Indulged myself w/ driving lesson this weekend.

[acorn]

A friend of friend recommended a farm up in Ames, Iowa as "the place" to go when they have a gal from New England in for driving lessons. 6 weeks ago I reserved two time slots and the lessons were this weekend. I had a blast.

I took Chubby Sam and he was the perfect gentleman the whole weekend. I'm always humbled by the gifts horses keep tucked away then give us when we ask. I mean, he was hauled 5 hours all by himself, rested for 2.5 hours then had a one hour driving lesson. He spent the night in a stable completely unfamiliar to him, complete w/ a mega overnight storm and was his same steady Eddie for our second lesson this morning. Can't say enough good things about my little guy. ;D If he were hauled out several times a month this would be nothing remarkable however the last time he was hauled that far was 2 plus years ago when I bought him and Pippin. Since then he has only been hauled a handful of times locally and always with his room mate in the trailer.

Robin Groves was the instructor. She has done all manner of distance riding and driving over the years. She had a wonderful sense of humor and always showed you the light at the end of the tunnel. She explained how to take my astride riding ques and transport them to driving. Of course I liked hearing the sincere things she said about my little guy. He got lots of "atta boys" from her.

The folks hosting the lessons were honest and authentic horsemen. It's all about basics and doing it safe. I was the lone out of stater- everyone else was local and just as sweet and kind as could be. The Iowa Vacation council should hire these folks to be their representatives!

OTOH, I am whooped!!!

[Deleted]

That sounds like so much fun!

[Yip]

That must have been a rewarding experience all around. You BOTH done great! Chubby Sam deserves a handful of carrots every day for a month for pulling this off for you.

[Chrisnstar]

oh how awesome! You DID take pictures didn't you?\

chris

[acorn]

A gals husband took photos and she said they would email them to me. If that happens then I'll have photos!!! Otherwise, I have a video tape of my second lesson but NO ONE will see that tape. Know why?? Because I wore comfortable Rockies jeans for one reason- a driving lesson w/ a 5 hour drive home right afterwards. However, when being video taped as I drove away from the camera my butt is very wiggly in that open seat cart in those loose jeans!! Next time I'll drive in "Way to Tight 5 Pocket Wranglers" to keep my butt still!!

What was so funny is the instructor didn't think Sam was any too fat coming out of winter, yeah! He pulsed down ASAP and the fact that I blanket clipped him helped keep him cooler.

[Mary Ann]

What sorts of things did you work on? Half halts? Turns? I can hardly wait to start driving my pony this spring! I love to drive, but haven't had anyone who could do it for awhile, and I didn't get the job done last year. It sure sounds like you had a blast; thanks for sharing your day!

Do you plan to compete in ADS shows?

[acorn]

She had me work on implusion, using my whip correctly (it takes the place of a leg aid), prompt transitions, circles and "S" turns. The instructor was Robin Groves who has competed in endurance riding and endurance driving along w/ all other things driving.

My goal is CDE- competitve driving events- when they offer a VSE- very small equine- division. I would love to do a plain ADS show but I have yet to learn of any in my local area. Sam is my backburner guy- right now Acorn has all of my free time and competitive goals but if she or I flop along the LD/CTR path then Sam becomes my #1 project!

Sam does have one VERY important event April 22- my 17 year old daughter is using him for "Walk In' at her Jr/Sr Prom! Prom arrival at the high school is a huge, fun deal- kids arrive in any and all manner of transport mode. We had a Jane Austin era dress made for her- gold brocade- and it will look perfect w/ the Country Cart and Sam! That is my kind of prom- I get to oversee a kid and horse get ready!!!

[Sheryl]

That sounds really fun! Do you think ADS will add a very small equine division? I know there is some controversy about the minis being up to the Marathon.

I grew up with Shetland ponies and those ponies stayed sound (and yet still fat) on a lot of work so I know they are tough. We had one driving pony named Misty and she would trot to beat the band all over our little farm, up and down small hills etc with usually two passengers in our light little 2 wheeled training cart. She was a very stubborn pony with some bad pony habits (only horse that ever bit me - I was bruised all up and down my arm) but under harness, she was all business - no spook, no refusal, no bolt and really anyone could drive her. I am guessing she was probably in the 40-42" range, she was our smallest Shetland, but she was very strong for her size. I don't know enough about mini's to know how they compare to a Shetland's abilities, but Shetlands are tough.

My sister and I taught Misty to be a riding pony too (you trainers out there don't want to know that I rode bareback on top of her harness while Linda drove her so she could get used to a rider). We never did get her to neck rein, but hey I was like 8 or 9 years old so what did I know about training? She was the pony that we put the novice neighbor kid on while I rode his bigger and faster Welsh pony that he was scared of... Misty took care of little Steven, but I think she could have done a driving marathon too!

Gosh, I didn't mean to co-opt your subject.... I just went wandering down memory lane. My dad "raised" Shetland ponies for awhile so we had a farm full of them. I have lots of pony stories!
Sheryl

[acorn]

You didn't co-opt the thread Sheryl- your shetlands sound like they were a blast to have! I don't much care for what is known as the "Modern Shetland" which is IMO a scaled down Saddlebred horse. I like the pony faced, pleasantly round and proportioned working Shetland pony.

Gosh, I do not know what direction ADS will provide, if any, for minis. I don't fault the groups for saying "uh we cannot be all things to all size horses". In the VSE divison of CDE everything is scaled down- dressage, cones & marathon for the little guys. They can fit up like a big horse and perform an appropriate size task.

At the host barn on Saturday a gal was brining out her to die for bay TB gelding- a 16.3 working TB that hunts and trail rides. We visited and she told a story about a friend who takes a flake of hay and a machete (sp) to cube the hay flake for his mini's. I told her I bet I get more hours of riding to the flake but she probably got there faster with her flake rations.

In a dreamy way what I enjoy about the driving is the history associated with it. I am in no way at all anything but a beginning driver and admirer but I do enjoying learning about the various carriages, carts, harness and reasons for driver turnouts. Lots of fun!

[carton22]

Was looking for a good driving school who gives best driving lessons. Came to know about Port Macquarie Driving School and joined it. Very happy with their service. They give awesome lessons which make driving easy and interesting.