Kathrin Dancer and her daughter, Nicole Dancer, of Woodside will be among the competitors in the combined driving event to be held Sept. 5 through 7 at the Horse Park in Woodside.
Run in memory of Dr. Henry Boyd, a veterinarian who pioneered combined driving on the West Coast, the event is organized by Ellie Ferrari and Gerald Fisher and is sponsored by the members of the Peninsula Carriage Driving Club.
The competition consists of three parts: dressage, a marathon or cross-country, and the cones or obstacle course.
Dressage on Friday takes place in a arena with drivers dressed in formal attire as the horses perform elegant maneuvers.
The Saturday marathon takes place on a timed cross-country course with many obstacles, gates, and water crossings. Each driver takes along an extra person called a navigator. Drivers, navigators, horses and carriages end up wet and dirty, says club spokesman Christina Ferrari.
On Sunday, riders don formal attire once again to negotiate a timed course of cones in a arena.
The public is invited to attend the free carriage driving event, which takes place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Sept. 5 and 6, and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 7. The Horse Park is located on Sand Hill Road, just west of Interstate 280.
