ARCHIVE 2011

National Young Drivers Meet 19 November 2011

The evening of Friday 18th saw the first meeting of the new council.  The role of the area reps was discussed and the expectations are that they need to organize at least one regional training session, recruit any young drivers in their area that aren’t aware of the BYD, encourage write ups of regional activities and fundraise with the help of their area. New systems such as ‘buddies’ and trainer allocation at camps were discussed and will be brought up at the on-foot training session on 29^th January.

 Saturday the 19^th of November saw the highest level of the British Young Drivers, the National Drivers coming together for a sports psychology meeting as well as a discussion on plans for 2012. The day started with a talk from Nichola Kentzer BSc (Hons) PGCE on training for excellence. This engaged the Young Drivers and Para drivers in discussions and activities based on a number of different subjects including motivation, preparation and relaxation. The Young Drivers and Para drivers were then shown some ways of dealing with these subjects in a competition and training environment. The ideas presented by Nichola gave everybody a lot to think about.

The Young Drivers then stopped for a marvellous lunch cooked by the talented resident chef of the Unicorn Trust Fran.

In the afternoon Rosanna Walter-Symons presented the results from the recent feed back forms that were all very positive and with some useful ideas. Alice Pritchard and Alice Stables then presented the information on cross discipline training that they had gathered following the first ‘BEF Youth Action meeting’ they attended.  We can learn a lot from looking at other equestrian disciplines and this will help us to develop our own training system.

 After lunch there was then a meeting chaired by the committee members Alice Pritchard, Alice Stables and Mike Hodgson. The meeting discussed issues such as the annual display the Young Drivers perform at Brockham Harness Clubs Carriage Fair. Fundraising for the British Young Drivers in general as well as the rapidly approaching Junior World Trophy in Austria was discussed. Many other issues were discussed and will shortly be made available to all.

The British Young Drivers would like to extend their thanks to Nichola Kentzer for her talk, and to Sidney Smith for organising the event.

 James Gambs & Alice Stables

BHDTA Young Drivers Trophy

National Championships 2011

This year was my first time at the Windsor National Championships and can only be described as a fantastic experience. At the start of the season my only goal was to complete a Novice qualifier with my mum’s pony Bluechip Jasper and we qualified at our first event at Windsor Park. September soon came around and before I knew it we were getting ready to leave. We arrived on the Thursday to set up camp and walk obstacles as well as to give Bluechip Jasper a chance to soak up the atmosphere. Friday dawned and the frantic polishing for our standing presentation began! I was almost the last to do dressage at 4.20pm which meant an agonising wait but I needed have worried, we had one of our highest ever marks for presentation and Jasper received his best ever dressage score, putting us in 6^th place. In complete contrast on Saturday we had one of the earliest marathon times and we were ready at the start of section A well before 7.30am. The marathon route was spectacular, through the Deer park where we came round the corner to find three massive stags, stood on the hill, just metres away from us. Having negotiated the obstacles we slipped slightly to 7^th and had the rest of the day left to watch the displays and browse the shops. Sunday was a true test of the drivers’ nerve and I was thrilled to come away with a double clear and to hold my 7^th place.

I have now completed my first National Championships and truly enjoyed every moment

 A big congratulations to all the class champions and a massive thank you to the organisers for all their hard work but also to my own friends and family who supported me throughout the weekend and to all those who generously sponsored the event, as it would not have happened otherwise.

Amber O'Neil

Young Drivers Championships 2011

We arrived at Henbury to find an unusual obstacle 1 in the shape of a large articulated lorry stuck in the gateway! Help and advice was, however, quickly on hand, as it was all weekend, and our trailer was towed in for us so that we could take a run at the mud in the lorry. We were soon parked up in a lovely spot, although we were a bit worried about how we would get out on Sunday if the rain continued as promised.
It did not take me long to find dressage arena and cones, which were lovely and flat and looked as if they would drive very well. Throughout Friday evening we were made very welcome by all of the Chester club members who had so kindly agreed to share their competition with the Juniors and Paras.
There was more rain overnight and Saturday morning started wet as expected. I thought my luck was in when the cloud broke and the sun appeared just before we harnessed up, but the rain (which felt more like hail) returned just as I finished warming up and I ended up having to drive without my glasses because I could not see through them.  Even in the wet conditions the dressage arena drove beautifully, as did the cones. Then it was off to walk obstacles.

We found all six obstacles within easy walking distance and set about working out our routes. They had been very nicely flagged with lots of different possibilities, and it was nice to bump into people we had not met before out walking. I particularly enjoyed walking all the obstacles with the other young drivers getting tips and assistance from the National YDs.
At the TD's briefing we were told that classes 1 and 2 would not be driving sections A and D which was a relief. The going was terrible and the small ponies would have found the full marathon difficult. I was glad that I knew that Pickle would have plenty of go left for the fun part. The Saturday night hog roast and entertainment were great, and once again we were all made to feel very welcome by our hosts. We went to walk the obstacles after supper and were lucky enough to see a thick mist come down over the parkland in front of the hall which was breathtaking.
The weather on Sunday was better, but the ground was still wet and slippery. Luckily for me I was pretty much first through the obstacles, so they had not been cut up too much and they drove really nicely. My only worrying moment was the 1 km marker which seemed to come up very early and made us worry that we had gone wrong on the course. We later found out that lots of others had had the same worry.
We shared an excellent prize giving with the paras followed by the usual group photo with the Baileys banner before we all made a dash for the road before the entrance became too slippery again.
I had a fantastic weekend and would like to thank Mr. de Ferranti for hosting the event and the Chester club for organising it so well and making us so welcome. We will definitely be going again next year. I would also like to thank all the sponsors who help keep the event and the BYD going - Baileys who I have already mentioned but also Horse First and the Worshipful Company of Saddlers.

Grace Smith

BHDTA Young Drivers Summer Clinic

16-19 August 2011

Open to young drivers up to the age of 25, this clinic caters for all levels of experience, the trainers are UKCC Coaches and the atmosphere is fun and friendly.   The clinic is organised by the East Anglian Carriage Driving Group, and held at Ashfields Carriage Driving Centre near Stansted in Essex, where the facilities are great.

Report from Mark Bell

May I say on behalf of the all the British Young Drivers a big thank you to Terry Chambers, Wilf Bowman-Ripley and Zoe Morgan for having us and organising this excellent annual event. The food was brilliant with first class facilities, service and training to match.

British Young Drivers on Foot   Jan 2011

This year’s on foot meeting in Stow was particularly interesting one thanks to a fantastic talk from Diana Brownlie. Diana has given us all a fantastic insight into improving our dressage and the welfare of our horses; we went through each of the paces at a time explaining exactly what is expected from each movement. Diana also showed us how to break down our dressage tests in order to be prepared for each moment, when to change bend and that rhythm is one of the most important aspects of your test.

Later we were shown dressage videos which we were encouraged to analyse and discuss. We also took the chance to look at Boyd’s World Championship test from Kentucky and hopefully have learnt a thing or two.

In the evening we had a fabulous talk about an expedition to Borneo, describing tales of leadership, friendship and teamwork. As well as a rather interesting tale about a latrine!

It was a fantastic meeting and Thank you to Diana, Sydney, Mary Jane and the whole team at the Unicorn Trust for giving us all a wonderful weekend.

Hannah Kelly

Excel Development Lab Day Feb 2011 

 Edge Hill University

There is no doubt that the competition environment is becoming more and more competitive, with classes won and lost on the closest of margins.   It is becoming apparent that gaining that edge over fellow competitors is becoming vitally important. 

The purpose of the development day at Edge Hill University was to give 30 of the top British Drivers the opportunity to see and experience the additional aspects of performance needed at the highest level – many aspects are often over looked by equestrian disciplines.

The day started with a screening session, where all Drivers’ blood pressure; height and weight was assessed.  Then after a brief introduction by Jennie Killilea, - the British Equestrian Federation’s Sports Psychologist  -  the Drivers were divided into two groups for the morning sessions, which were Sports Psychology and Nutrition.

The Psychology sessions involved ‘Performance Profiling’- this gave the Drivers the opportunity to really think about their performance on a one to one basis, with a trained Sports Science student.   All Drivers came away with areas for improvement, for example, communication with their team etc.   The Nutrition session then gave the Drivers a reminder of the importance of a good diet and the affect it can have on performance.  With the aid of plastic food, the Drivers had to design a whole days worth of meals, considering the factors needed for a good diet.

These sessions were then followed by a ‘fun’ fitness circuit, which was nervously anticipated.  The exercises were strength related, but could be adapted to the individual’s ability.  Overall strength improvement can not only improve performance, but reduce risk of injury, such as strains. 

After an hour break for lunch, the groups rotated between a lifestyle workshop, which emphasised the importance of goal setting and planning, while the other group did a physiological testing session, which got everyone involved.

Overall the day helped the Drivers to recognise the areas in which they need to improve, to achieve their very best performance.  The day also made the Drivers more aware that they are athletes, not just the horse - even if sometimes it doesn’t seem that way.   

Rosanna W-Symons