'Driving Back to Sport' got off to a flying start in January at Ashfields Equestrian Centre in Essex, with 34 keen participants enjoying a day of introduction to the sport.

Minta Winn led the team of ten UKCC coaches who worked together to shape the pilot day, and provided workshops on all aspects from cones to dressage- there was even a chance for everyone to take the reins and drive a carriage for the first time!

By the end of the day 32 applicants had signed up to continue for the remaining four sessions, and head coach and manager at Ashfields, Wilf Bowman Ripley, was delighted with the success of the opening event; "It couldn't have gone better. We had a fantastic bunch of participants, and we're all really looking forward to our next sessions. It's great to see so many enthusiastic new faces to the sport of carriage driving, and we've seen some excellent potential today."

The feedback session at the end of the day gleaned very positive feedback from participants, including; "Opportunities likes this just don't come up. I have had such a fun day and have thoroughly enjoyed learning so much from the coaches. Getting the chance to actually drive a carriage was just brilliant."

The coaches are now looking forward to rolling out the programme at the other three venues: Fenix Carriages in Devon, Bennington Carriages in Nottinghamshire and Adlington Equestrian Centre in Cheshire.

Lucy Cooper

Unfortunately all venues in the current round of courses are now fully subscribed. For details of upcoming courses in Kent and Yorkshire, please email lucy@instinctivepr.co.uk

Driving Back to Sport open for applications (December 2011)