Horses were driven long before they were ridden and, as such, Driving is the oldest competitive equestrian sport yet it continues to thrive in the 21st century. Drivers sit on a vehicle drawn by a single horse or pony, a pair or a team of four and they face three trials – dressage, marathon and obstacle driving.
Dressage involves performing a sequence of compulsory figures within a 100 x 40 metre rectangle. Movements – which must be executed from memory – include speed and gait transitions, circles of different sizes and halts.
The marathon is a spectacular time trial run over a course including natural hazards such as sharp turns, water and steep hills, and artificial ones such as labyrinths. It tests the horses’ fitness and stamina and the driver’s judgment of pace and horse control.
Obstacle driving – or cones – tests the fitness, obedience and suppleness of the horses after the marathon, as well as the skill and competence of the driver who must weave cleanly through a narrow track outlined by cones with balls balanced on top.
Driving came under the FEI umbrella in 1970 thanks to the efforts of HRH the Duke of Edinburgh, then the FEI President, who organised the meeting in 1969 which produced the first rule book. One notable alteration to the rules followed a competition in Windsor, Great Britain, where a back wheel collapsed on a vehicle and the watching Queen Elizabeth allowed for a small tree to be tied to the axle to keep it off the ground. The rules stated subsequently that a "vehicle must have four wheels crossing the finishing line".
In 2006 Para Driving joined the ranks of the other 7 FEI disciplines with national and international competitions in Driving for individuals with a disability.
Dear Driving Organisers, Dear Driving Officials,
Please be informed that the Driving Events Guidelines for Organisers and Officials have been updated.
The update includes information and requirements on Scoring Offices (SO) and on the requirements needed to organise additional competitions simultaneously with CAIs or CAIOs.
As you know, the Driving Events Guidelines for Organisers and Officials contains all the useful information and documents in order to help you organise a successful Driving Event.
You can find the above mentioned document at this link.
Dear Driving community,
The Driving department is happy to inform that a presentation on Driving Statistics is available here.
Through this presentation, you will learn useful information on the evolution of the discipline from 2012 to 2018.
Dear FEI Driving Community,
As you may know, the article “948.2.1 Starting order” of the FEI Driving Rules effective in 2019, was updated for the INDIVIDUALS. You can find an explicative presentation here (under "Driving starting order description") : https://inside.fei.org/fei/regulations/driving
The presentation was made with real past shows,and has to be read in conjunction with the master lists of participants:
1. WEG 2014 Caen (FRA)
2. CH-EU-A 4 2017 Göteborg (SWE)
3. CAIO4* H4 2017 Aachen (GER)
4. CAIO4* H2 2017 Pau (FRA)
We assumed that the second part of the draw art. 948.2.2 ( For Marathon) is clear and therefore this part is not explained on the attached presentation.
We hope this tool will be helpful and should you have any questions or need any further details, please contact us aude.barby@fei.org or laurianne.noble@fei.org
Dear Athletes, Dear FEI Officials,
The FEI Driving World CupTM Rules, article 6.3, have been updated with immediate effect.
The complete rules can be found here: https://inside.fei.org/fei/regulations/driving
Should you have any question, do not hesitate to contact Aude Barby at aude.barby@fei.org
Dear National Federations and Officials,
The Driving Department is pleased to advise the latest changes in the administration of Driving Courses for FEI Officials. Please find all the documentation related to the new courses here.
The new system will be implemented in 2020.
Should you have any question regarding the new administration of Driving courses, please contact Anna Orgeas at anna.orgeas@fei.org
Dear Officials,
Please note that the age limit system will be replaced by a competency based evaluation system, as per the recommendation of the Officials Working Group.
FEI Officials reaching the relevant age limit as of 2018 may apply to continue officiating providing they have been active for the past two years, their application is supported by their National Federation and they are in good-standing with the FEI.
The FEI Secretary General, in consultation with the relevant Discipline Director and Chair of Technical Committee, will review applications on a case by case basis. FEI Officials who retired in 2017 or before may only re-apply once the competency-based assessment has been implemented.
Should you need more information, please do not hesitate to contact Anna Orgeas at anna.orgeas@fei.org
Dear Officials, Drivers and Organisers,
As you may know, for this Driving World CupTM season, the President of the Ground Jury can also act as the Technical Delegate.
You will find the PGJ acting as TD - Duties description here, along with all the other useful documents regarding the FEI Driving World CupTM.
Should you have any question, do not hesitate to contact Laurianne Noble (laurianne.noble@fei.org) or Aude Barby (aude.barby@fei.org).
The Driving department is pleased to announce the name of the Drivers that will attend the FEI Driving World CupTM Legs.
You can also find all the useful information for the current season here.
Lyon (FRA) 31.10-04.11.2018 | Stuttgart (GER) 14-18.11.2018 | Maastricht (NED) 23-25.11.2018 |
| Jérome VOUTAZ (SUI) | Boyd EXELL (AUS) | Ijsbrand CHARDON (NED) |
| Koos DE RONDE (NED) | Ijsbrand CHARDON (NED) | Jérome VOUTAZ (SUI) |
| Bram CHARDON (NED) | Glenn GEERTS (BEL) | Glenn GEERTS (BEL) |
| József DOBROVITZ (HUN) | Chester WEBER (USA) | Boyd EXELL (AUS) |
| Ijsbrand CHARDON (NED) | József DOBROVITZ (HUN) | Chester WEBER (USA) |
| Wild cards : | Wild cards : | Wild cards : |
| Benjamin AILLAUD (FRA) | Georg von STEIN (GER) | Koos DE RONDE (NED) |
| Chester WEBER (USA) | Edouard SIMONET (BEL) |
| Stockholm (SWE) 30.11-02.12.2018 | Budapest (HUN) | Geneva (SUI) 06-09.12.2018 |
| Boyd EXELL (AUS) | József DOBROVITZ (HUN) | József DOBROVITZ (HUN) |
| Chester WEBER (USA) | Bram CHARDON (NED) | Boyd EXELL (AUS) |
| Edouard SIMONET (BEL) | Ijsbrand CHARDON (NED) | Bram CHARDON (NED) |
| Koos DE RONDE (NED) | Jérome VOUTAZ (SUI) | Edouard SIMONET (BEL) |
| Benjamin AILLAUD (FRA) | Glenn GEERTS (BEL) | Benjamin AILLAUD (FRA) |
| Wild cards : | Wild cards : | Wild cards : |
Axel OLIN (SWE) | József DOBROVITZ Jr. (HUN) | Jérome VOUTAZ (SUI) |
| London Olympia (GBR) 17-23.12.2018 | Mechelen (BEL) 26-30.12.2018 | Leipzig (GER) 17-20.01.2019 |
| Glenn GEERTS (BEL) | Jérome VOUTAZ (SUI) | Bram CHARDON (NED) |
| Chester WEBER (USA) | Benjamin AILLAUD (FRA) | Chester WEBER (USA) |
| Edouard SIMONET (BEL) | Boyd EXELL (AUS) | Ijsbrand CHARDON (NED) |
| Koos DE RONDE (NED) | Bram CHARDON (NED) | Edouard SIMONET (BEL) |
| Benjamin AILLAUD (FRA) | József DOBROVITZ (HUN) | Koos DE RONDE (NED) |
| Wild cards : | Wild cards : | Wild cards : |
| Boyd EXELL (AUS) | Chester WEBER (USA) | Boyd EXELL (AUS) |
| Daniel NAPROUS (GBR) | Edouard SIMONET (BEL) | Georg von STEIN (GER) |
| Glenn GEERTS (BEL) | Jérome VOUTAZ (SUI) |
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