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Eleanor is a driving force
Eleanor Stevens, from Laugharne, who is currently in Year 13 at Dyffryn Taf School, recently competed at the British Young Drivers National Championships held at Escrick Park, Yorkshire.
Eleanor, who has a strong equestrian family history of breeding and showing Welsh Cobs has only been involved in Carriage Driving for the past year. After joining the British Driving Society (BDS), Eleanor met local pony owner Catherine Jacobs, who introduced her to Carriage Driving. Her passion for the sport and her driving skills have developed over the past twelve months and Eleanor was selected by Rowena Moyse to represent Wales at the recent National Championships and she was delighted to be able to compete at this prestigious two-day event.
Busy two days
Eleanor entered the Class 5 section for pairs aged 16 – 25 and competed in four events over the two days. Day 1 was made up of the dressage and cones and Day 2 was the obstacles route and the marathon. The scores given in all four events were then combined to give an overall score for each driver. Eleanor came first in the marathon section and was awarded overall second place, which was an amazing achievement for someone so new to the sport.
“Taking part in this event was very exciting and totally different from what I have done before,” said Eleanor. “It was challenging to do the four different events in two days but really enjoyable. This experience has definitely inspired me to continue to develop and compete again in the up-coming indoor trials.”
Great encouragement
The British Young Drivers Scheme was formed as part of the British Horse Driving Trials Association to include ages from five to 25 years from all over the British Isles. The aim is to encourage and educate young drivers and help them develop their skills. It is hoped that this will create the foundation for the future of the sport with a progressive structure of training levels that will underpin their natural talent and enthusiasm.
Eleanor would like to thank Rowena Moyse for selecting her and given her the opportunity to take part in this event. She would also like to thank Catherine Jacobs for all her support over the past year and during this event. Catherine has allowed Eleanor to use her ponies throughout the year for training and events and without her generous help and guidance Eleanor would not have been able to achieve so much success in such a short time.
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