National Indoor Championships 2008 - success for Chariots Drivers
Another
challenging journey for the large Scottish contingent to Keysoe in Bedfordshire
for the 10th anniversary of the National Indoor Championships.
But the nine hours on the road and the appalling mud in the field were
definitely worth it! The overall
tally of rosettes was three 2nds; two 3rds, three 4ths; three 5ths and one 6th. Amanda
was the first driver to be placed in two classes - 2nd in the pairs, and 3rd in
Open Pony. Ollie Dernie was chuffed to bits to take 2nd place in that
class after driving some stunningly fast obstacles.
for a report click here.
For full results go to www.indoordriving.co.uk.
2008 Indoor Scottish Champion - Amanda Saville
She did it again!! With her rescued pair of stunt ponies, Charlie and
Dini, Amanda fought off strong competition to regain her Scottish Indoor title
for the 4th time.
For a full report click
here. For full results check out the Scottish Carriage Driving
Association website - www.scda.co.uk
Try Driving Sessions and 'Strictly Come Driving'
In association with Bennington Carriages we will be holding a series of Try
Driving Days at their base just off the A1 between Newark and Grantham in
Lincolnshire. This will be an ideal way to find out if driving could be
the sport for you! Come and try it out in a safe environment and be taught
by the best! Dates are May 3rd and 4th; June 11th and July 16th. Or,
if you can't wait till May, come to our 'Strictly Come
Driving - Take Two' - to be held at Arena UK, also in
Lincolnshire. Many top sports drivers will be giving demonstrations and
available to talk to. Try driving sessions will also be available.
For further details on both these series of events go to: www.sportsdriving.co.uk/news.html
Spring Indoor Driving
The final indoor competition was held at Greenlands on 8th March. Overall champion was
Ollie Dernie with Prince, closely followed by top Novice Driver Katrina Smith in
reserve. Megan Noble won the Junior Class again with a new young Dartmoor Hill
Pony, Flash. Helen Hillman won the Pairs Class (despite a serious bucking
fit!) closely followed in second by husband Chris.
For
the full results, click here.
There will be two more indoor competitions at Muirmill Equestrian Centre,
Ayrshire on 16th March; with the Scottish Indoor Championship on the 23rd
March. For more information check out the SCDA website:
www.scda.co.uk.
Launch of New Charity - Sports Driving Unlimited
A new charity set up to
enable disadvantaged, disabled and terminally ill individuals to enjoy the
excitement and therapeutic benefits of sports driving was launched at the
Scottish Equine Event at Ingliston in early December. This charity is
unique in its approach, blending the exhilaration,
excitement and adrenalin rush of sports carriage driving with the expertise of
developing individual confidence, motivation and achievement.
Currently
there is no organisation that specialises in providing sports driving to
disadvantaged or terminally ill individuals. Through active involvement
participants will personally benefit from an overwhelming increase in self
esteem, confidence, motivation and achievement; all vital in helping them cope
with the challenges of everyday life. It is widely documented that
involvement with ponies has huge therapeutic powers in building
relationships/friendships and strong personal bonds with everyone concerned.
These
opportunities will enable each participant to be involved in sports driving to
any and all levels whether for fun, as a hobby or more seriously in sports
driving competitions.
If you would like further information about the charity please check out the
website: www.sportsdrivingunlimited.org.uk
or click here to
download more info
British Young Drivers Championships
Another very successful event was held at Escrick at the end of
September. Highest placed of the Chariots young drivers was Ollie Dernie
who won Class 4 (18 - 25 yrs) with her Welsh Cob Prince. To read the full report
click here or for an overview of the results click
here.
New Book launched
Amanda and Liza have spent the last year plus, working on a new book for
Kenilworth Press: Sports Driving - A Complete Guide to
Horse Driving Trials. With a foreword by HRH Prince Philip,
this book could become a bible for new driving enthusiasts!
It is
available from Amanda direct and through
the Country Books Direct website: www.countrybooksdirect.com.
We are delighted to be getting some lovely comments from the first readers for
example: "I have learnt more in the last
couple of hours reading your book than I've learnt in 2 yrs. I can't put it
down, the best book by far. It's also written in a way that's easy to understand
and not full of posh jargon that common people can't understand!" from
Jackie Parkinson.
If you want a comprehensive manual that will guide you through the in's and
out's of competing in driving trials - this is for you. Lavishly
illustrated with nearly 200 photographs taken by Liza over the past 5 years or
so, the book takes you from the basics of training and feeding your pony for
fitness to the etiquette of the trials themselves. Amanda suggests ways to
solve common problems and discusses each discipline in turn, with photos to show
how solutions can be achieved.
This book demystifies the 'myths' of competitive carriage driving. It
contains advice on acquiring the right pony and equipment, schooling to achieve
results and how to turn out yourself and your pony at a National Championship.
The author details all three phases of competition with tips on achieving flow
and bend in dressage, speed in the marathon and accuracy in cones. Sports
Driving gives a complete picture of the sport from starting flags to finish.
And the price of £18.95 is more than reasonable for such a glossy tome! To
reserve your copy contact Amanda on amanda@chariots.org.uk
Chariots Champions!
The Chariots contingent had great success at the 2007 National Indoor
Championships held at Keysoe. Dan Wilson secured the
National Young Junior Championship, Amanda regained her National Pairs Champion
title, and all the other juniors who competed were either placed or nearly
placed! Sadly Ollie Dernie had a nasty crash with Prince, which put her
out of the competition - but pony, groom and backstepper are all ok. Full
report can be downloaded from here
and a few pics
below!!
Chariots of Fire Adoption Scheme
Have
you ever wanted a pony of your own?
Maybe you live in a city, or just can’t afford the time and money that
a pony takes.
Well here is a golden opportunity for you to adopt a pony and receive
regular updates, photos, bulletins and news about what your pony is up to.
Check out our new Adoption page for full details.
This and That have cracked It!!
Our two Zwartbles sheep This and That have cracked the carriage driving lark
so well that the 2-legged crew have to run to keep up! See them and Quinn
at the Displays this year.
For a full list of Displays
click here.
New addition to the Display Team:
Well, we've had to admit that Susie is getting a bit
long in the tooth to gallop around the country to displays all summer.
Although she will probably still do the odd 'special occasion', we've acquired a
'younger model' in the form of Quinn - a Shorthorn x Galloway. As you can
see he's already started to learn the fine art of 'jumping' and pulling a
carriage. He's a real character, well
loved by everyone he meets already! Look out for him on the show circuit this
summer.
