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Competitions
Pleasure Carriage Driving
Guidelines for Show Management
Offered by the AHA Eventing and Driving Committee
With Pleasure Carriage Driving classes being offered at the AHA Sport Horse National Championship Horse Show, many shows are considering offering qualifying classes, but don't know what is necessary or required. The following is a brief guideline for show management for offering these classes.
OFFICIALS:
Judges: USEF Subchapter DP -1 gives Arabian shows the option of selecting a judge from the list of USEF licensed judges with experience in judging carriage driving. (DP1011.c). This means that AHA approved shows using judges with Arabian judging cards CAN BE USED to judge the Pleasure Carriage Driving classes, providing they have experience with judging carriage driving. They do not need to Pleasure Carriage Driving licensed. This will allow show management the option of using the same judge as their other classes, providing that judge is familiar with Pleasure Carriage Driving.
Technical Delegates: USEF Subchapter DP102.1 Unless a show offers more than 15 carriage driving classes, show management does not need to hire a driving Technical Delegate. A driving TD's expertise is invaluable in conducting a smooth running show, but it is not necessary to hire a special USEF or ADS (American Driving Society) licensed Pleasure Driving Technical Delegate. Any knowledgeable steward licensed to officiate a regular or local member competition is eligible.
FACILITY:
Pleasure Carriage Driving, Working; Reinsmanship; Turnout; and other "rail" classes can be held in the regular show arena. Cones and Obstacle classes can be held in the regular show arena, provided it is large enough for horse and carriages to make wider turns, or on a level grass or dirt field. Do remember that a horse and cart take up more space than will a horse and rider, or even the traditional pleasure driving horse and show cart, and that turns will require a wider ring width.
Ring footing/surfaces requirements/needs will also be different for Pleasure Carriage Driving than for the traditional pleasure driving classes. Pleasure Carriage carts are heavier and carry a hard rubber tire. Pneumatic or bicycle tires are not permitted. Consequently, there is a lot more drag on a Pleasure Carriage vehicle. Small Arabians (classified as ponies in ADS competition if under 14.2h) in particular may find sandy surfaces hard going. If a show is hosting an open competition where miniature horses and pony classes are held, a regular driving arena will not be satisfactory, if the footing is sandy or heavy. However, for a show wishing to offer a limited number of arena pleasure carriage driving classes, no extra adjustments in either personnel or facility need hinder that desire. You can have your ring drag personnel not disk quite as deeply as for regular classes.
PERSONNEL/EQUIPMENT:
A show will accumulate a lot of additional facility/material/personnel needs if it wishes to offer some of the more crowd pleasing classes, such as the time obstacles (cones) classes. However, none of these are insurmountable.
Most regions have carriage-driving clubs, which are valuable resources for volunteers. If not clubs, individuals associated with those clubs will have cones, gate markers, and "quicksticks" (devices needed to measure distances between cones) available for rental and should be able to help show management design a cones course. Once a show has a course design, it can be modified for following years simply by reversing the sequenced of "gates".
The show will need approximately 8 people to monitor the running of a "cones" course…. a gatekeeper with stopwatch, an announcer, and six people to reset the cones distances. The technical delegate or steward is helpful here if he/she has assumed responsibility for pre-measuring the axle distances of the carts before entering the cones course. If not, another person needs to be delegated to do so…and those measurements made available at the time of the cones competition, since the cones need to be reset for each turnout.
A cones course can be set up in a regular arena if it is large enough. It is a good idea to use a golf cart or person on bicycle to test run the course before putting horses through it. Management will have a much better idea of the flow of the course and can make needed adjustments before the competition actually starts.
Remember that if the show offers open competitions and a separate class for Arabian/Half-Arabians, turnouts may not compete over the same cones course more than once. A show can use the same cones set-up for both classes if you reverse the order of the gates. For efficiency's sake, keep in mind that you won't want to take up show time resetting the gates in mid-competition, so you might want to save the Arabian/Half-Arabian cones classes until the end of the competition.
As an example, a show ran a cones course on a grassy hillside of the fairgrounds. The TD set up the course the day before the competition and he and the judge coursed it on a golf cart to make sure it was safe. The day of the competition, the show volunteers set up a sunscreen gazebo with small table and chairs for the judge and TD. The gatekeeper had the order of go for the turnouts and the TD announced for the six volunteer cone setters the distance setting for each run. There was no sound system, but they managed somehow…perhaps the show secretary ran off copies of the different axle settings before each class. The judge had her own whistle and stop watch, but your gatekeeper will need a stopwatch as well. And it is a good idea to provide a whistle (for letting entries know if they go off course) in case the judge doesn't come prepared. Clipboards are essential. Extra clips to hold papers in place on the clipboards are convenient. If it's rainy, plastic baggies to slip over the papers and clipboards will help keep the paperwork dry (yes, you can hold them in the rain, providing there is no lightning).
FURTHER HELP:
If your club decides to put on an American Driving Society (ADS) sanctioned show, you can do so without it also being USEF recognized. If you go that route, your ADS approval fee includes liability insurance for the event.
If you do decide to put on an ADS sanctioned show, there is a show manager's guideline sheet that give lots of important details about show personnel, materials needed, etc. They'll even send you a great canvas banner identifying the show as an ADS sanctioned event.
The manager's guidelines are available from ADS for the asking.
Although the addition of Pleasure Carriage Driving to the Arabian class divisions may seem a daunting undertaking, the addition of a few arena classes to the regular class list will not entail a lot of extra work, and will be an exciting visual addition to the show for both spectators and other competitors. Other competitors will enjoy watching the classes and will discover a whole new opportunity for using our horses.
One last thought - if your show is offering carriage driving classes with a dressage show, the dressage judge can judge driven dressage without any other special licensing. You would need a ring suitable (large enough) for the driven dressage and the willingness of the judge to officiate, but your dressage markers are already there. You will need copies of the dressage tests and need to prize list which dressage levels are being offered. No additional equipment is needed.
The Eventing and Driving Committee urge anyone interested in expanding their prize list to include some Pleasure Carriage Driving classes to become a member of the American Driving Society and to become familiar with the ADS handbook. Almost everything you need to know is spelled out quite clearly there and the home ADS office is most helpful.
You may also contact the Eventing and Driving Committee who will be glad to answer any questions you might have about these classes. Good luck and happy driving!
AHA Eventing and Driving Committee
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