# Driven Dressage



## crimson88 (Aug 29, 2009)

I have been mainly showing breed shows with my 4 year old miniature stallion but have gotten bored with just walking and trotting around the arena rail and I am tired of those biased breed show judges too! I really have considered doing CDE. It looks like a lot of fun, but right now I am only interested in doing the dressage part. Can you just do one event or do you have to do all of them? I am a REAL newbie about CDE so I know I sound pretty stupid right now. I also want to know if my stallion is capable of doing it. He is 32", and I was wondering if that was too small? I have been told in the past that larger minis are better for CDE. I would like someone to eveluate his confromation and let me know what they think of him and if he would be suitable for dressage. He has several championships in halter, but I know they look for different things in halter than you would in a dressage ring. He is very forward , but does tend to be behind the vertical a lot when i have contact on the reins. Any way here he is, it's okay to pick him apart, I don't mind!


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## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

Get on the american driving society web site. Yes you can just do dressage and not the other. You might like the pleasure classes and gamblers choice too. This will be my 1st yr showing ADS


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## crimson88 (Aug 29, 2009)

Okay thanks. I just thought of another question. I know they use little gig type carts in CDE but at this time I can't afford to buy a new cart. I have a pleasure cart (as seen above) would that be okay to use for lower level dressage? Or would I be marked down? I also have just a basic easy entry training cart too, but it's not as pretty.


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## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

crimson88 said:


> Okay thanks. I just thought of another question. I know they use little gig type carts in CDE but at this time I can't afford to buy a new cart. I have a pleasure cart (as seen above) would that be okay to use for lower level dressage? Or would I be marked down? I also have just a basic easy entry training cart too, but it's not as pretty.


For dressage they have to be FEI width. Not sure what that is for your size of pony but I am sure they have that info on the site also.


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## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

What state do you live in?


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## crimson88 (Aug 29, 2009)

Oregon. I have been getting some infromation on index and it has really helped me. They only talk about meadowbrook type carts however.


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## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

crimson88 said:


> Oregon. I have been getting some infromation on index and it has really helped me. They only talk about meadowbrook type carts however.


I purchased a rule book that was very helpful.


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## CheyAut (Nov 26, 2008)

As far as CDE, you COULD just do dressage, but you have to pay for and enter the entire thing, so you might as well do cones and marathon, too! That's the funnest part!  It's a TON of fun 

I use an easy entry cart with my minis in all phases of CDEs. I do believe your show cart would be fine for dressage, except that your wheels may not be. I know the club here allows wheels like that for training level for minis, and for our one day CDEs we can use them in prelim (it's not ADS), but really CDEs require non-wire spoked rims. You'd need wheels like this: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/58/188171811_e093104364.jpg?v=0 either wood, steel, ect.

As for his size, I have two friends who do CDE with minis under 30" and do very well at it! 

Another website to check out is www.cde4vse.com (and if you go there, the top right photo is my mini Chili Pepper and I in a water hazard  )


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## crimson88 (Aug 29, 2009)

Great, thanks for the info!


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## PaintsPwn (Dec 29, 2009)

Holy Crap that looks like fun O_O I don't know a single thing about driving though and no one around here does it.


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## my2geldings (Feb 18, 2008)

Great topic. Let us know if you end up doing it. Would love to see some videos


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## Standardbredwoman (Mar 26, 2010)

Check with your local clubs. Many offer a training day or course with just a few obstacles to get the feel of the whole thing.


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## Standardbredwoman (Mar 26, 2010)

Forgot to add: While you get a score for each individual portion, your actual score is a combination of all events. This will most likely take you out of the chance for placement. Not sure if that matters to you or not.


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## susanne (Dec 18, 2009)

Hey crimson88,

Another Oregonian here...

You may already know this, but you are truly in the land of the mini (or VSE -- Very Small Equine) in CDE competitions. If you haven't already checked it out, Happs in Ethel, Washington is at the forefront of NW CDE. Maureen Harkcom, the director, is incredibly helpful and very supportive of VSEs.

Happs has its BIG event coming up in June, but also has a couple of schooling shows in May and another in September. Their website, www.happs-inc.com, is loaded with tons of information about their events, including the dressage tests used for any given event.

Another site to check out is cde4vse. If nothing else, you should get in touch with the site's founder, Leia Gibson, who has won many northwest CDEs with her 32 inch mini, Kody. 

www.minihorsecde.com is another great resource with everything the beginner needs to know.

There are several northwest trainers specializing in CDE, including Dorothy Whiteman and Terri Jones as well as many others.

Your stallion is gorgeous, and while I'm hardly the expert, he appears to be getting his hindquarters under himself, much unlike many horses trained just for the breed show ring.

Good luck on your quest, and if you're ever interested in beach driving, we have a Yahoo group for our gathering in Long Beach, Washington, in September. We hope to add other trail drives, but have yet to get that well organized...


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