The Whip’r Snapper Driving Society of Southern California was founded in 1989 to promote the sport of driving and to educate the public about driving, safety, and to include the public in our activities and events. We are a non-profit organization and a recognized organization of the American Driving Society.
Some of the early members. Judy Arnoff; Bill Gipson, our first President; Mike and Chris Downing, our first secretary; Ted and Veronica Campbell; Arnold ‘Rif Riffel; John, Connie and Pat Morgan; Geri Poirier; Stephanie Abronson; Suellen and Dick Hall; Bill and Jonni Jewel.; Greg and Jody Cutler; Elaine and Bob Boydston; Diane and Wayne Pitzler and Linda Fairbanks.
Many of the clubs early get togethers were held at Waverly Equestrian Park in Thousand Oaks, Nadine Webb’s place in Ojai, Gregg and Jody Cutler’s Oak Run Farm and Chris and Mike Downing’s Wind Tree Ranch in Moorpark. We also held many events in Ojai. Whip’r Snappers hosted and/or sponsored many kinds of events: Pleasure shows, combined driving, picnic drives, and clinics all around Southern California.
Too Far Days was one of our first events and it took place in Ojai, CA. It was a joint venture with the Heels and Wheels Driving club, a club that was located south of LA therefore came the name Too Far. Our first real competition was the Halloween Hustle. We still hold the Halloween Hustle annually, it’s been such a fun show with fantastic costumes over the years. When Pleasure Days, the premier carriage driving show in the west was in jeopardy of ending, Whip’r Snappers decided this was a show that had to continue. For the last 10 years or so we have been organizing this event welcoming drivers from throughout the West. Numerous events are offered throughout the year to accommodate the varied interests of our members and the driving community. Members receive discounted entry fees at club sponsored events and a monthly newsletter, which includes a listing of upcoming events in the Southern California area, educational articles, classified ads and other items of general interest.
Our club also has its share of dignitaries. Hardy Zantke is an ADS, USEF and FEI judge and has served on the CDE committee and continues to impart his wisdom of driving through his articles in the Whip and Driving Digest. Joining Hardy as officials are Jody and Gregg Cutler. Jody is a Pleasure Driving, CDE and Coaching judge and Gregg is a Technical Delegate (TD). Both hold cards for the ADS and USEF. Ted Campbell holds an ADS and USEF card as a TD for Pleasure Driving and CDE. Both Jody and Ted are also currently on the ADS and USEF Pleasure Driving committee. Jody is also a past President of the ADS. Ted and Veronica Campbell were privileged to represent our local Driving West magazine in 1998 as journalist and photographer in Ebbes, Austria, the site of the First International Singles Championship where our own Randy McFarland under the guidance of his wife and trainer Terri were part of Team USA which took Silver. Veronica Campbell has also written many articles for The Whip and Driving Digest. In 2007 Veronica was appointed ADS Pacific Region Director, a position she held for 10 years. During that time the ADS National Meeting was held at Pierce College with dinner and carriage tours at Nadine Tilley’s. In 2015 the ADS National Meeting was held in Lodi, CA with events staged at Fritz and Phyllis Grupe’s Shady Oaks and Jeanne Williams Sargent’s Equestrian Center. In 2016 Pam Miller, became the ADS Pacific Region Director and is currently serving her second term.
Whip’r Snappers has a yearly Membership meeting where the board is voted in. This meeting is usually the first or second weekend in December with a holiday party following the meeting.