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WELSH PONIES and COBS
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Updated December 3, 2008 WPCSA LATEST NEWSThis page is best viewed using Explorer 6.0. Other versions or browsers may distort the text layout. It's Time to send in your Stallion Directory Listing!!!
The Winter Issue of the Welsh Review will feature a Stallion Directory.
All listings are sorted by state and provide valuable information for mare owners planning their 2009 breeding season.
the Deadline for sending in your sTALLION listing is December 6th! Click here for the Stallion Listing Form THE 2009 WPCSA AGM & CONVENTION REGISTRATION IS NOW ONLINE The 2009 WPCSA AGM & Convention will be held February 19-22, 2009 at The Renaissance Worthington in Fort Worth, TX. Registration Deadline: February 3, 2009. Click here for the Registration Form. Click the FORT WORTH GUIDE for Fort Worth tourist information. IMAGINE U.S. Drivers Prove Their Ability at the World Championships for Drivers with Disabilities
Dreams became reality for Meghan Benge (left). She won an individual gold medal driving a borrowed pony, and led her teammates, Diane Kastama and Mary Gray, to win the team Silver Medal at the FEI World Championship for Drivers with Disabilities, held June 26 - 29 in Greven, Germany, in conjunction with a national competition.
Competing with 27
competitors from eight nations, the Team USA got off to
a great start, finishing
first, second and third
in the dressage competition.
Meghan Benge scored
41.20 from the international jury, followed by
Diane Kastama with 43.00
and Mary Gray with 43.60. It was an enormous
achievement for
Mary Gray and Meghan Benge to earn such impressive
scores having driven their
borrowed ponies only
three times prior to hearing the judge's bell. All
drove a specially written test, which is similar in
movements and requirements to our Intermediate level
tests. Benge, from Southern Pines, North Carolina, drove Jack, an 18-year-old Welsh Cob gelding leased from Fiona McQuat. The pony had been trained by Boyd Excell, an internationally known four-in-hand driver and trainer with whom Benge has worked before in the U.S. with her own pony. "I wasn't sure what to expect, but since he was trained by Boyd, he drove in a manner I was used to. We were very lucky to find such nice ponies," said Benge. Miranda Cadwell arranged for the lease of the two ponies, which were shipped from England to Germany for the championships.
Gray, of Newton, New
Hampshire, drove Rannoch, a seven-year-old
Friesian/Arabian/Welsh
The wheelchair-bound Kastama was able to raise the funds to fly her Welsh Cob gelding, Jasper, along with her specially designed carriage and equipment, from California to Germany. Kastama and Jasper have established a real bond in the four years since she purchased him after driving him at the 2004 World Championships. Miranda (Randy) Cadwell, herself a gold medalist at last year's pony World Championships, served as the team's chef d'equipe, assisted by Boots Wright of Ocala, Florida. Keady Cadwell, a noted pair horse driver, served as the coach for the team. The Cadwell sisters, who reside in Southern Pines, North Carolina, have participated in every World Championship for Drivers with Disabilties since 1998 except one. The two girls started working with disabled drivers because of Sybil Dukehart, the founder (now deceased) of United States Driving for the Disabled which she ran from her Shoulderbone Farm in Jarrettsville, Maryland. "It's something we can do to give back to the sport," said Randy. "Besides, I get to work with my best friend [Benge]." Drivers are classified by the International Paralympic Equestrian Committee as either Grade 1 or Grade 2. Most Grade 1 drivers are in wheelchairs, while those categorized as Grade 2 are less impaired, yet somewhat disabled as compared to able-bodied drivers. Kastama represented the U.S. in the Grade 1 category, with Benge and Gray participating as Grade 2 drivers. In past years, each grade was treated as an individual class, but this time they were combined so Grade 1 and 2 were mixed in the driving order. At a world championship, the chef d' equipe 'draws' for the order in which her team will drive. Randy Cadwell drew the numbers 5, 15, and 25. Then the three U.S. drivers names were put into a hat, and Cadwell drew again: Kastama would drive fifth, (it is usually considered a disadvantage to go early in the day - judges are reluctant to give up their best scores in anticipation of what's yet to come), then Benge, 15th, and Gray almost the last of the day, in 25th. The team was thrilled with their scores - all in the 40s. "It's amazing to throw away a 40s score," said Kastama, meaning that in team competition, only the two best individual scores are counted toward the team score. If a competitor is eliminated in any of the competitions, none of his scores will count, so the U.S. team really had a safety net in case of bad luck. Gray agreed, "It was a dynamite day for dressage - we were all on a pretty big high." She also noted that the German drivers don't like to be beaten - especially by people with borrowed ponies! The order on the marathon was also mixed: horses and ponies were mingled in the order, but amazingly didn't seem to cause a problem. The track of Section E was tricky with a lot of cross traffic, and according to Benge, the course markings are a little different than in the U.S. so that was another thing to learn. The last World Championship Benge attended was in Greven several years ago, but the obstacles were all different. "These were so inviting and really fun to drive," said Benge. Randy Cadwell rode on her carriage as a navigator, "It's always good to have someone like Randy on the back." Benge was fifth in her grade on the marathon, eighth overall.
Benge was standing first
going into cones with a six-point lead. "It was a
tricky course, lots of turns," said Benge, "but once I
got going, it was fine." She accumulated six penalties
by hitting two cones,
but the second place
driver also had penalties so she was able
to hold her position and
the gold medal. Kastama (right with navigator Josh Rector) had time penalties on the marathon, which were mostly due to the bumpy track. "I have a hard time on a bumpy course. It was too rough to 'walk' in the scooter," so Kastama didn't have the opportunity to see some of the course prior to driving it. The places where she normally would have made up time were the bumpy spots, so she had to slow down instead of speed up. Going over the uneven course is physically painful, and upsets her balance. She relies on her navigator to help keep her steady in her seat. Josh Rector, who has been Kastama's navigator for several years (and is also an up and coming four-in-hand driver) knows what he has to do to not only balance the carriage, but help support his driver. "We both have a lot of bruises," laughed Diane. Rector, the only male on the all female team, was greatly appreciated for his strength by all the women. "The seven obstacles were tight and technical, except for the first two which were wide open, but for the last gate in obstacle 1, from 'F' gate to the exit," said Kastama. The turn caused more than one carriage to travel on two wheels, "so we slowed down for that turn." The last obstacle was a big hill with a risky inside route. Kastama opted for the long route around the bottom, "Jasper tends to stall if I'm not fast," she said, so the longer way suited them the best. Gray felt she had a great marathon, finishing in eighth place. "Our biggest problem was with the older carriage with no delayed steering. We [Rannoch and Gray] were both used to that. A protest and appeal followed the marathon and delayed the presentation of the marathon prizes. The situation wasn't resolved until noon on the day of the final cones phase, just two hours before the start. As a result, the driving order couldn't be established nor the drivers notified of their driving times until the last minute. The dispute was whether German Grade 1 driver Heiner Lehrter circled after leaving the final obstacle in order to avoid another driver in his path, or whether the circle was intentional, incurring a ten point penalty. The ground jury found in Lehrter's favor and removed the penalties, but the Dutch team appealed the decision and after much deliberation by the Appeals Jury, the penalties were reinstated. Kastama said that her penalties in cones were her "gift" to the German driver who has become her friend, allowing him to move ahead of her in the final standings. Since the inception of the international competition for disabled drivers, there has been a noticeable improvement in the quality of drivers and their horses and ponies. "Everyone has gotten better," said Kastama, since 2002 when everyone was just driving any animal. "Now they are driving horses and ponies that will do well anywhere." In her five years representing the U.S. at these championships, Mary Gray says she still comes home "so inspired." With the quality of the driving so improved, it makes one "rededicate yourself to training harder." Hardy Zantke from the U.S. was one of five judges that comprised the jury: "Each time I work with the drivers with disabilities it is a truly humbling and very rewarding experience as it gives me the proper perspective of the really important things in life. These drivers are true heroes and we can and should all leam from them–and how they are able to overcome their disabilities to participate, and usually with a smile on their face. Perhaps it's just a word's game, but to me it is an important distinction: Many still call their sport "driving for the disabled" and I think nothing could be further from the truth. They have disabilities, yes, but they truly are not disabled. Quite the contrary, they show us every day how very ABLE they truly are." Team gold was won by The Netherlands, team bronze by Germany. Sweden followed in fourth place. Eliminations kept Great Britain from placing. Austria, Ireland and Norway sent one driver each, not enough to compete for a team medal. Grade 2 individual silver and bronze medals were awarded to Germany's Hubert Markett and Josef Sauerwald respectively. In Grade 1, Jacques Poppen of The Netherlands took home individual gold; Heiner Lehrter of Germany won the silver. Story by Ann L. Pringle Photos by Patricia KastamaThis article was reprinted with permission from Driving Digest, September/October 2008, p. 7.
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USEF PONY HUNTER FINALS
The winners in the High Score Purebred Welsh Pony
division are:
The winners in the High Score Half-Welsh Pony division
are:
The Futurity was a huge success with a great turn
out of breeders, owners and ponies. Ably
judged by Oliver Brown of Reva, Virginia - Grand Champion honors went to
Charmsley Jete, a beautiful grey Section B Welsh filly bred and owned by
Shirley & Thomas Hoffecker of Monkton, Maryland - shown by their granddaughter
Victoria Gordon. Charmsley Jete is by John & Margaret Almond's stallion
Fox Cry Whinny The Pooh out of Loafer's Lodge Ardara who is also the dam of LOM
Charmsley Little Sister. Reserve Champion honors went to Kathy Bridgwater's
All Doll'd Up, a lovely grey Welsh/Tb filly by Section A Welsh Stallion, LOM
Severn Gambol owned by Peggy Marshall of La Plata, Maryland out of
Justlovemeforever. 
