[QUOTE=Thomas_1;3331870]
OH DEAR!![/QUOTE]
I was waitin specifically for your response. :lol: :lol: :lol:
What, don’t have any of that on your side of the pond? 
I wonder if Thomas has regained consciousness yet. That must have been traumatic for him.
LOL!
Wendy
[QUOTE=Yip;3332128]
I wonder if Thomas has regained consciousness yet. That must have been traumatic for him.
LOL!
Wendy[/QUOTE]
:lol::lol::lol:
Being someone who has and is a member in the AQHA, while it is slow going, their judges are slowly, very slowly getting away from the peanut pushing era and going for a more natural head set. It is some die hard judges and exhibitors who still train their Quarter Horses yet to have that low of a head set.
My two QH were also show horses before I bought them from my friend who raised and trained them. Took me some time but neither holds their head so low, but in a more natural set and I hope to show my QH gelding in some AQHA sanctioned shows next year. He is one heck of a trail horse now, smart, quick to learn new things, talented and just a great all around horse, will do pretty near anything I put his furry sorrel nose to.
Hopefully one day the same can be said for their driving ability. Perhaps because were all more familiar with drafts or draft ponies we don’t see what they see in this. I have a training cart that is lower and yes, I do see more of my Percheron mares fanny than in my village cart, but…I can always scoot to the side and look around her and all is well.
I started showing APHA in 1976. My specialty has always in the past been trail. In 1987 I had a paint gelding that had ROM’s and Superiors in 4 categories. I needed a ROM in another category, either working cowhorse or driving, to finish his Versatility Award. I chose driving because I thought it would be less expensive. !!! :). This gelding, Hot Rumors (Danny), was Superior in Trail and picked up driving in one week. I was more nervous about driving than he was. NO LEG!!! WAY TOO FAR AWAY FROM THE HORSE!!! Anyway, I went to a schooling HDT in about a month and I was hooked on driving. But there were not very many CD’s in California at that time, so we continued showing Paint. We were Reserve National Champion Utility Driving in New Mexico in 87 and were the first horse to make Superior in Utility Driving for the APHA and also win the nation for high score Utility Driving. We won our Versatility Award and I moved into ADS driving. After several dressage scores with a consistent “lack of impulsion” I bought a Morgan. I continued to show my paint gelding in open trail classes and in 1995 when the APHA World Show came to Reno, Nevada, I revved Danny up for the Amateur and Open Utility Driving. At this time, Danny was being used as a lesson horse for an English trainer friend. He was Reserve champion in the Amateur and World Champion in the Open. I loved the Utility classes when the course designers got creative, which was not as often as I liked. 
I especially loved the 2 50 foot hoses laid a foot apart that you had to put one wheel in and drive without touching. Danny ended up with a lifetime total of over 50 Utility Driving points and 7 Pleasure Driving points. He never moved like a pleasure horse (well, maybe the old style romal style) so he was never used well in the pleasure driving. I remember watching the pleasure driving at Reno and just gagging. Most of the horses were either western or more likely hunt seat pleasure horses that were so broke under saddle, they just did the same thing pulling a lightweight sulky type cart. They are not broke driving horses, IMO, but they are pretty unflappable and brain dead in an arena.
Talk about two different ends of the light horse video spectrum–
I like the darby one the best. I have seen it before.
We have had Utility at some of our SSBC shows in the past. Enjoyed them tremendously .
[QUOTE=sublimequine;3332088]
I was waitin specifically for your response. :lol: :lol: :lol:
What, don’t have any of that on your side of the pond? ;)[/QUOTE]
not that i know off,
kinda dead slow stopish, like sleepy horses might be ok for beginners to try
the one that one won it was bigger than the rest i thought
[QUOTE=sublimequine;3331822]
Ouch… this was the kind of response I was expecting, at least. :lol:
I dunno, I guess its because I’m no driving expert, and that I’m a WP fan (when done properly!), I think these horses are fun to watch. In the very least, they look quiet, well-trained, and dependable. It seems they would be more “beginner friendly” than a fine harness horse, but like I said, I don’t know much at all about driving.[/QUOTE]
Oh, you really need to get out more! There is nothing cooler than driving a nice Morgan down the road; head and ears up, round rump, and long tail and that BIG trot!
I love some QHs but these poor things look depressed:( How can anyone get excited to go in the showring to look so down, like Charlie Brown:no:
I literally can’t stand that WP peanut pushing junk. A horse is a noble animal and should not look like a whipped dog. WP advocates claim they are getting away from that snout in the dirt style, but I’m not seeing it or buying it. Having said all that, these fine driving horses look like animated cartoon characters. That sky high front end is no more natural than what WP horses do. I think both ends look silly and should center a bit. These horses in both diciplines are nothing more than showing off the skills of trainers.
converts possible?
I really try to encourage the “breed drivers” to come and join the challenge and fun of the “sport of driving”.
I am not having much luck. Although, I get the impression from “hackney drivers” and the “american saddle bred drivers”, they give the proverbial cold shoulder to me. I think they are just scared to try something new.
If you can believe it, the Mule and Donkey Breed shows,do show driving the same way. the Western Pleasure mules move just like the QH pleasure driving class. I go in and drive my mini mule class in American Driving Society style, because I know the skill is the what it is about, and the it has to make a pretty picture while doing it, well balanced. I like the challenge of an active “thinking” (sorry Thomas) mule!!!
I am not going to give up trying to recruit new drivers to our club!!!
Thanks for sharing !
Many folks are not comfortable going out of the boundries they see in their preferred activities. The WP folks CAN’T be different because they don’t win in their breed shows. The concept of free moving animal is an Oxymoron to them. Heck they just legislated in the “forward motion” rule and forcing the riders to do a canter with some speed. This is forcing the whole stock horse industry to relearn the picture of a moving animal. They have to change their mental picture of what “good” really looks like. That is hard and slow work.
If horse is expected to go with head down, tails clamped or hanging dead behind, under saddle, english or western, why would you want to ruin that frame when cart is attached? Horses are specialists now, not crossing disciplines with the stock breeds. Real hard to have a true, multi-use animal at the top levels these days.
Everyone follows the QH style setters, though styles trickle-down may take a couple years to reach all the breeds.
This allows the QH folks to sell old-style stuff to the other breeds when they are done with it! Then go buy the new styles.
Driving at stock horse shows is a cartoon version of ADS and FEI driving styles in animal movement. QH in fine harness is ridiculous, along with too-small carts and shafts pointing at the sky. Drivers have to be uncomfortable sitting that way! Horses look like the threads of leather are cutting them in half, bikini underwear that is too small.
However those folks ARE driving and may be tempted at some future point to come over to the Dark Side with us! No way of doing something is perfect and may appear strange looking to the casual observer. I see some driven Dressage that makes me cringe.
Let us all work towards a happy medium ground of happy working animals. Not overly collected every step or tripping over their hooves moving so slowly. We should want working equine partners, who respond eagerly, happily to directions, when we hitch and go out.
[QUOTE=whoopdeedo;3424143]
I really try to encourage the “breed drivers” to come and join the challenge and fun of the “sport of driving”.
I am not having much luck. Although, I get the impression from “hackney drivers” and the “american saddle bred drivers”, they give the proverbial cold shoulder to me. I think they are just scared to try something new.
If you can believe it, the Mule and Donkey Breed shows,do show driving the same way. the Western Pleasure mules move just like the QH pleasure driving class. I go in and drive my mini mule class in American Driving Society style, because I know the skill is the what it is about, and the it has to make a pretty picture while doing it, well balanced. I like the challenge of an active “thinking” (sorry Thomas) mule!!!
I am not going to give up trying to recruit new drivers to our club!!!
Thanks for sharing ![/QUOTE]
Have you done what you are suggesting yourself- stepped into our buggies or viceroys and gone into the breed show ring and seen what it is like to have to not only drive your horse to its maximum potential, but do so in a manner that best shows him to the judge? It is NOT jsut as simple as driving in circles in the ring, showmanship skills play a huge part in successfully showing in Saddlebred and Hackney classes. Highly doubtful any of them are scared to try something new (people who drive Junior Fine Harness Horses or Hackney Road Ponies to Wagon are hardly scared of a thing), but if you are presenting your sport as the better sport instead of just as another option you WILL get a cold shoulder from people who already have and enjoy their show horses and ponies. The breed show ring can be just as challenging in its own ways as any other type of driving competition.
Ahhh no mam’
Absolutely driving sport is suggested to be an “every driver welcome” activity in the area of South Florida. There are so few of us we are lonely.
The local driving club(8 members) participated in 2007 in a Humanitarian ASB Pleasure show, with 6 USEF “opportunity classes” one of which being a cones course.
One of our hackney friends won in 1minute 35 seconds, and second place was a Morgan, both driving meadow-brook carts. “Gerald carts” and any cart with pneumatic wheels could have participated, but no one did.
I have for one year offered to any drivers, Standard Bred, Drafts, with frontier carts, recreational drivers, commercial vis a vis, sport marathon drivers, ANYBODY…please come to the Palm Beach County Horse Park, from 5 to 9PM under the lights in a huge arena, just to come and drive. To socialize, be AMERICAN DRIVERS TOGETHER!!! I am beginning to think it is hopeless.
(Yes, I have a running ad in the Horse and Pony Newspaper.)
I believe that some farms, just don’t want to play with their $40,000 hackney pony, rather let live their lives in a stall, on high heel shoes, It just doesn’t seem that “driving” is the challenge.
JMO
I believe that some farms, just don’t want to play with their $40,000 hackney pony, rather let live their lives in a stall, on high heel shoes, It just doesn’t seem that “driving” is the challenge.
I’ve been involved in a heck of a lot of different sorts of equestrian activities but I totally recognise and accept that I’m not the norm and its VERY VERY unusual to have someone who has the time, enthusiasm, funds, motivation, interest* (*insert word as appropriate) to do more than one thing.
And indeed from time to time I’ve gone through phases and for sure when I was seriously competing hdt, I’d have neither the time nor inclination to go for a pleasure drive just for fun and social networking. Likewise when I was seriously into steeplechasing and eventing, no way would I have any desire, nor time to go to support a socialising event with pleasure riders. And I’ll be honest - one of the reasons would be concern to get stuck next to some lunatic with unsafe equipment, ill trained puke horse that might have been out mixing with horses with strangles and goodness knows what.
So, I’ll also freely confess to having been somewhat concerned at the organisation etc at such social pleasure events and a true story by way of example.
When we first moved the carriage horses up here from Yorkshire, the local BDS kept asking me to do all sorts and from clinics to organising events to sponsoring things. At that time I was quite ill and had neither the inclination nor interest so I just said no or no thanks! Then one day Susan took a phone call from the local BDS commissioner which went along the lines of asking if we’d support a local large 20 mile pleasure drive. Sue said she’d doubt if we would and it was suggested that perhaps their event might be a bit “tame and low key” compared to what I was used to. Anyway to cut a long story short, I had a groom that I’d just trained to drive pairs and a new young pair going nicely and so decided to kill 2 birds with one stone and be sociable and let Trudy drive the pair that day.
What a mistake that was!!! It was the worst organised and most dangerous thing I’ve ever been to!!! We ended up way away from everyone else when we put to and in the event we split off after less than half a mile because I was concerned to be associated with what they were up to and IMO everything was just too high risk. We met up again at the end of the day and the commissioner came to say “thanks for coming and I expect you found what we did quite tame” !!! Which was gob-smacking considering they had a turnover on a bridge parapet!!! and a runaway!!! after I’d split off and found my own route! I told her it was actually the most dangerous thing I’ve ever been involved with and she laughed (clearly thinking I was joking!!!) I happen to know that word went round that the reason I didn’t go again was that I didn’t want my fancy expensive carriage horses with a load of “normal” pleasure driving horses and NOTHING could be further from the truth!!
If I were you I’d have a serious think about what you’re trying to provide and what the purpose is and ascertain if there’s actually even a desire for what you’re seeking to do. I’d also suggest that if you’re starting with the attitude that folks aren’t going to come for the reasons you state in the quote, that you’re not exactly putting out a welcoming and inclusive message and not seeking to understand relative positions.
Good Speach Wrong Person
No dear Thomas: The efforts are to get good safe knowledge, out to the persons that want to drive, for their good and the good of the animals.
The Florida Whips strongly emphasize safety first.
The beginning has to start somewhere, and it will lead to a qualified instructors phone number.
There has never been any attempt at the “trail drive” you reflect upon, as my thoughts are in line with yours, why stick your neck out for an accident. No bumbling, tied together rigs with equine that have not be put-to more than once, untrained, or under qualified.
No, my unrealistic ambition is to bring qualified good drivers together for the enjoyment of driving and helping eachother out with questions, and demonstrations. It takes numbers of people to pay the fees of the qualified instructors, and it takes particpants to put together a show. This is the method I choose to find those participants. The driving enviroment is quite restrained and contained in this area of the world. Arenas with good footing are the quest, surrounded by fencing to keep everyone off major highways.
We have to make “appointments” to play. And, it seems we have to work at keeping the “pleasure” in Pleasure Driving. Pick your style. As long as it is safe, you are welcome to drive with us.
Your comments are appreciated. Helping to keep me focused too.
Funny you should say that
" I’d have neither the time nor inclination to go for a pleasure drive just for fun and social networking."
That is how I feel about computers most of the time, when it’s all work, who would ever go online and type for fun??
Most of these horses are mainly ridden horses I think. Their ability to do driving and trail class and jumping and a roping class are testament to their fantastic temperaments. The QH mare that I recently rescued has a foal by her side that is so quiet I keep wondering if something is wrong with her!!:lol::lol: Just trying to add something positive. :winkgrin:
[QUOTE=Gayla;3430053]
Most of these horses are mainly ridden horses I think. Their ability to do driving and trail class and jumping and a roping class are testament to their fantastic temperaments. The QH mare that I recently rescued has a foal by her side that is so quiet I keep wondering if something is wrong with her!!:lol::lol: Just trying to add something positive. :winkgrin:[/QUOTE]
The winner of that class, the bay horse in the video who was left standing at the end is in our barn as we speak (err…type) His name is Lark’s Happy Days, and he is the nicest horse. In addition to driving, he does the sr working hunter, sr hunter hack,amateur working hunter and hunter hack, amateur pleasure driving and hunter under saddle. He’s also happy to mosey along in western tack. He’s just an all around nice guy who will try anything you ask of him.
See? 
:winkgrin:
