My First ADT

After one formal lesson in the dressage pattern and little cart driving done last year because of trail riding activity, I fearlessly signed up for an Arena Driving Trial. The first challenge was getting and keeping my Haflinger clean enough because we had had a January thaw and the mud reappeared. My next challenge was learning to be patient as 34 other contestants participated.

Mind you, we had not mastered the fine points of driving in this type of competition but now I know what we'd need to work on if we are to continue. The good news is that my middle aged brain remembered the dressage pattern and when to salute the judge. During the cones course we had a good time and didn't destroy any property. The hazards were our undoing. We had borrowed a training cart from the facility. In this cart we were sitting lower than our own cart. Unfortunately this made it harder to see over my Haflinger's healthy backside, and we were disqualified for passing through one gate to get to another before we had used the first gate.

It was fun to be with our equine friends in the middle of winter. And it was fun to know that my horse won't spook at hazards and that I could learn to be a much better driver. Now I know what we don't know. Happy Trails Kathy