Debutante Shines at British Driving Society Annual Show

Weymouth based teenager Chanie Matthews, was crowned the BDS Young Driver Champion at the British Driving Society (BDS) Annual Show on Sunday 24th June, for her debut outing.

The 14-year-old made the trip to compete at the BDS Annual Show which took place at Smiths Lawn, Windsor Great Park, with the main purpose of participating in the parade which takes place in the afternoon in front of Her Majesty the Queen and HRH Duke of Edinburgh.

However, it proved a ‘win win’ for Chanie and her versatile skewbald pony Lowermoor 606 aka Banjo, as they took top honours, winning the much coveted Thimbleby & Shorland Young Driver Championship on their first attempt!

We came to parade in front of the Queen, I only decided to start driving a couple of weeks ago, so just decided to come here have a go and see how we got on.” said Chanie Matthews

Banjo is particularly talented,  the 12-year-old Dartmoor cross has been driving for only two years and has proved to be extremely versatile for the Matthew’s family, also competing showjumping, dressage and eventing.

Banjo is an all round versatile horse, a perfect example of how any pony at home that has been outgrown by the children can be introduced to driving and I can thoroughly recommend breaking them to harness and to have a go,” commented Chanie’s mum Karen Matthews.

Image credit Lucy Hall visit www.lucyhall-photography.com

Suzanne Ashton

Suzanne Ashton, Founder of Everything Horse (Est, 2012), has a BA Hons in Marketing Management and a Diploma in Equine Science. Suzanne has ridden and owned horses all her life and has twelve years of experience in marketing, writing, design, SEO, and website creation.