Newsletter: May 2017 Established 1968 - PowerPoint Presentation

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Newsletter: May 2017

Established 1968Visit: meonrc.orgFB: Friends of Meon Riding Club

WELCOME TO NEW MEMBERS:

Dyan

Thomas, Nicola Pilton, Alison MeggesonHolding on to the fun factor!Apologies that this month’s newsletter is a bit later than normal, sometimes life gets in the way of doing the fun stuff! And there’s been lots of fun stuff going on in the last month or so, with our own dressage show and two national BRC championships where several of us were lucky enough to represent Meon at a national level. It’s not always easy balancing the idea of ‘fun’ with competing either – nerves can sometimes get in the way of thinking or riding how we might at home, and you never quite know how your horse is going to react on the day. Read our three different accounts of the Intermediate Dressage Championships and you’ll see what I mean! I’m having a bit of a rest from competing at the moment, having slightly overdone it in the Spring (I’m in need of a beach blast now!), but for those of you who fancy doing something, but can’t perhaps get out and about or aren’t yet ready to head to a formal competition, don’t forget we’re running our online dressage competition again – entries close mid-June – with tests across the levels – and you don’t have to dress in the all the gear to give it a go. Full details on our website – good luck and HAVE FUN!Pippa Griffin

DON’T FORGET Online dressage competition – entries now open Volunteer to ride in the next BRC SJ and dressage qualifiers, both being held in July Residential Holiday at Wellington Riding booked for Tuesday-Friday 18-22 September 2017

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meonrc.org

Huge thanks to Andrea Bishop for organising the Meon dressage show - more details over the page!Slide2

Established 1968

Visit: meonrc.orgFB: Friends of Meon Riding Club

MEON COMPETITIONS: OPEN DRESSAGE SHOW, MAYHILL, 30 APRIL

2meonrc.orgIt was smashing to see so many smiley faces at our Open Dressage show at Mayhill at the end of April. I was stewarding for the morning, and it was great to have lots of ‘firsts’ to celebrate – whether it was the first time for a particular horse (Katie Mills on Fizz, Lauren Parrett on Nice One Cyril), or the first dressage test ever for the rider (Ruan Lambert) or the first time as a Meon RC member (Nicole Chambers) or winning a lovely first rosette (well done for the red one Ony Rogers!). Well done everyone who has got that first one out of the way and is already looking forward to the

next! It was great to chat to so many people and to hear some cracking stories. It was a total joy to meet Hilary and Barry Filer – members of Meon RC since 1976! Despite not learning to ride until he was 30, Barry used to do all the team competitions for Meon RC on his mount ‘Alfie’ and despite having hip replacements, a knee replacement and two shoulder replacements over the years, he still went out competing XC! His memories of heading to riding club championships with Barbara Wood, Sarah MacDonald and Sue Field were hilarious! Not least at a championships at Towcester – when, as the only chap on the team – he had to sleep in the basement, while the ladies slept in the dorm! Barry and Hilary were the third generation Meon-ers on the day, there to support their granddaughter Ruan Lambert – who was doing her first ever test on the ever-youthful Western Super Mare (aged 22!). Pippa Griffin

Three generations of Meoners

!Slide3

Established 1968

Visit: meonrc.orgFB: Friends of Meon Riding Club

MEON COMPETITIONS: OPEN DRESSAGE SHOW, MAYHILL, 30 APRIL

3meonrc.orgWell done everyone – a fab day!

"I really enjoyed mine and Ella's first riding club event and my first ever dressage test, it was really well organised and every one was very friendly and extremely supportive. I did the intro A, although my horse was very tense going into the arena (never seen mirrors before), I can't wait to improve ready for our next outing.” Nicole Chambers  Results are on our website if you haven’t had a nosey already. Some super results all round. Well done everyone and thank you to all our smashing judges, helpers, medics, cake-makers, and catering team – and not least thank you Andrea Bishop – who pretty much sets up this show single-handedly and runs it like clockwork. Thank you Andrea!

ONLINE DRESSAGE COMPETITION

The

idea for this competition is that you will perform your chosen

tests (

I

ntro C, PL18, Nov30 and/or PYO

=

Nov39/E44/M63),

video them, and then once that video is uploaded to

Youtube

you can make your entry online with

MyRidingLife

(you will need the link to your video to do this

). After

the competition closes (

15

th

June)

all the videos will be judged, sheets, and rosettes for those placed, will be issued to you by post. The results will be posted on our

Meon

Riding Club website and on our Facebook

page.Please

see our 

website for advice

on filming

and uploading.

Any

queries please contact Diane Williams

diane@pidham.plus.com

.

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Established 1968

Visit: meonrc.orgFB: Friends of Meon Riding Club

BRC COMPETITIONS: INTERMEDIATE WINTER CHAMPIONSHIPS,

BURY FARM, BEDS, 28-30 APRIL

Individuals qualified: Pippa Griffin (Novice 34), Briony Stevens (Novice 30), Elsbeth Jeffery (PYO – Adv Med)  4meonrc.orgOne tense, one calm and one jumping the flower pots

The same event can be a very different experience for different horses and riders and the Bury Fam Champs was no exception! High hopes, but one to forget!“I had qualified Vinny to ride at Advanced Medium in the PYO class and as I headed off to Bury Farm with Sarah Tart, I had high hopes for a top 10 placing as we had been doing so well at BD Advanced Medium working towards the big leap to Prix Saint Georges. I wasn’t too worried as we’d been to Bury Farm before and Vinny likes it there - or so I thought. After a much longer journey (3.5 hours) than I was expecting, a hulk-like transformation had taken place in my lorry and ‘The Vin Monster’ came down the ramp. I just about held him on the walk through the busy lorry park to declarations with the help of my new Jason Webb techniques.

When I was finally on-board I had to canter non-stop for 30 minutes before I could even put my leg on! Poor Vinny was very tense which is not ideal for riding a tricky Advanced Medium in a short arena but he tried really hard and listened well, performing everything mistake-free doing all the difficult moves like the flying changes and half pass really well.

I used

all my experience to try and get the relaxation we needed for the extra marks. We scored around 63% which was fair considering the time bomb that was ticking! We finished just outside the placings but as ever was proud to represent Meon.” Elsbeth

Jeffery

Elsbeth

rides the ‘Vin Monster’ brilliantly: before, during and after the test Slide5

Established 1968

Visit: meonrc.orgFB: Friends of Meon Riding Club

A slight shift in my balance = obedient but unscripted flying change

“I

decided to drive up and back in one day to Bury Farm this time as I wasn’t on until 1pm and we arrived just in time for the arena walk at 12.30. Everything was run as well as ever – although not everyone seemed aware of the ‘rules of the school’ during the warm-up and it was a challenge to try to canter around the arena when people were still walking on the outside track or just stopping suddenly en route! I did mention it to the stewards but they looked at me rather blankly! It was a reminder I guess that a) it’s easy to take these rules for granted, but they do work and help to stop collisions and keep everyone moving and b) not all volunteers are horsey and therefore know what to look out for – it’s a reminder to us all when we organise our own events how important it is to give volunteers a really good briefing, so it’s fairer on everyone and we don’t put them off for life! Anyway, I digress – probably to avoid getting to the test bit – ha! No I’m joking really, I was super pleased with how Dude (aka Tolkien’s Trilogy) felt during the test. We’ve had a really big Spring season in terms of dressage adventures and it was actually a relief to not feel too nervous on the day in comparison to following Charlotte Dujardin into the warm-up arena at Hartpury (followed by throwing up in my feed bucket) just two weeks earlier, and to just concentrate on what he felt like and on riding as if I was schooling at home. Sadly we had a few too many mistakes – a flying change over a flower pot and not enough stretch in our FWLR or our trot circle on a longer rein, but as judges are fond of saying, there really was “a lot to like” and I was truly chuffed with him. We scored 64.something and finished way down in the placings, but how could I mind when he did a medium trot like this!” Pippa Griffin 5meonrc.org

Oonagh and HobnobTolkien shows off his fab medium trot (Pics: Action Replay / BRC)Slide6

Established 1968

Visit: meonrc.orgFB: Friends of Meon Riding Club

Meanwhile

… Double H takes it all in his stride

 “Qualifying for the BRC Intermediate Winter Dressage Championships was very unexpected, mainly because I was actually supposed to be riding my other horse but sadly he had to be withdrawn with an injury a few weeks before the qualifiers, so my other horse, Double H, was my stand-in replacement - but he didn't let me down!  The journey to Bury Farm was pretty good and only took a couple of hours. I had planned to arrive in plenty of time and we had almost two hours until my test. This was ideal and enabled Herman to stand with his back massage pad on (which really helps take the edge off him and warm up his muscles!)  In the warm-up he was super relaxed and calm, which I was surprised about with the amount of horses crammed into the arena and the various banners and flags to look at! There were also three horses who weren't so calm and producing some interesting broncing performances and one actually reared and kicked another horse and rider. Perhaps those riders should have removed themselves from the warm up for other's safety, but they didn't, so I had to focus on avoiding them at all times... the only negative of the day! I felt my test went well and I couldn't have asked for more from Herman. Sadly, a rider ‘mind blank’ meant we had one mistake, but once corrected we finished well.To say we had some tough competition would be an understatement as I was chuffed to score 72.12%, but the winner finished on 81.92%... so I had no hope of being in the placings unfortunately! But overall, it was a fab day and great experience, and the judge wrote some lovely comments and was really positive about our future in dressage & how to move forward! The venue was well laid out and the organisers and helpers were all great and did a fab job. I

had a really great day and feel proud to have represented MRC, fingers crossed I can do it again in the near future!”  Briony Stevens6meonrc.orgOonagh and Hobnob

And if we haven’t put you off!…

Don’t forget if you fancy giving it a go riding for

Meon RC – go for it! I hope we haven’t put you off as it really does feel great to put the Meon

numnah

under your saddle and try your best for the club. And despite us all wanted to do well at Bury Farm, I think the experiences of all three of us show that things really don’t always go to plan, or as well as they can, or as well as you always hope! And that it really doesn’t matter!

PG

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Established 1968

Visit: meonrc.orgFB: Friends of Meon Riding Club

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meonrc.org

After a good training session with all the team together on the Friday before, we were all excited about the weekend ahead. Diane, Adele, Ruth and Ony (our wonderful riding substitute and helper) travelled up on the day before. This had the advantage of being able to sleep in one’s trailer and also a good pub meal to boost team moral. Margaret, had the really early start (up at 3am!) but a good journey ensured she was there on time. After two abortive attempts at 7.15am to do the arena walk, where you are allowed to let the horse walk around the dressage arena, I was thwarted by ‘Mr Job’s Worth’ steward. First for not wearing my hat and then (after returning to the trailer half a mile away to get said hat) for not wearing my number, I gave up! I did bite my tongue, as I know all the officials are volunteers, however….Apart from that little incident, everyone was wonderful, friendly and very helpful. We had a day of mixed fortunes. Everyone went well in the dressage but surprisingly the SJ proved to be the most challenging aspect. Both levels had big bright courses with very tight times and sharp turns.

Diane’s little horse found the time a bit tight and Adele’s lovely young horse found it a bit scary! Margaret and I fared a little better, finishing without time or jumping faults. The team did not quite get in the rosettes, but Margaret and I got a 14th and 12th respectively in the individual placings. It was a great experience for all of us, many laughs and fun together, which is what it’s all about of course! Ruth EvansRuth and Margaret in action

BRC COMPETITIONS:

FESTIVAL OF THE HORSE CHALLENGE AND COMBINED TRAINING CHAMPS AT SAT/SUN 20/21 MAY, ASTON Team: Diane Williams, Margaret

Hird, Ruth Evans, Adele Shaw

Diane,

Ony

, Ruth and Adele not in action

Many thanks one again to

Ony

who gave up her weekend to help us, even mucking out the stables, prize helper!Slide8

Established 1968

Visit: meonrc.orgFB: Friends of Meon Riding Club

8

meonrc.org

CALL FOR TEAMS: BRC SJ QUALIFIER, 9th JULY We need volunteers to ride in the teams for the Show Jumping Qualifier to be held on 9 July at Bovington.The SJ classes go from 70cm to 110cm and Style Jumping is 75cm and 85cm.All the information is on the Call for Teams page of our website, as is the Schedule and Eligibility Criteria.Anyone interested in riding or helping should contact Jackie Rixon, jrixon@intereurope.com Tel: 07990 688183

CALL FOR TEAMS: BRC DRESSAGE QUALIFIER, 23rd JULY We need volunteers to ride in the teams for the Dressage Qualifier to beheld at Hurn Bridge Equestrian Centre, Christchurch, on Sunday 23 July. We are looking for people for:Prelim Team (4 x P18)Open

Team (1 x eachN24, N27, N34, E53)There are also classes for individuals to do Pick-a-Test (M76 or AM98) and the Riding Test.

 All the information is on the Call for Teams page of our website,

as well as Schedule and Eligibility Criteria. Anyone interested in riding or helping out should Andrea Bishop (

andrea.bishop1@btinternet.com)

or phone: 07713351013

.

Go for it

– do put yourself forward – we’re always really supportive of anyone who wants to give being in a

team

–

dressage and/or SJ -

a try!

For both of these competitions, we

are also looking for people to act as

Meon

helpers

and

it is a condition of entry that we supply these helpers! So

HELP!Slide9

Established 1968

Visit: meonrc.orgFB: Friends of Meon Riding Club

FUTURE DATES:

All dates on the Calendar page of our website, but here’s the summary:

JUNESunday 4 - Meon Arena Eventing at Lower Peake – open to all – schedule to follow Monday 5 and Tuesday 6th June – Two-day Clinic at Fair Oak, RogateSunday 18 June Horse Trials Qualifier at Moreton EC, Nr Dorchester JULY onwards...Sunday 9 July Show & Style Jumping Qualifiers at Bovington EC

23rd July – BRC Area 17 Summer Dressage qualifier29th July – Dressage to Music BRC Area 17 Qualifier at CroftonFri-Sun 4-6 Aug Horse Trials Champs at Swalcliffe Park SatSun 2/3 Sept National Champs Dr, RT and SJ at Lincoln

18-22nd Sept – Residential holiday at Wellington

29th

Sept – 1 October – Dressage to Music and Quadrille BRC Champs, Bury Farm9meonrc.org

NEXT TIME

…

Stories from our two-day

c

linic at Fair Oak, Monday/Tuesday

5 & 6 June 2017

and our

Arena Eventing competition on 4

th

June.

Do come along and cheer everyone on

–

see you there!

By the way, if anyone fancies joining our committee in the Autumn, we can vouch for the cakes!

Did you know?

You can order

Meon

RC clothing online from Sew Equestrian? There is a whole range of items to order – all in our club colours – black and yellow! Just go to:

sewequestrian.com

and go to Clubs and Teams to find the

Meon

range! Also – do let us know if you would like a

Meon

RC car sticker, pretty sure we have some left!