Results & Club Reports 2024
BRC Equilibrium Intermediate Winter Dressage Championships at Arena UK, 28th April
Well, what a weekend for SDRC at the BRC Equilibrium Intermediate Winter Dressage Championships at Arena UK.
Saturday saw the seniors competing, we had a team comprising of Harry Goddard doing the Prelim, Esther Stevens & Annabel Berry doing Novice and Demi Davis doing Elementary. Emilie Rogers competed as an individual doing an Elementary test.
The day was quite spread out with the Novice tests earlier in the day and the prelim and Elementary tests towards the end of the day. It was meant to be wet, but the weather was kind and it stayed dry. The result was the team achieved second place out of 36 teams which was fantastic, there were also individual placings for Annabel 6th, Demi 7th and Harry 3rd. Emilie did well in her elementary class coming 7th.
On Sunday it was the turn of the juniors, competing were Izzy Allen and Hollie Sykes, to make up an area 9 team they were joined by Grace Clarke (Cotswold Edge) and Lily Harrington (Kingsleaze). Unfortunately, the weather was very unkind to them, and they had to deal with torrential rain and flooding but despite this they ploughed on and achieved Team 2nd out of 14 teams which is just fantastic. There were also some individual placings with Holly coming 2nd in her class and Izzy coming 6th.
Holly also competed as an individual in the Novice 28 and came 1st in her class.
Overall, a fantastic result for SDRC, two teams both achieving second place and 7 individual placings, you all did a fantastic job.
Winter Senior Intermediate Dressage, Leyland Court, 25th February
We had two teams entered:
Team Gin Fizz consisting of Harry Goddard, Esther Stevens, Annabel Berry and Demi Davis
Team Hot 2 Trot consisting of Nic Davis, Pam Hunt, Sara Felix Halladey & Emilie Rogers.
Team Gin Fizz came 2nd and there were individual placings for every team member: Harry 2nd, Esther 3rd, Annabel 2nd and Demi 6th.
Team Hot to Trot came 8th with an individual placing for Emilie who was 4th.
Well done to everyone who competed and thank you to everyone who came and supported.
Winter Junior Dressage Qualifier, Caron Roberts Equestrian, 11th February
The Area 9 Winter Junior Dressage qualifier, was held at Caron Roberts Equestrian and organised by SDRC.
We had two competitors representing the club as individuals.
Izzy Allen competing at Prelim 13 and Novice 30 and Holly Sykes doing Novice 28 and Elementary 42.
Both did really good tests in all their classes giving them both firsts for both tests, a great result and a qualification (subject to official notification) for the Intermediate and Novice Championships for Izzy and Intermediate Championships for Holly at Arena UK in Grantham.
A big thank you Tammy for all your organisation of the event and everyone who volunteered to help, it wouldn’t have been possible to have run the event without you and make it the success that it was.
Area 9 Show jumping Qualifier, West Wilts Equestrian Centre, 7th January
The day was cold but dry (for a change). SDRC had two teams.
The Senior 70cm jumping team was made up of 3 combinations all making their jumping debut either for the club on on the horse they were riding.
Demi Davis - a was very, very late substitute rider for Zeb - they had a super fast round but had 2 unlucky taps towards the end of the course.
Vicki Thomas riding Dunster flew round, but unfortunately suffered a 'sat nav' problem which disrupted their flow and resulted in a top rail down.
Christina King on Rosca had a steady round (although it didn't feel it at the time) with an unlucky rail off the first part of the double. Whilst there were no individual placings for these combinations they did achieve a very credible 5th team place.
The second team was the Senior 80cm jumping team, this was made up of Harry Goddard on Toffee, Emilie Rogers on Henry and Paul Granger on Bill. Harry went first, starting off well but had an unfortunate couple of poles giving him 8 faults. Emilie had a lovely steady round but caught a pole giving her 4 faults, last but not least was Paul who had an absolute cracking round giving them a clear round and the team overall 4 place.
It was a great result for SDRC having both teams placed, a huge thank you to SDRC and Caron Roberts for giving us all the opportunity to take part in these fun events, and a big thank you to Eleanor Newman for organising the event. Everyone had a great time and are looking forward to the next one.
Finally in true SDRC style it wouldn't be an event without food; because of the timings, two lots of food were required, a big thank in the 70cm team toNic Davis for the cake and Vicki Thomas for the tea and in the 80cm team a big thank you to Anne Granger for the rolls, savouries and coffee, Ellen Bailey Rogers for the soft drinks and snacks and Di Goddard provided cake!
Results & Club Reports 2023
SWWRC Championships, Hartpury, August 19th
A great day for team Swindon, at the SWWRC Championships at Hartpury. We had three Teams in total, there were two teams in the Riding Test:
Team Ermintrude, Izzie, Perdie, Hollie and Emilie. Izzie and Perdie did the Prelim test and Emilie and Hollie did the Novice test.
Team Dougal, Amanda, Harry, Fiona and Demi. Amanda and Harry did the prelim test and Demi and Fiona the Novice test.
and one team in the Dressage Test, Izzie, Perdie, Emilie and Harry.
In the riding tests Team Dougal came 2nd and Team Ermintrude came 6th.
There were also some individual placings for Izzie 2nd on 96, Amanda 3rd on 94, Harry 4th on 83.5, Perdie 5th on 81 and Demi 8th on 91.
The Prelim dressage team came overall 4th with individual placings for every team member, Harry, 2nd on 70.96, Emilie, 6th on 67.12, Izzie, 9th on 61.5 and Perdie, 9th on 66.73.
It was a long day and a bit of a wait at the end but this was helped by the tea and cake provided by Fiona and ice cream's provided by Ellen without which the wait would have been even longer.
Everyone did a really great job with great results, well done everyone.
This report provided by Di Goddard
Horse Trials Championships, August 5th and 6th, Swalcliffe Park Equestrian
Our Horse Trials Team (Senior 80cm) qualified for the Championships on August 5th and 6th. This was run over 2 days, and was to include roads and tracks, however the weather played a part and the roads and tracks sections were cancelled, so Day 2 was cross country only.
Full reports and pictures can be found on our facebook page, but here are some of the posts from the 2 days:
Day 1:
Team update at the end of a long and very soggy day. Naomi Wright was our path finder and did a fab dressage and clear SJ. Harry Goddard and Toffee had another good test and just one green moment in the SJ. Naomi Bradley unfortunately had to retire in the SJ as Cruiz really didn’t like the ground.Paul Granger and Bill rounded up the day with a cracking dressage and clear SJ
Day 2:
The second day of the Championships saw the Roads and Tracks cancelled due to the conditions so the team geared up for cross country and fortunately it had stopped raining. At least to start with. There were a few nerves as we walked the course but all were looking forward to getting going.
First to start was Naomi Wright and Dougie, after a cracking day one, they followed it up with a superb clear cross country inside the time to take second individually.
Next up was Harry Goddard and Toffee who followed their good showing on day 1 by going clear cross country with just a few time penalties. Paul Granger and Bill were last to go for the team and right on queue the heavens opened, they came home safely with an unfortunate 20 penalties at the second water complex. It was smiles all round for a cracking weekend and a good team showing. There was a great camaraderie and Team spirit. Thanks to all those who helped and supported us, we can't wait to do it again!!!!
Reflecting on the weekend - from Diane Goddard
What a fantastic weekend and an unbelievable experience despite the weather's attempts to thwart us at every opportunity. The team spirit was amazing and everyone gave it their all. As a team we came 18th out of 34 teams which we were really pleased with, but none of this would have been possible without the support of the club and all its members and of course Caron Roberts and all the time, effort and training and preparation she provided to the team and Tammy Thornton who, over the weekend, gave so much advice and support and kept everyone calm in the face of adversity and soggy ground, her guidance was invaluable. It is definitely something we would love to do again with the aim to be in the top 10 next time which is totally achievable.
Our Horse Trials Team (Senior 80cm) qualified for the Championships on August 5th and 6th. This was run over 2 days, and was to include roads and tracks, however the weather played a part and the roads and tracks sections were cancelled, so Day 2 was cross country only.
Full reports and pictures can be found on our facebook page, but here are some of the posts from the 2 days:
Day 1:
Team update at the end of a long and very soggy day. Naomi Wright was our path finder and did a fab dressage and clear SJ. Harry Goddard and Toffee had another good test and just one green moment in the SJ. Naomi Bradley unfortunately had to retire in the SJ as Cruiz really didn’t like the ground.Paul Granger and Bill rounded up the day with a cracking dressage and clear SJ
Day 2:
The second day of the Championships saw the Roads and Tracks cancelled due to the conditions so the team geared up for cross country and fortunately it had stopped raining. At least to start with. There were a few nerves as we walked the course but all were looking forward to getting going.
First to start was Naomi Wright and Dougie, after a cracking day one, they followed it up with a superb clear cross country inside the time to take second individually.
Next up was Harry Goddard and Toffee who followed their good showing on day 1 by going clear cross country with just a few time penalties. Paul Granger and Bill were last to go for the team and right on queue the heavens opened, they came home safely with an unfortunate 20 penalties at the second water complex. It was smiles all round for a cracking weekend and a good team showing. There was a great camaraderie and Team spirit. Thanks to all those who helped and supported us, we can't wait to do it again!!!!
Reflecting on the weekend - from Diane Goddard
What a fantastic weekend and an unbelievable experience despite the weather's attempts to thwart us at every opportunity. The team spirit was amazing and everyone gave it their all. As a team we came 18th out of 34 teams which we were really pleased with, but none of this would have been possible without the support of the club and all its members and of course Caron Roberts and all the time, effort and training and preparation she provided to the team and Tammy Thornton who, over the weekend, gave so much advice and support and kept everyone calm in the face of adversity and soggy ground, her guidance was invaluable. It is definitely something we would love to do again with the aim to be in the top 10 next time which is totally achievable.
Congratulations to our Junior Dressage Team - Read here the write up by proud mum Amanda Sykes.
Sunday 23rd April was the turn of the Juniors for the Intermediate Dressage Championships at Onley Grounds Equestrian Centre. With a full team of 4, consisting of Emilie Rogers & Henry, Izzy Allen & Ben, Perdie Lawrence & Pebbles and Holly Sykes & Daisy, they had everything to ride for.
Emilie, Izzy and Holly headed to Onley on Saturday evening whilst Perdie decided to get a restful night and join us on Sunday morning. Everyone had a smooth journey and the ponies settled well overnight with the girls all helping each other and enjoying being together as a team. Holly was a bit sad to miss out on cheesy chips as the restaurant had closed by the time we were organised but as we’d bought enough snacks between us to feed an army, all was well. We even had a pre-birthday celebration for Izzy and Holly, with a caterpillar cake bought by Rachel. Super-organised Ellen had kindly printed contact forms for all of us just in case any of the ponies were up to no-good overnight. So, we all had a fairly sensible, early night (well with a few drinks and cart wheels thrown in), in readiness for the arena walk at the rather anti-social time of 7.30am!
The ponies all behaved impeccably for the arena walk despite spooky flower pots and banners and all the buzz of a lively championship. Emilie was the first to do her test and it was great that there was enough time between each test to watch and support each other. Henry, the youngest horse of the team, was super cool throughout and produced a great 67%+ test in Novice 28, so we were off to a flying start. Holly was next, and Daisy was incredibly chilled out, much to our surprise, although a small sat nav error in Novice 30 was a bit costly leaving them also on 67%+. So that ended the morning and Team Swindon were looking strong in joint 2nd place, with both girls getting individual placings too. Perdie then arrived looking rested and a little less dishevelled than the rest of us, and after a bit of lunch and shopping (no cheesy chips in sight) it was Perdie and Pebbles chance to shine. A foot perfect prelim 14 test saw them take the lead in their arena with 72%+. I had by now taken up my position as chief poo picker of the arenas so was able to watch all of the tests that came after and I may be slightly biased but none looked as accurate and polished as Perdie and Pebbles but we’d have to wait and see the scores.
To finish the team, Izzy and Ben did a lovely test, in only their second ever dressage attempt together, with a score of 67%+ in the prelim 18. With all the teams completed there was just the individual tests left to go in each arena and finally the scores came out with Perdie staying top of her arena and Izzy lying a fabulous fourth for the team competition in her arena.
After what seemed like an age the scores were out with Team Swindon a huge 5 points ahead of the 2nd team! The girls were super astonished that their little team had managed to come out on top amongst such amazing teams from all over the country. With 2 very young, inexperienced horses, 1 combination that was totally new to dressage and our young but seasoned professionals of Perdie and Pebbles we had seen off the opposition to win the National Championship!
A special congratulations to Perdie and Pebbles who also won their arena in possibly their last competition together, as she hands the reins over to her sister Izzy who hopes to persuade him that taking his feet off the ground is more fun than dressage. I’m sure Pebbles is up for the challenge!
So, the girls returned after quite an eventful trip back with loads of rosettes, sashes and leather head collars. A wonderful weekend where lots of friendships were solidified and both 4 and 2 legged team members, along with their mums and not forgetting super organised Granny Roni, deserve a much needed rest. Well done team! Here’s to the next one!
Last but not least, a huge thank you to Caron and Tammy and all at Caron Roberts Equestrian who have trained, encouraged and nurtured the ponies and girls over the last few weeks and months and also to Andrea who seamlessly organises all the dressage entries and teams which is a feat in itself!
Results & Club Reports 2022
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SDRC ended the year with a show jumping rally at Rectory Farm Arena. We were lucky with the weather, and 2 groups had a great time. These are a few pictures - everyone enjoyed it, judging by the smiley faces!!
South Wales and West of England Riding Clubs Championships
Hartpury College Equestrian Centre, August 20th
There was a flurry of activity during June and July with Area Qualifiers in all disciplines. SDRC's teams and individuals all did well and we had great representation at the SWWRC Championships which were held at Hartpury College Equestrian Centre.
Here is Andrea's summary as shared on Facebook:
Another super day for Swindon teams at the SWWRC Champs at Hartpury on Saturday. We qualified 2 teams each for dressage and riding tests in addition to the jumping teams and with everyone doing at least 2 tests and/or jumping it was a fairly hectic and hot day!
Swindon 1 came 2nd in the riding test and Swindon 2 came 3rd with individual placings Claire Burton 2nd, Demi Davis 2nd, Holly Sykes 3rd, Eleanor Newman 5th, Amanda Sykes 8th, plus team stalwart Tina Starling and newbie Alison Windel all contributing to winning scores.
In dressage Swindon 2 came 7th with individual rosettes for Annabel Bloor Berry 4th, Andrea Moxey 6th, Holly Sykes 7th and Fiona Symes 10th.
The ponies were a bit shocked when we had to tack up again for mounted prize giving and lap of honour in the main arena, a few rosettes went flying but we all had a brilliant time and lots of Swindon supporters and helpers were there to cheer us on
Here is Demi's summary of the jumping teams:
Some more super results from the Swindon ladies alongside the dressage teams. We qualified with one team for the Style Show Jumping and another team for the Novice Show Jumping.
First up were the style riders, who did not disappoint with a team win along with individual placings Tina Starling 1st, Demi Davis 2nd, Fiona Symes 9th and Annabel Bloor Berry 12th.
To then finish off the already hectic day we had the novice show jump team who finished in team 9th.
As always the team spirit was on a high with lots of laughs and lots of encouraging words for all And a huge thank you goes out to all the Swindon supporters and helpers who were there to cheer everyone on and enable us to compete.
Some more super results from the Swindon ladies alongside the dressage teams. We qualified with one team for the Style Show Jumping and another team for the Novice Show Jumping.
First up were the style riders, who did not disappoint with a team win along with individual placings Tina Starling 1st, Demi Davis 2nd, Fiona Symes 9th and Annabel Bloor Berry 12th.
To then finish off the already hectic day we had the novice show jump team who finished in team 9th.
As always the team spirit was on a high with lots of laughs and lots of encouraging words for all And a huge thank you goes out to all the Swindon supporters and helpers who were there to cheer everyone on and enable us to compete.
BRC Championships, Winter Intermediate Dressage
Bury Farm, April 23rd
On April 23rd it was the turn of the Senior Team to venture to The BRC Intermediate Winter Dressage Championships at Bury Farm Equestrian. Here is a report of the day from Amanda Sykes:
With the possibility of an 8.30am time slot on Saturday for Jock and myself we decided to head up there on Friday night and make a weekend of it! This also appealed to my 6 year old daughter – Kate, who was very keen to come and camp in the lorry, with promises of great food (Holly had already checked out the catering facilities) and an adventure from her big sister. On that note, I would like to say that I don’t think the usual Sykes catering is too bad but it’s worrying that the prospect of cheesy chips is such a pull for both 6 and 16 year olds! Indeed, she was so keen to come she willingly helped me clean the lorry!
So, off we went on Friday afternoon and after 3 hours travelling I kind of regretted not making an early start on Saturday instead. This sentiment was not agreed with by Jock as to his delight all the stables were on grass and also being rather a ‘foodie’ he was very excited with the prospect of an ‘all night, all you can eat grass buffet’ not even being deterred by our attempt at covering the grass in shavings. The only upside to this was that he didn’t have time to roll and was actually still clean in the morning, just a slight problem with getting the girth done up!
In the end our time was much later than predicted so we turned up in the warm up half an hour before our test well rested, well fed (some more than others) and ready to work. Julia, with her boots this time firmly in place, soon joined us as she was on shortly after us in the next door arena. After a quick catch up, it was time for the test (the actual reason for being here) so in we went. Feeling happy and secure and fully knowing my test, I entered the arena to surprisingly exit very quickly, just about hanging in the saddle and avoiding falling off. You see, Jock has a thing about certain flower pots (Lanes Farm no exception) and these seemingly normal white flower pots lurking at A were the worst he’d come across, threatening to swallow me and him whole. Fortunately he hadn’t got as far as stepping into the arena so we tried again with the same result but I just decided to go with it and steer him up the centre line which worked as for the first time our comment read ‘Fairly active and straight’. Once in the arena all was much calmer and he was back to his rather over-chilled self, making me work for every mark but completing an ‘ok’ test, according to my ever critical daughter! I was just pleased to get out unscathed and still on board and when the results came out was pretty pleased with a score of over 67%.
Julia’s turn was shortly after ours and she had a rather less eventful time on the lovely Bobby who performed a great test in a hotly contested Elementary class despite confessing to a slight panic moment of ‘which way am I turning at C’ at the start. It was lovely to see Anne Granger who came to help Julia with Bobby and keep her company whilst travelling.
So it was 2 down, 2 to go with both the novice classes taking place in the afternoon. I was also writing for a novice class so was able to watch a little of the tests. First up was Sarah on Nino and with the wind blowing a hooley and the arena resembling the Sahara, they appeared, when I was able to see, to cope admirably with the conditions and complete a great test.
There was a short gap until Demi and Teddy’s test. They had drawn the short straw and were in Arena 3 with not only flower pots but also big, flappy flags to deal with. As I saw them come in I thought Teddy looked ‘rather on his toes’ but obviously Demi appeared as chilled out as usual. I learnt later that they described this mood as his spicy or vindaloo attitude and it often doesn’t end well! The bits I saw of the test looked fabulous but afterwards Demi was non-committal, describing it as ok. Anyway, the news of the score came whilst she and Nic were ordering their lunch and by the way both Nic and Demi were blubbing you’d have thought she’d got 20%! It was a huge win with over 75% and also the highest score of the competition, crowning them overall winners! It was so lovely to see how proud Nic was and how thrilled the usually demure Demi was. I have a feeling Caron will now refuse to let Demi enter another novice test and we’ll see them fly up the levels in BD using ‘vindaloo’ to her advantage!
Not forgetting the team. Out of 29 teams we came a respectable 15th place and I think we’ll all agree that we had a largely enjoyable time.
Thank you so much to Andrea for all the organising and to Caron for the support and grilling in rallies and lessons before the event and whose voice I’m sure was with us all during our tests – ‘hands up, sit tall, show off and ride for every mark’ certainly resonated with me throughout!
Bury Farm, April 23rd
On April 23rd it was the turn of the Senior Team to venture to The BRC Intermediate Winter Dressage Championships at Bury Farm Equestrian. Here is a report of the day from Amanda Sykes:
With the possibility of an 8.30am time slot on Saturday for Jock and myself we decided to head up there on Friday night and make a weekend of it! This also appealed to my 6 year old daughter – Kate, who was very keen to come and camp in the lorry, with promises of great food (Holly had already checked out the catering facilities) and an adventure from her big sister. On that note, I would like to say that I don’t think the usual Sykes catering is too bad but it’s worrying that the prospect of cheesy chips is such a pull for both 6 and 16 year olds! Indeed, she was so keen to come she willingly helped me clean the lorry!
So, off we went on Friday afternoon and after 3 hours travelling I kind of regretted not making an early start on Saturday instead. This sentiment was not agreed with by Jock as to his delight all the stables were on grass and also being rather a ‘foodie’ he was very excited with the prospect of an ‘all night, all you can eat grass buffet’ not even being deterred by our attempt at covering the grass in shavings. The only upside to this was that he didn’t have time to roll and was actually still clean in the morning, just a slight problem with getting the girth done up!
In the end our time was much later than predicted so we turned up in the warm up half an hour before our test well rested, well fed (some more than others) and ready to work. Julia, with her boots this time firmly in place, soon joined us as she was on shortly after us in the next door arena. After a quick catch up, it was time for the test (the actual reason for being here) so in we went. Feeling happy and secure and fully knowing my test, I entered the arena to surprisingly exit very quickly, just about hanging in the saddle and avoiding falling off. You see, Jock has a thing about certain flower pots (Lanes Farm no exception) and these seemingly normal white flower pots lurking at A were the worst he’d come across, threatening to swallow me and him whole. Fortunately he hadn’t got as far as stepping into the arena so we tried again with the same result but I just decided to go with it and steer him up the centre line which worked as for the first time our comment read ‘Fairly active and straight’. Once in the arena all was much calmer and he was back to his rather over-chilled self, making me work for every mark but completing an ‘ok’ test, according to my ever critical daughter! I was just pleased to get out unscathed and still on board and when the results came out was pretty pleased with a score of over 67%.
Julia’s turn was shortly after ours and she had a rather less eventful time on the lovely Bobby who performed a great test in a hotly contested Elementary class despite confessing to a slight panic moment of ‘which way am I turning at C’ at the start. It was lovely to see Anne Granger who came to help Julia with Bobby and keep her company whilst travelling.
So it was 2 down, 2 to go with both the novice classes taking place in the afternoon. I was also writing for a novice class so was able to watch a little of the tests. First up was Sarah on Nino and with the wind blowing a hooley and the arena resembling the Sahara, they appeared, when I was able to see, to cope admirably with the conditions and complete a great test.
There was a short gap until Demi and Teddy’s test. They had drawn the short straw and were in Arena 3 with not only flower pots but also big, flappy flags to deal with. As I saw them come in I thought Teddy looked ‘rather on his toes’ but obviously Demi appeared as chilled out as usual. I learnt later that they described this mood as his spicy or vindaloo attitude and it often doesn’t end well! The bits I saw of the test looked fabulous but afterwards Demi was non-committal, describing it as ok. Anyway, the news of the score came whilst she and Nic were ordering their lunch and by the way both Nic and Demi were blubbing you’d have thought she’d got 20%! It was a huge win with over 75% and also the highest score of the competition, crowning them overall winners! It was so lovely to see how proud Nic was and how thrilled the usually demure Demi was. I have a feeling Caron will now refuse to let Demi enter another novice test and we’ll see them fly up the levels in BD using ‘vindaloo’ to her advantage!
Not forgetting the team. Out of 29 teams we came a respectable 15th place and I think we’ll all agree that we had a largely enjoyable time.
Thank you so much to Andrea for all the organising and to Caron for the support and grilling in rallies and lessons before the event and whose voice I’m sure was with us all during our tests – ‘hands up, sit tall, show off and ride for every mark’ certainly resonated with me throughout!
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Area 9 Combined Training, 10th April at West Wilts
Fab results from the combined training riders at West Wilts today and all with foot perfect clears!
Team 7th
Fiona Symes individually 9th
Naomi Wright individually 2nd
Eleanor Newman individually 5th
And Demi Davis won her section as an individual
Good day all round finishing off with lemon drizzle cake and a coffee
Fab results from the combined training riders at West Wilts today and all with foot perfect clears!
Team 7th
Fiona Symes individually 9th
Naomi Wright individually 2nd
Eleanor Newman individually 5th
And Demi Davis won her section as an individual
Good day all round finishing off with lemon drizzle cake and a coffee
Area 9 Winter Intermediate Dressage, 6th March at Leyland Court
Amanda Sykes reported on the day as follows:
After the juniors showed us how to do it in style last weekend, it was the turn of 4 more mature members to compete at the Intermediate Dressage Qualifiers at Leyland Court yesterday. Gifted with quite reasonable times to allow for stretching and any painkillers to kick in, (for me, not my hairy pony), we picked seasoned competitor Demi up at 9am and headed off. As we got there Demi realised she’d forgotten her gloves and couldn’t borrow mine as our times were too close. Amazingly, Demi seems to know everyone in the South West and managed to quickly borrow a pair of ‘lucky’ gloves from a fellow competitor.
So, all was not lost and we headed, aided by super groom Holly (whose chief aim was the burger van), to the warm up. 20 minutes later and we were in, both competing at the same time in next door arenas. I think Jock had been given a pep talk by super Teddy in the lorry as he channelled his inner dressage pony and did a very reasonable test scoring just sub 67%. Teddy and Demi were true professionals, posting a score of almost 71% and going into the lead. It was then a long wait to see if they stayed there. Of course they did so after the first 2 tests we were in team 3rd with a score of just 7.
After Holly had more sustenance from the burger van, we picked up sheets and headed off, bumping into a slightly flustered Julia who had forgotten her boots! Now, a pair of gloves are fairly easy to get but borrowing boots is a completely different ball game. Anyway, Julia must have some amazing friends as someone raced them all the way over to her in the nick of time.
We then left Julia and Sarah to complete their tests. Sarah posted a good score in a very hotly contested Novice 27 but said Sky wasn’t feeling it as he’d also been out the day before (it amazes me that you could go through this 2 days in a row so I salute you Sarah!). Then it was, the now booted up, turn of Julia and Bobbie who posted an incredible score of over 67% in the Elementary - obviously the pressure of the situation helped (bareback next time Julia?).
Anyway, if you managed to read this far, after waiting for all the other competitors to finish and the scoreboard changing every minute we managed a fabulous Team 2nd from 16 teams.
STOP PRESS - we have received confirmation from BRC that the team has qualified for the Championships which will be held at Bury Farm on April 23rd - so let's hope that things run more smoothly next time!!
Amanda Sykes reported on the day as follows:
After the juniors showed us how to do it in style last weekend, it was the turn of 4 more mature members to compete at the Intermediate Dressage Qualifiers at Leyland Court yesterday. Gifted with quite reasonable times to allow for stretching and any painkillers to kick in, (for me, not my hairy pony), we picked seasoned competitor Demi up at 9am and headed off. As we got there Demi realised she’d forgotten her gloves and couldn’t borrow mine as our times were too close. Amazingly, Demi seems to know everyone in the South West and managed to quickly borrow a pair of ‘lucky’ gloves from a fellow competitor.
So, all was not lost and we headed, aided by super groom Holly (whose chief aim was the burger van), to the warm up. 20 minutes later and we were in, both competing at the same time in next door arenas. I think Jock had been given a pep talk by super Teddy in the lorry as he channelled his inner dressage pony and did a very reasonable test scoring just sub 67%. Teddy and Demi were true professionals, posting a score of almost 71% and going into the lead. It was then a long wait to see if they stayed there. Of course they did so after the first 2 tests we were in team 3rd with a score of just 7.
After Holly had more sustenance from the burger van, we picked up sheets and headed off, bumping into a slightly flustered Julia who had forgotten her boots! Now, a pair of gloves are fairly easy to get but borrowing boots is a completely different ball game. Anyway, Julia must have some amazing friends as someone raced them all the way over to her in the nick of time.
We then left Julia and Sarah to complete their tests. Sarah posted a good score in a very hotly contested Novice 27 but said Sky wasn’t feeling it as he’d also been out the day before (it amazes me that you could go through this 2 days in a row so I salute you Sarah!). Then it was, the now booted up, turn of Julia and Bobbie who posted an incredible score of over 67% in the Elementary - obviously the pressure of the situation helped (bareback next time Julia?).
Anyway, if you managed to read this far, after waiting for all the other competitors to finish and the scoreboard changing every minute we managed a fabulous Team 2nd from 16 teams.
STOP PRESS - we have received confirmation from BRC that the team has qualified for the Championships which will be held at Bury Farm on April 23rd - so let's hope that things run more smoothly next time!!
Area 9 Junior Dressage
Congratulations to our juniors at the area 9 dressage qualifier, held at CRE on 27th February, with Perdie Lawrence and Dukeshill Pebbledash coming 1st in P2 class, and Holly Sykes riding Sky 2nd in P12 class.
Congratulations to our juniors at the area 9 dressage qualifier, held at CRE on 27th February, with Perdie Lawrence and Dukeshill Pebbledash coming 1st in P2 class, and Holly Sykes riding Sky 2nd in P12 class.
Area 9 Winter Show Jumping, January 9th 2022
Fiona Symes posted the following report on the show jumping:
Cracking day in the sunshine for the area show jumping with great team and individual results, well done Eleanor Newman for your win, Ben Newman for your 4th, Holly for your 6th place, and to our teams in the 70 and 80 who were both placed 4th.
Hope I've got it all right, fab cake too! Well done to our mates from the VWH for their team win.
Cracking day in the sunshine for the area show jumping with great team and individual results, well done Eleanor Newman for your win, Ben Newman for your 4th, Holly for your 6th place, and to our teams in the 70 and 80 who were both placed 4th.
Hope I've got it all right, fab cake too! Well done to our mates from the VWH for their team win.
Results & Club Reports 2021
Area 9 Winter Novice Dressage Qualifier, November 7th
SDRC fielded 2 teams for the senior dressage at West Wilts on 7th November, with 25 teams in all competing. A few last minute changes due to illness and injury but didn’t they do well!
Team Zebedee came 2nd with Esther Stevens and Annabel Bloor Berry 3rd at Preliminary 2 and Preliminary 13, Demi Davis 8th and Sarah Dew both at Novice.
Team Ermintrude were unplaced but Pamela Hunt came 7th on Whiskers in her first Novice test, and Fiona Symes, Preliminary 2 and Sarah, on her second horse at novice, were unplaced but great team supporters as always.
And it was a sunny day, some great photos. Professional ones credit Jasmine Punter Photography
SDRC fielded 2 teams for the senior dressage at West Wilts on 7th November, with 25 teams in all competing. A few last minute changes due to illness and injury but didn’t they do well!
Team Zebedee came 2nd with Esther Stevens and Annabel Bloor Berry 3rd at Preliminary 2 and Preliminary 13, Demi Davis 8th and Sarah Dew both at Novice.
Team Ermintrude were unplaced but Pamela Hunt came 7th on Whiskers in her first Novice test, and Fiona Symes, Preliminary 2 and Sarah, on her second horse at novice, were unplaced but great team supporters as always.
And it was a sunny day, some great photos. Professional ones credit Jasmine Punter Photography
Small jump rally at Lanes Farm, October 31st
Feedback on Facebook from Pamela on the rally:
AWSOME SDRC baby / small jump clinic this morning with Whiskers . A great clinic for young / green horses or for riders like me who haven’t jumped for a long while and want to take it slow and low. Whiskers loves jumping and we are just starting out together in this phase, it’s a great safe place with lots of encouragement and a small nudge out of comfort zone.. which could be something as simple as a jump down the ‘long side’. Thanks Caron for coaching and guidance … I think we all came away smiling. Well done Emma and Carly .. was great to meet you both. Would love to do another , fab winter training!
AWSOME SDRC baby / small jump clinic this morning with Whiskers . A great clinic for young / green horses or for riders like me who haven’t jumped for a long while and want to take it slow and low. Whiskers loves jumping and we are just starting out together in this phase, it’s a great safe place with lots of encouragement and a small nudge out of comfort zone.. which could be something as simple as a jump down the ‘long side’. Thanks Caron for coaching and guidance … I think we all came away smiling. Well done Emma and Carly .. was great to meet you both. Would love to do another , fab winter training!
First Timer Cross country at Rabson Manor, October 23rd
Christina, Rachel and Sara had a great time at Rabson Manor in a first timer cross country rally. It was not all jumping, and all three horses went happily through the water, in and out of the sunken road, and over the ditch. Sara's horse was not at all sure of the ditch and so Caron walked him over it a few times, with and without Sara to familiarise him with it. A good lesson that a cross country course has all sorts of questions to ask, even away from the jumps.
Arena Eventing at West Wilts, October 10th
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It was great to see so many new members on the team and felt fantastic to be back out again!
the 70cm team was placed 8th - the team members were Nicola Davis, Annabel Bloor Berry and Holly Sykes.
The 80cm team were placed 4th - the team mebers were Fiona Symes, Demis Davis and Carly Melita Smith.
And to top it off Fiona also won individually!!
the 70cm team was placed 8th - the team members were Nicola Davis, Annabel Bloor Berry and Holly Sykes.
The 80cm team were placed 4th - the team mebers were Fiona Symes, Demis Davis and Carly Melita Smith.
And to top it off Fiona also won individually!!
British Riding Clubs Dressage to Music Championships, Bury Farm, October 3rd
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Huge congratulations to Claire Burton and The Musketeer on coming 4th at the Riding Club DTM championships at Bury Farm on Sunday. Claire and Mouse scored over 70% and were less than 1% behind the winner in a massive class in what was only her second time riding this test in public. All the practise at home paid off with obviously expert coaching and guidance from Caron Roberts .
Fantastic performance.
Fantastic performance.
South West and Wales Riding Club Championships, Hartpury, August 21st
Swindon qualified teams for the dressage and riding test , both teams represented by Sarah Dew, Claire Burton, Eleanor Newman and Andrea Moxey. Everyone achieved individual placings and the dressage team was 5th . Well done everyone, and special thanks to our volunteers Julia Lloyd-Parks, Vicki Thomas and Fiona who got rather damp!
BRC National Eventing Championships, August 7th
Ben Newman with CHF Chloe
Ben Newman with CHF Chloe
National Champions again; this time with CHF Chloe!
A competitive outing at the RC National eventing championships saw us finishing 1st in our arena and 2nd overall, on our dressage score of 32.
After going up and down hills on a long, hard course, and then being held just before the water due to a fall from the rider in front, I couldn’t be more proud of this young mare.
Who would believe that this was just her sixth ever event, having came over from Ireland last October, having done nothing prior to that! She’s just a star
Thank you ground Crew Eleanor, Kathryn, Sarah, and Tina.
Up to the 100’s now
A competitive outing at the RC National eventing championships saw us finishing 1st in our arena and 2nd overall, on our dressage score of 32.
After going up and down hills on a long, hard course, and then being held just before the water due to a fall from the rider in front, I couldn’t be more proud of this young mare.
Who would believe that this was just her sixth ever event, having came over from Ireland last October, having done nothing prior to that! She’s just a star
Thank you ground Crew Eleanor, Kathryn, Sarah, and Tina.
Up to the 100’s now
Area 9 Show Jumping Qualifier, July 25th
Today 4 SDRC members headed off to Rectory Farm for the area showjumping qualifiers. Fiona Symes, Tina Starling, and Eleanor Newman for the team 80cm, Ben Newman for the individual 90cm and Fiona also did the 75cm style jumping.
Firstly BIG congratulations to Fiona for winning the style jumping.
Tina and I were chuffed with 2 clear rounds and a very speedy jump off, 2 seconds between us! Unfortunately Fiona had a ‘senior moment’ and missed a jump, we’ve all been there and done it but this meant no team result.
Ben had a very stylish 2 rounds on his young horse sadly rolling a couple of poles.
As usual we all enjoyed the team spirit and you can’t have an outing without cake!
Firstly BIG congratulations to Fiona for winning the style jumping.
Tina and I were chuffed with 2 clear rounds and a very speedy jump off, 2 seconds between us! Unfortunately Fiona had a ‘senior moment’ and missed a jump, we’ve all been there and done it but this meant no team result.
Ben had a very stylish 2 rounds on his young horse sadly rolling a couple of poles.
As usual we all enjoyed the team spirit and you can’t have an outing without cake!
Area 9 Dressage Qualifier, July 3rd
Some photos from the Area 9 qualifier. The senior team of Sarah Dew, Claire Burton, Eleanor Newman and Andrea Moxey all doubled up to do team dressage and the riding test, qualifying in both for the SWWRC at Hartpury. Emilie Rogers was there representing the juniors in her individual Novice test. Everyone got individual placings.
Thanks from us all in the team to everyone involved in organising and helping and coaching, we can’t do it without you
Thanks from us all in the team to everyone involved in organising and helping and coaching, we can’t do it without you
Area 9 Dressage to Music Qualifier, June 19th
Congratulations
to Claire Burton and The Musketeer on winning the Dressage to Music preliminary class at the area qualifier with an impressive 75% score. Not bad for first attempt at DTM! Well done
to Claire Burton and The Musketeer on winning the Dressage to Music preliminary class at the area qualifier with an impressive 75% score. Not bad for first attempt at DTM! Well done
Area 9 Eventing qualifier, June 20th
Well done to our Senior Horse Trials Team, Fiona Symes, Naomi Wright and Tina Starling - 3 double clears and 5th place.
And for Ben Newman it was a successful day out. An improved dressage for 33, 1 unfortunate pole show jumping, and another super clear round of cross country.
A well deserved win for CHF Chloe, so we’re off to the championships, in August
And for Ben Newman it was a successful day out. An improved dressage for 33, 1 unfortunate pole show jumping, and another super clear round of cross country.
A well deserved win for CHF Chloe, so we’re off to the championships, in August
Senior Intermediate Winter Dressage, Online Qualifier. March 2021
SDRC have been busy doing dressage! Online area qualifiers have been going on and we fielded a senior team at intermediate level and a junior in the novice qualifier.
Emilie Rogers (junior) came third individually riding Kayentai in the Novice 24 her first time at this level. SDRC organised this competition so well done Tammy and co.
The senior team of Julia Lloyd-Parks on Bobbie Dazzler was 7th in Elementary 42, Demi Davis on Teddy was 2nd in N28, Sarah Dew on Skyfall competing first time for the club, was 8th in N34 and Pamela Hunt on Whiskers was 4th in P18. The team were 5th overall!
Well done everyone for making the effort and to their supporters taking videos! Thanks also to SVRC for organising the senior competition.
Emilie Rogers (junior) came third individually riding Kayentai in the Novice 24 her first time at this level. SDRC organised this competition so well done Tammy and co.
The senior team of Julia Lloyd-Parks on Bobbie Dazzler was 7th in Elementary 42, Demi Davis on Teddy was 2nd in N28, Sarah Dew on Skyfall competing first time for the club, was 8th in N34 and Pamela Hunt on Whiskers was 4th in P18. The team were 5th overall!
Well done everyone for making the effort and to their supporters taking videos! Thanks also to SVRC for organising the senior competition.
