 |
 |
Officials - 2011
The
following officials are licensed and will serve under the directives of
the American Driving Society.
The officials for the Villa Louis Carriage Classic are:
Judges
Mrs. Debra Banfield
Georgetown, Kentucky
Quakertown, Pennsylvania
Greenville, Texas
Technical Delegate
Mr. Theodore Campbell
Long Beach, California
It was suggested in her high school year book that Debbie Adams would “probably live on a horse farm in Kentucky some day!” Back in the 1960′s, Debbie’s parents moved to Kewanee, Illinois to start their family business. Across the street from their new home she noticed horses grazing. Thus began a lifelong passion for equestrian sports, primarily carriage driving. During her high school years, her love for animals steered her towards the hopes of being a veterinarian. Early in high school, Debbie purchased her first horse, an Arabian named Rhumba. Debbie’s early equestrian activities included having fun trail-riding with the local club, showing in 4-H western pleasure and halter classes, and even doing some barrel racing! Debbie knew then that horses would always be a part of her life. After graduation, Debbie paid a visit to Friendship Farms, in Moline, Illinois, where she met with the manager just to tour the facility; he subsequently offered her a job. The rest, as they say, is history. Debbie’s first experience with driving horses was in 1977 working in the driving division at Friendship Farms for Mrs. William Hewitt. Mrs. Hewitt was a long time breeder of the Arabian horses. Debbie apprenticed with Manfred VonDePole, from France, for two years. Throughout that experience, horses were broke, all types of hitches were put together and Achenbach style of driving was utilized. Debbie would travel an average of 50,000 miles a year participating in combined driving events, pleasure driving shows, social drives, parades, and demonstrations. It was in the late 1970′s and early 1980′s that Debbie was long listed for the World Pair Championships and attended several United States Equestrian Team clinics. Debbie’s received education from different European trainers from Switzerland, Holland, Germany and England. She also spent several months training with Leslie Kozsely learning the Hungarian style of driving, harnessing, and hitching. In 1980, Debbie went to Windsor, England for three months. It was there she managed both entries of Hungarian four-in-hands competing in the first World Championship for the United States of America. While she was in England, she met His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and was given the opportunity to drive his four-in-hand of Cleveland Bays in Windsor Great Park. A year later, Debbie decided to get married and start a family at the age of 28. Debbie and Dana Banfield are now proud parents two adult daughters Back in 1989, Leslie Kozsely put together Debbie and Gail Austin, the owner of the Gayla Driving Center, in Georgetown, Kentucky. Debbie became very active creating the center by teaching drivers, training horses, and sharing her knowledge of the sport. She also was very involved volunteering for various committees of the American Driving Society, nominating committee, pleasure driving committee, serving as Central Regional Representative, and becoming a Registered Judge in Dressage, Combined Driving, and Pleasure Driving. She also organized and participated in functions including, Equitana USA, The Equine Affaire, and The Hoosier Horse Fair . Debbie has been an official since 1992, she is currently a Registered (“R”) licensed official with the American Driving Society, the United States Equestrian Federation and the Fédération Équestre Internationale. Debbie’s popularity as an official is due to extensive experience, compassion for people, and the ability to organize both combined driving events and pleasure driving shows. One of the highlights of her driving career was the receipt of the American Driving Society Presidential Trophy in 2001, by then-president, Natasha Grigg. The organizing committee of the Villa Louis Carriage Classic is pleased to welcome Debbie back to Wisconsin, to judge the 2011 installment of the Carriage Classic.
From Quakerstown, Pennsylvania, Mrs. Joanne Bellion-Povenski, returns to the Villa Louis Carriage Classic to serve once again as a judge at the 2011 Carriage Classic. Joanne has had a life-long involvement with many breeds of horses, starting at the age of nine. She has exhibited her Morgan stallion, “Southerly Piper”, under saddle and in harness, at class ‘A’ shows in New England and the Southwest. Competing at top level shows in those regions, including the Morgan Grand National and World Championship Show, earned the ranking of ASHA Horse of the Year. Joanne was very involved in the commercial carriage business in Texas as a driver of a pair of Arabian horses, barn manager and assistant trainer. Joanne started her judging career in 2000. She holds registered (“R”) judge’s cards with the American Driving Society (ADS) and the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) in pleasure driving and currently serves on the ADS Education Committee. She has judged at such prestigious shows as, Walnut Hill Farms Driving Show, The Villa Louis Carriage Classic, Columbus Carriage Classic, My Lady’s Manor Driving Club Show, Brandywine Carriage Driving Show, Maine Morgan Horse Show and a host of other driving, 4-H and all breed shows, across the country. Joanne has written many informative articles on the subject of driving, training and showing, published in Carriage Driving World and The Whip. She has also given several clinics on those subjects. She most enjoys helping novice equestrians and judging.
The Villa Louis Carriage Classic welcomes Mrs. Ruth Graves, of Greenville, Texas, as a judge for the 31st Annul Villa Louis Carriage Classic. Ruthie is a lifelong horsewoman who has worked in several equestrian disciplines through the years. Her driving experience initially came in the Standardbred industry in her home state of Massachusetts. Like so many who become interested in the carriage discipline later in life, she decided to revisit the driven horse after years of competition in a breed environment because she wanted to embrace an equine endeavor that would include her husband and grandchildren. The diversity of breeds suitable to drive and the friendliness of those involved in carriage driving offered great appeal to her. She has since become seriously involved in carriage sports on both the local and national level, as a competitor in both combined and pleasure driving as well as an event organizer and as an American Driving Society official with recorded (“r”) status in both pleasure driving and driven dressage judging. She has served for the past two years as the Americn Driving Society (ADS) Southwest Regional Director, and serves on the Licensed Officials, Pleasure Driving and Marketing Committees. Ruth has organized the only ADS approved pleasure driving show in the Southwest Region for nine years, the Cedar Creek Pleasure Driving Event, now the Tejas Carriage Association Carriage Classic. Ruthie has attended multiple Carriage Association of America (CAA) conferences and learning weekends to further her education in the driven tradition. She actively competes in as many pleasure driving shows as time and distance allows; she does her best to encourage the development of more pleasure driving shows, especially in the Southwest Region. Ruthie is passionate about educating potential drivers to assure safety and full enjoyment of this wonderful equestrian activity. She reports, “I feel pleasure driving competition has much to offer all carriage drivers in the diversity of classes offered and the expression of our beautiful traditions.” It is with great pleasure, that we welcome Ruthie Graves to Prairie du Chien and the Villa Louis Carriage Classic.
The technical delegate for this year’s Villa Louis Carriage Classic, is Mr. Theodore Campbell, of Long Beach, California. A native of south central Illinois, Ted grew up on a farm and has been around horses since his early years. Ted’s father kept Saddlebred horses at the family farm for trainers when the horses were not on the Illinois show circuit. For Ted, showing horses early in life took a back seat to showing cattle at the yearly county fairs and the Illinois State Fair. Ted began riding in competition in the mid 1980’s, first in competitive trail riding followed by endurance riding. He enjoyed riding a Morgan mare he brought to California from Wyoming. In 1989, Ted discovered driving and began to compete in combined driving events and pleasure driving shows. Ted won many ribbons at both the Morgan Medallion Show in Santa Barbara, California, and also the Los Angeles County Fair, in Pomona, California. He also competed at breed shows at the Del Mar Fairgrounds and at the Ventura County Fair. He has competed in combined driving events at the training through intermediate levels in California and Arizona. In June of 1998, Ted and his wife Veronica traveled to Ebbes, Austria, to cover the first World Single’s Championship for the Driving West Magazine. Veronica did the writing and Ted filmed and took photographs of the United States team. Ted also enjoys taking part in coaching drives on the East Coast. Ted has served as the technical delegate at the Pleasure Days Carriage Driving Show, the Los Angeles Fair International Draft Horse, Mule and Pleasure Driving Show, the Fall Classic Pleasure Show, the Pacific Region Driven Dressage Festival, Dressage Extraordinaire, the Dr. Henry Boyd CDE, the Arizona CDE, the Grass Ridge CDE, the Summer Festival CDE, the Duck Club CDE and Advanced HDT and the Sweet Heart ADT. Ted holds American Driving Society (ADS) license as a registered (“R”) technical delegate for both pleasure driving and combined driving. Ted currently serves on the ADS Pleasure Driving Committee. He is married to his grade-school sweetheart and has three children and six grandchildren. When he is not busy with carriage or family-related activities, Ted is a Senior Instructor at Southern California Edison where he instructs technical classes to protective relay technicians.
