Hickory Knoll Farm & Frostwood Farm
5438 Highway M, Fitchburg, WI 53575
608-835-7473
frei@chorus.net
Hickory Knoll Farm will again bring an American Driving Society show to Fitchburg. The Hickory Knoll Combined Driving Event will be held the third weekend in July. The last event filled all available competitor spots with drivers from five states and had a waiting list.
Combined driving competitors compete in three disciplines. They start Saturday with driven dressage in which the horse, carriage and driver perform tests to exhibit the level of training of the driving horse. The horses are judged on flexibility, impulsion, and submission as they are driven in the patterns described by each test. Dressage is scored by judging each movement on a zero to ten scale basis.
The horses are then driven at speed through a cones course where they are directed through narrow obstacles formed by cones with balls resting on top of them. Each ball dislodged gains a penalty as the driver races to meet the specified time for the course.
The final test is a timed cross country drive in which the horses must cover ground quickly and drive through tight man-made “obstacles” without missing a prescribed gate or knocking down obstacle elements.
Each of the three tests is given a numeric score. The best score in each division becomes the champion. The levels offered will be Training, Preliminary and Intermediate. Divisions will include single pony, single horse, pony pairs, horse pairs and tandem.
The work is quite relaxed, and you will have the opportunity to watch drivers do dressage and cones on Saturday, or on Sunday, navigate the cross-country course. We have positions open for scribes who write dressage scores or cones times, cone setters, Sunday timers, course observers and obstacle timers and observers.
You need to bring only a chair and a hat. We will provide training and any items you need to man your position.
This is an excellent opportunity to learn a great deal about driving and meet some of the most pleasant horse people in the US.
