Powys Carriage Driving Group

The Mid Wales region has now held four of its indoor events with classes affiliated to the Indoor Driving Championships league as well as club classes and a special short class of just dressage and cones. While entries aren’t huge they are most definitely of high quality with drivers competing who finish in the top ten at Keysoe.Jonarthan Rees, Emily Ham, Alison Dascombe, Jack Kedward and Rebecca Jones are all competing superbly in their affiliated classes.

Jonathan Rees is on top form in Open Horse winning each time out in Mid Wales with very consistent dressage, three times Best Dressage Score of the Day, and cones and superb fast obstacles. He has recently started competing in the Wales and Gloucester region and is already leading the points there too with his willing warmblood KWNP Bob and experienced back up crew of Janice and Peter Sidebottom. Peter, who backsteps, was the BC National Intermediate champion with his own young trotter cross in 2015.

Emily Ham missed the first two events due to the devastating loss of her wonderful Section C pony Mr J who took her to the top nationally and internationally in driving trials as well as in Private driving. Thanks to the amazing generosity of other drivers she has been offered ponies to compete indoors – something she has done unfailingly every year since 2005 when she first started driving with Sherry the 8 hand Shetland. At the December and January events Victoria Kedward loaned Emily her show stallion Gurnos Welsh Eyecatcher. For their first time together, after fifteen minutes of warm up to get to know the pony, the duo were over the moon to put in the Best dressage of the day- impressing the affiliated judge who awarded them just 16.5 pens! The responsive little Section C didn’t put a foot wrong all day – although Emily knocked a couple of cones in style with blurry vision having torn her eyeball on a bridle hook at the stables two days before! They had a short warm up canter before the obstacles and Eyecatcher proved willing and responsive giving her a great score for their first partnering. Their partnership is coming on well with the second highest dressage of the day at the recent January event, just 4 penalties in cones and good obstacles at their second time driving together.

Alison Dascombe has a fun new drive in Section A Honeybee who is one of her riding school ponies who she broke to drive herself. This whizzy little pony loves to canter and gallop and turns on a sixpence. Alison is top of the points in the Intermediate Pony class with her,and has achieved the magica double clear in the cones! 

Rebecca Jones, Alison’s backstepper, is also doing very well in Novice Pony with Honeybee in her first season of affiliated three phase competition. Rebecca has won the rosette for the Best Novice dressage three times with this great little all rounder pony. Jack Kedward, 14, is heading the Novice Pony class with his versatile homebred Howell and is always one to watch in the obstacles with extremely fast times and good lines. At the last two events he has had the fastest obstacles and the coveted 100% score. Last time out he romped home with the best score of the day!

Mum  Vicky Kedward is competing very successfully winning the club class and dressage and cones class driving different homebred ponies. The Gurnos stud produce lovely registered Welsh ponies for performance and are regular winners in the WPCS Performance awards in many ridden categories as well as driving ones!

Tracey Jones has also competed at every event in the dressage and cones class with her coloured cob Vegas put to a four wheeler – a bit of a change after driving a two wheeler for so long but Tracey is enjoying the challenge and each event sees her improve her personal best score which is always so satisfying and one of the great challenges of competing indoors!

Indoor driving gives everyone an opportunity to enjoy a day out with dressage, cones and obstacles…our most adventurous competitor has been Jane Logan driving Tristar’s coach horse Tango as a first timer in Novice Horse. This being a totally different experience to being out with a team on a coaching run, they were delighted to compete every phase and especially to go clear through a very competitive cones course.