While I've long loved all things equestrian, I had never seen a Combined Driving Event (CDE), a sport which has evolved from three-day ridden eventing. To educate myself, I asked Linda Martin if I could join her as a spectator at this year's event. I wanted to watch the sport with an educated companion. Days later, Linda called and asked me if I'd be her "navigator" on cross-country. I said, "Sure!" without any knowledge of what this entailed.

I later learned that the Beavercreek CDE is known as the toughest cross-country course on the west coast and that Linda had just moved up to Preliminary Level, which is a longer, harder course. Talk about learning first-hand!

I came to the competition site the day before to walk the course with Linda. Having done some eventing, I was in for a shock. The course covered over six kilometers, which we would optimally do in 26 to 29 minutes with Kira. On foot, we walked well over an hour.

The "hazards", which I expected to be simple gates, were more like mazes which included four "elements" which had to be taken in the correct order, in a specific direction, and time was a critical factor. As navigator, my job was to help the driver get through the hazards in the right order. I also learned that the navigator stands on a small shelf behind the driver, hangs on for dear life, and uses their weight to help balance the carriage as it goes over uneven terrain. Wow! Sounded like fun, but a chance to practice before the actual event would've been nice. No such luck.

I arrived at the event to help Linda harness up her horse. If you like equipment, this is the sport for you. As the owner of Glisan Street Saddlery, Linda has excellent access to a wide range of tack and truly knows her stuff.

We harnessed up her lovely Lippizan cross mare, Kira, who stood patiently while we attached the carriage. Off they went to do their dressage test- which was spectacular (the 2nd best score of the day). Since Linda also rides dressage, she truly excels at this aspect of the sport.

Next, Linda went on to do the Cones portion of the test, the carriage driver's equivalent of stadium jumping. She and Kira beautifully negotiated a course of cones, set according to the distance between the cart wheels. Scores were based on accuracy and time and, once again, Linda exceled.

It was finally time for me to get my first taste of the view behind the carriage. It was really odd to find myself behind the horse. The carriage bounced along to the familiar rhythm of the walk and trot and I quickly felt at ease. I kept a firm grip on the rails and kept my knees bent as instructed.

The course itself was a delight. I had a set of cheat sheets clipped to the seat of the carriage and called instructions to Linda as we approached each hazard. The carriage followed the horse more tightly than I expected, allowing Linda to make extremely tight turns. Best of all were the cross-country jaunts through the woods. The scenery was gorgeous and the sound and feel of the horse pulling us along was terrific. Our half hour on cross-country passed all too quickly.

This event is beautifully managed by Tish Hodges and her husband, Ted. Many hours of work went into grooming the dressage and cones courts and even the trails of the cross-country course.

It was refreshing to see all the married couples who work as teams in combined driving. And, just as in eventing, a wide variety of horses (including Very Small Equines) were represented.

Many thanks to Linda Martin, Tish Hodges, and all of the competitors who made me feel so welcome on my first attempt at navigating. It's a terrific sport that I would encourage anyone to get involved in.

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