Packing Checklist for CDEs

A student asked me for my packing list for shows and I thought it might be a helpful thing to post here. Modify as needed for your own use!

Catalyst CDE Checklist

Horse(s)/Pony(ies):

___ Feed
___ Supplements
___ Electrolytes if needed
___ Hay
___ Bedding
___ Extra lead rope
___ Extra halter
___ Sheets/blankets/coolers as needed
___ Bandages/wraps as needed

Grooming supplies:

___ Grooming Tools
___ Braiding supplies
___ Yarn or rubber bands
___ Scissors
___ Mane Comb
___ QuicBraid
___ Small clippers
___ Show Sheen
___ First Aid Kit
___ Bandages/wraps
___ Sore No More or liniment
___ Shampoo
___ Hoof polish
___ Fly spray

For the Stall:

___ 2 water buckets per animal
___ Feed tub
___ Snap Hooks and Screw Eyes
___ Hanger for stall front
___ Muck Tub/Wheelbarrow
___ Pitchfork
___ Pen to write information on stall card
___ Scissors/Knife to cut hay strings/bedding packaging
___ Duct tape to cover any hazard in stall
___ Hammer to flatten any protruding nails

For the Competition:
___ Coggins Test within perimeters of show
___ Health Certificate (if required)
___ current ADS membership card
___ Copy of Omnibus page for directions and info about show
___ Other paperwork required for your level
___ current USEF membership card
___ National or FEI Passport
___ USEF or FEI Pony measurement card (Advanced only)
___ current FEI membership card for horse/pony (FEI only)
___ current FEI membership card for driver (FEI only)
___ current USEF membership card for owner (Advanced only)
___ Breed registration copy (for some awards programs)

For Groom:

___ RAIN WEAR including raincoat, rain hat and rain pants, and good waterproof shoes
___ Brown gloves to wear on the carriage
___ Mid calf or higher boots to use to walk in the water hazard
___ Livery to wear on the carriage, including hat or helmet
___ Hairnet if needed for long hair
___ Extra change of clothes/shoes for after the marathon

For Driver:

___ RAIN WEAR including raincoat, rain hat and rain pants, and good waterproof shoes
___ Brown gloves to wear on the carriage
___ Mid calf or higher boots to use to walk in the water hazard
___ Hairnet if needed for long hair
___ Appropriate footwear to wear for dressage and cones
___ Comfortable shoes for the marathon

For Harness:

___ Cleaning supplies
___ Sponges
___ Rags
___ Metal Polish
___ Hole Punch

For the Carriage:

___ Cleaning supplies
___ Polish for metal
___ Tuff Stuff spray for cleaning vinyl/leather (not slippery)
___ Brush for washing carriage
___ Chamois for drying carriage


For Dressage:

___ Presentation Harness
___ Number holder
___ Whip
___ Apron
___ Hat
___ Brown gloves
___ Lamps if your carriage has brackets OR at Advanced Level
___ 2 red reflectors on back of carriage
___ Black/brown electrical tape to tape up any loose or hanging straps
___ Hole Punch for last minute adjustments
___ Extra whip if desired
___ Studs if needed, with wrench and WD -40
___ Earnets if used


For the Marathon:

___ Marathon Harness
___ Boots for legs/ Bell boots as needed
___ Vetwrap for wrapping tail (if needed)
___ Extra whip to attach to carriage
___ Seatbelt for driver
___ 2-3 clocks with fresh batteries and a way to attach them to carriage
___ Yarn to attach reins to carriage
___ Number holder
___ Tape to secure boots
___ Helmets for driver and navigator(s)
___ Body Protector for driver and navigator(s)
___ Gloves for driver and navigator(s)
___ 2 -3 buckets for the vet check box
___ 2-3 sponges and scrapers for the vet check box
___ Electrolytes if needed for the vet box
___ Spare set of shoes for the vet box
___ Studs if needed with WD-40 and wrench
___ Spare studs for vet box with wrench
___ Extra tape for boots for vet box


For Cones:

___ Same as dressage, can use bandages/boots in this phase if desired
___ Lamps if used in dressage
___ 2 red reflectors on back of carriage
___ Hat, apron and gloves required
___ Gloves for groom required


For traveling:

___ Hay nets for each animal
___ Water container to use while traveling and small bucket
___ Protective boots if needed
___ Pitchfork/broom/tub to clean trailer

Miscellaneous for people:

___ ADS/USEF/FEI rulebook appropriate to your level
___ Sunglasses
___ Sunscreen
___ Bug spray
___ Sun Hat or visor
___ Snacks
___ Water
___ Cold drinks
___ Cooler with ice
___ Aspirin
___ Allergy medication
___ First Aid Kit



What would YOU add to the list?

Cooper's Story (part one)

Photo of Gali, Laramie and Cooper when they first arrived in PA by Lisa Singer

I've had my Morgan gelding, Cooper, for nine years now. I bought him back in 2002, after I lost Merc (TGR Quicksilver), a wonderful Morgan, after colic surgery. I was heartbroken about loosing Merc. He was more like a puppy dog than a horse, and was turning into a very good competition horse. We had competed at Preliminary very successfully for a season and I was all set to move him up to Advanced when he got sick. Merc was only six and I took the loss hard.

My friend and teacher, Lisa Singer, encouraged me to get another horse. I really hate looking at horses for sale - it's just like a blind date - you get all excited about the propects of the new horse and then when you meet him - it's disappointing! Lisa is not usually a nagger but she sure nagged me about horseshopping. Later, after I bought Cooper, my daughter told me that Lisa was afraid I would quit horses because of losing Merc and that is why she kept on me to buy one.

Lisa was off to Wyoming to look at a horse (Gali)to go in her pair. She had invited me to go along and I bought a plane ticket, but had some visitors from California coming to our company and so I cancelled my trip. I was secretly relieved. Lisa found her horse and brought home a video of the many Morgans at Mears Morgans. One horse after another appeared on the video, loose in the large indoor arena. Lisa's handwritten notes had information about each horse. At one point in the tape, a pair of horses trotted loose around the ring in perfect unison. They were half brothers, both four year olds.

Lisa thought they were great and tried to talk me into buying them both! She thought they would make a great pair. I thought about it for a few days, then told Lisa if she bought one, I'd buy one. She agreed and called the farm to tell them to put all three horses on the van from Wyoming to Pennsylvania.

A week later Lisa called to tell me that the horses were arriving in a few days. I drove up to Pennsylvania from our then home in Virginia. As I thought about it during the drive, I realized that we did not know the horses names or anything about them, and we had never decided who was getting which horse. I figured that we could put names in a hat and pick our horse that way. When I got there I told Lisa about my idea and she agreed.

We went out to look at the horses and took their papers with us so we could figure out who was who from their markings. The smaller of the two was LR Ami B-Line, his brother was a bit larger and heavier boned. Both horses were friendly and good movers as we watched them in the paddock. I would have been fine with either one but have to admit I liked the smaller horse a bit more.

We wrote their names down on two pieces of paper, and closed our eyes and picked. I ended up with LR Ami B-Line. Not a very user friendly name. What to call him? I couldn't figure out any nicknames from looking at his papers. I went on line and entered B-Line in a search engine. Up came Cooper B-Line, a huge international corporation. That was easy - now he was named Cooper!

We loaded up and off we went to Virginia to start our life together.

Next: Part Two: Getting Acquainted

Some photos from Live Oak 2011

Lipica, the host of the World Pony Driving Championship

The FEI World Pony Driving Championships will be held in Lipica, Slovenia in September. Here is a link to Lipica's website: http://www.lipica.org/en/

From all I hear, the area is beautiful and full of history. Trieste, Italy is nearby and has much to offer as well. I hope you will consider a vacation to come and watch the Championships to cheer on the US Team!

The Selection Process

The Selection Criteria was finally posted on the USEF site last week. http://usef.org/_IFrames/breedsdisciplines/discipline/alldrivng/hpDriving.aspx


The criteria and related forms and information can be accessed there. They are interesting reading! I think you may be surprised by some of things team members must agree to in order to represent our country.

I'm told the Short List for the Pony Team will be out soon, maybe as early as this week. Those on the Short List are being encouraged to go to Germany in August, in order to train with Michael Freund, our US Team coach, and to attend some competitions in Europe in preparation for the Championships in Slovenia in the third week of September. Since most of the cost of attending the Championships is travel related - the shipping of ponies, people and equipment (carriages, harness), it makes sense to make the most of the opportunity. The USEF funds a small portion of the travel expenses, but the rest is on us. It's quite a daunting task to raise the money needed in order to go. Early estimates are roughly $50,000 for us to make the trip!

We are working on fundraising plans now. It's hard to ask people for money, but if we want to go, we need to raise it. We hope you will support us!

Southern Pines Last Day

We watched the news on Saturday night and it was evident how lucky we were to avoid the severe weather that hit the area hard. All around the area numerous tornados touched down and caused major damage, injuries and fatalities. It makes a horse show seem very insignificant when you realize so many lost so much. Our thoughts are with those hit by the storms.


Cones day was sunny and bright. The course was spread through both dressage arenas and the area between them. The sponsor's tent was set in just the right spot to see everything, and there were bleachers for spectators. I think they had many more spectators the previous years but I am sure the weather deterred many.


The course was measured tight and the time was hard to make for all levels, with two zig zag elements back to back. The show had an electronic timer for the first time, and it's large display made it interesting to compare the rounds.


We didn't go until almost 2 PM, and I found it very difficult to get up and psyched for my round. Cooper warmed up well, but he was equally unmotivated and we had balls and time penalties. Fran thinks it's just the let down after our spring goal of winning Live Oak, and he may be right. I'm sure the adrenaline of the marathon and the pressure of competing would have helped. Anyway, it was a good school and showed me what to work on. Many thanks to Dottie Paul for all her help and Irene Gillis for taking care of us from her live in accomodations next door. She kept us all warm, dry and fed when the monsoon came through on Saturday. She also won her class with a double clear in cones! Arnie Brooks also had a good showing in the class with his new horse. Congrats to Janelle Marshall for winning our class. Must have been the great navigator :)


Cooper is going to relax for a few days then I am going to start riding him a bit for some cross training. We are awaiting more info about training and team selection for the World Championships so we can make some plans for the fall season.

Southern Pines CDE

The Carolina Horse Park looks better each year I come to this show. The stabling is first rate and well laid out, with rubber mats in each stall and good secure metal doors. The area steeplechase was held on the grounds last weekend with thousands of spectators but you wouldn't know it from looking at the grounds. The grass is green and lush with rolling hills. Many areas have been cleared recently adding to the useful space for riding/driving and competing. There are two dressage rings here allowing for all levels to do dressage on Friday. It's so nice to be able to come a bit later and spend less time away from home.

The hazards are well constructed and challenging, with two water obstacles (one for advanced only). This year was a selection trial for ponies and pair horses, the last one in the US. One more in Canada at Bromont and then some in Europe remain during the summer.

We had a good go in dressage, with a more accurate test than at Live Oak, but a little less spark. My goal is the accuracy with the spark, too, a tough balance to find. We scored a 44.37 for first place. US Team coach Michael Freund suggested that we not do the marathon to save wear and tear on Cooper, so we started Section A and then retired so we can do the cones course tomorrow (a rule states that competitors must start each competition to compete in the next one). We will do cones on Sunday for practice. Suzy and Randy elected not to do the marathon as well.

Fran got to navigate on the marathon with Janelle Marshall, who did a great job and is currently in first place in our division. Kudos to Irene Gillis, who is in first place in Preliminary Single Pony going into cones. There was one accident in the first hazard that I saw, which was well handled and horse, driver and navigator seemed to be ok.

The show management did a wonderful job working with the weather forecast and competitors. They changed the marathon schedule during the day on Friday when it was clear that a huge storm would be hitting the area Saturday afternoon. They gave regular reports over the PA system about where and when the storm would hit. A tornado came through about five miles away but the hard rain/lightning/hail held off until everyone was finished and horses and equipment was put away. We all settled somewhere dry and rode out the storm for about 45 minutes, then the sun came out and it was a beautiful day again.

There are big puddles everywhere but with the sandy soil, it should be all gone by the morning. Cones were ready for walking at 4:30. Sunday is supposed to be sunny and warm, a perfect day for cones.