CDE 4 VSE

FAQs

Am I allowed to wear a helmet? When am I required to wear a helmet?
Do I need to braid my horse for CDE's?
When is it okay to canter?
What is a spares kit and what do I have to have in it?
How much does the average CDE cost?
Do you have to use blinkers?
Why is carrying the whip so emphasized in combined driving?
Why don’t you people use checks? Isn’t that a safety risk?
What shouldn’t I do at a CDE?

Am I allowed to wear a helmet? When am I required to wear a helmet?

Junior drivers are required to wear a helmet at all times, and all whips must wear one on the marathon. While it isn’t traditional you ARE allowed to wear an approved helmet in all phases of combined driving! They cannot mark you down for it and it is a very good idea, especially if you aren’t sure of your horse or the terrain you will be driving over. A nice black helmet can look very classy and you can dress it up with a colorful cover for marathon. Plus it has the advantage of removing all chance that your hat might blow away at the worst possible moment!

Do I need to braid my horse for CDE's?

It is optional to braid your horse but many people do it to give a more elegant appearance. You can do hunter braids, French braids, Continental braids, whatever takes your fancy. Usually the tail is left loose and only the mane and forelock neatened up. It is perfectly acceptable to show with a loose mane as well, you will not be marked down unless it truly hinders the judge’s ability to see your horse (think Thelwell pony here). If you don’t show in the breed ring with the same horse you can even roach or pull the mane to give a truly miniaturized appearance. Whatever you do, choose a style that compliments your horse’s neck and the overall feel of your turnout.

For marathon, the tail is usually done up in a mud knot to keep it clean and the mane is often braided to allow heat to dissipate easily. You can use colored vet wrap on the mud knot to match your outfit, but be careful you don’t cut off the circulation in the tailbone.

When is it okay to canter?

The rules about this are a little funny right now. At one time everyone was allowed to canter in cones and marathon hazards but a few years ago it was decided that inexperienced drivers were unsafely attempting speeds they were not ready for. The ADS tried to change the rules so that training level horses could not canter at all. They partially succeeded but somehow in a strange bureaucratic error one of the changes didn’t make it into the rule book. As a result, training level horses are not allowed to canter in hazards but can canter in cones. If your horse breaks into a canter in the hazards you have five strides to pull them back down to a trot before you are penalized. Preliminary level and up can canter in both cones and hazards but face the same five-stride penalty if they canter outside of the hazard zones.

What is a spares kit and what do I have to have in it?

A spares kit is a sort of small emergency packet carried on the carriage during marathon. The rules have changed in the last few years and there is no longer a specific list of spares you must carry, you just have to have “a spares kit.”

Realistically there are certain things you ought to have in case of emergency. With a sharp knife, a halter and lead (those rope halters are great for this as they don’t take up much room), some zip ties, baling twine and electrical tape there isn’t much you can’t fix or handle. Throw in a hole punch and all-purpose wrench and you are probably as prepared as you can be. Anything else that breaks like a wheel spoke bending, the rubber rim peeling off, or a shaft or axle breaking will require you to withdraw anyway. The safety checksheet is designed to make sure you’ve inspected your harness for worn buckles, weak spots in the leather, and other things that might break but accidents happen and if you have a spare trace or rein it would be a good idea to throw that in too. Put all of this inside a waterproof baggie or container to keep it dry through the water hazards and you are ready to go.

How much does the average CDE cost?

As in most sports, somehow the entry fee always ends up being the least of it. The average entry fee for a combined driving event seems to range between $100 and $125 for two to three days. If self-stalling is allowed you can save a lot of money because stalls usually add between $60-75 for a weekend. You need to either buy or bring lunches for three days, there are exhibitor dinners if you choose to participate in them (you can always eat at your campsite and then sit at the table to chat), and the ADS non-member fee is $15 per event if you are procrastinating on your membership. The fees can be applied towards your membership for that year with a voucher if you decide to join later.

I basically budget $200-250 dollars plus the cost of any event photos I want to purchase, gas and/or hotel. Every CDE I've been to allows tent camping even if you don't have an RV so if you’re hardy that can be another way to save money.

Do you have to use blinkers?

No. The ADS allows driving in an open bridle in CDE’s and depending on your horse it may or may not be a good idea. Some horses have trouble focusing if they can see all the activity around them and may drive better in a set of blinkers. Others are nervous because they can’t see and prefer an open bridle so they can identify the strange noises all around. If you change the kind of bridle you use please be safe and take some time to reintroduce your horse to driving from the ground up so he can get used to the sight of the cart following him or to not being able to see things that are approaching. In my opinion a truly well-finished driving horse will have been introduced to both methods and can switch comfortably between them at need.

Why is carrying the whip so emphasized in combined driving?

Dressage, whether ridden or driven, is all about teaching the horse to carry themselves. They must learn to shift their weight to their hindquarters in order to elevate the forehand, and to step under themselves on turns so that they remain balanced and agile. As you might imagine this is a lot of hard physical work for the horse! The ridden animal has the rider’s weight, seat, and leg to support them in the task and help them find their balance. The driven horse lacks this and has the additional complication of having to balance the constantly shifting, bouncing weight of the cart and the drag it offers while still moving correctly. The reins become more important than ever but sometimes the horse needs a reminder to pick up their shoulder or bend their ribcage and the whip is an invaluable tool for such reminders. It replaces the rider’s leg and acts as an extension of the driver’s will, signaling the horse to move away from pressure. The whip is never an object of punishment. A good dressage driver will use the whip to encourage the horse to always strive a little harder, bend a little deeper, hold the arc a little longer, and work towards the next level.

Why don’t you people use checks? Isn’t that a safety risk?

Most people who start out driving miniature horses have been taught that a check, either a sidecheck or overcheck, is a standard piece of equipment. After all, it seems to come on most harnesses! Often the rationale is given that it is a piece of safety equipment, that it is there to keep the horse from getting his head down and bucking. There may be some truth to this idea but it seems to me that the only way to completely prevent bucking via a check is to tie the horse’s head up so high they physically can’t round their back up to kick out. Unfortunately, this is very uncomfortable for the horse and completely prevents good elastic movement as that also involves rounding the back. The only other safety purpose a check may have originally served was to keep a coaching horse from being able to drop his head down and perhaps get the old-fashioned slobber bar on his bit hooked on the shafts or pole and causing a horrible accident. But basically checks are about getting a stylishly high headset and always have been.

The ADS does not allow overchecks of any kind and sidechecks only in training level at CDE’s because (among other reasons) they go against the purpose of dressage training. Dressage is about teaching the horse to carry himself gracefully and powerfully without needing to be held in place by artificial means. Incidentally, you cannot perform a free walk on a long rein—an important double-score movement in training level tests—if the horse is unable to stretch down due to a check.

If you are concerned that your horse may buck you can use something called a “kicking strap,” which is a strap that goes across the rump and uses the weight of the cart to prevent the rump from lifting. The horse can move normally in all ways right up until he tries to kick or buck and then he is brought up short.

What shouldn’t I do at a CDE?

Two notes here- at an ADS event, do not, repeat- do NOT ground drive your horse with the cart attached. This is standard practice for miniature horse drivers but it is severely frowned on by those with larger horses because of the risk of the horse pulling away from you and taking off with the cart attached. Doing this will get you immediately reprimanded and doing it again after that will get you eliminated. They are serious about this, so don’t do it. For the same safety reason, do not hitch or unhitch your horse without his bridle on and reins attached. If he should pull away he would be loose among the exhibitors, spectators, and other hitched horses dragging his cart with no way to catch or control him and the ADS does not take this lightly. In fact they are so serious about this rule that it is stated in most show packets in bold print and if you are caught breaking it, you’re eliminated. Period. No second chances, no “I didn’t know,” no excuses. Gone. It only takes watching one loose rig to understand why they are so fanatical about preventing a driverless runaway. Please do your part to keep the event safe and fun and only attach the cart to your horse when you are ready to get in and drive, no matter how bombproof your little friend is.