Lexington, KY – The inaugural meeting of the newly created Carriage Pleasure Driving Committee was held on March 7, 2006, at the USEF Lexington office. The focus of this committee is to develop more opportunities for growth with a broader range of competitions to attend; to monitor and support new rules brought forward from the discipline affiliate, the American Driving Society; and to promote and expand the Horse of the Year and high-point awards. There are 19 members of this new affiliate committee.

Serving as Chair and Vice Chair will be Jill Ryder and Debbie Banfield, respectively. Jill is the executive director of the Carriage Association of America and has organized numerous events. She is also the past chair of the USEF Technical Driving Committee. Jill has a family history of Carriage Driving and has attended most of the large driving events around the globe. Debbie is an organizer of driving events, a licensed official with USEF and ADS, a trainer and instructor of notable drivers, and manages the Gayla Driving Center. She was recently elected president of the United States Driving for the Disabled.

Carriage Pleasure Driving is a popular and rapidly growing sport finding its way into breed competitions across the country and is a recent addition to such notable competitions as Arabian Sport Horse Nationals. It has continued to grow in numbers and classes at the prestigious Morgan Grand Nationals and World Championships. Expectations are high that this trend will continue to spread across the breeds. The committee and its members are now posted on the web site with member contact information.
~~~For further information, please contact Joyce Hamblin, Director National Affiliates, at [email protected] or (859) 225-6939.