On Sunday 6^th October, 30 people attended the Indoor training class held at Meadow View Farm by kind permission of Jim & Jeanette Parker.

The training comprised of a classroom style discussion taken by the Club’s Vice-Chairman, Julia Crockford, an experienced Club and National driver of many years, on the 2019/20 season dressage test; how to get the very best marks for precision, the change of paces required and an overview of what the judges are looking for in both precision and pace.

This was followed by a general chat about the cones; what sort of combinations of cones you are likely to see through the season and how to drive them. We then moved on to looking at drawings of two obstacles; how to drive them, the best routes to take and why.

“We would just like to say thank you for organising the indoor workshop. We had a lovely time, learned so much and came away with a clear understanding of indoor driving. We have been wanting to start indoor driving the last couple of years but never had the courage as we didn’t understand it, yesterday’s workshop is perfect for encouraging new people.” Emily and Steve Wain

We then ventured outside, luckily the weather was perfect, where Jim had built an indoor dressage arena for anyone who wanted to walk the test;  an indoor style cones course and the two obstacles we had been discussing in class.

Everyone walked the cones course with Julia explaining how to walk the course in ‘driving’ mode so that you drive each set of cones, or the combination of cones, where you make the turns etc, all from the carriage perspective and not walk it as if you are driving it on foot, cutting corners and turning too tight!

We also walked the two obstacles, having looked at them on paper and discussed them earlier, we now had the chance to walk them and see how different the gates and turns are when you are actually in the obstacle. Julia explained why going the longer route sometimes pays as the gates seem a lot tighter and the turns more difficult if you haven’t driven your lines correctly and moving on round the outside is often the better and can be the faster option.

A lot of walking and discussions among everyone then took place before adjourning for lunch. A delicious array of fillings for jacket potatoes and salad followed by cake, all generously provided and cooked by Jim & Jeanette, was very much enjoyed and rounded off the training day perfectly.