VERONA–For Mary Ruth Marks, it’s the thrill of the drive. But not cars–horses. She owns 11, all but one a cross of Arabian and German Sport Pony, she said.
“Makes for a Ferrari model,” she quipped, adding that on her latest carriage drive around the course with her horse, Adeszko, “He was flying! You gotta hang on or you’ll be gone and get hurt.”
For years, the 70-year-old has competed in, as well as organized, carriage driving events. In 2018, driving a “four-in-hand,” four horses, she nearly qualified for the World Equestrian Games; in 2010 she and Adeszko were first alternate for the U.S. team competing in World Championships, she said.
For the seventh year, she’ll host an American Driving Society (ADS) event at her 40-acre Notara Farm, just outside Verona. She expects 25 participants, men and women of all ages, as well as children. Seated in a carriage, they’ll drive a single or a pair of Very Small Equines (VSE), ponies or horses, she said.