Strathallan SCDA Club Event 2025
The last outdoor event of the season is just about upon us. All to play for in the Gee-Gee Rugwash Points League. Click on this link for the competitor list and provisional dressage times. Looking forward to seeing everyone there.
On-foot training day
with Janet and Owen Pilling
Saturday 25th October
Venue: The Pines, Symington, ML12 6JX. Start 9.30am.
Aimed at novice drivers and backsteppers but all are welcome.
The day will include –
- How to improve your dressage marks
- How to walk and remember routes in obstacles
- How to walk a cones course and some combinations you will encounter
- Carriage Maintenance with Ian Bertram
- Open forum over lunch with Prep and fittening tips, Planning your day, Warm-up, Safety, Welfare and as much more as you want.
Bring a chair and lunch, we have a microwave & urn – and tea and coffee will be available all day.
Janet has competed to Advanced level and is a qualified level 2 coach, and Owen has competed internationally in the horse pairs class for many years. £20 per person, please book with Janet on 07966 495580 or janetpilling55@gmail.com
Indoor event 12th October 2025 – change of venue
Please note that due to a change of management at The Cabin Equestrian Centre, this event will now take place at Strathorn instead. Many thanks to Ruth for allowing us to use Strathorn for this event.
Results from the National Championships
Congratulations to all the members of SCDA who qualified for the National Championships.
Here are the final standings:
Ian Bertram finished in 2nd place in the hotly-contested Advanced Horse class.
Louise Kaiholm won the Advanced Pony class with Ruth Martin’s talented pony Brock.
Pam MacArthur took a creditable 12th place in the Novice Pony class at her first National Championships, with Shona Playfair and Wonder finishing just behind in 13th.
Margo Smith was 4th in the Open Horse Pairs, with a great finish to her event, winning first place in the cones.
Sanchia May and her Team Blondies had a mixed weekend, with some atrocious weather to disrupt her dressage test, but still managed to finish 2nd in the Open Pony Pairs class.
Elinor Bosanquet took 3rd in the VSE class with Clothie Night Idiot and Clothie Troubell. Elinor also drove a fantastic event with Storm to come 4th in the Open Horse class.
Everyone made it through the whole event safely and skillfully, and great fun was had, as well as some serious competition. Well done all!
The Gee-Gee Rugwash Scottish Points League
One more event to go. Here are the current standings…
Brechin National / SCDA Club event 2025
That’s the marathon complete! Full marathon and final results are posted, just click on this link.
Thanks to our judges Joyce and Andrew and their writers, our organizer Sanchia, TD Katy, our course builders, stewards, helpers and everyone who’s made this a wonderful event.
Townfoot SCDA Club Event 5th/6th July 2025
What an enjoyable event that was – Graeme and Janet our event organizers did a superb job and the worst of the weather held off – well mostly! Final results at this link also on the results page. Many thanks to our wonderful hosts Gerald and Margo Smith, their neighbours including Graeme and Pam MacArthur for the use of their land for the marathon, and all the stewards and helpers without whom we simply couldn’t run events. Special thanks to our judge Kim Usher and husband James who came up from the North East to be with us. Callum did a great job keeping everyone informed and organized, Robbie kept us fed all weekend with the wonderful baking he brought along (as well as having the kettle on the go all weekend).
You can find a full report and pictures of the event over on our Facebook page
Finally, if you ever wanted to know how the scorers’ caravan operates – let us show you…
Seacliff National Event 21st/22nd June 2025
That’s it for another Seacliff event. Congratulations to all our class winners, the overall champion Ian Bertram and reserve champion Libby Priest. All the final results can be found on this link. Many thanks for our TD John Goodwin and Course Designer Terry Logan for making the trip over from Ireland to help us. To our judges Joyce Simpson and Philippa Thomson, their writers, the stewards, our wonderful hosts at Seacliff and everyone who made this such a memorable event THANK YOU.
Cothal Event 8th June 2025
Please see this post for a round-up of the day’s competition at Cothal
New SCDA Initiative – Groom/Backstepper Directory
The SCDA is pleased to announce the launch of a “Groom and Backstepper Directory” with the aim of helping Drivers find a suitable Groom/Backstepper to join their team, either for a single competition or more permanently.
The Directory will be free to join, run securely under GDPR rules, and will be a focal point in our club to allow backsteppers of every level of experience – including novices who have not yet competed at all – to register their details. The Directory will be managed by Mandy Elder, a club member and a very experienced groom and backstepper in her own right. Mandy will also be the contact point for Drivers to reach out to, when they need help finding a suitable Groom / Backstepper.
In the first instance, any backsteppers interested in registering their details in the Directory should contact Mandy, who will be happy to explain the process in more detail: mandyelderfreelancegroom@gmail.com
Hopetoun 2025 – 22nd-25th May
After a wonderful weekend of driving, that’s Hopetoun National event over for another year. Thanks to our main sponsors Gerald and Margo Smith, to the Hopetoun Estate, all our judges, stewards, course designers & builders, all the helpers and competitors who made it such a great event. Thanks also to the sponsors of classes, rosettes, prizes – which are all very much appreciated All the final results can be found at this link.
Cardross Event
For a full report and pictures from the event – see this post. Huge thanks to co-organisers Patsy-Muir Simpson and Sanchia May , Wendy and Graham Scott of Benview Garden Centre – main sponsors of the event, and to our host Sir Archie Orr-Ewing.
SCDA branded clothing / items
SCDA branded clothing is available from our friends at JS Teamware. Have a look at a selection of the items available at the JS Teamwear website and if you have any suggestions for other items you’d like to see, drop a note to Allison our secretary (you can use the Send Us an Email link) and she’ll work with Jane to see what we can arrange. We’ll keep you updated on this.
Ian Stark Centre – Grassroots event results
Well done to everyone who competed at the Grassroots event at the Ian Stark Centre. Huge thanks to Annie, Clive and all the helpers at the event. To see the results for the event click here, and for all the events so far this year, just navigate to the results page.
Spring Seminar – Preparing for a Competition
Many thanks to Jamie March for putting together a fascinating and really informative presentation. If you wish to view Jamie’s presentation again (or for the first time if you couldn’t make the seminar!) you can download it here.
Basics of Backstepping
This presentation is also available – just click here
SCDA Spring Seminars – Get Ready for the Season!
As announced at our AGM, we’re excited to host three Spring Seminars via Zoom to help SCDA members prepare for the upcoming outdoor season. Whether you’re a seasoned competitor or new to carriage driving, these sessions will provide valuable insights, tips, and advice.
Seminar Schedule
Tuesday 8th April, 7:30 PM – Preparing for a Competition
Wednesday 23rd April, 7:30 PM – Competing at an Event – Advice & Tips
Wednesday 30th April, 7:30 PM – Guide to Backstepping
These sessions are a great opportunity to pick up expert advice, ask key questions, and share experiences with fellow drivers. Don’t miss out—join us and get set for a great season ahead!
– Open to all SCDA members – Zoom links will be emailed in advance.
– Non-members welcome! For details, contact the SCDA Secretary
We look forward to seeing you there!
Coxhill Results 16/3/25
Well done to all our competitors who took part in the Coxhill Spring event. You can find the details in this post. Thanks to Dave and Barbara-Anne Skett for organizing this lovely indoor event.
SCDA website updates
Following our AGM, four new directors have been appointed: Allison McCulloch (Secretary and Membership secretary), Mark Dougan, Cathy Duff and Morag Spence. We welcome them to the SCDA committee. Eileen Cornish, Louise McCutcheon and Susan Don have stepped down from the committee – we thank them for their hard work and support over many years.
Training events – change of date: the training at Auchenreoch originally planned for June 28th will now take place a day later, on Sunday June 29th.
Reference Section: you can now find a link to the latest BC class structure. Also, the Club Class progression rules have been revised for 2025. Again, full details in this section.
SCDA WhatsApp Groups
We’re launching a new initiative! We have set up several WhatsApp groups that you can join to allow you to discuss issues, and to ask questions to more experienced drivers. For more details see this post.
Event dates 2025
Dates for 2025 and the schedules have now been published. Please click on this link for all the details
Reminder about entry closing dates…
We have again asked event organisers to take a firm approach to closing dates. Please make sure that you enter all events this season before the closing date. To avoid disappointment, please enter as soon as you are able. Thank you!
2025 Memberships
Please join or renew as soon as you are able – the membership year runs from January 1st to December 31st. You can join online at the website membership page. Bank account details will be provided on the email confirmation. Please pay by BACS as soon as possible after signing up – it makes it easier for the Secretary and Treasurer to check the money is in the correct SCDA Account. You can also download the membership form here which contains all the information you need.
We’d like to welcome Allison McCulloch as our new membership secretary – Allison will also be taking over the SCDA secretary role with effect from the AGM (which takes place on Saturday 15th February at Blair Drummond Hall). If you have any questions, you can drop an email to Allison at membership@scda.co.uk.
Training update
Additional training days have been scheduled at Auchenreoch, by kind permission of Gayle & Andy Ledger. Bex March will be providing the training – it’s suitable for all levels. Click here for all the details. For more details of these and all our training events, you can drop Bex March an email at the SCDA training address: training@scda.co.uk
SCDA Points League
Our Points League is kindly sponsored by Gee Gee Rugwash. Please support the businesses who support our sport. Ian is happy to collect rugs at each event and return them to you at the following one.
We now have an Instagram account!! (thanks to Sanchia). We’d love pictures or video clips of you and your turnouts – here’s the link…
https://www.instagram.com/scottish_carriage_driving_scda/
News archive
Previous stories have now been archived, but are still available online. Click the link here and you’ll be able to read news from the past couple of years.