Obituary

Ian Gilbert

29 December 2025

We are deeply saddened to share the news that Ian Gilbert, a long-standing member of BC and Honorary Vice President, passed away on the afternoon of 29th  December 2025.

Ian and Anne Gilbert from Dalry have a long involvement with the sport of carriage driving. They started out in showing and moved to driving trials in 1982 entering their first National event at Scone Palace (back in the day of bogey times, when a clear round was possible on the marathon and most of the rules had still to be invented).

In the beginning, they both drove single turnouts, their sons Alistair and Douglas ably grooming for them. As the boys grew up and developed other interests, Anne and Ian took year about driving and grooming. Many championships were won with Kersryan, a 13.2 bay hackney cross.

A brief foray into pair driving was followed by a highly successful tandem with Ryan in the lead. Anne drove this combination to victory on many occasions, notably in the National Finals in 1998 and 1999 with Ian grooming. Following Ryan’s retirement, Ian and Anne returned to pair driving.

Ian Gilbert at Nidd Driving Trials 2023. Photo Nina Edmiston.

In 1982, the Blair estate in Ayrshire was one of the first club driving trials to take place, and the Gilberts were assisted by other carriage driving enthusiasts to establish this venue. New equipment was needed and a fire hose was used to mark out the dressage arena most effectively.

Culzean Castle on the Ayrshire coast followed a few years later, at which an excellent social event was established on the Saturday evening. Over the years many aspiring performers have been persuaded by Anne to entertain the company in a wide variety of ways.

In exchange for use of the facilities, and in order to maintain good relations with the estate, Anne and Ian participated in the pageant depicting a “Victorian Christmas” in front of Culzean Castle, on an annual basis. Other volunteers were eagerly sought to join in the festivities, but most found preparing their horse, harness and carriage in December, and then enduring the generally inclement weather, a rather too arduous experience.

Anne and Ian bravely turned out year after year to ensure that the driving trials could continue for all to enjoy. In recent years this competition has moved to Eglinton Park with the Gilbert’s continuing enthusiasm ensuring a well organised event.

Things have not always run so smoothly and Anne remembers an early event which she and Ian organised in Rouken Glen Park in Glasgow. Ian had laid out the course the previous day and Anne was the first competitor out on the marathon. She and her groom successfully negotiated the first obstacle and were heading for the next, when they became aware of a number of irate shouts. They did not lose their concentration and only after completing the second obstacle realised that they had driven across the cricket pitch. There had been no sign of this sporting fixture when the course was marked, but Ian had to rapidly reflag certain sections before any more competitors arrived.

Ian qualified as a National Course Builder and was the main driving force behind the one Scottish National driving trials event at Dalmeny and then at Hopetoun House. Ian headed up the “Hopetoun A Team” who arrived on site a week before the start of the event to get everything ready for competitors. He even spent a day driving at a brisk 25 mph along the backroads from Dalry to Hopetoun to ensure the event had a tractor on site.

In the early years at Hopetoun, Ian made imaginative use of the barrels supplied by one of the event’s major sponsors, BP, and constructed an eye catching obstacle on the lawn in front of Hopetoun House in the shape of an oil rig.

Obstacle construction 2003

Always an enterprising organiser, Ian discovered that there was a dog show at Hopetoun the week before the driving trials. Many floral decorations were present which, due to the canine tendency to distinctively mark territory, became unusable. Out in the open, filling large tattie boxes, this minor problem was unnoticeable, and hence a colourful obstacle joined the oil rig in front of the house.

Ian’s enthusiasm saw the creation of a new water obstacle and sand pit for Hopetoun while an even more ambitious project was the levelling of around 2.5 acres of ground to construct a brand new 100m x 40m dressage arena.

Many members of SCDA still remember crawling up and down the arena collecting stones but, if Ian needed it done, the job was done. He felt the event would benefit from a road up to the main arena so constructed one. You felt there was little Ian could not achieve, build or move when he put his mind to it.

Stone picking at Hopetoun 2003

Both Ian and Anne were always willing to help a novice get started (many drivers in the West of Scotland benefited from a season spent learning the ropes with the Gilberts’ experienced pony Tippi). In addition to his involvement with driving trials, Ian acted as Area Commissioner for the British Driving Society for six years and hosted many training days for new and aspiring carriage drivers.

Ian served as one of the first directors of the Scottish Carriage Driving Association and was instrumental in encouraging the various smaller clubs in Scotland to join together under the one umbrella. He was also a dedicated director of the British Horse Driving Trials Association, now British Carriagedriving.

Having completed his maximum term of nine years, he “retired” for one year and then served a further three year term. He was Chairman of the Competitions Committee for many years and had an extensive knowledge of the sport.

Ian was not one for the limelight and was happier working quietly in the background and he absolutely hated the prospect of public speaking. He was the centre of attention however at the 2019 Hopetoun event where he was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award. The presentation was made by Chris Smith, BC Chairman at the time, who had the audience puzzled initially as to the connection between the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and driving. Chris explained that Ian had kindly offered a secure location for storing the BC archive documents and presented Ian with a beautiful book on Saddlery and Harness Making.

Chris then noted that Council had felt that this was insufficient to recognise Ian’s 12 years served as a Council member, his role as Chair of the Competitions Committee (one of the most important committees) and his input into event organisation through Hopetoun since its inception 20 years ago, more recently at Raehills and the transformation of a greenfield site at Cirencester into a venue suitable for the National Championships in 2014.

Chris said, “So a book was not enough but Article 25.3 of the BC Memorandum and Articles came to the rescue and it gives me great pleasure to say that Council have elected Ian as an Honorary Vice-President of British Carriagedriving for life, with immediate effect”. Ian is only the second person on whom this honour has been conferred; the first was George Bowman.

The sustained applause Ian received recognised the respect in which he was held by the driving community and there were a number of damp eyes when the significance of this award was realised.

Ian's presentation by Chris Smith - Hopetoun, May 2019

Ian’s death on 29th December 2025, with his family around him, leaves a gap in the driving community that is unlikely to ever be filled.

M.K.

Ian’s’ funeral takes place at 2pm on Friday 16th January at the Ayr Crematorium. MAP & DIRECTIONS

Ian Gilbert at Allerton Park Driving Trials 2016