Driving history was made last July when Suzy Stafford became the first U.S. driver ever to win an individual gold medal at a World Driving Championship. She did it the hard way–it wasn’t a culmination of years of teamwork between pony and driver, but a matter of fate, plus the talent of both pony and driver.

Of course, medals give us all a boost, but what does a gold medal really mean for driving? For those who keep track of these things, medals are the only things that count. It gives driving the credibility it desperately needs, especially since driving is one of the smallest international disciplines in this country, vying with other disciplines to share the USET Foundation’s pot of gold used for training and competing. Even though driving has four World Championships (singles, pairs, teams, ponies), it’s not an Olympic sport. That’s a funding problem, especially since our additional horses, equipment and personnel add significantly to the cost to compete.

Hardy Zantke, chef d’equipe for both the pony and the pairs teams, notes that the United States has scored in the top three nations after dressage at all the recent World Championships. There may be several reasons for this, but Zantke believes that one reason is our four-level system (training, preliminary, intermediate and advanced), which trains our horses systematically and properly. Plus, the U.S. competitors were also able to spend more time in Europe last summer and to compete in one or two competitions prior to the championships.

Where Did They Go?
As I’ve mentioned in previous year-end analyses, driving is a complicated sport in comparison with those that require a saddle, bridle and a two-horse trailer. Perhaps that’s the reason that in the 10 years since the American Driving Society began issuing numbers to its members, we’ve issued more than 12,000 numbers yet currently have slightly more than 3,000 dues-paying members.

What’s happened to the 9,000 who once were members and active drivers? This is something that should be studied so that we can try to fulfill the needs of these former members and invite them to rejoin the ADS.

It’s especially hard to understand since the quality of driving competitions has improved exponentially over those 10 years. Exceptional venues for competitions range from public horse parks, like the one in Lexington, Va., where the Oak Hill CDE is held, to private farms like Sherwood Farms in Illinois, home of the Iron Horse CDE, where owners put forth extra effort at their own expense to provide competitors with an outstanding competitive experience.

Organizers are not just providing competitors with the bare necessities like adequate stabling, good footing, and a smoothly run show. They’re also offering amenities like portable toilet units with air-conditioning and flush toilets. And at many shows, the social activities are on a par with the competition. So why aren’t these shows overflowing with entries?

Economics may play a large role, especially as gasoline prices spiked past $3 a gallon late last summer. Entry and stall fees continue to creep higher, although these usually barely cover the organizers’ costs. For the few competitions that are oversubscribed, some are using higher entry fees as a way to reduce the overflow without having to reject an entry and eliminate the need for additional fund-raising. It will be very interesting to see how this works out.

The vast majority of competitors are amateurs who hold full-time jobs and use hard-earned vacation time to compete, as many shows–even two-day CDEs–actually mean that one has to arrive on Friday.

Considerations like this are but one reason why organizers need to consider the big picture before locking into a date. Who are their constituents? What other competitions are taking place, not only the same weekend, but up to two weeks before and after? Some competitors may opt to leave home to compete instead of staying in their own backyard. It may be cheaper to compete at home, but it would be like taking vacation time and just staying home–not nearly as much fun as going away. To some organizers, even 10 competitors can make a difference.

Organizers throughout the country should be encouraged to follow the lead of the Pacific Region, which holds an annual “meeting of the minds” each fall. There, club representatives and competition organizers gather to hammer out a schedule that doesn’t step on toes.

The entire Eastern seaboard needs to communicate better because little shows are affected by what the big shows do. Last year, the organizers of one major CDE changed their date rather late, and they probably had little idea of the trickle-down effect it had on others, even on local club activities many states away.

Judging Shortage
The Midwest is poised for a growth spurt, with several established competitions–such as the Villa Louis Carriage Classic, the Columbus Carriage Classic (both in Wisconsin), the Metamora Combined Driving Event in Michigan, and the Indiana CDE–as the foundation. Illinois’ Iron Horse CDE is gathering steam, and the Harvest Moon Car-riage Classic in Iowa is combining pleasure driving with a local Living History Museum for a win-win combination.

The area is also a fertile one for clinicians, with people like Lisa Singer and Larry Poulin adding regularly to their frequent flyer totals.

Still, r-rated combined driving judges are finding it increasingly difficult to gain the experience they need to apply for promotion to registered (R-rated) status within the ADS and then U.S. Equestrian Federation as more and more advanced-level combined driving events are seeking recognition from the Federation Equestre Internationale and importing foreign judges. I’m sure organizers aren’t aware that they’re denying USEF-licensed judges the opportunity to judge with FEI-licensed judges, which is required before they can apply to become candidate FEI officials. But, if this continues, soon the United States will have no FEI-licensed driving judges.

How bad is it? In the current ADS Omnibus (January to June 2006), of the six CDEs offering advanced level, only one (Birds Hill in Winnipeg, Manit.) isn’t FEI-recognized. The pool of driving officials isn’t large, and each year we lose a few. So unless they’re replaced, we could be facing a real shortage of national judges in the not-too-distant future.

Fund raising is a topic that elicits much debate among ADS members. All agree on the need for additional revenue to support competitions, train drivers for international competition, host camps for young drivers, and support regional activities. The challenge is to maintain and increase revenue without dipping into the same well over and over again.

Equestrian sports are perceived as an elitist activity by many, and maybe rightly so. That makes it very hard for fund-raisers to “sell” our sport to foundations and other grant-giving organizations in the same way they could if driving were a real disease and not just an addiction that hemorrhages money from the bank accounts of those who are hooked.

The young drivers program is the one that has received the most financial support in recent fund-raising campaigns. With successful camps and other programs starting up and becoming established, it would appear that the future of driving is secure. The ADS needs to develop a permanent young drivers program that will continue to encourage the development of educational programs. For many, driving is a family activity and it’s not uncommon to see husbands and wives, fathers and daughters, mothers and sons competing together (or even against one another!)

Technology Doesn’t Always Improve Communication
Major changes are taking place physically in the administration of our driving world. In 2004, the Carriage Association of America relocated to the Kentucky Horse Park after 30-plus years in Salem, N.J. And in 2006, the American Driving Society will relocate their office to Cross Plains, Wis., after 20 years in Metamora, Mich. In addition to the new office locale, Susan Koos-Acker will become the ADS executive director in March, taking the place of yours truly, who has had the pleasure of holding this position for 20 years.

When I joined the ADS in 1986, desktop computers were new and something to be afraid of. (C:directory–what did all that gobbledy gook on that green screen mean anyway?) Windows� hadn’t appeared on the scene; fax machines were a novelty with thermal paper rolls, the internet hadn’t been invented yet (not in Michigan, anyway), desktop publishing was still a few years off, and all photos for publication were taken with film and were mostly out of focus and poorly composed!

It’s time for people with more technical skill, knowledge of non-profit issues, and time, energy and patience to deal with some of the issues that are in our future to take up the reins at the ADS.

I’ve become quite adept at one new technology, e-mail. I’m constantly sending and replying to e-mails, and thus it seems to me that I’m constantly communicating.

I think that since I know something, then everyone else must know it too. So I’m usually surprised when someone questions something happening within the ADS that they haven’t heard about. That lack of information can breed distrust, justified or not. Lack of information can also morph into wrong information without much help, which can really magnify distrust. We all must learn to communicate our thoughts and ideas much better than we are now.

E-mails, faxes, conference calls, even letters or phone calls are no substitute for face-to-face communication. We accomplish so much more when we can sit around a table and everyone can hear, and respond to, everyone else’s opinions. And we’re so much more polite when we debate in person.

So many good people have devoted tremendous amounts of time to serve on committees, sit on boards, and organize clinics and competitions. They’re sacrificing their free time–time with their families, time they might like to use driving their horses and ponies. They’ve spent thousands of dollars traveling to attend meetings. Their reward is the satisfaction that they’ve done something positive for the sport they love. Let’s hope this continues to be enough.

If I may be allowed a little sentimentality as I close, I can honestly say that of the thousands of people I’ve met throughout the last 20 years, hundreds have become friends. Yes, I’ve disagreed with some, but I respect them for what they’ve given to the sport, their skill on the box seat, and their love of their animals.