Indoor Driving Trials - Results

National Finals - Keysoe, 31st March, 1st April 2002

It didn't seem like a 5 month gap between the 2001 finals and the 2002 version and Keysoe was scarcely recognisable with warm sunshine and a lorry park that was dry and almost covered in hard core...what a change. Mind you we did have to wait our turn to park on Saturday afternoon as a major dressage event was in full swing when we arrived and it was after 5.00 before the earliest arrivals were able to park and stable their horses. And the dressagers for the most part weren't too helpful in cleaning out their day stables. 

Whoever invented the idea of putting the clocks forward wants to be scheduled for P & P at 8.30am. We were staying in a B & B 6 miles away and had to be up at 6.00am (5.00am) by my body clock. Was it worth it? The Open horse class was on first and the third competitor of the day, Barbara Nadin, set the standard with a score of 27.0, which was only bettered by Lynne Harrington (25.0) and Lesley Cox (25.5) from amongst the 57 competitors.

It was the cones course that caused all the problems or more precisely it was the time set for the course that was the issue. As befitting the finals it was a challenging course,  but a complicated box placed as gate number 2 had a more dramatic effect on the time than any of the competitors expected. In fact, only two competitors incurred penalties for going too fast and Pippa Jarman was the only driver to get it right and yet she had 5 driving penalties. The box was a great idea but as gate number 2 most drivers felt it came too soon in the overall course and also its design unquestionably favoured the smaller ponies...and Gareth Roberts who treated it as a scurry obstacle. Amanda Wells on the other hand treated it as a show jumping exercise when her tandem leader, Rupert, jumped over one element and on command jumped back again all without knocking down a ball...that Amanda is such a show off!! But if the cones course came in for some criticism the obstacles were surely the best seen at an indoor event...ever

But you don't want the facts you want the gossip and the talking points. One big issue was the partial amalgamation of the junior and novice classes. Let's try to clear up the facts. Throughout the season there have been no separate junior classes and to get to the finals juniors either had to win two events in their own right or qualify as the best junior in the regions. Those who qualified with two or more wins were amalgamated into the Novice Pony class and those who were invited as best junior were in a separate junior class. This meant for the finals that some of the juniors were competing in two classes...junior and novice. This got the attention of some of the adult novice pony drivers who were quite vociferous about competing in the same class with juniors...or was it because they were being beaten by juniors (surely I'm being too cynical). At the end of the day Philippa Howe won both the Junior and Novice Pony classes...deservedly as well, and is now giving her mum, Sara, lessons. 

The other main issue is somewhat more subtle and is by no means resolved...and can perhaps be summed up in a word...'maturity'. The indoor driving concept is now in its 5th year and in its desire to be different from outdoor FEI could be in danger of losing its way as it matures. This is a personal opinion of the author but it seems to me that it will have to adopt the disciplines of BHDTA driving principles or be totally different - it can't sit in both camps. There was a lot of concern expressed by the more experienced FEI National level drivers and BHDTA officials present about the standard of dress and driving styles and competence level of some of the competitors. The dash for speed at all costs irrespective of driving technique was causing some heated debate. But if this is what the indoor scene is all about then so be it...but how can it then live with the BHDTA guidelines and concepts.     

The other price to be paid for maturity is a need for a clearer definition of the rules governing indoor driving. Many of the competitors seem to treat the whole experience a little more seriously than some of the organisers. The price of maturity may be that the rules governing the sport now need to be written down and no longer determined by a 'phone call to Dick Carey for a ruling. But wouldn't it be shame if it became stuffy and detached like the BHDTA....there goes that cynicism again. See you all in 2003.         

Novice Pony

Novice Horse

Open Pony

Open Horse

Pairs

Tandem