Combined Driving Rules & Guidelines

COMBINED DRIVING GUIDE

by Ava


Rules and regulations:

1. Driving shows can be held as SINGLE or PAIR or FOUR-IN-HAND;
it has to be clearly stated in the title of the thread.
- SINGLE: one horse per entry
- PAIR: two horses per entry
- FOUR-IN-HAND: four horses per entry

2. One horse can be shown in all categories until gaining the DRIVING CHAMPION title;
however, the horse might still compete as a filler in PAIRS/F-I-H, but its score will be divided by two; (the other horse's score remains intact) - the points for placing go solely to the untitled horse.

3. Each horse has statistics that tell which phase of the driving competition is he best in (GREAT), good in (GOOD), and worst in (POOR).
These traits remain unchanged throughout horse's whole career.

4. For each phase of the competition:
I: DRESSAGE
II: MARATON
III: OBSTACLE CONE
dice will be rolled;
- the score will consist of 2 even and 1 odd roll for each part plus the bonus:
+3 for Great, no points added or substracted for Good, -2 two points substracted for Poor
the even dice indicate the cleared obstacles and good time, the odd - faults made;

5. Scores from all three phases will be summed up to get the final result.

6. The tie will be judged basing on the total score in the POOR phase;
if the scores are even, the total score of the GOOD phase will be looked at; the higher pointed horse wins;
in the case of Pairs and FIH, the scores will be added for every horse competing.

7. Horses in pairs/quads can complement their weaknesses (great+poor) or rely on domineering one phase (great+great), it can be a mix of both (good/good, poor/great, great/poor);

8. Horses in PAIRS or F-I-H should be as similar as possible in height, body type, colour, and movement.

9. The judge is able to award entries by adding bonus points to the DRESSAGE phase.
This is absolutely voluntary and marks an excellence in posing the horse or matching a team.
Max bonus points are : 2 for Single, 3 for Pair, 4 for F-I-H.
Bonus is added to the team's dressage total score.

10. As this is a random judged show, the judge may enter an own team; however, in such case the bonus must not be added!






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DRESSAGE BONUS?

bonus can be added to the team total dressage score, but it is not obligatory and depends on judge's preference whether or not add the bonus
.Poses allowed: (facing left or right)
- halt (halter pose),
- walk, trot, canter (extended, working, collected)
- no gallop!
Where good moving poses are slightly superior to the halt.
.All horses in a team must face the same direction.
.Horses should be as even as possible, with aligned body and head/eye facing forward;
.Horses in a team have to move in the same pace (walking, trotting, or cantering, or halting), the poses themselves may differ (BUT, look below);
.Best teams move in a unison! the poses, head placements, expressions etc. should be as similar as possible in all horses entered.
In Four-In-Hand leaders (pair in front) and wheelers (pair in back) may be captured in different poses but in the same pace.
.In Pairs and Four-In-Hand the bonus relies on the movement and how the horses are matched in a team.
Things to consider: body type, colour, breed/mod, height. It is better to match identical or contrasting colours: black + black or black+white than bay+black.

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SHOW HOSTING MANUAL

. Specify the type of a show in the thread title - Single, Pairs, or Four-In-Hand.

. Set the entry number not less than 5 entries and (recommended) not much more, to save yourself from trouble counting stats.

. After the show is full, start judging by opening a txt file (recommended) and assigning each horse its points for stats.

. I usually start by writing the great/good/poor numbers to begin with.
. My scheme looks like:
[good/great/poor(even+even-odd)] so it's [3+()] for great, [()] for good, [-2+()] for poor.

. Go to random.org and roll the dice. I usually roll 10 dice per horse, so I always get at least two even and one odd result.
. Write the numbers in the equation - these must be the first numbers that were chosen by random.org
(first two even and first odd). e.g.: [3+(6+2-3)]

. Sum up the points remembering about subtracting the points for poor! eg. [3+(6+2-3)]=8

. Repeat for every horse entered.

. For pairs and four-in-hand add the points from each phase I:Dressage II:Marathon III:Obstacle Cone together.

. If you think that horses deserve bonus points for their entry this is the moment to add them.

. You are able to award maximum 2 bonus points in Single, 3 in Pairs, 4 in Four-In-Hand to the team's total dressage score.

. The points may vary from 0 to 2,3,or 4 depending on the type of show. It is your own choice if and how many points you will give.

. The team with the highest total score - summed up points of all horses from all phases - is the winner.

. If there is a tie:

- in Singles you compare the score from the 'Poor' phase. If the tie remains, you consider the 'Good' phase. Higher score wins.
- (unlikely, but) in Pairs/FIH you compare the points from Dressage phase. If the tie remains, you consider the Marathon phase.

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What are we looking for in Driving? aka. reasons to award bonus points:
- is the horse aligned? is the horse moving intentionally at a correct pace (no gallop)?
- is the horse's expression confident? no angry/scared eyes.
- if there's a tack, is it correctly placed? a misfitting tack is a danger for the horse and the whole team!
- are the horses looking good together?
- are the horses moving at the same pace and direction, are they in the same phase of movement?
- are they of the same breed/mod? if not, do they match each other in type/built/heaviness/height?
- are their colours compatible? traditionally identical or contrasting colours are thought superior to other pairings. Therefore it is better to pair black with grey than black with bay.

Usually my guide to awarding bonus points is:
. Singles: 1 for movement vs halt, 1 for alignment+expression
.Pairs: 1 for movement/alignment - same phase of movement, 1 for body type/mod/height, 1 for colour
.F-I-H: 2 for movement/alignment, 1 for body type/mod/height, 1 for colour

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Entry forms:


SINGLE:
* Team/Stable name:
* Horse's name:
* Total driving points:
* Stats: (Great/Good/Poor)
I: DRESSAGE
II: MARATHON
III: OBSTACLE CONE
* Photo:


PAIRS:
ENTRY FORM:
* Team/Stable name: (if entering more than one pair, please name the teams)

LEFT WHEELER: (from the perspective of the driver the horse that is on the left)
* Horse's name:
* Total driving points:
* Stats: (Great/Good/Poor)
I: DRESSAGE
II: MARATHON
III: OBSTACLE CONE

RIGHT WHEELER:
* Horse's name:
* Total driving points:
* Stats: (Great/Good/Poor)
I: DRESSAGE
II: MARATHON
III: OBSTACLE CONE

FOUR-IN-HAND:

ENTRY FORM:
* Team/Stable name: (if entering more than one pair, please name the teams)

LEFT WHEELER: (from the perspective of the driver the horse that is on the left)
* Horse's name:
* Total driving points:
* Stats: (Great/Good/Poor)
I: DRESSAGE
II: MARATHON
III: OBSTACLE CONE

RIGHT WHEELER:
* Horse's name:
* Total driving points:
* Stats: (Great/Good/Poor)
I: DRESSAGE
II: MARATHON
III: OBSTACLE CONE

LEFT LEADER (horse in front of left wheeler):
* Horse's name:
* Total driving points:
* Stats: (Great/Good/Poor)
I: DRESSAGE
II: MARATHON
III: OBSTACLE CONE

RIGHT LEADER:
* Horse's name:
* Total driving points:
* Stats: (Great/Good/Poor)
I: DRESSAGE
II: MARATHON
III: OBSTACLE CONE

When judging:
Team total: (the total score of all horses from all phases added together)
DRESSAGE: total dressage score for all horses + BONUS POINTS
MARATHON: total marathon score for all horses
OBSTACLE CONE: total obstacle cone score for all horses

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POINTS and TITLES

.For SINGLES the points go traditionally from 5 pts (for 1st place) to 1 pt (for 5th place)

.For PAIRS:
1st - 9 points
2nd - 7 points
3rd - 5 points
4th - 3 points
5th - 2 points

.For FOUR-IN-HAND:
1st - 15 points
2nd - 12 points
3rd - 10 points
4th - 8 points
5th - 6 points


The points are always awarded PER TEAM that means it is up to the owner to divide the points between competing horses.
However each horse competing MUST get AT LEAST 1 POINT.

The Combined Driving Champion (CDCh) title is awarded to horses that have collected at least 30 points in Combined Driving Shows.