USEF 2007 Combined Driving National Championships

THANK YOU! - To all our loyal competitors, sponsors and volunteers who have made Fair Hill International Combined Driving possible for so many years.

We regret that there will be no Combined Driving Competition at the Dansko Fair Hill International Festival in 2008. The Fair Hill International Committee will host the Elk Creek Combined Driving Event at the same location June 14 & 15, 2008.

Congratulations to the new USEF 2007 CDE National Champions

Single Horse -- Robin Groves

Single Pony -- Sara Schmitt

Four-in-Hand Pony -- Lisa Stroud

Pair Horse -- Larry Poulin

If you would like to recieve updated schedules and results to your email address please list the address here:

L. Emerick photo

Avalon Avant Garde "Farm" - Retires

Fair Hill International

Combined Driving Event

presented by Dansko

October 19, 20, 21 2007

Featuring Five USEF National Carriage Driving Championships!

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·       USEF Single Pony Championship

·       USEF Single Horse Championship

·       USEF Pair Pony Championship

·       USEF Pair Horse Championship

·       USEF Four In Hand Pony Championship

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Friday, October 19

Combined Driving Dressage

Saturday, October 20

Combined Driving Marathon

Combined driving party - 6:00 pm

Sunday, October 21

Combined Driving Cones - am

Combined Driving Awards - noon

How does the Course Designer look at this and get the end product?

American Gardens FHI 2007

Who designs it? Who builds it? Who sets it up?

Jolly Jim Chase -- "I know there's buried treasure somewhere around here!!"

This of course meant the marathon course building budget for 2007 was already exceded in 2006 prior to the budget being set. Hence two hundred early fundraising letters each personally signed with a note from the Course Designer. By spring it was time to dig up all the plants and grasses to transplant in new locations.

Junior Clevenger

And we didn't transplant these grasses in the spring when the ground was soft - why???

Nae Nae and her design advisory board

And ….employs the Course Builders privately on her Unicorn Farm in Chesapeake City so the time of three men is also donated and …. loves the sport enough to have done it for countless years and ….. you have just read a brief blurb about only one of the eight marathon obstacles that will be driven at Fair Hill International and nothing of the fifteen kilometer roads and tracks that she is also responsible for. This is just a small example of what it takes to produce the Fair Hill International Festival in the Country.

For more information, please send us e-mail at this address:

office@fairhillinternational.com

To return to the Fair Hill International Festival in the Country main page click here.

GOLD SPONSOR

Jane Forbes Clark

Trout Walk Farm

BRONZE SPONSOR

Virginia & Douglas Kliever

Natasha Grigg

Stacy & Kelly

Claire Reid

Susan Sponenberg

Elkins Wetherill

Widgeon & Best Friends

DRIVING CLASS SPONSOR

Augustin Stables

Mr. & Mrs. Irenee duPont, Jr.

Elk Manor Farm

Running Brook Farm Carriage Barn

Victor & Kate Woolley

The Wyeth Foundation

FENCE MEMBER

Glen Elm Studio

Summit Aviation

Dave & Boots Wright

DRIVING RIBBON SPONSOR

Robert & Cheryl Banks

Bit of Britain

Cookie & Jerry Brown

Driving Essentials

Dr. & Mrs. Mark Gerard

Katydid Farm

Luminescence Foundation

M.H. Eby, Inc.

Tina & Gary Stover

MEMBER

Alan R. Burkhard

Mr. & Mrs. Charles S. Cheston, Jr.

Chime Bell Farm/Iris & WC Freeman

Mrs. Joseph W. Colleran

Equilite

The Hamilton Rare Breeds Foundation

Doris A. Grassi

Robin & Wilson Groves

Buzz & Helen Harrington

Sybil & Wayne Humphreys

Dr. & Mrs. Burton T. Mark

Mr. & Mrs. Scott Monroe

Dr. & Mrs. James Orsini

Richard & Dana Pigford

Deirdre H. Pirie

Holly & Nat Pulsifer

Kate Shields

Jeffrey & Kimberly Stover

South Carolina Equine Associates, Inc.

Mr. & Mrs. Terrence A. Tobias

Two Legends Farm

Mr. & Mrs. Eugene E. Weymouth

DRIVING CONTRIBUTOR

Mr. & Mrs. Christopher A. Sailer

Kingsforth Hall Training Center

Shelly Temple & Fran Doto

Mary Banks

Mr. & Mrs. John Cowperthwaite

Donna J. Crookston

Lloyd & Mary Garren

Elliott Goldstein

Mr. & Mrs. Edward Houghton

Mary & Frank Kocsis

Diana L. McCulloch

Wendy L. Moon

Roberta W. Odell

Joan A. Schisler

Lisa Singer

Mr. & Mrs. Hardy Zantke

Mr. & Mrs. Jeffrey Shriner

Susie Buchanan

How it comes together......

The mind of the Course Designer is never at rest - as the course is being driven each year enthusiastic new ideas are already emerging for the following year. In anticipation of the five USEF Championship divisions to be held at Fair Hill in 2007 immediately following the 2006 Fair Hill International the American Gardens obstacle was completely dismantled and new posts were in the ground by mid December.

Frank Stafford - The difference between men and boys really is the size of their toys!

Fresh plantings need to be watered throughout the hot season to survive until fall. This requires time and tanks of water to supplement the lack of rain. Now we need to level and seed the areas that were disturbed. Hours of the Course Designer (four dogs by her side) studying each section of the obstacle to determine the best test for the competitors. Jim and Junior back to Fair Hill day after day to put rails in place and remember to take a tank of water for the plants with you when you go. (It’s only one half hour each direction.) Bill to Fair Hill to grind the sharp edges off the rails and back to Chesapeake City to build and paint the wooden American Flags. Guess how many days it takes to paint fifty white stars on each of eight wooden panels! Now that the four American Flags have been hung maybe two should be taken down and turned so they look correct from the Main Arena. Hmm ..now that we are sort of finished except for weekly mowing and weed eating and Sarah to add fresh mums at the last minute .. wouldn't it look better if the four cement pipes were painted blue like the blue in the flags and maybe since we still have some time (and Donnan to paint!) we could put white stars all around the blue pipes. The Fair Hill International Combined Driving Event Course Designer is also a Member of the FHI Board of Directors so her time and talent is gratis.

Seven days to go - The Course Designer wheels on!!