Mary Phelps once said, “Be careful about what you wish for because it might just happen.” After years of very hard work, lots of lessons, and great training, Mary Phelps made it to Europe with four ponies and a dream come true, to represent the USA and the Classic American Shetland ponies in the sport of Combined Driving.
Combined driving is a sport that combines the elegance of classical carriage driving with the challenge of equestrian discipline. It tests the skills of both the driver and the horse in three phases: driven dressage, a marathon in open terrain, and cones in a stadium arena. The sport is modelled after the equestrian discipline of three-day eventing, like the human equivalent of a triathlon. Competitors can drive horses or ponies in a single, a pair, or a team of four. The sport is governed by the Fédération Équestre Internationale (FEI) and by the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) at the international level.
Mary Phelps grew up cleaning stalls to go on rides and later landed in Florida as a groom at the Standardbred racetrack. There, she learned all about harness racing and began her career as an equine photographer, developing both technique and business skills. Photography took her into the sport horse world, which then evolved into marketing and later into the equine insurance field.
Phelps was 55 years old when she finally had her own horse, Buddy the Shetland pony. She sought out instruction from top trainers across the U.S., including her husband, Wayne Humphreys, who owns Pony World Driving Champion Cefnoakpark ‘Bouncer’, who has also been made into a Breyer model.
Phelps was 68 years old when she and her husband, Wayne, brought all four of their Shetland ponies to Europe to train with their coach Bram Chardon. Before heading to Europe, they held a special send-off party for the ponies at their Micanopy farm, where their minister conducted a special blessing of the ponies.
The ponies were the smallest in the competition, yet they finished 12th overall and won the cones portion, bringing home a gold medal for the USA.
In 2020, Phelps’ ponies were invited to become part of the Breyer Collection and Phelps was thrilled. Phelps had four uniquely matching ponies, and Breyer selected Bugsy Maloney and Tony Da Pony to be packaged together as an irresistible set of two. Phelps’ ponies are also featured in downtown Ocala on a bronze plaque celebrating horses and ponies who have major claims to fame and who come from Ocala, Marion County, or call the Horse Capital of the World their home.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Phelps did not quit and continued training consistently. With four matching ponies, she made the leap to Four-In-Hand driving. Phelps felt that she had been preparing for this all her life, pursuing the sport at the highest level. Covering some of the most prestigious equine events in the world, she was always drawn to driving. Driving captured her heart right from the start. Phelps had always loved the sound of the harnesses, the hoofbeats, and the elegance surrounding this sport.
It was while Phelps was in Europe to photograph the FEI Driving World Championships that she got to know Bram Chardon, the young Dutch driver with a stellar world-level competition record, and she subsequently brought him to clinic in the U.S. That was the beginning of a great partnership that continues today. That July 2019 trip with four ponies on a cargo plane to Europe and spending three months in training at Chardon Paardensport with a young rising star and a newcomer to upper-level driving competition has proven to be a winning formula.
Phelps’ ponies are indeed superstars in harnesses, but Phelps says they do still have an occasional ‘naughty pony’ moment, such as spooking at flowers on the judge’s box. This is just to keep everyone on their toes.
Mary Phelps continues to prove, as the ponies she trains so hard and so consistently at her and her husband’s farm in Micanopy, that hard work, dedication, and the love of the sport matters. Phelps sent me a video of her athletic ponies taking on the marathon phase of the competition at Live Oak International this past weekend. As they raced easily and with precision around each obstacle, they took my breath away. They took the course with remarkable speed and precision, a truly impressive achievement.
Phelps’ words, “You’re never too old; every year I wished for a pony, and now I have four. So, when you blow out your candles, know your wishes can come true,” and clearly, that can happen at any age.
