Mini Driving Trial
General Rules
- All animals 4 years and over.
- Hard hats must be worn by ALL competitors.
- Grooms must be in ring, wearing gloves and hard hat.
- Horses may wear boots or bandages.
- Any harness and cart allowed provided safe and appropriate.
- Arena size will be 20 x 40 metres.
- Each movement marked out of 10.
- It is an 'Error Of Course' when a competitor performs the wrong movement or when a movement is omitted altogether.
- If a competitor makes an Error Of Course, the judge will stop the competitor. The competitor must then resume the test from beginning of the movement where the error was made; competitor may check with judge.
- Competitors are allowed callers during the test.
Cones
Obstacles
- Tarpaulin
- Reverse park
- Square halt 10 seconds
- Single hand drive
- Pivot turn
- Wheel alignment
- Driver to create noise while horse stands at marker
- Figure of 8 in trot
- Single side raised wheel
- Up to 10 gates.
- Width between cones 145cm.
- Course will be made at the venue and to fit space available, course walks will be required by competitors prior to the class starting.
- There is no optimum time set, but the course is timed from crossing start to crossing finish.
- 2 seconds added for each ball down or error.
- Drivers may take whatever line they wish, crossing own line between gates will not endure a penalty. You must take each gate in sequence, driving any gate out of sequence will result in elimination.
- The entire turnout must pass between the cones.
Obstacles
- Up to 10 obstacles will be set.
- Course will be made at the venue and to fit space available, course walks will be required by competitors prior to the class starting.
- There is no optimum time set, but the course is timed from crossing start to crossing finish.
- Maximum time per obstacle is 60 seconds, drivers are then asked to advance to the next obstacle. You should only move onto the next obstacle after either completion of the previous obstacle or with the judge's permission. Abandoning an incomplete obstacle without the judge's approval will result in a zero score for that obstacle.
- Each obstacle is scored out of 5,
- 0 - Incomplete obstacle and moved on without judge's permission.
- 1 - Attempted but did not manage to complete in 60 seconds. Asked to move on by judge.
- 2 - Completed with major faults (going off line, restarting obstacle, spook, backing off).
- 3 - Completed with minor faults (pause in movement, slight realignment to complete).
- 4 - Completed with no faults, horse showed tension.
- 5 - Completed smoothly, with no faults. Horse relaxed and responding.
- Drivers may take whatever line they wish, crossing own line between obstacles will not endure a penalty. You must take each obstacle in sequence, driving any obstacle out of sequence will result in elimination.
- Obstacles will be taken from the below list :
- Tarpaulin
- Reverse park
- Square halt 10 seconds
- Single hand drive
- Pivot turn
- Wheel alignment
- Driver to create noise while horse stands at marker
- Figure of 8 in trot
- Single side raised wheel
