A Brief History of PDC by Kitty Newman

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     In the spring of 1978, the 10 founding members: Our current president, Anne Watkins and her late husband Bill, Nancy Bedford, Sam Davis, Anne Dodderage, Linda and Phil Dodderage, Kitty Newman, Pam Peck and Muffy Seaton, held their very first meeting at a community center to gather names and ideas to form a club.

     Our second meeting was held at Anne Dodderage's farm in Bluemont, VA. This was when the actual formation of The Piedmont Driving Club began to take shape. Ideas were exchanged and put forth.

     The third meeting took place at Linda and Phil Dodderage's farm also in Bluemont. That's when the club really came together, discussed by-laws and the direction the club was going to be taking regarding an annual driving club show and monthly pleasure drives.

     Founding member Nancy Bedford was instrumental in gaining Foxcroft School grounds in Middleburg, VA to hold our annual driving club show, which later became a 2 day show with the first day devoted to pleasure classes and the second day devoted to a combined driving event. For many years afterwards, the Piedmont Driving Club show was the only 2 day show on the East Coast.

     Sandy Carlson was the first editor of the PDC newsletter. A few years later Flora Hillman took over the reins as editor for the next 10 years. During that time, several of her newsletter articles were re-printed in the ADS magazine "The Whip" as well as the CAA "Carriage Driving Journal". Two of her newsletter articles even made "Best of the Whip" which was a compilation of 10 years of the "Whips" best and most informative articles. These articles first appeared in our monthly newsletter. Later editors did a fantastic job of keeping up the newsletter which is the glue that holds the club together.

     With the new millennium we saw many new members joining. That is when the club's focus turned more towards the fun and social picnic drives. The last show was held in 2006.

In October of 2003 a photograph taken by a professional photographer was featured on the back cover of the "Loudoun Today" magazine.

     Our club has been, for decades, the source of driving fun, education and enjoyment of a very rare and unique countryside.