Carriage drivers will have their own fun fall outing at the Horse Park of New Jersey with the debut of the Reindeer Run Dec. 5. The new event will be a joint venture between the park and the Monmouth County Hunt.
In the past, the park’s Nov. 21 Turkey Trot, run in conjunction with the Eastern States Dressage and Combined Training Association, was open to both riders and drivers. That got a little complicated and limited opportunities for the drivers, however.
Diane Sigafoos, a Horse Park board member who is organizing the Reindeer Run with another park trustee, Christine Odegaard, explained some riders in the Turkey Trot were concerned their horses could be spooked by the carriages. Because of that, laying out separate routes that never crossed each other for the two groups got complicated, and limited the length of the drivers’ trails.
The solution suddenly became obvious: “Why don’t we just make it a different day?”
Christine, who, like Diane, is also a member of the Monmouth County Hunt, is a driver who knows how to set up the cones and obstacle test that will be available to the Reindeer Run drivers at no additional cost. The Reindeer Run, which will offer a special prize for the best turnout with a Christmas theme, has a discount for drivers who enter by Dec. 1.
The organizers are reaching out to local organizations such as Future Farmers of America, 4-H and Pony Club for fund raising, if they want to sell something, such as poinsettias or wreaths at the event.
Entries are already coming in for the new event.
“There’s a lot of buzz,” said Diane.
“The carriage people are looking for something to do, and that’s another reason that we wanted to try to do something for them,” she commented.To enter, go to this link on the Horse Park website.