July’s Featured Member — Lorenzo Driving Competition

Lovely horses and carriages will grace the picturesque setting of the Lorenzo State Historic Site in Cazenovia, NY for the 32nd annual Lorenzo Driving Competition. Always held on the third weekend in July, the event dates this year are July 19 and 20, 2008. While the event has changed somewhat during its 32 year running, a constant theme that has remained is the quality of horses, competitors, and the camaraderie that they all share.

Spectators attending the Lorenzo Driving Competition can expect to see horses and ponies of all sizes, in singles and pairs, hitched to carriages and performing ring and obstacle events.  The ring events include working pleasure, reinsmanship, and turnout classes. Obstacle classes will include a “my route-your route”, and a separate “town and country” course with many types of obstacles that one might find in a country setting.  A favorite of most competitors is the Saturday morning marathon course that covers approximately 5 miles of trails, completely off road. The marathon is a “pleasure pace” where the competitors are judged for completing the course as close to a specified time, without knowledge of the course beforehand.  The goal is to come as close as possible to the perfect pace for the animal(s) being driven. Spectators enjoy watching the marathon from several key observation points, especially the popular water hazard.

Several special events and activities will be offered all throughout the weekend. Friday night competitors and guests may attend a welcome reception and buffet dinner. Saturday night will present an Old Fashioned Cookout with live music featuring Route 66, a local band. Both Saturday and Sunday offer a silent auction to benefit “From the Ground Up”, a local equine therapeutic riding program. In addition, the popular Kateland Farms miniature horse drill team will be performing to the delight of the spectators during the afternoon show on both days.  For shopping enthusiasts a variety of vendors will be selling their specialty items in the Market Lane area. 

For more information about the Lorenzo Driving Competition, including a complete schedule of events, listing of vendors and other information, refer to the website: www.lorenzodriving.com.  For information regarding dinner reservations for both Friday and Saturday night, contact Sue Woltman:  sbwoltma@syr.edu or call 315-655-5496. All other events are free and open to the public.

Click to view Chamber member listing