Jazz - Driving

After lunch that day, Kass’ next class was Driving - which was the one she had the least experience in. She had been training with Jazz for several months, the duo effectively learning together. Her mare Biscotti had driven in the past and Kass had taken lessons with her to grasp the basics so she could transfer that new knowledge to Jazz’s training. The bay stallion was her prettiest mover, thus she had figured this would be a nice, novel speciality for her to tackle with him. Especially since he was a bit too short for most to ride! 

Although the whole Summer Show was intended as rather casual and aimed to be inclusive to all levels of experience, the Driving class was more of the Combined sort. The first part would be similar to pleasure or dressage, in the sense that the horse’s movements and willingness were evaluated. Following that, there was a timed obstacle course where the horse and driver pairs would have to navigate a set pattern as fast as possible in the arena. Finally, a ‘’marathon’’ was scheduled to take place on a different course set in a field nearby - the driving equivalent to cross-country. Competitors were allowed to enter the last part with the same horse or a fresh one, to their discretion. Since this was both her and Jazz’s first show experience in driving, Kass had decided to register the more seasoned Biscotti for the marathon. 

William was grooming the stallion as Kass finished braiding his tail. The last thing she wanted was for Jazz’s long luscious locks to get caught in the carriage! Then they worked together to harness the pony before leading him outside to the carriage where they made quick work of hooking him up. The boy held the horse’s reins while the woman climbed in the driver’s seat. He would be back to take his place on the low bar at the back before the timed course - his role being to balance the weight of the buggy so it did not tip over during tighter turns.

In an effort to be slightly more efficient, the class was held in batches of a few teams at the same time into the arena for the first part- not too dissimilar to the pleasure classes they had participated in already. When their turn was up, Kass instructed Jazz to enter the ring and follow the fenceline. The stallion’s trot was flashy - his knees lifting high and his head curved inward slightly. His roached mane let his muscular neck bare for all to see. She was perhaps biased, but Kass found him quite the handsome horse to be at the head of a carriage! 

The announcer presented each of the participants briefly, then the event properly commenced. The drivers guided their horses at a pleasure trot for a few turns under the studious gazes of the judges at the center, scribbling notes on their pads.

‘’Down to the walk please, down to the walk.’’

Jazz listened to his driver’s signal promptly, slowing his steps to a gentle pace. It was not long before the next instructions came.

‘’Reverse please, then continue to walk,’’ called one of the judges on the speaker.

Kass and her pinto stallion executed the maneuver without too much trouble. If not for the team in front of them that seemed slightly startled to see them there when they turned around - as if unaware that another buggy had been following not too far behind. But the other horse’s - a pretty grey - driver handled the situation calmly and nothing untoward came of it. 

‘’Pleasure trot please, pleasure trot.’’

The carriage set off as Jazz picked up his fancy jog once more. Kass smiled - he seemed to enjoy the effervescence of the show ring, almost as if flaunting his moves! 

With another loop around the arena completed, the judge asked for an extended trot. As they were still novices, finer gait adjustments were not quite flawless yet. But Kass figured they were doing well enough for their first show. It was mainly meant as a learning experience, after all! Soon the announcer called for the walk, then to halt in a line in the center of the ring. Unlike the in-saddle pleasure classes, the driver-pony pairs would not receive their placing just yet. The scoring would take place at the end of the three events when their total for each one would be tallied. 

‘’Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your participation in this first event of our Driving class. You may now exit the arena, our officials will prepare it for the second event to begin shortly.’’

*

With William now on board at the back, Kass and Jazz were waiting their turn for the timed obstacle course. The arena had been freshly dragged and several pairs of cones had been set up in a circuit for this second event. Balls sat on top of each one - if the horse or carriage knocked down some of the cones or balls as they passed in between, their scores would suffer. The participants were on a timer of one minute and thirty seconds to complete the marked route at a trot, which without being overly generous should be plenty for most to finish in time. Otherwise, penalty points would again be added to their score. Teams would require both precision and speed to perform well in this event.

An official came to let Kass know she would be next. As soon as they passed the gate to the arena, she heard a beep and a large timer in an opposite corner of the ring started counting. The team headed straight for the first pair of cones, passing through straight on without an itch. A series of four were placed in a large circle following that. Kass did her best to guide Jazz in an even curve to avoid hitting any before moving on to their next checkpoint. They had to slalom quite a bit to make it between the next two sets, before turning in a tight curve inward towards another. The young trainer was not sure whether they had cleared this section without a hitch, but she put her attention onward.

The remaining pairs of cones were a bit less technical. Now at the opposite end of the arena from their entry point, they had to reach then follow along the fenceline through four checkpoints placed in an upside down ‘’J’’. Once they had made it through the cones in the turn, they cruised past the last three sets in a straight line and exited the arena. She heard the announcer state her time and faults as she slowed her stallion down - 1:19 with two balls knocked over.

Well, could’ve been worse..!