Lowther Horse Driving Trials - 2008

Wendy and I attended the Lowther Horse Driving Trials last week and, once again, exhibited our silver and gold jewellery designs at this prestigious event in the picturesque surroundings of the Lowther estate in the Lake Districts of Cumbria.

The most exciting feature of this three day event is undoubtedly the cross country obstacle course held on the Saturday. This draws huge crowds who come to see the thrills and spills of the adrenalin pumping competition where carriages, pulled by up to four horses, are driven at speed around a course with challenging natural hazards.

Another amazing spectacle to be seen this year was the main ring performance by Jean Francois Pignon who charmed the crowds with his magical sequence involving unharnessed horses. The horsemanship and his unique bond with these animals really is something to behold.

This year's event was marred to some extent by the poor weather which had resulted in heavilly churned mud around the trade exhibition areas. Whilst the climatic conditions provided even more excitement than usual at the cross country event, by Sunday it had simply become too dangerous and the event was finally called off. Much to the regret of everyone we all had to go home. No easy task for those of us with trade stands as vehicle movement had become totally impossible. The only way on or off the showground was by tractor!

















History of the Horse Driving Trials

Although horses have been driven and used as a form of transport for centuries, the ‘Horse Driving Trials‘ competition only came into existence as a sport in 1968 under the leadership of HRH Prince Philip. Similar to the horse riding triathlons known as 'eventing' and held at international events such as Burghley and Badminton each year, 'Horse Driving Trials' consist of three phases to test the overall versatility of the animal in a harness.

The dressage phase is the first to be completed and this essentially demonstrates the ‘schooling’ and obedience of the horses in which a sequence of movements is carried out.
Perhaps the most exciting phase is the cross country marathon carried out on the second day. The carriages are driven at speed and the horses must be directed through challenging obstacles with tight turns requiring skill and judgement on the part of the driver. The steep banks and water features can make this a potentially dangerous circuit particularly in poor weather.

The Cone Driving competition is carried out on the third day and this roughly equates to the show jumping phase of a horse riding event. The driver must negotiate his horse and carriage through narrowly spaced pairs of cones. It requires great driving skills and a well trained, obedient horse.

The driver is sometimes known as the ‘whip’ and his sole purpose is to control and direct the horses from the driving position in the carriage. The horse must be totally obedient to the instruction of the driver who uses his reigns, his voice and occasionally his whip. Each driver is also assisted by a ‘groom’ or navigator who is there for emergencies and to help with balancing the carriage in tight turns on the cross country obstacle course. By shifting his weight at the back of the carriage he helps the driver to negotiate tighter turns or uneven ground at greater speed. One groom is used for singles and pairs of horses and two grooms for carriages with 'four-in-hand'. The groom may not speak or signal to the driver.

Jean Francois Pignon

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Last Year at The Lowther Horse Driving Trials - 2007

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Lowther Horse Driving Trials

Lorenzo - the 'Flying Frenchman'

"What's it like to be on the country fair circuit during the summer?"

... a question we're often asked by those curious to know what its like exhibiting our range of silver and gold jewellery at large rural events around the country. There is no finer example - to illustrate these fascinating country fairs - than the 'Lowther Horse Driving Trials' held last weekend in the Lake District.

This non profit making 'charitable' event is held on the breathtakingly beautiful grounds of the Lowther Estate in Cumbria. Marquees and eventing rings are set up on the rolling green countryside that stretches out in front of Lowther Castle culminating in a gurgling brook nestled in the valley not far below.

In addition to the carriage driving events that form the main attraction, there are other equestrian competitions and country pursuits including demonstrations in fly fishing, the use of gun dogs, the hunting hounds and falconry to name but a few. One of the most spectacular attractions this year, however, was the awe inspiring talents demonstrated by Lorenzo in his magical performance with horses. He enthralled the crowds with his amazing stunts whilst standing on the backs of eight stallions! (I was pleased with the photographic opportunities his act presented and feature a great shot of him - taken with my new Nikon camera. If you want to see a great film demonstrating his talents click on the main photo of him above ... it's well worth watching).

We were particularly pleased that the weather turned out so well over the weekend, despite the forecasts! We enjoyed sunshine and blue skies for most of the time and just the occasional light shower and cloud cover in the early morning. The organisers of the Lowther event have taken the sensible precaution of 'restricting' the catering by excluding the usual suppliers of over priced hamburgers and hot dogs. Perhaps the biggest hit was this outside 'pizza diner' offering freshly made pizzas cooked in a wood fired oven. It was as much fun watching as it was eating the pizzas!

The skydiving event was somewhat distressing as the first man down hit an airless pocket shortly before landing and instead of slowing down he came in so hard he literally bounced! An ambulance was called in as he wasn't moving but, to the relief of the crowd, his injuries were limited to a broken or possibly severely sprained ankle.

Paul Wright Jewellery was here!

If you weren't able to attend the Lowther Driving Trials this year I hope you will have enjoyed a glimpse of the fun that was had at this three day event. I end with a photograph of Wendy on our trade stand. As always we were located in the prestigious 'Rural Crafts' pavilion. Our display of silver and gold jewellery was well received and I am pleased to say that if you missed us there all is not lost. Simply click on the image of our stand and you can have a glimpse of the contents!

Photography by Paul Wright. All rights reserved 2007