Driving Clinic & Trials

By Ellen Hockley | Photos courtesy of Rachael Sdoutz

We felt we could host a Driving Clinic and small Driving Trials at ‘The Ranch’ in Pritchard BC. On May 28-31 we had a small group out to test how things would work.

Larry Brinker from Langley BC was invited to come and teach the art of Driven Dressage to 8 very eager drivers. Our youngest driver was 17 and the oldest at 76.

A Driving Trials consist of three elements.

First is Driven Dressage - held in a 40 x 80 metre arena, with letters, the same as ridden dressage. The drivers do a test (they should have practiced).

Following the Dressage test the driver goes to the Cones course – where there are 20 sets of pylons (cones), set and measured so that each set is only 35 cm wider than the wheels of each vehicle for Training level and 30 cm for Preliminary. The course is 600-800 metres long and driven at a rate of about 200 metres per minute.

In the afternoon the Marathon part of the event starts. A cross country course of 5-6 kms is marked out. Also, on the course are 5-6 obstacles which must be navigated in the correct order.

At The Ranch event we treat the Trials as a clinic and learning time. No scores are kept.

We are very lucky to have many very dedicated volunteers to help out. These events cannot run without them. Rain or heat they come and we are truly thankful.

Everyone had a good time and were careful about distancing for the most part. We chose to have a repeat of this event on June 25-28.

You may contact Ellen Hockley at theranchbc@gmail.com if you would like to volunteer or just come to watch, and take in the VIEW!