Equestrian Canada Driving Committee Proposed Rule Changes

As one of its first priorities, the Equestrian Canada (EC) Driving Committee has completed a review of the EC Rules, Section C: Driving, and proposed a number of changes with the objective of positively impacting the sport of driving within Canada.

Through the Driving Rules review, the EC Driving Committee was committed to addressing key areas causing concern for Canadian drivers, event organizers and officials, including the cost of participation and competition sanctioning. The Committee also worked to maintain a close alignment between the EC Rules and the American Driving Society Rules in order to avoid potential confusion for cross-border competitors.

“All of these rule changes are being made in the hopes that we achieve the key goals of the Pilot Project begun last year: to increase the number of participants and officials, and the number of driving events that are EC sanctioned and run under the EC Rules,” said Patricia Carley, Driving Committee Member.

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Some of the key rule changes proposed by the EC Driving Committee include:

EC Driving Officials
Proposal: EC officials (judges, technical delegates, and course designers) would be permitted to officiate at grassroots, provincially-sanctioned events. This will provide more opportunities for existing officials and hopefully lead to an increased number of EC officials across the country. It is also in line with the EC Driving Committee priority to help provide more training and accreditation opportunities for new officials.

Cost of Participation
Proposal: EC Sport Licences would not be required until you reach the Advanced level of EC-sanctioned driving competitions.

Competition Sanctioning
Proposal: The provincial/territorial sport organizations (PTSOs) would be permitted to sanction competitions up to and including Intermediate level, reducing costs for organizers.

Helmet Use
Proposal: Helmets would remain a requirement for youth drivers at all times when on a carriage, and drivers of all ages for the marathon phase. Adults would be allowed to wear their choice of headwear for pleasure shows, and the dressage and cones phases of combined driving competition.

Next Steps
The full set of rule change proposals will be formally submitted to the EC Rules Committee in August 2017. Pending approval, the amended rules would be put into place for the 2018 EC Rules, which come into effect January 1, 2018.

The EC Driving Committee welcomes questions, comments and feedback from the Canadian driving community as they work to create a strong, collaborative structure to support and strengthen the sport of driving in Canada. The Driving Committee can be contacted at DrivingCommittee@equestrian.ca .

About the EC Driving Committee
The Driving Committee is committed to promoting driving and increasing participation. Committee members represent all regions of Canada and are unanimously oriented to promote the sport of driving, reach out and encourage engagement from the high number of drivers and clubs not currently affiliated with their provincial association, and to increase programs, services and promotion of the sport.

The 2017 Driving Committee members are as follows:

Michel Lapierre (Chair) – ON
François Bergeron – QC
Patricia Carley – AB
Diane Goyette – QC
Ellen Hockley – BC
Susan Karrel – NS
Elisa Marocchi – BC
Carole Precious – ON
David Sim – ON

For more information on the sport of driving, visit www.equestrian.ca/sport/driving .