The Tryon International Equestrian Center hosted the 2024 USEF Combined Driving National Championship for Advanced Ponies last week, welcoming some of the country’s top driving athletes to compete among the full slate of driving classes at the Tryon Fall CDE.

Photo – Katie Whaley with Timmy and Clanfair Sunglow. (©Shannon Brinkman Photo)

In the pairs division, Katie Whaley (Paris, Ky.) took home her seventh national champion title in the division. She drove her own Timmy, a 2015 Welsh Pony gelding, and Clanfair Sunglow, Gail Riley’s 2012 Welsh Pony gelding also known as “Topper,” to the win.

Rebuilding

This season has been something of a rebuilding season for Whaley and her pair as Timmy, the greener of the two ponies, continues to develop in the sport.

“Timmy was new in the marathon—this was only his third marathon, and Topper had to switch sides,” said Whaley. “Topper didn’t turn as well to the left at the spring CDE at Tryon, so we’ve been working on that over the summer. The whole goal this weekend was to get Topper and Timmy to turn really well, and the marathon was great. That was one goal that we achieved, and I was thrilled with them.”

While the pairs division was uncontested this year, Whaley is looking ahead to the 2025 FEI World Championships, which she and her pair of chestnut ponies have already qualified for. In addition to competing selectively at CDEs as they prep for the big events, Whaley likes to take the ponies to carriage pleasure driving events to give them a well-rounded experience.

Great Minds

“It’s great that they have such great minds that they can do that,” she said. “It’s so good for them. They do a lot of different kinds of classes. They have to stand a lot. They have to be in company. The warmup ring is sometimes crowded. They just have to have good brains—there’s a lot going on at different times. Plus, it’s a higher standard of turnout. In pleasure driving, they count so much on turnout, so the bar is just a little bit higher.”

Whaley’s pair will get a few months off before the winter season in Florida gears up, and then she’ll start to plan a potential European trip ahead of the world championship in 2025.

“My thanks to Gail Riley for letting me use Topper,” said Whaley. “He’s just been a wonderful pony, and he’s really helped Timmy, because Timmy is still pretty young. I’m just thrilled with them.”

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