targetsmom
Well-Known Member
We took Princess to our first ADS Pleasure Driving Show Aug 1-2, just one week after a Pinto show. At the Pinto show, she showed in halter, color, trail, hunter, jumper, and "breed show" driving (side check, show cart, etc). and took High Point Mini of the day. At the Pleasure Show, no checks are allowed (and on grass that is a real challenge for us!) plus the wooden wheeled cart is much heavier. Then it rained 3" on Friday, causing all sorts of havoc, especially to the sloping grass cones course. There was only one other mini and we both happened to enter the Novice Whip Division where we competed against big horses. There were also some TOP competitors from the Northeast. Most everyone wore helmets because they were required if you did the Continuous Drive (which we did not do).
Our first class - cones - we were actually the very first entry so went pretty conservatively, but I thought really well. We still had the slowest time, but not by a whole lot. This was the trickiest part of the course after a downhilll and it was a bit slick. You can see other cones in the background.
Dressage was much later in the day and we were followed by a HUGE horse that rattled both of us on Saturday. He is just outside the ring here.
She was relaxed on her free walk though... (remember she almost always wears a side check)
Sunday she was more comfortable with the big horse,
and we went early and back to back for Reinsmanship and Progressive Cones. Reinsmanship is like equitation, but judged like dressage, with scores for each part, and you get back the test results. We scored better on the movements than we had in dressage, so that was a plus - despite the fact I messed up a bit in a couple of places.
Here is her 20 meter circle to the left in working trot:
Then we went right into the cones course where the clearances decreased from 20", progressively down to 2" on the sixth set of cones. As soon as a tennis ball fell, you were out, and your time up to that point was used to break ties. WE MADE IT ALL THE WAY THROUGH!!! We didn't see many horses do that, but we were mostly watching novice horses or whips. Many were stopped by numbers 4 or 5.
We left before the Sunday awards so we don't know yet how we did in those 2 classes, but we were thrilled with the cones class anyway!!! We learned so much and had a ball. People were very friendly and helpful and we saw lots of MEN drivers.
ETA: THIS JUST IN: Just found out that we won the Progressive Obstacle Class!!! Blue ribbon and a glass.
Our first class - cones - we were actually the very first entry so went pretty conservatively, but I thought really well. We still had the slowest time, but not by a whole lot. This was the trickiest part of the course after a downhilll and it was a bit slick. You can see other cones in the background.
Dressage was much later in the day and we were followed by a HUGE horse that rattled both of us on Saturday. He is just outside the ring here.
She was relaxed on her free walk though... (remember she almost always wears a side check)
Sunday she was more comfortable with the big horse,
and we went early and back to back for Reinsmanship and Progressive Cones. Reinsmanship is like equitation, but judged like dressage, with scores for each part, and you get back the test results. We scored better on the movements than we had in dressage, so that was a plus - despite the fact I messed up a bit in a couple of places.
Here is her 20 meter circle to the left in working trot:
Then we went right into the cones course where the clearances decreased from 20", progressively down to 2" on the sixth set of cones. As soon as a tennis ball fell, you were out, and your time up to that point was used to break ties. WE MADE IT ALL THE WAY THROUGH!!! We didn't see many horses do that, but we were mostly watching novice horses or whips. Many were stopped by numbers 4 or 5.
We left before the Sunday awards so we don't know yet how we did in those 2 classes, but we were thrilled with the cones class anyway!!! We learned so much and had a ball. People were very friendly and helpful and we saw lots of MEN drivers.
ETA: THIS JUST IN: Just found out that we won the Progressive Obstacle Class!!! Blue ribbon and a glass.
Last edited by a moderator:
