Happy New Year!

From all at SDRC to our members, friends and supporters..

Look what you can do with us in 2012..

• WIN a £100 training bursary
• FREE demonstration and training with International Grand Prix Dressage Rider
• Inaugural Area 9 Dressage Qualifier on home ground
• SDRC One Day Event
• An evening with an Olympic gold medallist

Win a training bursary at our 7th AGM
Monday 20th February 2012

Wanborough Village Hall, High Street, Wanborough, Swindon SN4 0AD at 7.15 for 7.30 start

All members are welcome!

This is your chance to voice your ideas about your club with each other and with the committee. The brilliant ideas from last year's AGM have contributed significantly to our success in 2011, including the running of our inaugural ODE. We know you have lots to say, so please do come along and earn yourself the chance to win £100 to go towards training with your horse.

For all paid up members there is a FREE raffle entry to win £100 training bursary, which may be spent with any trainer.

If you cannot make it, please convey your ideas or points to Angela, to include on the agenda.

Find attached the agenda for this meeting and minutes from the 2011 AGM.

Kindly let Angela know if you can attend as we do need to know numbers. Don’t forget to bring a mug for tea/coffee. Contact: Angela Roberts, SDRC Treasurer, T 01793 785406 work 01793 826103 home 0771 3642453 mobile

Membership Renewal due now

Renew before the AGM to ensure you qualify for entry into our FREE raffle!

We are delighted to say that we have frozen the fees for membership to Swindon and District Riding Club once again. We hope you will continue to support the club and look forward to seeing you at our events in 2012.

Please send your cheque made payable to "Swindon and District Riding Club" to Kerry Alexander, Membership Secretary, The Ark, Uffcott, Wiltshire, SN4 9NB. Please write on the back of the cheque the names of the corresponding members.

The fees are due on 1st January 2012 and remain as follows:

Seniors £20.00

Juniors and non-riding members £15.00

Additional family members at the same address £15.00

Team riders must be fully paid up. A lapse in your membership beyond the end of February will incur a £3.50 joining fee.

Free Training Event with International Dressage Rider*

17th March at Cholderton Equestrian Centre, Wiltshire (date tbc)

With the excitement of the forthcoming London Olympics and as a thank you to all our members for their tremendous support, particularly at our inaugural one day event we are hosting a special training event with Anna Ross-Davies, an International Grand Prix dressage rider.

Anna has represented Great Britain at Grand Prix all over the world including the European Championships, Aachen CDIO,  Saumur CDIO, World Cup, and has twice competed at the World Championships for Young Horses. In 2007 Anna was the highest placed British Team rider at the European Championships, helping team GB secure qualification for the Beijing Olympics and in 2008 she was reserve for Beijing.

The event will include a demonstration by Anna with her own horse and a chance for members to benefit from her training methods with their own horses. We will invite members to come forward as guinea pigs, so watch this space!

* This event will be free to fully paid-up members with priority given to those who helped at the SDRC ODE last year.

Area 9 Qualifier - Open Dressage

22nd July at Rabson Manor, Winterbourne Bassett, Wilts

As a club we will be hosting the inaugural Area 9 National Championship qualifier for open dressage on 22nd July at Rabson Manor.

It is a great honour for the club to be chosen to run this qualifier and Tam Thornton has very gallantly stepped forward to co-ordinate this event.

We will be hosting team and individual riders from Area 9 clubs, and of course putting forward our own riders to compete for the qualifying places. Tests range from Novice to Medium and we are also hoping to have some teams to contest the Rural Riders team event.

Tam will be looking for volunteers to help her with this event, so please don't forget to put this date in your diary.

SDRC One Day Event

19th August at Rabson Manor, Winterbourne Bassett, Wilts

After the success of last year's fantastic event, we will again be running our own ODE at Rabson Manor by kind permission of Gill and George Horton.

As Tam is co-ordinating the area qualifier, she has delegated the job to four musketeers viz. Louise Cattermole (dressage), Eleanor Newman (SJ), Amanda Fitzgerald (XC) and Sally Humphries mum (catering).

This team will also be looking for your help, so please add this date to your diary too!

Hat Tagging!!

Friday 20 January at Jude Matthew's house

To save time and avoid stress at events Jude Matthews has kindly offered our members the opportunity to get their hats tagged at a VWH social event on Friday 20th January from 8pm at her home in Brinkworth. Gill Penberth the Area 9 BRC Official Representative will be checking hats are up to standard and tagging.

If you can't make it, you may give your hat, CLEARLY LABELLED WITH YOUR NAME, to Caron Roberts who will be delivering a batch for inspection and tagging.

Please let Jude Matthews know if you are going in person on 07970 976063 or email judematthews@yahoo.co.uk

Team members must have their hats tagged before they ride at an area qualifier. Please visit our website and look at the BRC Rules page to check that your hat is up to standard. (or the BRC website). You will not be allowed to ride unless your hat is tagged, so this is as important as the dreaded vaccinations!

Pub night venue:
Vale of the White Horse, Minety

Our pub night on 21st January will be at The Vale of the White Horse, Minety, from 7.30pm onwards.

We'd love to see you all for a good old natter about times past, present and future. It's a lovely old inn renowned for fine wines and real ales!! It's just what we need to warm us up for the coming year!

If you fancy food, the specials listed below are just £5.50, lovely grub and excellent value!

Whitebait, Pigeon Salad, Curry, Pie of the day, Scampi, Ham Egg and Chips. Tam has asked for Sausage and Chips to be added as well.

 Please RSVP to Caron via text 07870 673507 to let her know if you can come along (and your menu choice if eating).

An evening with Anne Dunham

Continuing the theme of Olympic dreams we have invited Anne Dunham to share her extraordinary achievements with us. Anne needs no introduction as Paralympics gold medal-winning rider named The Sunday Times disabled sportswoman of the year. However, many of you may not know that Anne is Amber's mum. Amber is regularly seen at clinics, sometimes riding her mum's gold medal winning horse Teddy.

In September, Anne was a member of the winning team at the European Para Equestrian Dressage Championships in Belgium, where she also won two individual golds. On receiving her award she said “It was a big shock and a great honour. But it’s not just great for me, it’s brilliant for para dressage and equestrianism as whole, especially when [equestrian] sport wasn’t recognised in the recent BBC Sports Personality of the Year nominations.”

Anne is an inspiration to us all and has very kindly agreed to talk to us about her experience as an elite rider and about her journey towards the 2012 Olympics. Watch this space for more details.

2012 BRC Rules

The Rulebook contains all the information you need to know to compete in official Riding Club competitions, including what you and your horse are allowed to wear, eligibility criteria and rules for all the BRC championships.

Please note the 2012 Rulebook has been published and is for sale in the BHS Bookshop. Future rule amendments enforced after the BRC rulebook has been printed will be indicated in red.

It is now available here (link to BRC website)

It is important to check your hat and body protector are up to standard for BRC activities. Note that a body protector is obligatory in all cross-country competitions and is strongly recommended in show jumping competitions. A BETA Level 3 (purple label) which has been manufactured in the year 2000 or after must be worn. Body protectors should be fitted and worn as per the manufacturer’s instructions. The up to date BETA list of body protectors can be obtained from www.beta-uk.org. If a rider chooses to wear an airbag style body protector it must be worn over a permitted body protector and if activated, must be deflated or removed before continuing. Hybrid Air-jackets are permitted.
Riders wearing Exo Body Cage protectors must inform the secretary at all events.

The 2012 Downgrading form can be found here. Please note if people wish to downgrade for a particular qualifier then the form must be with Jennie at j.pallett@bhs.org.uk no less than twenty one days before the qualifier to allow time for the form to be processed.

The online Flu Vac Checker can be found here