The Northern California Driving Club

Presents

A Sporting Day of Traditional Driving

at Shady Oaks in Lodi

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Put on your finest duds, polish your brass, shine up the harness, and come along for a day of driving fun, with a little competition thrown in.  Walt and Kathy Ashford will be our Turnout Judges, and will provide helpful feedback and suggestions to each participant.   Advance entry is required.

This special pleasure drive is designed to recreate a feeling of days gone by when driving in the park was a Sunday pastime. A day when families and individuals dressed in their best and either rode horses or drove them. Some were owner-driven, others were coachman-driven and assisted by grooms.

This drive includes some friendly competition.  All turnouts are invited, but Traditional vehicles such as antiques, reproductions and pleasure driving/presentation vehicles are encouraged and may be given preference.   There is also a non-traditional class, intended for modern vehicles such as marathon carriages. 

A groom or passenger is encouraged for singles.  A groom is required for pairs, and an additional groom is required for each additional horse in the turnout.

Note that this is not an appropriate activity for a green horse.  The venue is a working ranch, and you may encounter farm vehicles, barking dogs, irrigation pumps and other farm equipment.

Attire:

Your turnout will be judged on cleanliness, suitability and overall impression. Contemporary dress such as business attire, as seen in most pleasure driving shows or dressage & cones competition is the recommended dress for the day.  Degree of formality depends on the horse and carriage. It is suggested that long or three quarter length jacket sleeves may be worn by the ladies and long sleeve jackets and ties for the men. Brown gloves should be worn, suitable hats for everyone on the carriage should be worn (not too floppy so the wind doesn't catch it and take it away!) and dress for the season is appropriate. All drivers must carry a whip, and wear an apron or lap robe (depending on the carriage). The entry number must be clearly visible on the carriage.

A question that frequently comes up : "Does my passenger need to wear an apron?"  The answer depends on whether the second person on your carriage is a Groom or a Passenger.  A Groom would, traditionally, be an employee whose job would be to assist the driver, including exiting the carriage to head the horse as needed.  A Groom would not wear an apron, and would normally be dressed in slacks and a jacket with sensible shoes, hat and gloves.  If the person is a Passenger, then he or she is your guest for a lovely drive in the country, and wearing an apron to protect his or her clothes would be appropriate.  Dresses, pants or skirts and a hat are appropriate for a Passenger.

Event format:

The Day includes three phases: a Turnout Inspection, a Country Drive, and Cones.    All work is done on an individual basis.  The score is a maximum of 100 points, broken down into 60 points for the Turnout Inspection, 25 for the Country Drive, and 15 for the Cones phase.  The time on the Country Drive is based on size of equine, and is slower than a CDE marathon. 

Note: Participants will be eliminated for unsafe or reckless driving. See complete rules.

Logistics:

Cost will be $40 per turnout.  Advance entry is required.  Lunch will be available, but it must be pre-ordered with your entry.   

Note that we expect to be parking trailers in the field used for dressage warm-up at the CDE, and that there is no nearby source of water, so plan to bring water for your horse.  Turn-out inspection will take place under the oaks. 

Overnight stabling is not available at Shady Oaks.  There is a nearby stable for those needing stabling. 

Contact the Secretary (see below) for details.

Entries open now and close Sep. 26, 2011.  

Schedule:

Drivers meeting at 9:30 AM.  Yes, you do need to be there!   Event starts at 10:30 AM. 

For information, please contact Gina Miner,  vwminer@me.com   510-918-5800

Entry form --   This is a pdf doc, and includes 2 liability waivers, one for NCDC, and one for Shady Oaks. 

Directions:  see http://www.shadyoaksevents.com/htmls/general.html#directions

Please join us for a fun filled day of driving!

09/05/2011