The Madison County Courier featured this great review of the Lorenzo Driving Competition held in Mid July at Lorenzo State Historic Site.

By Linda J. Haley

(Cazenovia, NY) I have family in Cazenovia providing me the opportunity to drive past Lorenzo during the annual Driving Competition. Yes it’s gorgeous and the horses and carriages are amazing, and no, that’s OK, I’ll pass.

I’ve never entertained the idea of attending. Why? Because everything about it reeked of exclusivity, privilege and wealth, obviously something I would hardly feel welcome at, let alone enjoy.

I WAS WRONG.

My friends in Fenner asked if I was attending. I gave them The Look telling them the above. They gave me The Look, insisting it wasn’t at all like that, and to get my butt down there to see for myself. They said it’s an excellent opportunity to learn about driving and competition, plus see different styles of carriages and horses. They also mentioned there would be food and vendors, food and mini-horses to pet… and food.

I am easily swayed by food, er, horses, so I went.

THEY WERE RIGHT.

I had a blast! I only planned on going for a few hours on Saturday and ended up staying later than planned and went all day Sunday too! Go figure! Now I feel the need to educate everyone out there like me to get their butts down there for the next year’s competition.

First, I have to say I am SO not competitive. Unless it’s for the last pair of shoes or bra available in my size, I could care less about competition or winning. That’s why I’ve never been a big fan of horse shows where people are brutal in the quest to win. I’ve not attended hundreds, but the few I have were enough for me to say it’s not my thing.

I appreciate the huge amount of work invested by people who show. The training, hauling, handling, massive time and financial investment they dedicate to their passion. I respect the devotion to their animals and sport, just not the “vibe” I feel among the competitors.

Brrrr!

So I wrongly assumed all competitions would feel like that. Lorenzo looks like it would be like that, but EVERYONE I came in contact with was friendly, helpful, down-to-earth and ridiculously happy to share their hints and secrets to competitive driving.

WOW.

My friends and I wandered into a staging area. I met Iliana and her beautiful horse, Annie Star, from the Albany area. She was a lovely, approachable person. She told me normally she’s a hunter-jumper girl but got into driving because it was so much fun. She said she’d only been doing it a year, had no idea what she was doing, and relied on Miss Annie to show her the ropes.

How humble is that? You’d NEVER hear that in a normal competition.

She said Annie was a seasoned competitor and excellent teacher whom she adored. She went on to tell me that even though it looks like “driving for dollars,” many of them get their garb from consignment and thrift shops. She said it’s more likely a competition to see who could spend the least to compete.

She could not have been more complimentary of Annie and how lucky she was to have her. I wanted to cry; at other shows I would hear, “stupid horse” did this, or “my horse was a jerk, wait till we get home.” If you stuffed me in a hot trailer, dragged me to an unfamiliar location, dolled me up, strapped a cart to my fanny and sent me out in a ring full of strangers to roll out perky, perfect and play nice, I might just let you down.

These animals are amazing.

The people at Lorenzo understand it’s not about winning; it’s about love of the animals, their abilities and the joy of driving carriages on a lawn of a beautiful historical estate on a brilliant afternoon. It’s about getting together with like-minded people, sharing hints and tricks, making it all that much better for horse and driver.

I was inspired and happy to know people like this exist in the horse world. It’s really something to see the fantastic rigs and period wear cruising along the gorgeous lake backdrop. You get lost in it, forgetting everything but the beauty in front of you.

I wasn’t lost for long. I snuggled the minis, drank frozen piña coladas, bid on silent auctions, checked out the carriage museum and had a sausage sandwich before I left.

Plus an unexpected art investment from a Cazenovia artist I’m hiding to bring out slowly claiming to have had for years while I dread the next credit card statement.

Worth it!

To summarize, the Lorenzo driving competition? GO!

Linda J. Haley is a nine-to-five working stiff reporting on her love of rural life as she learns about all things country.
 


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