driving
fei World single Driving Championships Awards Christoph Dieker with Gold Medal By Cindy Timmer
Christoph Dieker of Gemany won the fei World single Driving Championships at Companhia das Lezirias, portugal. Dieker placed second in dressage, stayed on silver after the marathon, and only had one fault in the final obstacle driving competition. michael Barbey of switzerland won the silver individual medal; the bronze medal went to Wilbrord van den Broek of the netherlands. the German team successfully defended their gold medal. team silver was won by switzerland and the bronze was awarded to the netherlands. the event drew 73 competitors from 20 nations at the very comfortable and well laid-out competition site, with eight wonderful obstacles, designed by “o” course designer richard nicoll from the United states. Dieker was one of the first who drove dressage, and received a score of 39.55
for his test with 17-year-old fst elmor. “this definitely was not my best test ever with this horse. i have been lucky,” Dieker commented. in the marathon, Dieker missed a gate in obstacle 4, which cost him precious seconds. But, he finished just behind kwiatek and held on to his second place position in the standings. Barbey set his first step toward a medal in the marathon, which he won, driving his 13-year-old kWpn gelding solo V. Barbey was sitting in seventh place before the cones, and honored the traditional swiss precision. he passed the finish line with only 3.29 penalty points for exceeding the time allowed, which would move him up to claim the silver medal, as none of his fellow competitors managed to stay clear.
Van den Broek was very happy with his bronze medal, which he thanked 16-year-old oscar, the horse with which his father Jan won the gold medal in 2008, for. Van den Broek came in third in dressage. Detlef Bohlmann, Dieker, and Dieter Lauterbach took the lead after dressage and maintained their comfortable position throughout the whole competition, leading Germany to gold. the netherlands was poised to take silver before the cones, but dropped to bronze when the swiss put down excellent performances in the cones competition. the polish drivers lost bronze when Bartolomiej kwiatek made four faults. for more information, visit fei.org.
FEI World Single Driving Champion Christoph Dieker driving FST Elmor.
[ equine journal affiliate ]
saratoga Driving association
Takes a Look at the Year in Review suBmiTTed By Carol frank
phoTo: rinaldo de Craen/fei
the saratoGa DriVinG assoCiation (sDa) is delighted to once again brag about our great organization and all we have been able to offer the driving community. organizations go through cycles, and we have strived to have our club continue to grow and expand on what we can offer our members. our clinics have all been full and met the different needs of sDa drivers. Jeff morse held clinics in June, and the senior Beginner Clinic, orchestrated by Lyn howard, took place in July. they have been repeated annually and continue to draw eager participants. Larry poulin brought his expertise in may and september where participants could take lessons in harness or under
saddle. having him multiple times during the summer gave drivers a chance to work with an instructor, develop a training plan, see the progress, and modify that plan. it is a formula that promotes growth. With Jeff being relatively local in richmond, ma, drivers are also able to follow up with him. We anticipate bringing robin Groves on may 4-5, 2013, for two days of lessons and are looking for input regarding what structure people would prefer. since we’re constantly striving to improve our driving skills, the club holds two american Driving society approved shows each year. the annual pleasure show at Lindenwald is a lovely, relaxed environment under the historic shade
trees of the martin Van Buren estate in kinderhook, ny. summer shows can be hot under the blazing sun, but Lindenwald feels like another era. also, roxbury organic farm provided a pleasure pace, looping past the cows, sheep, and cultivated fields. Beyond the historic trees, remote from the competition, route 9 passes by and the local community comes to watch. having an audience appreciating the turnouts, and bringing the community to this national park site to see the carriages and tour the presidential mansion, makes for a unique show. Unfortunately, the show at Lindenwald did not draw enough competitors in august. everyone that participated was very pleased, and in the days of the Columbia County Coaching society, when they held their show at this location, it was hugely popular. the board has decided to move the show to June 30, 2013, in hopes that we will avoid conflicts and increase participation. Details will be in the american Driving society omnibus.
continued on page 156 November 2012
| equine Journal 155