competitions


Our CAA group is heading out to the venue in a little while, for our first day at the World Four-in-Hand Championship. Today is a get-your-bearings day, with time to see where all the food vendors are (and what they have to offer), to explore the trade fair, and to enjoy this afternoon’s opening ceremony.

Yesterday, when I drove out to the venue for the first time to a) make sure I could find it, as I’m our group’s designated driver this year (!) and b) pick up all of our tickets, I saw this unusual (and rather noisy) but fascinating contraption being driven around:

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A week from today, I’ll be in Germany, getting ready for this year’s World Four-in-Hand Driving Championship at Riesenbeck.

As usual, I’ll be posting updates and photos here during each day of the event. My goal will be to give you a sense of “being there” with us, rather than providing a recap of each day’s competition.

I’ll do my best to provide a few scores, and the top placings each day, on my Twitter page … and you can always check the full results at www.hoefnet.com.

The countdown to Germany is on!

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For our final look back at last weekend’s Carriage Festival, here are some of the beauties arriving for, and on display at, the antique car show that was part of the Festival:

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this car was built in 1916

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this car was built in 1909, and I think it will have its own blog post soon

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And then there was this stunning 1932 Auburn boat-tail speedster:

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The car show officially lasted until 3 o’clock, but a few of the car owners seem to have made a day of it: showing off their cars and watching the carriage driving. As I was arriving back at the arena for the evening session, just before 7 o’clock, an entire family arrived in the red 1916 carriage-look-alike car. They parked, put a fabric car cover over it, and then went in to watch the horses and ponies. As I was leaving the arena after the end of the show, I saw this old-fashioned scene:

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First off, I have to apologize for promising more from the Carriage Festival and then not posting anything at all yesterday (as I wasn’t near the Internet). So I’m now (early on Sunday) posting what should have been yesterday’s post. The post I had scheduled for today will go up later tonight. Enjoy all the photos coming your way!

Last Sunday at the Carriage Festival was our “presentation pleasure drive,” where most of the Festival participants went for a shady three-mile drive along the back of the Kentucky Horse Park and onto a neighboring farm, and back again.

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Here’s our last look at the ring classes from last weekend’s CAA Carriage Festival.

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Karen Waldron’s pair emerged victorious (again) in the Performance class

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Misdee Wrigley Miller drove a pair in the first class of the evening …

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… and then drove her team into the arena for the evening’s final class

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Mark Schofield drove the Park Drag (put to a team of Hackneys) of Glenn A. Werry, Jr.; here, they’re making final adjustments before entering the arena

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Misdee Miller and her team won this final class at the Carriage Festival, the HorseShow.com Coaching Division: Best Team class

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another view of Glenn Werry’s team of Hackneys, being driven by Mark Schofield

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… and yet another view; this turnout won the Tom Ryder Award for the most elegant turnout at the Festival

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Several commenters, here on the blog and on the CAA’s Facebook page (where I’m also posting a few photos), have wondered why several of the ladies aren’t wearing hats in some of these Festival photos. Have you been wondering about this, too?

This happened only in the evening sessions and is, in fact, allowed. According to Appendix A (which discusses turnout and appointments) of the American Driving Society’s rules for pleasure-driving competitions: in Formal or Park classes … “If the class is in the evening, ladies may opt not to wear a hat and may wear a formal gown.” This hats-optional-in-the-evening rule applies to ladies driving Park Drags, Road Coaches, Breaks, Mail Phaetons, Stanhope Phaetons, Demi-mail Phaetons, Spider Phaetons, Stanhope or Park Gate Gigs, etc.

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