THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE - A Year in the Life of Laddie

Laddie, with his driver, Mandy Colbourne, is a familiar sight around Findon Village and the local Downs.

He started the year well.

The brave little Welsh Cob, came first in his carriage driving class (Open Single Horse) at the South Downs Harness Club 2-day event at Liphook at the beginning of May 2004.

He is in training again this year for the National Driving Trials competitions, the first of which will be at Stanmer Park in Brighton from 7th-9th May. Go along and cheer him on his way and watch the dressage (Friday), marathon and hazards (Saturday) and cones (Sunday).

Mandy was aiming to qualify at a national event this summer to enable her to take Laddie to the end-of-season National Championships at Windsor Park in September.

11-year-old Laddie went on to be overall winner in his class. (Open single horse).

Photograph by Derek Colbourne.

Laddie from Findon demonstrating the Extended Trot in the Dressage Test at Liphook with owner, Mandy Colbourne, and groom, Janine Martin.

Photograph by Derek Colbourne.

....and concentrating on the Dressage Class.

Photograph by Derek Colbourne.

Laddie makes it a clear round through the cones at Liphook.

Photograph by Derek Colbourne.

Here's Magic (Laddie's stable companion). He's only five-years-old and is Findon's hope for the future. He's been broken to drive this year and it was his first time "out".

Much hard work in preparation went on behind the scenes at Stanmer Park in Brighton in May 2004 for the 3-day carriage driving trials......

Photograph by Derek Colbourne.

Findon's Welsh Cob, Laddie with Mandy and groom Janine Martin.

Photograph by Derek Colbourne.

9 out of 10 from each of the three judges for presentation on the day

The Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip, was also competing with his pony team.

Overall, Laddie and the girls finished eighth. No disgrace, they did get a pink rosette (below). Laddie is very game but is only a little horse — and the recent rain had made the ground rather heavy (not like the flinty tracks on the Findon Downs where he trains).... and he found the marathon tiring on the second day.

Photograph by Derek Colbourne.

Laddie at Farleigh in Hampshire in June 2004

. Photograph by Derek Colbourne.

In June, the Findon favourite, Laddie the Welsh Cob, was at Farleigh House Carriage Driving Trials near Basingstoke.

After the dressage, marathon and cones competitions, Laddie was placed 4th, and this means that he has earned a place in the National Carriage Driving Championship in September, which will be held in Windsor Great Park.

Photograph by Derek Colbourne.

His owner and driver, Mandy Colbourne and groom, Janine Martin, are very proud of this little horse........ and so is the photographer, Derek.

12th June 2004

Hi Valerie,

Carriage Driving

Thank you for putting the photos on your site and continued support for our
sport.

We're off to the wonderful royal estate of Sandringham in a couple
of weeks, followed by a further event 3 weeks after that at the equally
splendid Henbury Hall in Cheshire.

3 of our main adversaries will be off toAustria to compete in the World Single Horse Carriage Driving Championships and that leaves the field a little more open for the rest of us!

If anyone reading your site would be interested in joining a local carriage driving club then take a look at www.brockhamharnessclub.co.uk for more info or drop me an e-mail mandy@mandy-colbourne.biz and I'll be only to happy to answer any questions from anyone who would like to take part (even as a spectator) at local club events.

Best Wishes and Kind Regards,
Mandy Colbourne (& Laddie)

Mandy Colbourne, Findon Village, West Sussex.

Mandy has her own website and you can find her at www.mandy-colbourne.biz

Here are some of the inhabitants of the stables down on the farm where Laddie lives. In July 2004 I went to see the young swallows before they left their nest and took to the wing. They were cosy and dry in their mud and horse hair nest on the side of a beam in the stable on a Findon farm. Mrs Swallow kept swooping in and out over the stable door to bring them their tea.

A few days later they were thinking of flying out of the door....

Photograph by Derek Colbourne.

Within a few weeks of the above photograph, Mrs Swallow was back in Laddie's stable, occuppying the same nest..... and sitting on more eggs. I am glad to be able to report that by 5th September the second batch of babes had left the stable and were being fed sitting on a cable outside in the yard. Next mission: a flight to Africa..... and then back to Laddie's stable hopefully in the spring of 2005!

Who did I spy one July evening?.....

Laddie and The Girls heading north from Cissbury Ring.

I'd recognise Laddie anywhere.

Bye, Laddie!

Laddie in his new full collar gives us a knowing look — with Mandy Colbourne and groom, Janine Martin, at Borde Hill in August 2004.

Photograph by Derek Colbourne.

At the end of August 2004, Laddie, excelled himself over the weekend at the Borde Hill Carriage Driving Trials near Haywards Heath — he took first place in the Open Horse Class.

Placed first after the Dressage, Laddie continued his winning streak with a double-clear round in the Cones Competition.

The Marathon course went up to and almost under a famous landmark, the Balcombe Viaduct. This huge structure was opened on 12th July 1841 and is one of the wonders of the Southern Railway system and contains some eleven million bricks — although, I doubt whether Mandy had time to stop and count them. She said she was covered in bruises from the Marathon — "really hard ground to cover" — and they were "flung all over the place"

Mandy and Derek in The Marathon.

After the marathon, Laddie retained the top position for Mandy and Derek.

THEN CAME WINDSOR, THE CULMINATION OF ALL THE HARD WORK OF 2004.....

Mandy Colbourne's Laddie at the National Carriage Driving Championships at Windsor Great Park on Friday 10th September 2004.

Photograph by Derek Colbourne.

Laddie waiting patiently with his groom, Janine Martin, before the Cones competition in Windsor Great Park.

Laddie stepping out in between the cones with Mandy and groom, Janine.

Mandy eyes up the competition after the cones at Windsor.

The serious business of watching how the others are doing.

Mandy and Derek Colbourne on The Marathon course at Windsor.

Laddie taking a tight turn in The Marathon.

Mandy's overall report on the National Carriage Driving Championships at Windsor Great Park in 2004........

"We started off with a bad dressage mark which put us out of contention and this unfortunately was followed up the next day by having a 'Senior Moment' through the obstacles which lasted for about an hour!!!! and sadly resulted in an elimination.

It only takes one uncorrected error and you're out - tough, but that's the name of the game.

However, we weren't down-hearted as we'd said all along that no matter what happens at the Championships, we'd had a fantastic season and even finished in 6th place in the Open Single Horse National Points League for the year which was quite an achievement.

So, we finished the season with a 'Bang', not particularly the 'bang' we'd hoped for, but we did 'toast' our success with a nip of 'sloe gin' each".

We all echo Pam Stepney's comments.....

"What a super little horse he is. I always enjoy reading about him and seeing his pictures".

On Sunday 10th October Laddie finished his 2004 carriage driving season with a one-day event at Dounhurst Farm, Wisborough Green, arranged by Brockham Harness Club.

Mandy and Janine. The Girls walk the course at Dounhurst.

Thirty competitors took part, ranging from a member of the British team who recently competed in Hungary, other experienced drivers and some novice drivers.

Who's a lovely boy then?

However, for Laddie this was an event with a difference — for this occasion his groom, Janine Martin, took the reins and became driver. In a reversal of roles, his owner/driver, Mandy Colbourne, relinquished her driving seat and became back-stepper for the day (or back-seat driver, as she said!)

Laddie performed superbly and gave Janine a wonderful time and a day to remember. Highlights of the day for our Findon team included a 6 a.m. start in readiness for the dressage test at 8.40 a.m.; an almost clear round with the cones competition — just one down out of 18; and a 6 km marathon incorporating 14 hazards. Janine says she's never driven so fast and they crossed the finish line two minutes inside the maximum time. Sounds good to me.

"But why do I have to wash behind my ears?"

Derek Colbourne kept the whole Laddie show on the road (literally — as horsebox driver) — and followed Laddie, Janine and Mandy around the 6 km marathon course by bicycle, over-taking and taking short-cuts where possible — in order to video record Janine tackling the hazards.

Competing in the Marathon

11th October 2004

Lovely coverage of Janine's debut in a one-day event.

Nish Vardy, Findon Village, West Sussex.

Continue if you would like to read about Findon's Castlemilk Moorits