Nederlands Connemara pony stamboek

Driving

Driving is something you can do in so many ways. You can go for a ride on a Sunday afternoon, you can do a tracking for a few days. And if you want to join a competition, you can also choose different forms. There is dressage that could be compared with riding dressage: Obedience and souplesse and of course correctness of the figures you have to drive is also important in this type of sport.

Another kind of performance is driving through cones. You could compare it with showjumping, but of course you don't have to go over and obstacle, but you have to go in between two cones. On these cones are balls, waiting to get knocked of as soon as the horse or the carriage touch the cones. There are approximately 18 gates and you have to go through the whole track within a time limit.

Combined driving is great fun. You start with a dressage test, a track on the road, a track with combined obstacles and at the end: the cones. It is a whole day work, competing in a combined driving game.

The combined obstacles can be ver different: 5 or 6 gates have to be taken in a definite order. In which way you go through these gates depends on the kind of combination you form. A little carriage with a Shetlandpony can choose a different path than a four-in-hand combination horses. These obstacles can contain bridges, water and tunnels in very different ways. You need a horse that is not easily scared by strange things.


Already some years ago in the top of National competition, two four-in-hand Connemara teams were active. Messrs. Alta and Martens did great work with their Connemara's.	The Ausems family go often for holidays tracking with (most of the time) two Connemara ponies and a carriage. Here you see them crossing a little river.

Jaap Broers has been active in driving Connemara's for years already. Sometimes one, sometimes two Connemara's. With the two fullsisters First and Future van de Kiboets he forms a combination that is hard to be overlooked. Two lovely white Connemara's performing very well. The pictures show them in dressage and driving cross-country.


A nice two-in-hand lives on Texel: Bento and Rainbow: two big greys who enjoy competition together with their owner Hans Jimmink.

The stallion Brimstone van Graaf Janshof is also active in driving competition. Have a look at him during dressage and getting ready to pass the bridge in a marathon.

Of course you could also enjoy a lovely ride in the country. A group drivers have been to Limburg in September 2001 and enjoyed two days of driving in these beautiful surroundings. The sight is lovely sitting on the carriage.