NFED Special Interest

CARRIAGE DRIVING VIDEOS, BOOKS & MAGAZINES

[ Videos | Books | Magazines ]

I was very, very fortunate in having Chris Beale as my Driving Teacher, Trainer and Mentor when I started driving, but there was a down side! - Chris could only teach me at 6.30 in the morning, Autumn, Winter, Spring and Summer! If I was keen and enthusiastic enough to commit myself and turn up every day in the dark and brave rain, sleet and gales, as well as the dry, sunny mornings, he would give up his time to turn me into a safe and correct 'Whip'. For nearly two years I was his diligent disciple, soaking up as much of his vast equine knowledge as I could and trying to meet his demanding standards.

You may be wondering why I have used this snippet of apparently unrelated information to open an article about 'Videos and Books', - it's quite simple really, because whilst I did learn to drive effectively, those 2 years also gave me a serious aversion to driving in inclement weather!!! On those dreary, miserable 'stay indoors' days, - Videos, Books and Magazines come into their own!

MAGAZINES

The only Magazine in the United Kingdom dedicated to Carriage Driving is 'Carriage Driving Magazine'. It covers all the disciplines (showing, driving trials, scurrying, coaching etc) and is a must for all those interested in driving - whips, grooms, harness makers, carriage builders, stewards etc.

It is published Bi-monthly and available to order from any Newsagents, a subscription is the best idea.

 

Carriage Driving Magazine 7 Barnack Business Centre Blakey Road Salisbury SP1 2LP Tel: 01722 422107 Fax: 01722 422003 E-Mail: admin@carriage-driving.com

Until 1998 there was an excellent European bi-annual magazine called 'Achenbach', published in Switzerland, and written in both German and English. It had superb photographs, interesting articles and gave a very good overview of international driving. It has since amalgamated with an magazine published by ISKA Verlag, but unfortunately the Driving section is so small that we felt the Subscription was prohibitive.

ISKA Verlag do, however, have an extensive Mail Order service, books, videos, calendars, jewellery etc., and are worth contacting for that alone.

ISKA Verlag
P O Box 146
CH-6353 Weggis
Schweiz

Tel: 0041 41 390 17 27
Fax: 0041 41 390 20 85
E-Mail: iska@bluewin.ch 

'Horse and Hound', published weekly do pay some lip service to Carriage Driving, and are improving in their coverage. Results etc are always late, but this may be because information is not promptly supplied to them. This magazine is easily purchased off the shelf in most Newsagents, although a Subscription makes it slightly cheaper, and you get your copy on a Thursday rather than a Friday.

BOOKS

Our bookshelf has about 50 books specific to Carriage Driving, the majority of which are working books rather than 'coffee table' books. As a result of this, we have been able to evaluate and categorise them for usefulness.

There are 4 main sources:

Carriage Driving Magazine
(see address etc above)

William Binns Equestrian Books
The Granary
Village Farm
Bryam-cum-Sutton
Knottingley
Yorks
WF11 9NB

ISKA Verlag
(see address etc above)

The following are a few of our own personal recommendations:

Complete Beginners

'Harnessing Up' and 'Driving' both by Caroline Douglas and Anne Norris
'Driving Questions Answered' Sallie Walrond
'Make the Most of Carriage Driving' Vivian & Richard Ellis

Getting Hooked!

'Breaking a Horse to Harness' Sallie Walrond
'On the Box Seat' Tom Ryder
'Driving' The Official Instruction Handbook of the German National Equestrian Federation


Starting to Compete

'Judging Carriage Driving' Sallie Walrond (Showing)
'Competition Carriage Driving on a Shoestring' Jinny Johnson


Must Have's!

'The Badminton Library (Driving)' The Duke of Beaufort
'Looking at Carriages' Sallie Walrond
'The Driving Horse & His Schooling' Tjeerd Velstra
'Hints on Driving' Capt C Morley Knight
'Driving Lessons' E Howlett

VIDEOS

There aren't many Videos specific to Driving, but those that are available are best purchased from 'Carriage Driving Magazine' . We do also have some American and German ones in our own library which gives a better range for 'Forest Farm' Clients and Visitors to learn from, but the following are worth considering:

'Between The Shafts'
Invaluable for drivers aiming to take BDS Proficiency Tests. Covers putting to a Singe Turnout and demonstrates Driving techniques. Presented by Jane MacInnes

'Holding The Reins'
Presented by John Parker (currently Chairman of the BDS) with Paul Heiney. Ideal for people who know about horses but now want to take up Carriage Driving. Particularly interesting on vehicles.

'Competition Driving' (Parts 1 -3)
German Videos (Aspannen & Fahren) over-dubbed in English, which provide an insight into how Europeans successfully train and school both drivers and horses.

'The Velstra Driving School' (2 Parts)
Learn from the experiences of a world driving champion, these 2 videos in English are designed for the new singles driver through to multiples and the horse driving trials competitor. they are easily understood, vibrant and colourful.

'Driving'
5 top International Team Drivers (HRH Prince Philip, George Bowman, Bill Long, Deirdre Pirie and Laszlo Juhasz) prepare for, then compete in a World Championship. Excellent viewing. Available from Transatlantic Films: Tel: 0171-727-0132.

'This Is Carriage Driving'
Although now 10yrs old, this Video is the one we use most for teaching. It includes the history of the sport and introduces all aspects of driving and driving is demonstrated and/or discussed by British Drivers including Mark Broadbent, Peter Munt, Karen Bassett, Joe Moore etc. It is a Duke Marketing Production, but I have no idea where you could buy a copy!

You are now all set to light the fire, put your feet up, and enjoy a glass of hot mulled wine whilst you continue your Driving Training in comfort!






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