs in back) to be incredibly attractive. Is Buckskin a rare color in the Welsh world? Obviously I have led a sheltered life as we have so few breeds in the draft world! I am always keeping a list of the things I plan to biuy when I win the lottery, and I am seeing a lot of new horses to add!
Hehehe… you wouldn’t by any chance be in California would you?? If so, I know the Hackney and Welsh Cob you described! They are good friends of mine and I could put you in touch with them, we are a very welcoming group of people. 
I agree with the “drive what you have”. I have an Appaloosa/Hanoverian/Thoroughbred, big mare with lots of spots, whose built like an eventer and looks quite hilarious put to a carriage. But driving is her love, she tolerates being ridden but her ears perk up so much when driving.
I have seen being driven in CDEs:
Hackney Horses - They are ever so impressive.
Welsh Cobs
Hackney Ponies
Shetlands
Warmbloods of many different flavors
Arabians
Andalusians
Lipizzaners
Dutch Harness Horses - Another impressive breed
German Riding Pony
Morgan
Quarter Horse
Paint
Appaloosa
Mutts/Crosses/etc… (Too many of these to list the exact crosses)
There are so many breeds that can do well, and they can fit any person. With driving, even though I’m still new, the horses that really succeed I’ve noticed have a good temperament, disposition, bravery, and athleticism. There is no one breed that rules those traits.
Enjoy the boy you have now! I love Clydes! Such sweet guys!
[quote=JoanR;4900599]
I have heard people refer to the term “Section” A, B, etc. with Welsh Cobs. Can someone explain the differences?
I am sure that someone with more knowledge than I will join in to answer this question, but one of the basic “dividers” with Welsh ponies is height. Section As are the smallest, followed by Bs, Cs and Section Ds (also known as Cobs).
I drive a Section B Welsh pony.
[QUOTE=JoanR;4900599]
I have heard people refer to the term “Section” A, B, etc. with Welsh Cobs. Can someone explain the differences? The Welsh Cob I saw at the HDT was so amazing and I keep thinking about how he floated across the arena. What are they like to ride? I also found the coloring (Buckskin, with black legs in front and white legs in back) to be incredibly attractive. Is Buckskin a rare color in the Welsh world? Obviously I have led a sheltered life as we have so few breeds in the draft world! I am always keeping a list of the things I plan to biuy when I win the lottery, and I am seeing a lot of new horses to add![/QUOTE]
Welsh Mountain Ponies are divided into four sections.
The first - section A is the smallest - not to exceed 12.2 hands
then section B - is slightly larger riding type not to exceed 13.2
B’s are similar to A’s, but larger — not exceeding 13.2 h.h. (137.2 cms) — and with more riding pony qualities. It’s those qualities that are to be more emphasised in the B’s.
then section C - It’s actually known as “The Section C: The Welsh Pony of Cob Type” It’s the stockier “Cob type” not to exceed 13.2
Really the only difference between the section C and D is the height
then section D also known as a Welsh Cob which is 14 hands to 15.1 hands. The Welsh Cob or Welsh Section D is basically to be considered as the utility horse for the welsh hill farmer.
It’s often (and in my opinion not a million miles off the mark) described as the best ride and drive animal in the world.
Sturdy enough for pulling a cart of fodder around to the sheep. Fast enough to compete in trotting races, tractable enough to be hunted and up to weight to take a farmer for a day’s hunting over challenging high hill land and showy enough to be put to harness and driven to church or to a local country fair.
They’re speedy with a good forward attitude and action and will go all day. They’ve got plenty about them and can be quite showy and have a good fast high-stepping trot which is pleasing and spectacular to look at. They’re got free action.
It’s all the above that makes them such good all round popular horses for showing, driving, riding or hunting.
“Cob” is a type - Think a compact, muscular, small horse with tremendous bone. The term “cob” had it’s first recorded written use in the 18th century though that type of horse existed long before the word was first written.
So Cobs are not a breed. But a type. They’re often the by-product of the Hunter Breeding world. They have substance but without the height.
Breeding stock for “cobs” is varied but often includes such as highland and a small t/b, arab, suffolk punch (often in times back), irish draft, connemara x.
Well… that’s the fun of CDEs. What’s best ‘depends’ on your goals.
If you want to be successful at a high level of competition (intermediate and up) the following breeds have had good success over the long term
Pony
Welsh
Connemara
Morgan pony
Horse
Many of the ‘warmblood’ or European sport horse breeds - including Dutch Warmbloods and harness horses, Holsteiners, Hannoverians, etc
Morgans
There are many, many terrific individuals of other breeds, but these tend to be the ones you see placing at the advanced level/FEI type classes
That said, if your goal is to complete in HDTs more locally, you will find many more people driving ‘what they have’ and having a whole lot of fun. The key is to make sure the horse is trained for the job and able to be fitted up enough to compete well - which is a whole lot easier with the shorter marathons we see today.
RE Hackneys… they don’t have to be that wound up. Many are wonderful to work with and will give you their all - as long as you don’t break trust with them and overface them. The Coaching bred Hackneys are big strong horses with lots of heart and go.
To me, breed matters less than brain. With conformation/suitability to the job in close 2nd place.
[QUOTE=JoanR;4899911]
This past weekend, while doing an HDT with my Clydesdale, my drafty friends and I had the opportunity to watch a lot of the other competitors do their dressage tests, as well as one of the marathon hazards (we volunteered to “man” the hazard) and we saw some amazing horses. First of all, the reason we are doing an HDT with drafts is NOT because we want to be unconventional…the drafts are what we have and the event organizers have welcomed us with open arms and are educating us. Anyway, we saw breeds of horses we were not familiar with, talked to owners and got a lot of education. I saw a Hackney horse for the first time and fell in love (until it got really wound up and kept popping the cart up in the air. I had seen Hackney ponies before (and have been told that Hackney/Clydesdale crosses are often good CDE porospects) but the full size version really appealed to me. The other stunner we saw turned out to be a Buckskin Welsh Cob. Again, I had seen the pony version, but this one was large and just floated across the arena at a trot. At the hazard we watched, it was interesting to see which horses came in tired (we were the last hazard for training and prelim) and which came in still raring to go. Of course, I realize individual animals within a breed may or may not be good driving candidates, but I wonder what others on this board see as the best-of-the-best breed for these competitions.[/QUOTE]
Your friends were cold?! I think as what others said, it is the mind and the want that makes a good driving animal. I have seen large draft breeds do well, given time, patience, consistency and I have also marveled at the mini’s and how they zip around and make driving look easy. Course, the draft friends I have now do a lot of pleasure driving and it is a lot more relaxed and pleasurable.
I have a good friend who has a wonderful Hackney gelding getting ready to make his debut at Advanced in the fall. He is a dream to drive, a wonderful teacher, and I feel priveledged that she allows me to learn with him. That said, her description of the breed is that they bounce, but tend to stay in their own bubble.
Joan are you coming to the CDE at Clay Station in June? Diane K will be there with her pair of Welsh Cobs, and they will be just as you like, bay with 4 whites
I’ve competed a Gelderlander (lovely action, lots of heart), Shires (lots of heart, lots of go and a tough time when it was hot…heck, even when it was warm…I drove em’ using a heart monitor), Saddlebred…woohoo! lotsa’ go, Cleveland Bay…classy and fun and the usual ponies…amazingly profane little beasts.
[QUOTE=Quelah;4902170]
Joan are you coming to the CDE at Clay Station in June? Diane K will be there with her pair of Welsh Cobs, and they will be just as you like, bay with 4 whites ;)[/QUOTE]
I’ll be there with my Hanoverian
I am a Warmblood fan, but that is what I have had for years and am comfortable with.
Excellent! I was in the WB world for eons, h/j mostly, some dressage and three day. I have Shires now. My husband is Diane’s gator, she calls me her “functional groom”, as I do the actual grooming, and I love the 10 minute box, takes me back to three day, good times, good times 
I’ll try to find you and say hi, Hanoverian, ok, I’ll remember that. Will you be with Team Oregon? We’re also coming up for Inavale, whither Diane goes, we follow!
I will probably be going to the CDE at Clay Station to volunteer. Debbi Packard and her husband (owners of the venue) have been wonderful to our group of draft-drivers, and I really learned a lot volunteering at the HDT Saturday. (Too bad I did not volunteer at cones instead of a hazard…perhaps the start gate and the need to go through it would have burned itself into my brain!) We should figure out a way to make sure we run into each other. Actually DOING a CDE is way out of my league at this point…and probably not an option for the horses I currently own. When I win the lottery I am going to buy more…the feedback I have gotten through this thread is helping me develop my “shopping lkist.”
Oh, what fun! I am with Team Oregon, I will be the only one at Clay Station though. I will be at Inavale as well.
I’ll be the one with the big goofball bay horse…LOL, and yes, we must meet!
CDEDriver,
How are you doing? Fanci has the summer off since I just had surgery and I wont have use of my right arm until August. I’m hoping to volunteer at the Dressage Festival at Ann’s doing something that doesnt involve my right arm.
Is the baby born? I’ve been wondering how your momma’s been doing.
Joan,
The California drivers are a great group of people, I’ve just been MIA this year because of my arm.
