Information for members
SCDA and the British Driving Society are hosting a Junior Carriage Driving / Try Driving day at Pitscandly, Forfar on 2nd April 2023.
Full details can be found on the entry form. You can download it here. Please print the form, have it signed by a parent or guardian and return by post or email to Heather Gow.
Parents/guardians are welcome to stay for the day – please bring warm clothes and lunch with you!
We look forward to seeing you there.
It is with much sadness we share the news of the passing of Irene Donald. Irene was a long time supporter of Carriage Driving in Scotland, and around the UK, with her late husband Archie Donald. After Archie’s passing, Irene continued to support our Scottish events from National to Grassroots level, covering a number of different roles from stable manager, dressage writing, catering and most of all just being a wonderful friend to all who knew her. I am sure everyone will have fond memories of Irene and will have many a tale to recall from time spent in her company. We offer our deepest condolences to the Donald family at this time.
Congratulations to all the winners in each of the categories of the SCDA Points League 2022. You can view the final results here.
Eileen Cornish writes:
“Thank you to Barbara-Anne and Dave Skett for organising Coxhill so well that, in spite of them not able to be there (due to Covid!), Ian Bertram, Zoe Ross and I managed to keep the show on the road.
Thanks also to Kendall Young and Zoe Sanders for judging the dressage and then staying on to help with the Conobstacles.
A great team effort which was enjoyed by all – Stewards, Competitors and everyone who was there.”
Best Dressage, Best Conobstacles, Best Junior and Overall Champion: Jade Christie
Best Groom (to Jade): Jennifer McCreath
| Driven Class | |
| 1st | Jade Christie |
| 2nd | Neil Taylor |
| 3rd | Alan McIndoe |
| 4th | Jennifer McCreath (Dusty) |
| 5th | Sharron Vass |
| 6th | Jennifer McCreath (Toby) |
| HC Class | |
| 1st | Ian Bertram |
| 2nd | Patsy Muir Simpson |
| 3rd | Margo Smith |
| 4th | Joyce Simpson |
| 5th | Margo Smith |
| Driven Class | Obstacle Times |
| Jade Christie | 2 min 12 secs |
| Jennifer McCreath (Dusty) | 2 min 23 secs |
| Alan McIndoe | 2 min 36 secs |
| Neil Taylor | 2 min 49 secs |
| Jennifer McCreath (Toby) | 2 min 51 secs |
| Peter Falconer | 3 min 19 secs |
| Sharron Vass | 3 min 25 secs |
| Heather Reid | 3 min 27 secs |
| Shona Anderson (Toby) | 4 min 22 secs |
| Claudia Nisbet | 5 min 10 secs |
| Gayle Ledger | 6 min 18 secs |
| HC Class | Best time |
| Ian Bertram | 1 min 56 secs |
| Patsy Muir Simpson | 1 min 59 secs |
| Margo Smith | 2 min 21 secs |
| Margo Smith | 2 min 34 secs |
| Joyce Simpson | 3 min 12 secs |
You may have seen that there is currently a shortage of vaccinations for equine influenza. This has arisen due to supply difficulties being experienced by one of the largest manufacturers of equine influenza vaccines, Boehringer Ingelheim. It is hoped that this will be resolved by the end of October or shortly after this date.
The British Carriagedriving Rule Book currently states in Annex 11:
1.3.4 Booster vaccinations must be administered at a maximum of 12 month intervals, the same day in each year being acceptable for these purposes, however Horses competing in Events must have received a booster within 6 months +21 days (and not within 7 days) before arrival at the Event.
British Carriagedriving, as a short term measure, are removing the requirement for a vaccination to have been administered within 6 months of the event but recommend that annual boosters are maintained. We recommend that any member in a situation where this is impossible to achieve should contact the BC office for further guidance.
We have recommended that members are extra vigilant and implement the strictest bio-security protocols when competing.
Further information will be circulated in due course.
We thought we’d put together a post, listing some bits and pieces of information about the July event. Here goes….
There will be a Club Novice class – the latest schedule is available (and it’s also on the events listing page. Entries can be made using the usual SCDA entry form – for details of how to enter, see the schedule.
If you would like to do an additional dressage test, they are available at £10 each, notify when entering please.
Marathon – there is a new route this year of approximately 13km, 7 obstacles for the Regional Classes, except National Novices who will drive 6 obstacles. Club Classes will drive 6 obstacles. Club Novices will omit Section A.
Obstacle Cone Driving – to be driven in Arena 2 immediately after Dressage
Gateway Classes: Briefing 08.30 Sunday. Dressage will be in Arena 1 at 09.00 followed immediately by cones in Arena 2
BC Regional entries are made via BC/myClubhouse – BC members can also enter Gateway classes there. SCDA members can enter Club and Gateway classes – please use the SCDA entry form.
ATV’s/Scooters: Protective Headgear must be worn. Protective Headgear must also be worn on the event field when exercising ridden or driven horses/ponies
Catering: There will be no catering facilities on the event field
Cones day is well underway- follow the live results here!
Here are the results from the Dunbog 2022 competition:
You can also download the results as a PDF file – just click here
| Open Pony / FEI 2* | |
| 1 Susan Don | 10:00 |
| 2 Patsy Muir Simpson | 10:10 |
| Novice Pony / BC Novice Test | |
| 3 Jane Squirrell | 10:20 |
| 4 Vicki Largue | 10:30 |
| 5 Wendy Scott | 10:40 |
| 6 Jade Christie | 10:50 |
| 7 Laura Chaffe | 11:00 |
| 8 Rachel Stewart | 11:10 |
| 15 min break | |
| Pony Pairs / Test 2 | |
| 9 Ian Gilbert | 11:35 |
| 10 Hamish Reid | 11:45 |
| Small Pony / Test 2 | |
| 11 Sasha Crookston | 11:55 |
| Open Pony / Test 2 | |
| 12 Heather Reid | 12:05 |
| 13 Pam MacArthur | 12:15 |
| 14 Janet Pilling | 12:25 |
| 25 min break | |
| Multiples / Test 2 | |
| 15 Sanchia May | 13:00 |
| 16 Margo Smith | 13:10 |
| Open Horse / Test 2 | |
| 17 Lyndsey Brown | 13:20 |
| Open Horse / FEI 3* | |
| 18 Ian Bertram | 13:30 |
Kindly PRINT your own competitor number in a LARGE and LEGIBLE format.
Anyone on a carriage (i.e. groom as well as driver) must wear hard hats in the cones (and will not be penalised for also wearing hard hats in the dressage).
Don’t forget you must also be wearing hard hats and body protectors for the marathon obstacles.
Please also note that you may take a break in between dressage/cones and the marathon obstacles and are not required to do all 3 phases altogether.
1] The format of the event will be dressage at your scheduled time, followed by the cones and obstacles. There is no allotted time for you to complete the cones and obstacle phases. However, please be courteous to the event organiser and your fellow competitors ensuring that there is an even flow of competitors through the cones and obstacle phases. It is suggested that competitors do dressage followed by cones.
2] Grooms can stand through all phases if they wish.
3] For anyone who wishes, horses / ponies can be led through the water without carriages attached, prior to the event proper.
4] There is no grazing at Dunbog and the owners ask that we respect this
5] No carriages and animals are to be taken along past the Stable buildings to save stress on competing ridden horses. Competitors should use the long way around track.
6] We will post numbers and running order a few days before on the this website. Please would entrants print out their own numbers.
7] We start at 10.00am on Sunday morning
8] Due to the amount of horses around, any dogs must be fully under control at all times.
It is with great sadness that we pass on the news that John Bates died on the 27th February 2022.
Jane Isaac writes:
John and Sarah have been such an important part of the Hopetoun National and FEI events ever since I took over as the Event Organiser in 2008, and probably long before that. The sight of the Bates Sound entourage rolling into Hopetoun through the Blue Gate really signified the start of the event.
It was only at the last National/FEI event before Covid shut us down that he and Sarah finally admitted that it was time for the A Team to help with knocking in the posts for the radio masts! John was always charming and helpful and I am sure that Sarah will miss his support terribly – we all will.
On a personal note, my memory will be of John being a wonderful friend to Louise and me, not only sorting out the microphones, speakers, radios and all the communications so vital to us as scorers – but just anything we needed help with at Hopetoun. He had a lovely, gentle sense of humour, always had a twinkle in his eye, and as Jane says, we will all miss him.
Mike McCutcheon
