What is Combined Driving?
Combined Driving is the "Three Day Eventing" of the driven equestrian sports world. The sport consists of three phases: Driven Dressage, Marathon, and Obstacle Cone Driving. This may be done with a single horse or pony ("Singles"), two horses or ponies paired across or in tandem ("Pairs"), or four horses or ponies configured as two pairs in tandem ("Four-In-Hand").
Phase A: Driven Dressage
Phase A consists of two parts: A1 Presentation and A2 Driven Dressage. During Phase A1 (Presentation), teams are awarded scores based on turnout (overall appearance and adherence to tack and apparel standards), safety, and cleanliness. At this point, horses deemed unfit to compete will be disqualified. Phase A2 (Driven Dressage) is similar to a ridden dressage test. Horses/teams complete a pre-designated set of test elements in order, in a 40 by 80 or 40 by 100 metre arena with letter markers. In the case of pairs and teams, the horses are also judged on their ability to move in harmony and thus teams should ideally have similar conformation, action, and movement.
Phase B: Marathon
The marathon phases is completed on a 10–22 km course, divided into 3 or 5 sections. Similar in its purpose to the second phase (Cross Country) in eventing, marathon tests the speed, fitness, stamina and endurance of the horse or team. The obstacle section of this phase may include water, tight twists through natural or man-made obstacles, steep hills, or fences and pens.
Each section of this phase have both a minimum and maximum time allowed, to ensure that horses are not overworked and to encourage a knowledge of pacing in the human team. Finishing under minimum time results in penalty points. Finishing above minimum time but below maximum time results in penalty points. Finishing above maximum time results in disqualification. The winning team is the team with the fewest penalty points.
Phase C: Obstacle Cone Driving
Similar to the show jumping phase of eventing, this phase tests the agility and obedience of the horse or team. The horse or team is asked to navigate a course of up to 20 pairs of cones, passing between the cones without dislodging the balls balanced on top of each cone. This event is score by time, with an additional 3 seconds added for each dislodged ball. Circling before passing between cones is considered a refusal, and results in additional penalties.
The course may also include rails or low bridges, and the gap between cones (space for the horse/team to pass through) depends on the level of competition. For example, for Singles Horses divisions, a training level course sets the cones 50cm apart, while advanced sets them just 22cm apart.
Miscellaneous Driven Classes
Scurry is a just-for-fun cones class where horses are paired at random and sent through a Preliminary level Phase C course. Penalties are awarded for dislodging balls, but not for refusals.
Roadster is similar to harness racing, though it is not breed-specific and need not be run on a specialized track. These events are often held on roads, hence the name "roadster." These classes are singles only, and split into minis, ponies, horses and drafts.
Carriage Driving is a pleasure class wherein horses pull antique carriages and execute walk, trot and canter. These classes are judged on turnout, suitability of horse and carriage, and obedience.
Carriage Dog Any combination of horse, carriage/buggy/cart/etc., driver and dog may be used for this class. (Sorry, at this time we do not register and track performance on the dogs.) The horse must execute walk, trot, canter, stop, turns and reversals. The dog must ride in the vehicle, either standing or sitting, and though it may wear a leash the leash must not be tied to the vehicle. The dog may be asked to dismount and re-mount the carriage during stops, and the horse should be tolerant of the dog's movements on the ground.
Miscellaneous Ridden Classes
Ridden dressage tests, from Introductory through to Prix St Georges, are offered to our competitors. These includes standard tests, musical freestyles / kurs, and equitation classes.