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It is time for the annual Introduction to Carriage Driving Clinic given by
Joanna Wilburn and Sally Ross Davis of Rollingwoods Farm. The clinic will
cover harnessing, types of carriages, and horses/ponies that pull them, and
then some hands on driving. This is a free clinic designed to promote
Carriage Driving. Several members of the Nashoba Carriage Club will be on
hand with their carriage and pony/horse to give everyone the experience of driving. This will be
a hands on experience with everyone welcome.
Nashoba Carriage Club was established in 1997 and its members have a wide
variety of driving interests. They include but are not limited to trail
drives, shows and Combined Driving Events (patterned after a Three Day
Event). There will be representatives attending if you want to look into
joining this group. The club's big event is a Driving Show sanctioned by
the American Driving Society September 18-20 at Germantown Charity Show
Grounds in Germantown, TN.
The clinicians are Joanna Wilburn and Sally Ross Davis. Joanna and Sally
Ross along with their sisters, Ruth Wilburn DVM and Stacy West are sisters
who own Rollingwoods Farm. Rollingwoods Farm specializes in breeding top
quality Welsh ponies suitable for both driving and riding. These sisters
and this farm have produced numerous national driving champions as well as
Champions in open driving competitions.
Sally Ross Davis specializes in breaking driving ponies while Joanna Wilburn
specializes in teaching people to drive. Together they offer a wide
spectrum of information from breaking and selecting the driving pony to how
to actually drive a pony.
To start, Joanna goes through and describes the parts of the harness, pointing out the benefits of proper fit. Everyone who comes to the clinic gets to experience harnessing a horse or pony with help from experienced drivers, along with riding in the carts or carriages and getting the feel of driving the horses.
The Rollingwoods Farm indoor arena is the perfect setting, just in case the weather is bad.
Clinician, Joanna Wilburn, is talking to the participants about harness
and driving. Joanna spends time discussing all the parts of the harness,
then harnesses a pony for demonstration. She then has the participants along with
helpers harness up ponies. The ponies enjoy all of this attention and they don't
seem to mind if the harness isn't on quite right! Of course, once done Joanna went
through and discussed each one and helped to adjust each correctly.
Once the pony is harnessed Joanna then demonstrates long lining and
working the pony from the ground. They have several retired champion driving ponies that they use for this demostration. In this photos it is Rollingwoods Lorna Doone, who has many years of
experience and loves the attention of anybody who will pet on her. She is also a
Rollingwoods broodmare and has produced some beautiful babies, including
Rollingwoods Cookie Thief.
Last year we had a good turnout, lots of people and kids. Even though the
weather was a little cold outside, the indoor arena offered some protection from the weather
and wind. There was plenty of food and hot cocoa.
If you are interested in private lessons with your own pony/horse, or just to teach you how to drive, please phone Joanna at 901-834-4922.
Occasionally Sally Ross may take outside ponies for starting in either driving or
riding. Please contact her for details and availability.
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