My ADS weekend by Sandy Carr                    November 2007

When I first read in the ADS Wheelhorse that an ADS meeting would be held in southern California I thought, "Hmmm, that would be fun, but....that kind of thing is for the experienced, "brand name" competitors, not "little people" like me." But then I started looking at the interesting forums, the instruction by the experts, the chances to meet folks in the sport and the, I must say, parties! So, a few months later I found myself there with hubby Bruce, Merridy Hance and Ann Davis rounding out the group from Washington.

The bulk of the day's activities were set at beautiful Los Angeles Pierce College in Woodland Hills, only a mile or so (we know, we walked it the last day) from the Hilton, the host hotel. Friday we were treated to committee meetings anyone could attend, listen to and throw in their two cents worth. I really enjoyed watching the workings of the Combined Driving Committee, held outside under the warm California sun.....ahhh. VSEs were spoken of often and with respect. I truly felt driving a miniature horse in ADS combined driving events was just as much an important part of the sport as it was a credible part!

Many drivers who had braved the southern California wildfires to attend offered rides in their carriages to those of us who were horseless. I had the wonderful opportunity to ride with a delightful lady and her Section D Welsh Cob put to a 1890 Saylor carriage. After being reminded not to step on the painted portions of the lovingly restored carriage, Stephanie and Paullina whisked me around the college, through some hazards and through the cones course. Oh, my....a very different prospective from that angle! Stephanie had hidden some friends with cameras around the course and the next day presented me with beautiful 8 x 10 mementos of our drive together. What a nice gal!

Friday night we journeyed to Tilley's Carriage Museum in Hollywood (yes, Hollywood!). The private museum was a testament to Mrs. Tilley's mastering of the Andalusian world in carriage driving. There we were encouraged to climb aboard the carriages! Bruce and I had the best seat in the house, a 1896 Park Phaeton, when Fritz Grupe (Shady Oaks CDE host and international driver) narrated the slide show highlighting his venture in the international driving world.

Saturday we enjoyed more time with the experts! Diane Kastama (gold medal winner) and Celine Rickards from Driving Essentials demonstrated the way to cut your times to the bare minimum when negotiating hazards. Whew---I thought they were going fast and then they kicked in the afterburner. That's when we saw what competition speed really WAS!

Hardy Zantke took us on an imaginary drive through our dressage test, emphasizing what he, as a judge, is looking for. How refreshing it was to hear his humor and realize judges are people too. Hardy was very gracious and answered even the most elementary of questions with zeal. He took the time to demonstrate saluting as a male driver, and, after stuffing some wadded up paper under his jacket........demonstrated saluting as a women!

I next sat in on the discussion "How to Organize an Event". As you may know, we are retiring to New Mexico next year and you may have thought---"What is a CDE-ish person to do in New Mexico?" NO fear. Not a whole lot is happening down there yet but I hope to change that some day soon. (You are all invited of course!) The forum gave us tons of tips on how to organize a unique, shoestring event!

Our Saturday afternoon was filled with the ADS annual membership meeting which was pretty much "business as usual". Afterwards it was very interesting to sit in on "The Meeting of the Minds" with Linda Fairbanks organizing a large array of huge monthly calendar pages. Each representative from ADS and non-ADS events affixed their event's name on a day on the calendar page, making sure there were no scheduling conflicts for driving events throughout the western portion of the country.

Our weekend wound down with a lovely banquet Saturday night. I was amazed at all the new friendships I had made in the last 48 hours. Some were famous, international competitors. Others were beginners like myself. Some drove like thunder with their multiples, others zipped tirelessly through with their minis. Some hadn't even started driving. But for sure, we all had two things in common......a love of the sport of carriage driving and a commitment to our organization, the American Driving Society.