Discovering Driven TREC: A Season of Learning, Teamwork and Progress

The 2026 season has marked the beginning of a completely new adventure for me: driven TREC.

Although I’ve spent many years around horses and have been driving for over 20 years, but driven TREC was something entirely new, and stepping into that first competition at the end of April felt both exciting and slightly terrifying in equal measure. I couldn’t even eat my breakfast roll!  Looking back now after three competitions, I can honestly say it has been one of the most enjoyable and rewarding experiences I’ve had with horses.

We have been competing at Windsor Park, hosted by Windsor Park Equestrian Club, and what a way to begin. From the moment we arrived, there was such a welcoming atmosphere and a real sense of support amongst competitors.

Driving Cosmo, with Julie as my brilliant backstep, we headed into the Presentation and Skills phases hoping simply to have a good experience and learn as much as possible. To our surprise, after the first two phases we were sitting in 2nd place with just 4.5 penalties. Beginners luck? Cosmo felt fantastic, Julie and I worked brilliantly together, and for the first time I really started to appreciate how much driven TREC relies on communication and teamwork.

The cones phase was where we learned our first big lesson. We drove a tidy clear round but picked up quite a few time penalties, which ultimately dropped us into 5th overall. Despite that, I came away absolutely delighted. For a first outing, it felt like a huge achievement and gave us confidence that perhaps we were capable of more than we initially thought.

For anyone unfamiliar with BDS Driven TREC, it is a discipline designed to test practical driving skills, accuracy, safety, communication, and partnership between horse, driver, and groom.

The competition is made up of three phases:

Presentation

This phase assesses turnout, harness fit, carriage safety, and overall presentation. It is not simply about looking smart, but demonstrating that everything is correct, functional, and safe for horse and competitors alike.  The more hi-viz the better!!

Skills Phase

The skills phase is where things start to get really interesting. A course of obstacles designed to simulate real-life situations you might encounter out driving, it challenges accuracy, obedience, control, and perhaps most importantly, the partnership between driver, groom, and horse.

Unlike cones, this phase is not timed, which sounds relaxing in theory… until you realise just how much concentration, coordination, and communication is involved. Smoothness, precision, calmness, and teamwork are everything.

Some of the obstacles can look deceptively simple from the sidelines, but once you are in the carriage trying to keep everything flowing, they suddenly become a lot more technical!

It very quickly becomes clear that communication between driver and groom is absolutely essential.

Cones Phase

The cones course tests rhythm, accuracy, and pace – with no cantering allowed! Cones are set to precise widths and competitors aim to drive clear while achieving the optimum time. It sounds simple enough until you realise how quickly a few (or 40!) seconds or a tiny steering error can completely change the leaderboard.

Our second competition in May brought another step forward. The skills course was particularly testing, and the cones once again kept us on our toes, but this time everything started to feel more established. The trust and teamwork between the three of us continued growing, and we were thrilled to finish in 3rd place overall.

Even more excitingly, we officially qualified for the National Championships in September.

For a combination that had only just started its driven TREC journey, qualifying so quickly felt incredibly special.

Most recently, we returned to Windsor Park for our third competition, which was running alongside the National Driving Trials. The atmosphere throughout the venue was electric, with so many competitors, carriages, horses, and spectators creating a real buzz around the event.

Cosmo was an absolute star throughout the day and after the Presentation and Skills phases we found ourselves sitting in 1st place. It was one of those rounds where everything was controlled and smooth flowing and crossing the finish line felt fantastic.

Unfortunately, a tricky cones course combined with a little driver error and some time faults dropped us down to 4th overall after two cones down. Naturally, it was slightly frustrating at the time, but that is one of the things I’m already learning about TREC. Every competition teaches you something. Every round highlights areas to improve, and every outing builds confidence and experience.

We finished the day with the pleasure drive, which followed sections of the National marathon route. There were some fairly ‘character building’ hills and surfaces involved and I suspect Cosmo was slightly less enthusiastic about some of those than the rest of us!

What has struck me most so far this season is the variety of people involved in driven TREC. Some competitors come from long carriage driving backgrounds, whilst others, like me, are relatively new to the discipline. Despite that, everybody has been incredibly supportive, encouraging and generous with advice.

Nichola Waddicor, organiser of TREC at Windsor Park, explained that introducing the discipline alongside the existing driving events was something she felt strongly about:

‘I think for some people, when you first tell them what TREC is, they think it sounds easy, but the reality is totally different! It’s fun, challenging, and at least you don’t have to remember a dressage test.’

She added, ‘I wanted to introduce TREC to bring awareness of this fun discipline to driving trials people, but also for the ‘pleasure drivers’ to experience driving trials too. We are finding that some now want to give Gateway a go, and a few Gateway people have also headed into TREC.’

Nichola also highlighted the importance of different areas of carriage driving supporting one another.

‘For a minority sport like carriage driving, I believe that various different elements can come together for shared benefit, and TREC has blended in really well with WPEC and our philosophy of being welcoming, inclusive and nurturing to all.’

That welcoming atmosphere is something that has stood out throughout every event so far this season and is undoubtedly one of the reasons the discipline is attracting such a varied mix of competitors and experience levels.

Fellow competitor Kelly, who also came into the sport from more of a ridden background, explained, ‘I’m delighted to be involved in WPEC TREC. I’ve only recently started carriage driving and have already been fortunate enough to achieve several placings. My biggest concern at the beginning was feeling out of place amongst much more experienced horses and drivers, but I quickly discovered how welcoming and supportive everyone is, which makes the sport incredibly enjoyable.’

She also highlighted one of the aspects that makes TREC so unique.

‘One of the things I love most about TREC is that perfection isn’t the goal. Every horse has different strengths and challenges; what one horse finds difficult, another may do with ease. Practising these skills at home gives you clear goals to work towards and adds purpose to your driving.’

Like many newcomers, Kelly admitted the cones phase initially felt daunting.

‘TREC also introduced competitors to cones, something I had never tried before and initially found quite intimidating. I didn’t know the rules and was convinced I would make a complete mess of it! Even now, I occasionally knock a ball down or pick up a time penalty, but it’s all part of the learning process for both Picasso and me as we progress together.’

She added. ‘I cannot praise WPEC highly enough for organising such fantastic events. I would wholeheartedly recommend TREC to anyone looking for a personal challenge, an opportunity to develop their driving skills, and, above all, to have fun.’

Sally also spoke about the confidence-building aspect of the sport.

‘TREC is really good for building a bond and confidence with your horse. We love the variety of challenges and the organisers make it fun. Windsor is a special venue; it’s great to be there alongside all the other disciplines.’

Jane shared how much both she and her ponies enjoyed the experience.

‘My semi-retired 17-year-old speedy scurry pony absolutely loved TREC. I thought she’d see all the skills and demolish them at speed, but she was brilliant apart from one random excitable rear which had me hysterical! My 15-year-old backstep Lola absolutely loved it too. She said it was far more exciting doing TREC than sitting on the dickie seat with her hands in her lap not speaking!’

Becca, a para driver who is also relatively new to carriage driving, highlighted just how accessible and supportive the sport can be.

‘I’m a para driver, new to driving but I’ve been a rider for years. Doing TREC has been hugely beneficial for my learning as a driver. It’s welcoming, everyone is friendly and kind, and everything is easily adapted around my disability, such as having a coach beside me, an able-bodied groom, and repeated instructions where needed, which makes it truly accessible for everyone.’

She added, ‘I had no idea about TREC or what it was before I started, but I absolutely love it and would recommend it to anyone, able-bodied or para.’

For Becca, one of the biggest benefits has been the transferable skills the discipline develops.

‘The skills you develop doing the TREC tasks, communication, balance, understanding your vehicle width and accuracy, are essential and applicable to so many other areas and disciplines in driving. As a novice, it’s been a huge help in my learning and journey.’

For me personally, those comments sum the sport up perfectly. It is challenging, technical, supportive, and above all genuinely fun. Every event feels like an opportunity to learn something new, both about the sport itself and about the partnership with your horse and team.

This season has already been full of learning curves, laughter, nerves, improvements, and plenty of moments where things perhaps didn’t go entirely to plan. But every event has left me wanting to come back and do better next time.

Looking ahead now, we’re really excited for the second half of the season and ultimately the National Championships this September at Addington Equestrian Centre. It still feels slightly surreal to say that after only a few competitions, but qualifying has given us something really exciting to work towards. Between now and then, the focus will very much be on continuing to learn, improve our cones driving, and keep building confidence and consistency as a team.

I still very much feel like a newbie in this discipline, but perhaps that is part of the enjoyment. There is always more to learn, more progress to make and more partnership to build.

With huge thanks to Nichola for allowing me to drive Cosmo, to Julie for being an exceptional backstep throughout, and also to Paul from TT-Photography and Karen for the wonderful photographs and collage capturing these special moments.

Come and join us at the next TREC event on 23^rd August 2026 at Windsor Park!