2026 Driving Queensland State Championships Wrap

On the last weekend of September, Driving Queensland held their annual State Driving Championships, with judges Wendy Bruzsewski (NSW), Jennifer Edwards (NSW) and Liz Coe (QLD) officiating.

Drive-1 (EA’s first level for Driving) and Drive-2 events were offered.  Each level competed in a Dressage and Cones event, and a Challenge test.

The Dressage and Cones class is based on the FEI one star event, where a driver and horse/s compete in a Dressage test (either the Drive-1 Dressage test, or the Drive-2 Dressage test), followed by a Cones course (a course of 15 numbered cones for Drive-1, and 20 for Drive-2).   The Challenge test (also offered at Drive-1 and Drive-2) is a combined test in the Dressage arena, with a shortened Dressage test, followed by 7 (in Drive-1) and 8 (in Drive-2) cones pairs, to be driven through without being timed.

In the Drive-1 Challenge class, which was offered at Participant level, to include more drivers, five combinations took part. 

The class was won by Virtus Driver Lee Powell, driving his mother’s horse, Asham Dark Stranger. Virtus is the international sports federation for athletes with an intellectual impairment, or Autism Spectrum Disorder requiring support. Lee has only just begun driving this horse, as he usually drives the well-established small pony pair of Pocket and Tuesday in competition, very successfully, in open and Disability classes.  But these ponies are too small for EA registration, at only 104cm and 106cm tall., hence his move onto Bentley, Asham Dark Stranger’s stable name.  A lovely, flowing test with an accurate cones component secured them 67% and the blue ribbon. 

Second was a tie on 65% between Debbie King and Happy Life, her grey OTT standardbred, recently started in performance Driving, and Corby Cunnington and the pinto pony pair of Wymeera Park Periwinkle and Wymeera Park Violet, belonging to Lydia Plimm, who now lives in Victoria.  Peri and Violet are leased to Qld Disability Driver, Lyn Clark, who drove both of them skillfully in singles in the Qld round of the international grassroots event, the Nations’ Cup, which followed the Driving Qld Championships. 

Corby and Tamanick Lilyana, 12.3 hand part Welsh pony, recently started in singles after playing her part in pairs and four-in-hand before this, received a score of 64.5% to take fourth place.

Fifth place went to another Disability Driver, Ruby Fletcher of the ever-dependable grey 13 hand Australian Pony Koora-Lyn Blue Print (stable name B2), with coach Hilary Stubbs on the back.  Sadly, Hilary’s and Ruby’s number one pony and everyone’s favourite, seventeen-year-old Glenormiston Rough Diamond, has had to be retired due to health, resulting in B2 taking his place.  Ruby drove well to manoeuvre Koora-Lyn Blue Print through the Dressage and Cones course by herself, scoring 63%.

In the Drive-1 Dressage and Cones competition;

First with 62.3 penalties (lowest penalties win) was Debbie King and Happy Life, giving them the overall Drive-1 Championship.  Debbie and Happy Life were first in the Dressage and second in the Cones.

Second with 66.4 penalties in the Dressage and Cones, with second in the Dressage and first in the cones with just one time penalties and no knockdowns, was Tamanick Lilyana driven by Corby Cunnington, giving the pair the Reserve Championship.

Third was the pony pair of Peri and Violet, again driven by Corby.

In the Drive-2 classes, three competitors battled it out in both the Dressage and Cones class and the Challenge test;

In the Challenge test, Koora-Lyn Blue Print and Corby Cunnington won with a very commendable score of 74.25%.  This very experienced pony takes everything in his stride and put in a polished performance.

Second went to Hilary Stubbs and 12.3 hand Welsh B pony, Rahane Pizzazz. Both their day jobs, incidentally, are at the Arundel Park RDA, Hilary as manager, and Pizzazz as chief driving pony since Diamond’s retirement.  Again, a very good score of 71.25% was achieved.

Third went to Patricia Nolan, 66.5%, driving her striking black horse, Asham Dark Stranger, for the first time at this level. 

In the Dressage and Cones class;

B2 and Pizzazz fought it out for number one in the Dressage phase, with Pizzazz and Hilary scoring 66.5% and B2 and Corby scoring 66.3%.  Neither had knockdowns in the Cones course, but zippy Pizzazz was a few seconds faster than B2, giving he and Hilary the overall win in the Dressage and Cones, and the Championship (on a countback), with

B2 and Corby the reserve champions.

Patricia Nolan and Asham Dark Stranger took third place with a Dressage score of 62.8% and a clear round with some time penalties in the Cones course, resulting.

The quality of training of the driving horses presented at this year’s Qld Championships resulted in an obvious increase in scores and decrease in penalties over previous years.  Driving Queensland commends all the competitors

“This is the fifth year that the Driving Queensland committee has run a State Championship under the new EA Driving rules, and the second time at the Nanango Showgrounds. We congratulate the hard-working members of the Qld Driving committee as well as the members of South Burnett Equestrian Group for their untiring effort to run these events. The 2027 Championships are to be hosted at Judith Park Equestrian Hub, Brisbane southside, and we hope to see everyone there next Spring.” (FEI Driving Judge and current EA Driving Committee Chair, Wendy Bruzsewski)

Corby Cunnington and Tamanick Lilyana

Corby Cunnington and Koora-Lyn Blue Print

Debbie King and Happy Life

Hilary Stubbs and Rahane Pizzazz