The Coaching Season 2008

  Well the 2008 Season has finished, and with thanks in no small part to our super team of people Paul Bennett, Suzanne Robinson and Cath Taylor and not forgetting our partners Bill Ginns and Chris Rawlins we can look back on a very busy year with some satisfaction. Cal alias Hamewith Caledonian has slotted into the team well and has gone from strength to strength, I am so glad that we persevered with him after an unfortunate accident because he has done very well. Watty has not missed an event and nor has Dino (Glenshane Valentino) Legend (Brookfield Legend has done all the Coaching Club Meets and wherever we needed a stout heart in the lead and Logan (Hamewith John) has done all the shows in the lead.

Our first engagement was a display for the British Driving Society at their Spring into Action Event at Arena UK and we were slightly concerned about going indoors with crowds and music so early in the season with Cal only just finding his feet, but we did not need to worry, and Legend made a great Black Bess ridden by convincing highwayman Janice Clough.. The Spring Drive for the Road Club, was in Kent hosted by John & Pebs Brown. We arrived on the Saturday having agreed with a film company making a film about Dick Turpin that we would do a spot of filming. We had thought it would take a short time and not be much trouble, how wrong we were, they wanted us in this secluded wood, in the dark, where they placed smoke machines and special low lighting effects. Chris was supposed to drive the horses along this track but could not see a thing, a bit daunting, he had to rely on the horses to see for him. They were incredibly patient but we all glad to get back to our beds at some time after midnight. The drive next day was lovely with a well organised drive and Sunday lunch. Rod took the reins for the second half of the drive his first public outing.

The Coaching Club Meet at Deepcut in Surrey followed and was very enjoyable with reasonable weather and then a couple of days later we were off to Belgium to Baron Jean Casier’s memorial drive There were only two British teams there, ourselves and the Household Cavalry Team with Danny Kendle. This was a splendid event with trips to some fabulous carriage collections as well as a lovely drive complete with picnic. The show season began with Windsor and with Bill Ginns on the box we started off with a great second place in the Drag section beaten only by Tucker Johnson who was over from America and with wins later on at the Royal and New Forest Show we were delighted. Qualifying for the Supreme Driving Championships at both those shows was a great experience and particularly at the Royal it was great to see that the majority of the other qualifiers were also Hackneys. Hamewith Lochnagar and Geoff Osbourne took the Supreme Championship and we got reserve.

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