3 July 2017
Successful Sandringham
The Norfolk home of Her Majesty the Queen, was the superb setting for four wonderful days of Carriage Driving for almost every driving Discipline. In addition to the usual FEI and National Combined Driving Events, the Sandringham House hosted the National Championships for Junior Drivers, the local East Anglian Club Event and two new driving disciplines to the second oldest Carriage Driving Event in Britain.These were a Coaching Meet, by the Coaching Club of Great Britain and an AIAT Meeting of Attelage de Tradition. Ten Coaches, including the President, Mark Broadbent and Toby Browne, the Crown Equery enjoyed fine weather for the 16 km Marathon and 23 Vehicles joined the Attelage de Tradition route. Both meets had Black Tie Dinners, held at the Visitor Centre, with the Coaching Club’s dinner Guests including HRH The Duke of Edinburgh.
Ninety-six entries arrived for the Combined Driving, with a mixture of FEI and National Classes making a strong bid for the top places in all divisions. Included in these were nine Junior Drivers who all gave good exhibitions of themselves. This was also a first, in that, this was the first time Sandringham hosted this Championships. Australia, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland and the host Nation were included in the line-up of those competing.
It is hoped to repeat this outstanding Event for next year, with plans to add and improve the format. The size of the Estate makes this possible, as to have four Marathon Courses is not the easiest to manage, but with the Estate Staff giving their all, this was achieved with great success.
