Driving show gathers pace

3:11pm Friday 11th April 2008

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THE ancient skill of carriage driving will be centre stage in Herefordshire next month when Hereford and District Driving Group holds its annual show.

The show has become a popular fixture on the national carriage driving calendar and attracts turnouts from around the country to compete in the huge range of classes catering for all levels of horse, pony, donkey and carriage drivers, including those new to the sport.

The Stirling Suzuki sponsored Hereford Spring Carriage Show is now well established as a premier driving event where both the spectators and competitors look forward to the vast range of innovative and challenging classes.

This year, the show’s organising committee, headed by Lester Dagge, has been in deep creative thought and introduced some exciting new additions to the action-packed schedule.

Working with the British Carriage Dog Society, they will be debuting the inaugural working carriage dog class. Most people are familiar with the close connection between carriage driving and the Dalmatian dog, but very rarely get to see the two working together, so this new class will be the perfect opportunity to showcase the two working again in tandem.

The show has grown significantly over recent years with the emphasis on showcasing the diversity of the harness horse with increased interest from the general public. The Hereford and District Driving Group often attracts a dozen new members from the event proving there are plenty of people keen to take up carriage driving.

The appearance last year of the road coaches and a working Suffolk punch to an agricultural turnout proved very popular with spectators. As a result, the show has introduced a heavy horse class to an agricultural or trade turnout. In contrast to the appearance of the ‘gentle giants’, the show will also stage a slightly faster-paced competition class where speed and accuracy are required to negotiate the obstacles.

The show takes place at Marlbrook, near Leominster, on Sunday, May 4, and promises to be a great family day out.