Southern Horse Magazine June / July 2016 | Page 78

Sponsored Driver Hello There Readers, I am very proud to have been selected as Southern Horse and Northern Horse Magazines Sponsored Driver, so allow me to introduce myself to you. I’m Jane Hendy and I live just outside Badminton in Gloucestershire and run a small competition driving yard. I have produced all my own ponies and am currently competing at Indoor Trials, Scurry and Driving Trials, BDS events and some one day Regional Outdoor events across the UK. Tiff is my little 6 year old Welsh Section B mare who started driving and competing aged 4. Now well into our second season, we qualified for the National Indoor Driving Trials Championships at Keysoe, Bedfordshire in April. We became overnight leaders in the Novice Pony class having won the dressage and 2nd in the cones section. This was our first ever National Championship so the pressure was a bit intense! We put in some of the fastest times in the obstacles section to be positioned 8th in the UK. I was thrilled as this little pony just tries her heart out. Tiff also competed in Scurry and Trials driving which is a relatively new sport [email protected] and requires speed and accuracy to compete a course of cones and obstacles. At our debut competition in April at Hampshire Country Fair, we came 2nd in the single pony class by .3 of a second!! And were placed in the top 6 in all the other classes, this meant Tiff has now qualified for the European Championships at Blenheim Palace 4 – 7 August. This is also being filmed by BBC Countryfile, so you may get a glimpse of us on TV! Team Tiff includes various backsteppers as we compete a lot so not everyone is free, so Patrick Jackson is currently backstepping at Scurry Trials for me and my mum is backstepping at Indoor Trials. I do have a couple of backsteppers in training but if anyone is interested in joining my team then please do feel free to contact me! I also have a standard Shetland called Mrs Smartie Pants who only started driving 10 months ago, in her first indoor season 2015/16 she won the Regional Championships at Stretcholt Equestrian Centre small pony class and qualified for the National Indoor Finals too! However, taking two ponies to the Nationals was going to be tough so, I just took Tiff instead. Smartie drives in a pair with a friends pony, but most recently she’s been in a Unicorn Team which is two ponies called “Wheelers” at the back and one Leader at the front. Finally I have a mini Shetland in training called Crunchie who is enjoying her new role as a driving pony. She’s not ready for competitions just yet, still doing all the long reining and pulling tyres with her but she should be on the circuit in July. She’s going to be one to watch as she does move quickly! Plans this year are to do a bit of showing, more Scurry and Driving Trials to qualify for Equifest and the 5 Nations in September held at Sandringham, more outdoor trials and hopefully qualify for the National Championships at Cirencester Park in September in the new Evolution class, so fingers crossed. Jane and Tiff were chosen to drive in the Scurry & Driving Trials in the main ring both days at Chatsworth Horse Trials, you can read a report on them in our review of the Dodson & Horrell Chatsworth International Horse Trials. We will keep you all informed on their progress throughout the year, but in the meantime if you spot them out and about at competitions please do go and say Hello Pictured is Jane & Tiff in action at various eevnts. Page 80 78