2026 Spring National Drive

Well, this post is a long time coming, but I've been doing my best this past month... and that didn't involve extra time/energy for writing. It took over a week for me to recover from the arthritis flare that followed the Spring National Drive, but HOLY HELL was it a great experience!

Any photos of us driving, such as this one, are courtesy of Liz, who (SPOILER) visited me and the girls one of the 5 days.

I felt Missy and Nova were well-prepared going into this trip. My hope was to learn more about driving via private lessons with Joanna Wilburn and the daily seminars, get Nova her first "stay-away camp" experience traveling with me, and enjoy driving the trails around the Hoosier Horse Park. 

The list of marked trails offered by the National Drive

Meanwhile, my approach was for this to be a stress-free trip. That's the beauty of the National Drive not being a "show". Everyone is there to learn, hang out with friends (both old and new), and simply have fun driving their horses. The environment is 100% welcoming, no matter your experience level, and I think the people who refer to it as "Disneyland for Adults" might be on to something... It very well may be the happiest place on earth. 

Smiles everywhere you look..
Photo by Stacey Giere of some lovely people I got to meet and chat with.

Wednesday - Arrival at the Hoosier Horse Park

The first morning actually found me not doing anything remotely horse-related. I was sitting in the woods, chasing thunder chickens on the opening day of spring turkey hunting season. 

While I didn't have any opportunities to fill my tag, it was a beautiful morning, and I'm glad I got to participate is something that has become a tradition with my "hunting buddies", aka my dad and husband. Once we wrapped up for the day, I leisurely began the game of packing Tetris that is traveling with horses AND carriage.  

Don't tell my husband the bagged shavings went in the cab of his truck.

The girls were a breeze to load once I had everything packed, and I was very happy with how Nova traveled. She munched her hay the whole 30 minute trip, showing no signs of distress. 

Grateful to keep an eye on them during the drive. Note the preventative Ulcergard in the cup holder.

It was getting dark by the time I got the girls settled in their stalls, gear unpacked, trailer dropped, and carriage unloaded, but everything went as planned. 

These ramps are the real MVP

The drill-powered wench that does all the heavy lifting for me

Nova was a little unsure about the new stall. Not being able to see Missy easily through the solid walls initially made her nervous. However, when she realized she could still see/smell Missy through the gaps in the boards, she settled. 

All moved in for "Stay-Away Camp"!
...maybe I should shell out for the tack stall next time. 

It was a bit of a late night, especially considering the 4am wake up call for turkey hunting, but our travel day went perfectly. 

Thursday - Missy's 24th birthday!

Thursday was the first day driving was allowed, as well as the first day of seminars, and Missy turned 24 years young!

The birthday girl, bright eyed and ready for breakfast

Nova ate, drank, pooped, and even laid down to nap. Good baby mare!

The seminars that morning were particularly interesting. Douglas Owens of The Douglas Way Horsemanship demonstrated how he teaches his horses to pair up side by side and work as a team at liberty. (He also did roman riding with them. TACKLESS.) Joanna Wilburn gave us ideas on how to use cones as driving training tools, with many general driving tips sprinkled into the conversation. Finally, Myrna Rhinehart of IVC Carriage walked us through the best practices of maintaining and detailing our harnesses. She has a lot of great articles on her website that I've found useful (including "what NOT to do").

Did you know you can use Murphy's Oil Soap to clean leather harnesses?

Over the lunch break, I took Miss and Nova out for a good, long hand graze in the shade. 

Best girlies

Nova got a chance to watch various vehicles go by. While the buzzing swarm of minis with their hyperbikes caught her attention, seeing other horses pulling carts and carriages was a non-issue. I didn't have enough hands to capture media, but the flags (in the background above) did send her into full squirrel tail mode. It was honestly hilarious. Her shenanigans were safely carried out away from my personal space, while maintaining respect of the lead rope, and short lived. After a few extra dragon snorts, she settled back in to graze with Missy. 

Watching a mini driving in the distance

The Tack Swap was the next planned activity, and honestly, I hit the jackpot! 

I found a pair of like-new harness racks and some National Drive swag in the form of a visor.

A lovely older woman and her daughter (pictured driving their pony above) sold me a horse-sized Smucker patent leather harness... for $300. An equivalent harness from this brand, new, costs $3,000-$4,000, and a similar used harness was also offered for sale at the Swap for $1,200. The patent on the one I purchased was quite damaged, but the harness had otherwise been very well cared for. The only weakness I found was in one holdback strap, which can easily be remedied. I did have Joanna take a look at it first, and as soon as she gave her seal of approval, I pounced. 

Happy birthday, Missy! This harness has a much softer bridle and a treed saddle that offers good spine clearance, an upgrade over her current synthetic harness. It also will likely fit both Pyro and, down the line, Nova with minor adjustments. 

My first lesson with Joanna was scheduled that afternoon, and we planned to meet out at the cones course. With the focus on safety, every turnout must go through a Safety Inspection when they start their first drive. It's pretty informal, but ensures everyone knows the safety rules and gets a second set of eyes on their harness and vehicle. Missy was pretty... fired up... for our first drive at the park, so we danced our way through the Safety Check and headed out for our lesson. I told Joanna I wanted to build on the driving basics I had under my belt and navigate a cones course (beyond the simple figure 8 I set up at home) for the first time. 

No media from that lesson, and Missy was, *ahem*, "strong" throughout. The mare I was driving at the park was not the same mare I drive at home! I'm pretty sure we only managed about 10 strides at the walk, instead defaulting to a collected jog. However, our turning greatly improved through working on the cones course, and I got to drive her over a bridge for the first time! She flicked an ear at the sound of the carriage over the boards, but that was the only reaction she gave. 

Missy: "Best I can do is a jig."
Pink pony after being hosed off

I had been driving her in a snaffle similar to what I ride her in. However, the bit that came with my "new" harness was the same mouthpiece with added leverage options IN MISSY'S SIZE, so Joanna and I made a plan to try that with her the next day. 

Low-port, wide barrel mouth with a swept back variation of a half liverpool cheek. From my searches, I'm pretty sure this bit is a $200-300 custom Myler bit. 
Bonus: ancient hound dog sighting

Nova, to her credit, called a few times but didn't panic when I took Missy away. Later, she got her own 20 minute solo walk around the barns and arenas, during which she was quietly inquisitive. Her eyes got a little big when I took her in the indoor arena, but she was pleasantly handleable as she took it all in. 

Filly meeting the Big Ass Fans (tm)

Such a cute, good-minded critter!

Friday - Liz + Gidget experience The Drive

I picked up Liz and her pint sized corgi, Gidget, on the way to the Horse Park, and we arrived in time to feed the girls and attend the morning's Driver's Meeting. The seminars for the day were introduced, and while we both attended Douglas Owens' session on mind set and how he starts building connection with a horse for liberty work, we split up after that. Liz got some great information on carriage maintenance (I have a husband for that) and harness selection (I have plenty of books on the topic), and I went to prepare for my lesson. 

I was greeted by Sleeping Beauty.

I'm grateful she can relax even in new settings.

Missy was more interested in talking to her neighbors than to me, but look how white she was! 

I wanted to walk the cones course prior to my lesson AND get Nova some mental/physical exercise before I took Missy away from her, so I brought her with me for the adventure. She was willing to follow me away from the barns (and Missy) to the course, navigate through the gates as I figured out what path I'd take later, and even walk over the bridge with me. Good filly!

Welshie Walkies: Horse Park edition

Come lesson time, Missy was, once again, fired up for our drive. Liz was brave enough to head the dragonmare as I put to, and I narrated the steps for her. I made a mental note to take more time with Miss (when I wasn't crunched for time) to make it clear that she needs to stand still for hitching at the Horse Park just like she does at home.

Heading to the cones course to meet Joanna
(photo credit: Liz)

Of note: Missy's EasyShoes up front and EasyBoots behind kept her very comfortable, even driving on pavement. 
(photo credit: Liz)

I made sure to arrive with plenty of time to warm up in the nextdoor grass dressage ring, and I'm glad I did. I was using the new bit (with the gentlest leverage setting), so that took some getting used to, but Miss also was breathing fire. 

AI-assisted reenactment from one of Liz's photos

Friends of mine had trailered in for the day to make use of the textile dressage arenas on the other side of the park. They wanted to come say hi, but had to settle for watching what they THOUGHT was my lesson from afar. I responded, "If it was a white mare, green carriage, and a driver fighting for her life, yep. That was us. 😅" Please enjoy this next set of photos, all thanks to Liz, from our warm up. 

What a cute little canter! (I was asking for trot.)

Old mare looking STRONK 💪

Fancy feets

I warmed up by asking for a lot of circles and serpentines.

Stock horse does (driven) dressage

Starting to get a little bend through her body

Missy: "I know what I'm doing. Shut up and hang on."

When my lesson started, both Liz and I got headsets, so she got to follow along with the conversation. Joanna pretty quickly adjusted Missy's curb chain, which apparently I had too loose, and Miss and I jigged through the cones course a time or two, only killing/missing a few cones along the way. We swiftly changed tack (in the nautical sense) and started working on a simpler circle of cones, focusing on accurate turns and encouraging relaxation and proper bend. 

This drive made me grateful my carriage fits me well and I could brace my feet.😅
(photo credit: Liz) 

Missy is a pro at setting her head and bracing against my hands with all that stout stock horse muscle, so we had to try several different approaches to see what would get her to lighten and listen rather than play tug-o-war.

You can't see it, but but my forearms were on Fire.
(photo credit: Liz)

This lesson made me appreciate Joanna's coaching even more. I would've been at a loss for how to change the conversation with Missy, but she calmly guided us until we discovered what worked for us. Both she and Liz supported me through having to take a little break to shake out my forearms, grab a drink of water, and mentally and physically regroup for this challenging drive. Shoutout to Liz for the pep talk!

Starting to work together!
(photo credit: Liz)

What ended up working was something a little unorthodox. I would rhythmically "bump, bump" on the inside rein... while giving the outside rein completely. Anyone who drives may be reading this with an incredulous or aghast look on their face because we're drilled how important connection with the outside rein is, but it took that extreme difference (and removing what Miss wanted to brace against) to start suppling her jaw. 

OH MY GOODNESS IS THAT A WALK?!
(photo credit: Liz)

In a hilarious juxtaposition, as we were taking a break from the exercise a BLACK HAWK HELICOPTER flew *directly* over us from the neighboring Camp Atterbury. My spicy little war pony... was completely unbothered. She reacted less than she did the first time we drove over the bridge.

Liz lamented that she didn't have the right lens to get us AND the helicopter in frame, but trust me, it flew right overtop of us, perpendicular to our path. 
(photo credit: Liz)

Another AI-assisted reenactment from Liz's photo, thanks to my husband

With another horse, that could've been a very dangerous situation that might have led to a runaway and/or wreck. Even though Miss can be a bit of a dragon, and we have plenty of bad habits from our years together, I'm so grateful to have this unflappable mare to learn the sport of driving with. 

This little badass
(photo credit: Liz)

She approaches driving like any other crazy thing I've asked of her, with grit and confidence. 
(photo credit: Liz)

It took about an hour and a half of driving (including warm up), but we got to a place where we were relaxed and understanding one another. It was an excellent way to end that day's drive.

Finally rediscovered her ability to stand!
(photo credit: Liz)

Missy got to return to the barn (and "her baby") to be unharnessed and pampered. The rest of the afternoon, Liz and I hung out and absorbed the atmosphere. I took the girls out to graze while Liz allowed Gidget, who is a delightful and very well behaved creature, to romp. You wouldn't know that it was Gidget's first horse event with how well she handled everything. 

Pure joy while walking by mares
(photo credit: Liz)

Perfectly posed
(photo credit: Liz)

Gidget: "Ah heck!"
(photo credit: Liz)

A terribly grainy video screenshot, but SUPER CORGI!

The icing on the cake of this day was getting to spectate the Gambler's Choice practice. While there were no placings, drivers got to practice the class, in which they pick their own course through a set of obstacles that are each worth a given amount of points, aiming to rack up the most points within a set amount of time.  

Obstacles included checking the mailbox
(photo credit: Liz)

And the very challenging task of driving one set of wheels between two narrow poles without knocking off any balls! I think we only saw one or two successful attempts on that obstacle.
(photo credit: Liz)

Honestly, all of the drivers and their ponies did an amazing job, even when they didn't complete all the obstacles. This kind of activity is beyond Miss and me at the moment, especially away from home, but it's definitely something I want to work up to! 

Saturday - "I like THIS pony!"

I was on my own again as Liz and Gidget headed south to watch XC at the Kentucky 3-day Event. The day's seminars started with a conversation on "Bringing out the best in you both" led by Joanna. As a Welsh breeder with many years of experience raising "ponies", she has a great deal of knowledge to share about how to teach young horses to learn from day one and establish good habits as a foundation for their future training. Some of the takeaways included:

• She asks her ponies to stand tied when they eat their grain from a very young age. She emphasized that all horses, but especially driving horses, must learn to stand still, and standing while eating is a good place to start. It places a positive association on standing tied AND has them looking to you since you have to halter and tie them before they eat.
• One of her rules is "No catch-y, No eat-y". In other words, the pony has to let her catch and halter it if it wants to eat its grain. She shared a delightful story of how powerful this rule can be for hard to catch horses.
• She "doesn't have any use for crossties", instead teaching her horses to tie and ground tie. When grooming/tacking/harnessing/etc., she'll ask the pony to stand, take a step away to grab a brush or something while holding the tail of a long lead rope, and if they move their feet, immediately put them right back (with NO scolding). Eventually, they get tired of being moved back into position and figure out they might as well stand still. She builds on it until she can move further and further away, although if she has to go out of sight she ties the pony. 
• As they start their driving training, be slow when harnessing. Yes, once you start the process of putting to your vehicle, you need to get it done to minimize the risk of wrecks stemming from a vehicle only partially connected to your pony, but take your time with everything before and after that. Your pony still needs to stand and know that harnessing and putting to doesn't mean immediately going to work. She suggested getting in the driver's seat... then singing 2 songs before doing anything else. Maybe get down and "fix" a buckle (that didn't need fixing) and climb back up. Then, if your pony is still standing nicely, you can drive off. OR unhitch them on the spot for doing the right thing! 
• On a related note, she said that unhitching your pony on the spot when they're being good is VERY powerful. She will often unhitch in the field right where she was driving to show the pony they did the right thing. 

Why yes, Nova DID start getting to practice standing tied while eating from that day forward.

I had one final lesson with Joanna scheduled, and in order to simplify and remove the variable of the cones course, we agreed to meet in the outdoor arena. However, since I didn't have a header that day to help hold Missy while putting to, I took the time to practice having her stand like she does at home. 

insert me singing "twinkle, twinkle little star" under my breath

It didn't take long for it to click that she could wait patiently at the Horse Park too, and I had enough time to completely unharness her, let her have a break with her hay net, and repeat the process before our lesson. I think taking that time really set us up for success in our lesson. 

No media from the lesson, but I had a happy, attentive mare on my hands.

Joanna talked me through making my transitions more precise (which requires understanding how much time your horse needs to respond to your verbal aid, which can vary by their mood/how distracted they are!), as well as asking for transitions within gaits. Missy was asked to do a little western-style jog, a little bit bigger trot that Joanna refers to as a "teaching trot", and an even bigger working trot. Before long, Joanna exclaimed, "I like THIS pony!"... because thankfully I finally had my "normal" mare back. 

Bold, but kind, willing, and patient

We ended the lesson with Missy standing on a relaxed rein, calmly waiting while we chatted. I asked for examples of what skills Miss and I should work towards next, and Joanna pointed me to the American Driving Society's training level dressage tests. Being able to drive those movements (such as 40m working trot circles, changes of bend, stretching the frame at the walk, halting, and backing) with precision would be an excellent next-level goal for us. With those plans and a happy mare, I drove Miss out of the arena and we (finally!) headed out for a relaxed hack on one of the trails, the Red trail bordering Atterbury via the disc golf and obstacle courses. 

This trail is one of my favorite, featuring well-maintained grassy paths with varied, yet easy to navigate, terrain.

Miss and I both took a deep breath and got to simply enjoy being out driving together.

Map of our hack

By the time we got back and Missy was settled in her stall, Nova was well and truly BORED. However, she got to build her patience while Miss and I rested, had a nice drink, and relaxed in the shade. Later that evening as it started to cool off (and everyone else was busy at the "farewell dinner", most of which I couldn't eat), I saddled up Missy and took Nova for her big adventure of the day: ponying around the (empty) XC course and through the woods!

Baby's first water complex!

Well, water doesn't seem to be a problem for her.

We followed a portion of the Yellow/Woods trail, my other favorite. 

Welshie Walkies: trail edition!

We were out for about 45 minutes, including breaks to let the girls graze.

Nova was a delight, calmly following Missy without hesitation. This bodes well for our future adventures and was a lovely way to end the day.

That evening, Nova's dinner bucket attacked her, and she patiently waited for me to save her. Bless welshies and their calm nature.

Sunday - Final drive + heading home

With no scheduled activities Sunday, my plan was simply to take Missy for one more solo drive, then get the girls (and all our equipment) home. 

I arrived to find a VERY tidy filly...

And an old mare who said it was CHILLY.

As we headed out towards a new trail (the Green/P.O.W Chapel trail), I took the opportunity to drive Missy through the water we had ponied Nova through the night before.

Because when else do you get this opportunity?

Look, Ma! One hand!

The Green trail is all pavement, including this long, straight stretch that begs for a good road trot.

Missy's shoes/boots kept her comfy even through this!

Dodging potholes, lol

Unfortunately, the trail markers confused me before we got very far, so I opted to turn around and head back the way we came. 

Missy was content to stretch her topline and walk back.

Although overcast and cool, it was a great morning to be out.

We ended up picking up the Yellow/Woods trail and taking the rest of that back to the stables. 

Oh nooooo... Driving through the gorgeous woods again.~

To change things up (and since I needed to load the carriage in the truck shortly), I ended our drive in the parking lot, unhitching Missy away from Nova and her stall. 

Neatly between the lines

My two vehicles of the day. One has a few more horsepower.

It was a long drive, but Missy was game through it all and seemed to be enjoying herself just as much as I was. 

I was VERY impressed with the old mare's fitness. She handled it all really well. 

Honestly, packing, trailering, and unpacking was pretty unnoteworthy (except for gathering a crowd of onlookers who "ooo"-ed and "ahhhh"-ed over my wench as I loaded the carriage). The girls traveled well and were happy to be turned out. 

Waiting while I stripped stalls and packed up

Smile girls! You're on camera!

Happy mares

Nova's mother really did a "copy", "paste".

I'm freeeeeee! (Also, I always think "I bet I could sit that..." when I see her frolic.) 

At the end of that last drive, I noticed one carriage wheel's rubber started to separate. Thankfully the wires are intact, so it should be a simple matter of bouncing the rubber back around the wheel to close the gap. This has been placed on the "Honey Do" list, but hasn't been a big issue since my arthritis flared up, knocking me on my ass, and then Pyro kept me VERY busy.

A small gap that should be easily fixed if YouTube videos are correct.

Wires still intact

I had a wonderful time at the Drive, learning, hanging out with friends, making new ones, and simply enjoying my mares. I feel inspired to continue my driving journey with all 3 horses, and I look forward to the next one this fall!

Recovery Mode: Activated