Directions
Tipperary Farms, home of Kerry Bog Ponies and Irish Draught Horses, is hosting the event. Their address is 1185 Stewart Road, McDonald, PA 15057. There is a white sign with green lettering at the end of the driveway; the driveway is kind of long and goes uphill. The farm is 3.5 miles from the ‘downtown’ McDonald, PA.
Schedule (always subject to change)
Coffee, hot chocolate and apple cider, along with breakfast pastries will be available upon your arrival.
9:00 am - - Introductions followed by harnessing demo, we will then break into smaller groups and each person will have the opportunity to harness a horse. From there we’ll break into the four groups. The clinicians will stay in their ‘classrooms’ and you will move to them as a group (just like school).
Noon – Lunch and Speaker
After Lunch - Kathleen will do a quick long-lining demo and explain the different ways to hold the lines.
The rest of the afternoon is driving time. You are welcome to line drive Mike’s draft horse, try driving the mini pair, as well as experience the difference between a marathon vehicle and a pleasure cart. While you can certainly wait your turn in the arena we will also have a variety of books and videos in the heated viewing area that you can peruse.
Clinicians
Mike Wertz
Mike is the owner of Mike’s Carriage Service and together with his Percherons he has been doing parades, special events and downtown Pittsburgh tours for nearly 20 years. Mike will be bringing a draft harness and one of his Percherons for you to experience. One of the things that he will be spending quite a bit of the time speaking about is hauling carriages. We’ll have three different trailer set-ups for you to see. Show carriages are an investment, one you’ll want to protect when hauling. Mike is also a good person to ask about ‘local’ driving resources.
Joyce Haak
Joyce is the primary driver of a mini pair named Trick and Treat. The ‘boys’ do it all – pleasure shows, driving trials, and in-hand. Joyce drove them to championships in 2012 at the Saratoga Driving Trial and the Susquehanna Valley Whips and Wheels Driving Trial. They’ve also done parades in five different states. Joyce will be introducing you to driving games – how to set up hazards and cones courses as well as how to drive them. Bruce and Joyce are joining us from New York.
Bruce Haak
A farrier by trade, Bruce has driven a wide variety of horses. While he is currently using Against the Best for the sleighing season his normal driving partner is Aiken, a Fjord. Together they have competed at a variety of shows including the Saratoga Driving Trial, the Finger Lakes Fjord Show in addition to pleasure driving at the KY Horse Park and participating in Carriage Round-up and the National Drive. Bruce will be demonstrating how to harness a horse and balance a carriage.
Kathleen Haak
Kathleen has driven singles, pairs, tandem and a four-in-hand. She has achieved her Level 1 certificate with the Carriage Assoc. of American and is currently working on her Level 2. Kathleen achieved a high level of success with Draken, her Standardbred, winning three National Championships. Following the retirement of Draken, she started Against the Best in his pleasure-driving career. Best and Kathleen currently up for national awards, they’ll find out the results on Sunday. Kathleen will be bringing her hat and jacket collection to show you how to put together a show outfit.
