What are the "Rules of the Ring" when driving?

[hobbyhorse23]

I know when I went to my first AMHR show last year I was startled to find that as I-- I thought-- carefully entered the warmup ring and began driving I was getting all sorts of dirty looks and "Watch out!" comments aimed my way. I'd check that I was clear and go to move towards the rail and suddenly there's a horse at my elbow that I'm about to cut off. I'd practice defensive driving and move nervously out to an unused corner (read "totally outside of the flow of traffic, people had horses tied to the rails here") to stop and get my bearings and find a trotting horse who had suddenly decided to use that half of the ring breathing down my neck as I braked. What the heck?! :new_shocked: By the end of the first five minutes I felt like a chicken on a five lane freeway.

I've ridden all my life. I know the rules of a warmup ring, or at least I thought I did. But apparently driving in a large group is a whole 'nother world and I wish someone would lay out for me and the other newbies those unspoken rules of good driving.

How do you safely enter the warmup ring? How do you pass? Stop? Ask for a reverse? Generally not get killed??

: Help us out here so we don't cause you problems! Tell me the unspoken rules you don't even think about anymore.

Leia

 

[Crabby-Chicken]

Hey Leia,

I have seen some people do things that I would consider aggressive, cutting in front of a halter horse to go in the ring,,, more dangerous cutting close to driving horses to make them break. It is just a way to upset someone to give them stress and hopefully place higher in that class. In fact, I know that some trainers will tell their students that is a way to place higher in a class. There is a trainer that I have seen do that a lot in driving around here. It is dangerous and rude, but that is why it happens. You also have people that are so involved in getting ready for the class ( I would be a stress case like that) that needs to pay more attention to what is going on around them.

 

[hobbyhorse23]

Thanks Crabby-Chicken, I appreciate the reply. I can handle aggressive tactics like that in the actual competition ring (the advantage of having a very maneuverable CDE horse! LOL) and could give as good as I got if I had to, but the warmup ring just freaks me out. I guess I'm more concerned with the fact that completely without meaning to, I was the one cutting people off and getting in the way and making people pull up short.

I'm thinking of the Evergreen show I went to last year where I swear there were 20+ horses all driving at a strong trot in a warmup area so small that all you could do was circles, not even ovals. It just seemed like everyone knew the rules but me and I felt like such a novice!

: I wanted a sign to put on my back that said "Student Driver, please be careful."

:

I look forward to more replies on Monday when everyone is back on their computers.

Leia

 

[countryrose]

Leia: Yes the warm up arena there is a nightmare. We are getting ready for the Pacific Crown Regional 8 show in Tacoma also this year and questioning rules for getting into the arena and coming out without so much congestion. It takes a careful eye to weave around the arena the correct direction and speed so everyone can get warmed up.

The ones I feel for are the shetlands as they need their space to rev up to speed.

Driving classes are so large at our shows here on the West Coast that warm up and ring ettiquette is a challenge. Pray for no rain so we can do some of the warmup outside the covered areas.

 

[Mnmini]

In a ring as tight as it sounds, probably about the only thing you can do to try to at least not be the "cause" of any potential wrecks is to simply call out "Passing on the Inside number 107, or gray horse!" You kind of get the picture? For entering high traffic warm-up pens (sometimes show pens if mgmt. hasn't request those in the pen leave space for those entering) I tend to have my guy jogging small circles, and try to have him up to speed before we attempt to enter traffic in the pen. Sometimes I call out that I'm coming in there as well. As a general rule, I would pull to the inside to pass rather than try to drift to the extremities of the rail, and potentially get boxed in, but that could just be me.

 

[Minimor]

Yep, I too call 'coming in' or have someone on foot signal to others that there's a horse coming in. Not that we have that many minis in harness at the shows here, but Morgan/open shows were big at one time & that's how it worked then, with harness horses as well as under saddle. (Ha, ever see a rider toddle into the ring when there's a show hack class warming up? OOOh-weeee, I've seen those people get nasty!!)

Passing, definitely on the inside only. If you want to stop it had better be in the center of the ring.

 

[squeaky]

HI Leia,

I totally understand where you are coming from. I know my first few shows I was so nervous about driving that I didn't pay attention to what I was doing. When you have a small arena like with the Evergreen show, Angie or Dorothy will usually go into the warm up ring and tell me when their is a break long enough to get me into the traffic. To ask for a reserve, it is better to do it when a driving class as just entered the ring, so there isn't as many people in the warm up area. Just call out to the other drivers "Could we reverse please" and most people will listen and turn around. Although, you do get the few who don't

: to pass someone, you kinda have to do it a long time before you get to that person. All I do is make sure there is an opening (long enough to safely get my horse around the other person.....this in itself is hard to do) and then pass as quickly as I can. To stop, go to the center of the ring and try to find a parking space. Although, at some of the shows, the inside is crowded up with some many of a couple of the trainer's horses, that their is barely any room for any one else.

Amanda

Edited to Add: Also, when going in to the class, to clear the gate of any unwanted bystanders, yell "Cart/Horse coming through!" or "Clear the gate" pretty much everyone knows what that means, and especially if you have a shetland pony, you don't want to know how fast they run to clear the gate!

 

[hobbyhorse23]

I SAW how fast they ran to clear the gates for the Shetlands, and I was one of those scrambling out of the way! LOL :new_shocked: My first hint was when every single one of the maniac mini drivers around me suddenly leapt out of their vehicles and ran to secure their horses' heads. Anything that scared them I knew darn well should scare the bejeebers out of me! :lol: A bigger, badder monster as the case may be.

Thanks for the help guys. I guess basically I've got to go find somewhere like the grass parking lot I used at Evergreen in order to get what I consider a proper warmup. Maybe I'm nuts but somehow I don't think trotting at one speed in tiny circles in one direction for fifteen minutes gets my horse ready to go. Anybody ever heard of transitions? And variable speed? And letting your horse take a breather to reward them when they did it right?

Nahhhh...I'm just crazy.

:

Leia

 

[Valerie]

Leia, you are so correct, it was a very, very crowded area and I wasn't even driving at that show. I drove at a show in Tumwater a couple of years ago and I agree, it was like a big joke trying to warm up, not to mention that a trainer had the show schedule changed & because we didn't have the loud speaker in our barn a few of us didn't know it had been moved to the next day. Yes, it was late at night & here I am, horse all warmed up & then, find out the class had been moved...I was less than pleased. Anyway, I also remember some of these people in the class the next day having the manners of I don't know what. I figure I want to start driving at some very, very small shows & maybe next year I can make the schooling show, but some of these shows the people are just sooooo rude and I can tell you that some of them are just emulating their trainers, because I know of one trainer whom my husband & and I have seen who is totally rude. But hey, different strokes for different folks. I think I am with you, just try to find a nice grassy area that isn't all bunched up with horses and carts. I can't wait to see you driving at some of the upcoming shows...very cool!!

:

 

[stormo41]

I don't know if your like me, but when i had my mini i would like a nice quiet, personal warp-up with my horse, to try to calm myself down (i got tense for the driving classes for many reasons). usally there was no "warm up" ring, I showed at local shows, fairs, and there was lots of space to warp-up your horse with out any one getting in your way, or you getting in someone elses way. However it was the class i feared! I have heard horror stories about one trainer who once pushed a another driver (a youth) in to the fence and the youth just barly escaped sure disaster. I have had people pass me in the class and hoot and holler, and snap their whips. Being a new and young driver this was all very scary for me, and my horse who I with lots of help from experinced firends had just traied to drive. The first show season of driving for me was the worst, I had run-in's with "trainers" who would be reackless in the ring. The second season was better, and i and my horse were more to used to it. I got lots of people driving there horses right up behind me then passing when working trot was called.

Just watch out, be carfull, and listen to the people with lots of experince! good luck

 

[Tammy]

The biggest tip that I can give is not to be afraid to speak up to let people know you are coming or call someone else out before cutting you off - even in the ring if necessary. Maybe they just don't know - although sometimes they do, and then you just let them know that you are watching out for people like them. I mean, what fun is cutting someone off who knows how to handle it anyways? Of course, try to avoid excessive clucking or verbal cues (you will run into others who do this too). Watch your whip, and subsequently others' whips as well. Also, if you are working the warm-up arena and want to change directions, call it out chances are others will want to as well. Try to maintain a similar speed in the warm-up arena as everyone else (except when necessary to try a different pace). Don't tailgate people - you are more likely to get yourself in trouble. Pull to the center when stopping to avoid crashes and disrupting the flow of traffic. These are all basic though. Nothing that you haven't heard before. If people continue to give you bad looks, just smile and move on. What else can you do?