The Middle Tennessee Carriage Club (MTCC) and Cannon Carriage Driving Center (CCDC) teamed up to host the first Driving Derby in the middle Tennessee area on Saturday September 19, 2015. The Keathleys hosted the event at their Valhalla Farm in Woodbury, TN.
A Driving Derby is a carriage driving competition of speed and accuracy, where drivers compete over
an arena course that is a combination of marathon and cone obstacles. Each driver is timed through a numbered course of obstacles/gates that must be negotiated in the proper direction and in numerical order
to the finish line. Drivers could enter horses of any breed and size, from minis to horses.
Valhalla Farm is the home of Jim and Elizabeth Keathley, who is owner of the Cannon Carriage Driving Center. Elizabeth is an advanced level competitor in Combined Driving events and also competes in Pleasure Driving shows.
MTCC President Kate Bushman was excited about the turnout and how well the event ran: “We had 12 turnouts to the Derby, held at Valhalla Farm in Woodbury. Everyone raved about how much fun the format was! People got to make a practice run at whatever pace they wanted. Then they had two more runs in which their time and penalties counted. The combined low score won.”
Division winners were:
Training VSE/small pony: Tonna Bruce and Mickey Blue Eyes
Training Pony: Jeannette Haislip driving Henning
Training Horse: Suzanne Zutter driving Lyricc
Preliminary+ VSE: Kathleen Carey driving Hero
Preliminary Pony: Joanna Wilburn driving Rollingwoods Berry Last One
Preliminary Horse: Kate Bushman driving Bliss
Find more information about MTCC at: www.midtenncarriageclub.org
Photos by Gerry Plock
A Driving Derby is a carriage driving competition of speed and accuracy, where drivers compete over
an arena course that is a combination of marathon and cone obstacles. Each driver is timed through a numbered course of obstacles/gates that must be negotiated in the proper direction and in numerical order
to the finish line. Drivers could enter horses of any breed and size, from minis to horses.
Valhalla Farm is the home of Jim and Elizabeth Keathley, who is owner of the Cannon Carriage Driving Center. Elizabeth is an advanced level competitor in Combined Driving events and also competes in Pleasure Driving shows.
MTCC President Kate Bushman was excited about the turnout and how well the event ran: “We had 12 turnouts to the Derby, held at Valhalla Farm in Woodbury. Everyone raved about how much fun the format was! People got to make a practice run at whatever pace they wanted. Then they had two more runs in which their time and penalties counted. The combined low score won.”
Division winners were:
Training VSE/small pony: Tonna Bruce and Mickey Blue Eyes
Training Pony: Jeannette Haislip driving Henning
Training Horse: Suzanne Zutter driving Lyricc
Preliminary+ VSE: Kathleen Carey driving Hero
Preliminary Pony: Joanna Wilburn driving Rollingwoods Berry Last One
Preliminary Horse: Kate Bushman driving Bliss
Find more information about MTCC at: www.midtenncarriageclub.org
Photos by Gerry Plock
