GRASSROOTS EQUESTRIANS

Over the years, driving my 15-year-old gelding,Dash, for countless, delightful hours my mind has often wandered as we enjoyed the landscape of our farm and the obstacles that have developed. I asked myself wouldn’t it be cool to have a competition here? This was a dream, but nothing more. Having a three day would be a formidable challenge, and probably is not realistic. Then along came driving derby’s. The more I thought about it the more I thought that our farm is made to order for this. We have parking. We have space and really great obstacles. With encouragement from Amie Bauman, John and Colleen Layton, John Hoffner and PJ Crowley and Tara Miliziano I started planning(and working).

Equestrian competitions, of any discipline have dwindled in numbers. It is for a good reason/many reasons. The economy , liability, lack of volunteers and all around rising expenses etc.have teamed up to make worthwhile competitions especially three day driving events, few and far between and often many miles from home. Driving derbies have filled a tremendous void and have enabled reasonably cost competition to be more readily available, especially to those of us who occupy the grass roots of horse sports. The only thing lacking  from the standpoint of developing a three phase horse is the absence of dressage.

So we did it! With lots of help and encouragement, we had the inaugural Stonehaven Farm Driving Derby on Sunday November 23,2025! This was a semi invitational event as we had no way of broadcasting or advertising . Word of mouth got us 10 turn outs and by all accounts it was a stunning success. This was a grassroots event. It was not recognized, but was conducted with strict adherence to the principles of horse welfare, safety, and sportsmanship. Juniors drove for free and first timers were encouraged. The neighbors  turned out and were delighted to see turnouts of all shapes and sizes  testing their skill. Ribbons were given, and each horse took home a half bushel of apples! There were various prizes which friends donated and they were distributed as well. I’m still hearing happy reports from all involved.

The needs, and enthusiasm and devotion of these grassroots competitors have inspired me and speak to the importance of the grass roots. These are people who  put horse welfare first and devote themselves to producing the best version possible of each and everyone of their horses. What’s more, this group by numbers alone is the backbone of all horse sports. Without the grass roots, there will be no national championships, no international or Olympic championships or World Equestrian Games. True, it is unlikely that any of our horses will make it to places like Devon or Kentucky, but that does not make the enthusiasm and the care and the training any less. Try telling a kid going into her first hunter ring or an adult, taking a walk trot dressage test for the first time, and realizing a lifelong dream of owning a horse and developing it to its potential that it’s any different. These people might as well be going down centerline at the Olympics, because in their mind they are.

What’s more, it’s the grass roots that by sheer numbers alone support the industry.  They buy feed, hay, tack.  They employ trainers, veterinarians, farriers and dentists etc. Without them there would be no elite levels. In all fairness, I think the governing bodies realize this and would welcome hearing from the grass roots, but the grass roots remain silent. For this reason, and to further our endeavors, we have established a webpage dedicated to the grass roots of horse sports. This is non-commercial. It will offer blogs of things we’ve each learned and share along with videos as well as interviews and points of interest. Most of all, it will emphasize the principles of horse welfare, safety, and sportsmanship.

Welcome to grassrootsequestrians.net