Driven Dressage has been run with qualifying competitions at Romsey, Wunhgnu, Dromana, Longwood and Woodend. We have many drivers coming through the ranks and this was an excellent opportunity for competitors to bring out their young combinations in a very non-threatening environment. The drivers that have competed at several of these days have improved in their accuracy and paces. Most competitors have been competing in the Novice CC classes.

The OutBack Jacks Driven Dressage Championships was hosted by the Australian Carriage Driving Society Victorian Branch Dressage Panel at the magnificent Kings Park Oval, Seymour - the arena being the pride and joy of the Management Committee. So we used the brand new seeded arena of the footy and cricket guys. What a coup!
We were only going to have access to the arena if the rain held off the week prior and it was looking a little dubious on the Tuesday prior as they had up to 19mms! There are a few conditions of use for this venue and one of the biggest (for us) is NO cars on the Oval. Our ever-generous judges were well rugged up and sat on chairs under umbrellas. It was exceedingly cool and became more so as the day proceeded.

We had several competitors in the Preliminary classes for singles with the overall winner of that class being relatively new driver Kate Hagley from Swan Hill. Marg Bowen won the Preliminary Multiple. This pair is a great example of competing with a combination and bringing them through the ranks. Another new starter is young Stacey Rhodes driving her Mum's latest combination. Stacey only turned 12 over Easter and qualified at the last two days. She performed very well with a 64.06%. Stacey also placed in 2nd position and 3rd going to Kate Hagley. Kate also won the award to best performed pony under 11.3¾ hh.
We also had one multiple competing in the CC tests with Win Westerhoff's team of Friesian derivatives. Paula Rhodes unfortunately was the only competitor in the Intermediate as we had some scratchings in that class.

The Kur has started to cause some interest after the first one was held at Longwood over the Easter. This time we had two competitors - Kate Hagley driving to a gentle piece and Win Westerhoff driving a Scottish Reel. This was a little like David and Goliath with Kate's pony standing at around 10.2hh and the team ranging to 15.2hh. Both drivers caused some very emotive responses to spectators. Kate was the eventual winner.

Thanks go to all the people who kindly donated their time and expertise to make this first Championship such a success. The day was extremely enjoyable and stress-free. We are looking forward to the series growing with other clubs being excited by the opportunities the competition offers, encouraging their members to both run and compete in them.

Kate Wholagan
ACDS Victorian Branch Driven Dressage Convenor

Judge Margo Nankivell with penciller Bev Bresanello

Judge Maxine Fitzgerald with Margie Morgan pencilling