Intro and National Drive '08

[PiesMom]

Hello everyone,

I've been lurking here for a while but it's past time that I say "hello" and since I would very much appreciate advice from those who have attended the National Drive, now seems like a good time to do so :)

I've recently started driving again after a long break and am re-kindling a passion that I suppose never really went away, despite that break :) I'm up in Wisconsin where we've had snow on the ground for over a month. With no sleigh here, driving is curtailed until the thaw. Hey ho!

Some friends and I are planning our first National Drive attendance next autumn and are already getting excited about the whole event! We wondered whether those who have already been could advise us as to which hotel is the best choice (for proximity, ease of drive to check on horses in the evening, clean beds (!) etc. etc. etc.) We're not at all grand folk so clean and close to the horse park are just about our only criterion!

Also, are there any "tips and wrinkles" it would be helpful for first timers to know to make the experience even better, or so that we don't make any huge faux pas?? At this stage, we don't know what we don't know ;) Any input would be most gratefully received :)

Thanks!

[khp vol]

I don't drive, but do get questions about the local hotels & restaurants when I'm working at the Horse Park, so here goes:

The Kentucky Horse Park is just off Exit 120 (Iron Works Pike) of I-75. There are currently no hotels near the Park, so you can go North or South 5 miles on I-75.

Georgetown is 5 miles north; there are 2 exits, 125 and 126. This will give a list of Georgetown motels:http://www.rk3de.org/visitor_guide.htm

At Exit 115 in Lexington there are 5 or 6 motels. For a list of them use this website: www.visitlex.com.

If I can give you any further info, feel free to PM me.

[kearleydk]

Tough to do a faux pas at the ND because there are almost no rules. I LOVE it!!!! You can drive what you like, dress the way you like, go to events you like and skip those you don't. Just my kind of event.

Seriously, just try not to do anything to endanger any people or horses. Don't do silly stuff like letting a horse loose "because he'll come right back."

If you have some harness or driving problem the chances are there will be several people ready to jump in and help you. I saw people helping others with everything from parking the trailer to putting the bit in right side up. The help was always graciously recieved.

On the hotel I like the La Quinta. No glitz and glamour but they allow pets and you can drive right down Ironworks to Newton Pike without getting back on the Interstate. It's like 5 or 10 minutes away. Managers name is Greg. Phone 859 231 7551.

I just hope they have somebody shooting video in 2008 like they did in 2006.

Dick

[Ashemont]

We've already paid for our spot in the campground - closest place to be able to check on the 'kids' at night, plus we can bring the puppies :) For two years we stayed in The Hampton and were very happy with it - but it was $80/night, which can add up if you're staying for the full time. We heard there were several nice places quite close that were as cheap at $32/night but I'm afraid I don't remember the names. Hopefully someone else will chime in.

I'm pretty sure Don said he was going in 2008 so maybe we can get him to organize the COTH group again :) It's so much nicer staying with each other and putting faces to names :yes:

[kearleydk]

Just changed my profile photo to one from 2007 ND. Shot was taken over my shoulder by Ashemont on one of the "4 at 6:00" drives.

[pricestory]

My favorite hotel is Winner's Circle in Georgetown. Really cheap, less than $30, clean large rooms, family owned. Great folks. It makes staying a while more reasonable.

KHP is wonderful driving, great clinics and good friends make it one of my favorite things to do all year.

[PiesMom]

This is such helpful information everyone! Not least that the trip will be well worthwhile, with new friends to make and new driving adventures to be had. It doesn't get a lot better than that :) Thank you so much everyone!

[WillowsWelsh]

I'm another lurker. I've been reading this forum for probably close to a year, and have learned so much from this group. I'm a Welsh Pony breeder of many years but just got into driving a little over a year ago. Because of all the discussion over the past year about the National Drive, I've decided that I am also going to attend in 2008. My daughter, my granddaughter, and I will attend with our Section A Palomino pair of geldings. We haven't decided yet whether we'll use the Puddle Jumper, or bring two road carts and drive them as singles. I'm also the president of Enchantment Driving Society (EDS) in Albuquerque, NM, and I'm going to encourage some of our members to come to the drive too. I'll most likely go back to lurking now, but I'll surely read all of the posts about the ND.

Diane
The Willows Welsh Mountain Ponies

[Ashemont]

Well if any of you get anxious and want to send in your entries be sure to mark "Stable with COTH group" on your entry. Maybe we can get a whole barn this year! It really is such fun being together. I count the COTH folks I've met as friends and look forward to seeing them all at The Drive in '08.

Hope I get to be "the stallion handler" again, Dick :)

And Pam, looks like it's going to be a BIG Italian dinner at the barn or the campground one night :D :yes: :)

[PiesMom]

I'm another lurker. I'll most likely go back to lurking now, but I'll surely read all of the posts about the ND.

Diane
The Willows Welsh Mountain Ponies

Don't disappear again Diane. Why not come and be a "newbie" with me :) Now we've de-lurked it'll be fun to sit and chat a while with these folk I think!

I have another question about the ND if I may. From pictures it would seem that we will encounter just about every type of footing during the week. What are people's preferences for shoeing? Traction needed? If so, what's best? Would it be useful to use studs which we can change out depending on where we shall be spending most of our time on any given day or are we likely to be all over the place and would that become un-necessarily complicated? What would you all say is the predominant surface there?

Also, having never been to KHP before, is the land more flat or hilly?

Thanks again everyone :)

[goodhors]

Here is a past thread about traction for driving horses. It started with CDE, but covered a lot of ground.

http://chronicleforums.com/Forum/showthread.php?t=119957

I think the screw-ins would be more work than you want. I would go with the drive-in road studs for the Park. Useful in the most conditions. Others have liked their plastic shoes, but we find they give no real support to hoof. Users may alternate the steel and plastic in their shoeing uses. Barefoot works too, minis are too small to shoe. Most of the roads in the KHP are asphault paved. The fields and courses would be dirt or grass, which I think they allow you to drive on. Stalls are paved, so they need lots of bedding for cushion. You can purchase shavings and hay from the KHP office instead of hauling everything. We put at least 3 bags of shavings under our horse to start with. Stalls are generous, a great facility.

From the accounts I hear, you want equines who are very patient, stop and stand well for long times. Maybe parade experienced. Able to drive in a line of vehicles without pulling on your hands, trying to pass everyone. An animal who can be rated, slowed down or to trot if needed to keep up with horses, not slow down the whole lineup. With the amount of animals who participated, a fussy one might have problems.

[Ashemont]

We started with 6 bags of shavings per stall and then just cleaned out the dirty stuff each day. By the last day we took some clean shavings from the pony's stall to supplement our horse's stall. We carried our own shavings with us for two reasons. One, it was a lot cheaper. And two, we arrived at night so were able to bed down right away - didn't have to wait until morning to put the kids up.

The first year we had a lot of trouble on the asphalt. It's not like the stuff here in the Southern Pines NC area. Around here we're just fine with regular shoes but poor Phoenix slipped all over the place in KY. This year we used borium nails which my farrier put in the day before we left. They worked perfectly! My pony was barefoot and did fine. Hope this info helps. But do check out the old thread as there is lots of good information there.

Looking forward to meeting new COTHer's in 2008! Oh and if your equines aren't good in parades you can still come and have fun. There's so much to do and so many places to drive without asphalt. We opted to not do the parade and really didn't feel like we missed anything. We were busy the whole time! :)

[kearleydk]

Like Ashemont, I have not done the parade. Also have not gone on the mapped out routes although I have pretty well covered the grounds. Have mostly taken the opportunity to drive with the clinicians and other experienced drivers. In '07, for example I hitched and drove the chariot for the very first time with Johny Ruhl. Johny is not an official clinician but he knows his stuff and enjoys working with various people/horses. In '06 I had the pleasure pf driving with Charley Lee. Charley had never driven small horses, only big drafts. He was so impressed by the Caspians. Guess what? There are now ponies (not Caspian, darn it) at his farm.

The ND is not always about your own horses. It is a great time to ride along with others and check out different horses and vehicles. In '07 I got to drive Ashemont's pony and her Batmobile and in '06 I got to try out Sammi's puddle Jumper. More than one person on this board got try the Caspians and my Tidaholm carriage.

Oh and don't worry about the hills. The terrain is gently rolling. I always run the boys barefoot. They slipped a little on the asphalt at the very first but figured it out immediateley. Just take it easy on the first time out. One of the memorable moments in '07 was in the campground. We were looking for challenges and shiny motorhomes, barking dogs, and kids on bicycles were all no problem but the shuffleboard court painted on the street was another story. Another time at the Park the Big Barn provided the challenge as each entry into it has a different floor surface.

[justslide]

My hubby & I attended our first ND in 2007. It was awesome! (check my profile for my favorite photo from the ND)

You will have such a wonderful time! We stayed at the Hampton Inn. Easy on/off the highway and only about 8 minutes from the grounds.

No faux pas unless it is not having a good time. I am a novice driver with a green driving horse and we did fairly well. We felt so at home immediately.

Met so many wonderful, friendly, and helpful people there. Ashemont, MySparrow, and kearleydk stand out in my memory! By the time that we left, my girl's harness was fitting wonderfully, she had many, many more miles on her than I could have put on her at home, and I felt so much more confident. My hubby was even taking the reins here and there. FWIW, my mare was also shod with a touch of borium on the fronts and a tad more on the hinds. She never slipped once.

That being said, as I was in your shoes last year, here are a few tips that I found made things easier for us during our visit - besides the great tips that I picked up from everyone here:

1. Make a list of everything that you think that you will need. Check it about 200 times. Then eliminate about a 1/3 of it. LOL

2. Make a binder for your horse(s). Include Coggins, health certs, complete photos (front, back, side), and vaccination records. Also include directions to/from KHP to/from your hotel, reservations documents, etc. Makes things so much easier for check in, especially coming in at night.

3. I also found out our hotel numbers ahead of time and made up an emergency contact sheet with our names, horse info, where we were staying, contact info (hotel & cell) and attached ties to it for the stall front. Much easier than trying to fill out the provided card on the stall in the dark, etc.

4. We brought 6 bales of shavings and had plenty by doing what Ashemont suggested. Our vet suggested bringing mats, but we didn't find them in time. Bed deep! The stalls are asphalt.

5. Be prepared for a variety of weather conditions. It runs the gamut. We wore everything from polos to winter coats and my girl wore all of her blankets. Bring a cooler for those baths!

6. You can never have too many tarp straps. LOL

7. Don't forget decorations for the parade!

I wrote a novel, but I hope it helps. If you are interested, I saved my list of things to bring and tweaked it upon returning home so that it would be ready for next year. I can send you a Excel copy if you PM me. :D

[justslide]

Ashemont,

What can I bring for that dinner??

[pricestory]

The first year, my pony was slipping badly so Lyle was kind enought to put frost nails on and we were fine. The past 2 years, I have had borium tipped nails put on before leaving and have been fine.

I chose to not do the parade or trace pace. I figured both would be crazy and from what I heard, they were. They will be changed somewhat next year to fix some of the problems from last year but I still probably won't do them. I can do that at home.

I did drive everywhere else, had clinics with their clinicians and with Amy Neary in the hazards left over from the CDE.

It is one of my favorite weeks of the year.

[Ite Bte Buggy]

I have enjoyed the discussion of the ND and am considering attending my self so all the comments are very helpful. Does anyone have a "best guess" how many miniatures there were at the drive. I would be taking minis and wonder how many there were to hang with as opposed to trying to keep up with the big boys on the trails.

Also am wondering if they allow double stalling. Seems a waste to have two stalls for my two minis who have been together every day at home. A single stall in most cases is plenty big for a couple minis if allowed.

Drive On!
Mike, Owner of Ite Bte Buggys

[kearleydk]

I have no authority whatsoever so you better check with somebody official but my gut says 2 minis in a stall should not be a problem.


Also not official as I have no numbers but you will NOT be alone or out of place with your minis. Plenty of other minis there.

Dick

[Ashemont]

Well Pam, since you're the expert I'll leave it up to you to plan the dinner :) I know that Laurel will be at the campground, too, with her full-service motor home (we stayed in it when we were in Tryon and it's got a complete kitchen) so maybe that can be the focal point for a get-together. Of course we'll have to nail down how many will be there ahead of time... and then plan for a few more :winkgrin: I just think it would be a great way to sample some of your products ;)

Price, we will be using the borium tipped nails again on Phoenix. They really made a difference! We did the planned courses with him and had no trouble with slipping as we did the first year. Still don't know if we'll do the parade but will most certainly make the Mimosa Drive!!! :D

Ite Bte I know for a fact that they do NOT allow double-stalling. My friend wanted to bring a team of small ponies and enquired about doing that. The answer was a definite NO. As far as minis there were a lot of them there so you'd have lots of company.

[hobbyhorse23]

Mike, I was there borrowing a friend's mini last year and made a point of finding every mini on the place. Got pictures of them all too! :lol: Let's see, there were three or four pair that I can think of, a couple of single AMHA-style entries, three single CDE-style entries including mine, a couple of junior drivers, and four or five pleasure show style drivers. I'd say there were at least 15 minis plus a foal or two and one gelding that was merely being walked around like a dog on a leash looking for a new home.

I'm still trying to figure out how to get my mini there from Washington State next year! :eek: My friend's horse was wonderful but I missed my own boy and would have liked to have shown him off and tried the hazards with him.

Leia

[Ashemont]

I'm still trying to figure out how to get my mini there from Washington State next year!

Can't you just bring him along on the plane in a dog crate??? :winkgrin: :lol:

[hobbyhorse23]

The problem is fitting his carts in checked baggage....

Leia

[Jetiki]

I really hope I can work it out to go this year. Its looking a little better this year than last year. I am going to work on it. :) So hopefully me and my mini will be there.


Karen

[Uncle Fester]

Uncle Fester, accompanied by the lovely Mrs. Fester, will be attending the National Drive this year. :):yes::yes::)

[MySparrow]

I'm really looking forward to it again this year! Will be bringing Mr. MySparrow and the eponymous lady herself, as well as some as yet to be determined combination of conveyances.

Time for another COTH party, methinks!

[MySparrow]

The first year, my pony was slipping badly so Lyle was kind enought to put frost nails on and we were fine. The past 2 years, I have had borium tipped nails put on before leaving and have been fine.

I chose to not do the parade or trace pace. I figured both would be crazy and from what I heard, they were. They will be changed somewhat next year to fix some of the problems from last year but I still probably won't do them. I can do that at home.

I did drive everywhere else, had clinics with their clinicians and with Amy Neary in the hazards left over from the CDE.

It is one of my favorite weeks of the year.

Little River and Becky drove the parade -- I walked it. Not too crazy for us, but a couple of the big multiple hitches had to keep their horses patient while they waited for spacing. Good thing they all had grooms to put down.

[MySparrow]

I have enjoyed the discussion of the ND and am considering attending my self so all the comments are very helpful. Does anyone have a "best guess" how many miniatures there were at the drive. I would be taking minis and wonder how many there were to hang with as opposed to trying to keep up with the big boys on the trails.

Also am wondering if they allow double stalling. Seems a waste to have two stalls for my two minis who have been together every day at home. A single stall in most cases is plenty big for a couple minis if allowed.

Drive On!
Mike, Owner of Ite Bte Buggys

Saw lots of mare-foal pairs in shared stalls, and nobody seemed to be walking around checking on such things. It will be fun to have you there! We could have used your expertise, as Becky and Little River are STILL buggy shopping!

There are lots of minis doing all sorts of things. There was rather a large fellow with a pair of paint minis put to a wagon; he drove them everywhere, to clinics, you name it. They were the hardest-working horses there as far as I could see! There was a gorgeous little conformation type put to a Jerald buggy, and in between the two extremes were just about every other possible turnout, mini-sized.

Little River had to work to get up and down some of the hills on the first day, but quickly figured them out. The footing on the cones and obstacle courses was good for her on the first day, deep on the second day, too deep by the third, but we just moved to another arena not so heavily used and cut up. We drove out onto the cross-country course and mingled with some cross-country runners, about 250 of them -- I think half of 'em stopped to pet Little River, and she thought it would be fun to chase them!

Like Sparrow last year, Little River LOVED the National Drive. It's as much fun to watch your equine partner engage with the event as it is to participate in it yourself. Over the three days she kind of puffed up into a much bigger VSE exactly the same size. It's so relaxed and positive that the horses can just relax into the carnival.

[PiesMom]

Everyone's comments and helpful suggestions are making me all the more excited to be going to my first ND this year :) Tomorrow our little driving club are gathering for a winter pot-luck get together and hopefully we shall build quite a group of us to travel down to meet you all in KY!

[cabz]

Happy New Year from Ontario, Canada to everyone.

My husband and I attended 2007 without the horse and had fun. We stayed at the campground for two nites. I attend a couple of the clinics, helped out in another, took a lesson with clinican, with the loan of a Caspian from kearleydk (thanks again Dick), so there is lots to do even if you do not bring your horse. Met MySparrow, Ashemont, Hobbyhorse23 and probably a few others. I am not planning at this time to go this year, but will be there in spirit. If you have an opportunity to go, go, as it is a great time. The variety of horses, people, carriages etc is almost overwhelming, but as it has been said before, the common elements are, driving and everyone is there to have a good time.

[2ndyrgal]

A friend of mine graciously invited me to "head" for her (ok, so she only asked me because I'm a bit younger and have harness horse experience to spare). We ended up on the cover of "Drive" that year. My parents were thrilled and showed the magazine to everyone in Tuscon. We are both somewhat "local" gals, who, while trotting along in her fabulous carriage behind her plucky little mare, looked at each other that fine fall day and said "who would have ever thought we'd get to live like this?" Heaven. Might get the fat haffie ready for the meadowbrook this year before he gets too old. A more lovely, user friendly place to drive for ANY level, whether we're talking skill level or economic level, there can not possibly be.

[kearleydk]

cabz, due to my not paying attention you have TWO PM's.

Dick