SWINDON & DISTRICT
RIDING CLUB

TEAM REPORTS-2011

A Day in the life of: Junior Show Jumping Co-ordinator

Red Team: Holly Horton on Sweet Delight, Evie Dyer on Mr Black Bob, Laura Wall on Favara Dynasty & Lucie Humphries on Max.

At last we had managed to get sufficient juniors from the club to commit to a day’s show jumping at West Wilts on Sat 13th November, with the hope of qualifying for the championships.

We had entered two teams of four and all was going swimmingly. However Friday I get a call from a distraught mother saying poor Bella Lee’s pony is lame and that she would not be able to join us. My daughter Lucie was already down to ride her horse, so I suggested she also ride mine as well to give the teams more chance by having four riders a piece. All was well I made the amendments. On Saturday Lucie brought our two horses in, her horse Sherry was very lame and it was obvious she would not be able to compete. Desperation! I so wanted to send two teams of four, as three scores had to count to move on to the second round of jumping. Thinking caps on, and searching the database for horses that were up to date with flu vacs etc, I phoned Nic Davis owner of a big built chestnut horse “Ransome”. Her daughter was already riding in a team so it was agreed that Lucie would ride her horse in the team as well.

At last we had two complete teams of four: Red Team (above) and Blue Team (below): Olivia Hoyland on Hulme Nightshade, Demelza Davis on Stella Luminosa, Holly Horton on The Showgirl & Lucie Humphries on Cookworthy Ransome.

The day arrives, I text, email & confirm we are all going to be there for 11 for course walk & meet the teams. Most of the girls are there when we get a call to say Holly had broken down with her two horses on board at Bromham. They were sourcing a lift but would be late! Would we ever get sorted? Evie had to take Holly’s place & ride first, she was a star and went clear, followed by Laura who also went clear, Lucie’s turn...mmm Max has a pole down 4 faults. The next team from a rival club starts to go. We hear Holly has arrived and the host club (Bath) slot her in. Fabulous she goes clear making the score a ZERO to carry forward to the next round.

Our Blue team also did amazing only carrying 4 faults through. Livy rode with sophistication and was super brave as she was probably the smallest there. Demi rode with determination & I must say it was the best I have ever seen her go, Lucie; having only sat on Ranny for the first time 5 mins earlier did a tremendous effort to get him round with just a pole down & Holly on her youngster did a cracking job.

I can honestly say that watching each round was like watching eight of my children go round, my heart was in my mouth, my stomach muscles clenched as I rocked and jumped each fence with them, willing them to do well & hoping they would all be safe.

It was the icing on the cake to hear that the Red team had won and qualified for the championships & that our Blue team had come 5th. All their parents were fantastic each keeping everyone informed and assisting holding ponies, putting jumps up for practice & sharing out chocolate brownies. I can truly say although the day was a very long one, it was also one of the best experiences I have had. There was a real feeling of “Team Spirit” I look forward to them all coming forward again to enter the next competition if my emotions will cope with it.

Many thanks to all those involved.
Sally Humphries

Area 9 Show Jumping Qualifier - senior team report by Kelly-Ann Fusco

ok so i took part in the area 9 team showjumping competition which was held at west wilts .Ive never ridden in a team for a riding club but have done a couple of fun team chases and really enjoyed them, i wanted to be on the team to meet and get to know some of the other members be a bit more involved with the club and i enjoy competing anyway.

I go to west wilts regular and like the venue a lot they build good courses and have good facilities in general especially the nice new outdoor school i cant wait to use at some point!

the morning started off well arrived to a very busy west wilts car park watched some horese go round the course and got ready to ride myself. The team i was on as we were lucky enough to have two junior and two senior teams consisted of Eleanor Donna Jo and me, did very well all going clear 1st round great start unfortunately the other senior team had two elimated and two clears so were unable to go forward to the next round, what was nice tho was how encorouging everyone was to each other and how they tryed to keep spirits up when things went wrong for some people noone was made to feel bad or a let down as lets face it when it comes to horses it could happen to anyone we all have good and bad days.

we had a big gap between rounds which gave us all chance to grab some lunch and get to know each other better being a fairly new member to swindon riding club i dont know many people so that was nice. 2nd round went ok not as good as the 1st all team members had 4faults each with me last to go......and it was all going well untill the fence near the exit when i had a stop and wasnt in the right plce to drive her on instead we parted company lol so i wasnt much help but we finished on 12 faults and gained a 5th place. I really enjoyed the team experience and would definatly do more for the riding club and encorage others to have a go noones going to shout if things dont go to plan youll get lots off encoragement and feel part of something good too.

hopefully i havent bored you too much with my report!
Kelly and Cassie x

DTM Qualifier and a big thank you to the two Janets!

Dressage to Music Area Qualifier Report - 18 June 2011

When I first saw that the riding club was running Dressage to Music Clinics I immediately wanted to join in as DTM is something that I've always wanted to do and never quite got round to doing! (It's only taken me 13 years to get round to it, but seeing as Aero is now 19 I thought it was finally now or never!) Unfortunately I couldn't make the first two clinic dates due to family commitments and a couple of inconvenient weddings and hen weekends I had to go to (!), but Janet & Janet were really accommodating and did a separate session for myself and Anya (who also couldn't make the first sessions). Following a lot of laughs and video watching we learnt a lot and I asked Janet Robinson to help me with my music. She put together a lovely compilation for Aero with strict instructions for me not to rush his trot work otherwise I'd be ahead of the music.

A couple of weeks later Janet Stares offered to be my button pusher while I put together my floorplan and of course she ended up doing far more than pushing buttons. I hadn't realised putting a floorplan together was so hard and would never have managed without her. The two Janet's managed to sort all of us out and I think we were all very happy with our music and floorplans. We then had a final practise session at Little Park Farm in their lovely indoor school.

The pressure was then on - we had to do our music justice!

Five of us were entered for the area qualifier and despite it tipping down with rain when I was giving Aero a bath in the morning it turned out to be quite a nice day ( with the exception of just when Janet was going in to do her elementary when it absolutely poured). Sue Ford and Julia Isles both did good tests in the novice ( no points) class and Julia did extra brilliantly coming 4th! Then Margaret, Janet and I did the novice (with points) class and I was pleased to come fifth as I was expecting a lot worse, particularly as Aero decided to go disunited in canter at one point which I had to quickly correct - it's never happened before in a test, typical! Margaret's Min went well and Janet's Wiz I'm sure would have been brilliant if he hadn't decided to see monsters at both ends of the school and according to Janet he was a bit scared of the long sides as well!! However Wiz redeemed himself doing a very impressive elementary test.

All in all, none of us qualified, but it was great fun and a good experience to do something different with our horses. I think we're looking forward to the next music class we can do and some of us are thinking of doing the X factor at The Hand in October which should be fun. In case anyone is interested Aero's music was: Walk - The Circle of Life ( Kenny Ball & his Jazzmen) - we walked on a 20m circle at the top end of the school as far away from the judges as possible (As Caron said at a clinic a few weeks ago, 'God knows what you've done to Aero's walk since I last taught you!') Trot - The Old Clockmaker by Charles Williams - this was fab music and we entered to the tick tocking before moving on to half 10m circles, then a 15m in time with a bit more tick tocking and a medium trot across the short diagonal which in theory was supposed to be on the upbeat change of phrase in the music! Canter - Great Ali (Kenny Ball & his Jazzmen) - this really went well with Aero's canter ( 81 beats per minute) and we did the compulsory 20m circle before moving on to a 5m loop off the track down the long side and then a half 15m circle back to the track with 5 strides of counter canter before changing legs and doing the whole thing the other way.

A huge thank you to Jan and Janet who were so generous with their time and also to Emmy for button pushing and videoing us! Janet Robinson's not well so missed the qualifier, but we're sending her our videos in hospital for her to review - yikes! Get well soon Janet.

Charlotte Lawrence

Junior News: Lucie & Sherry win in style!

Lucie Humphries and Sherry - win Area 18 Style Jumping to qualify for BRC National Championships at LIncoln

Congratulations to Lucie who is now going to the British Riding Clubs National Championships in Lincoln later in the year.

Lucie, 16 who is doing her A levels at Cirencester College, won the style jumping class on her 11-year-old Irish Sports Horse Sherry at the BRC Area 18 Junior qualifier at Cleeve Prior on 2nd May. After some last minute training with Caron Roberts at one of our regular riding club clinics, Lucie won her class in style on a top score of 91!

The competition is assessed on the rider's ability to demonstrate a good jumping technique maintaining an independent and balanced position during the course. The judge watches the rider continuously and gives marks for each fence.

Sally, Lucie's mum, groom and stalwart supporter was over the moon as she has just taken over as team co-ordinator for our junior jumping teams. Lucie is now working on her dad to take them to Lincoln in September. We wish them very best of luck!

(4 May 2011)

Swalcliffe - 26th March 2011

Attending my first team event for the Swindon District Riding Club at Swalcliff on the 26th March was a little daunting having only just joined. However with the sun shining and the course looking good if a little small, I felt it wouldn't be too bad!

I met my fellow teammates in the warm up area and they soon cleared the nerves as I think Donna seemed far more nervous than me!! With only three on the team; Donna, Jackie and myself due to an unfortunate accident with Beci's horse, all ok I hope, we set off. We all went clear show jumping (a first for me!) and then immediately set off on the cross country. First Jackie then me and Donna bringing up the rear. All smiles at the end as we thought we had all gone clear however going back to the score boards and seeing that Donna had been eliminated due to missing a fence on the course. Something we all have done. We all had great times. However all was not lost as Jackie was still placed as an individual and overall it was a great outing with the team and some good practice for the forthcoming events.12 April 2011

Area 18 Senior Winter Dressage Qualifier
12th February 2011 at Hartpury Team Report by Tam Thornton

Well after last minute substitution we set off to Hartpury with a full team.

Audrey Venables riding Tillys Magic Shadow (below), Gina Hornby riding William (left), Lynn Hawkins riding Bubbling Under, Tatty Pearson Gregory riding Fernhill Anam Cara.

The weather was really good to us and the sun even came out. There were a lot of nerves when everyone got to see where they would be riding but everyone was focused on the job and soon tacking up and getting into the warm up arena.

There were 34 teams competing and it was and a very strong field. Audrey and Gina were first up riding Prelim 18. They both did a great job and performed very nice accurate tests and scored 66.67% and 67.5%.

Then it was time to grab a quick bowl of chips before catching up with the Novice ladies. Lynn and Tatty both booked in and ready to warm up. Tatty did a great job as this was her 1st completion on Cara for over a year due to a nasty Achilles tendon injury. Both very focused in the holding arena and then bang on time we were on. Lynn and Tatty both performed their tests well with no mistakes. Tatty did a great job as Cara was on her toes and found the arena quite spooky. Scores in and Lynn on 66.54% and Tatty on 59.23%.

Both Prelim and Novice classes had a strong field with a large number of horses scoring well into the 70%’s. We did a great job and the team came 16th out of 34.

Well Done Audrey, Gina, Lynn and Tatty you all did us proud.

27 February 2011

Lynn competing on team at Hartpury.

8 March 2011

TEAM REPORTS - 2010

Area 18 Summer Horse Trials Qualifier at Broadway

Team finished 4th. Well done to all.

Area 18 Summer Show Jumping Qualifier at Malvern - Junior report by Sally Humphries

Regrettably the venue itself was very disappointing and the weather dismal. Lucie started the day by having to do course walks on crutches as she had had our youngster slip and fall on her whilst riding earlier in the week, crushing her foot.

She had a double clear in the novice show-jumping and had to then go into a jump off for individual placing’s to gain the 2nd place.

As for style & performance we had no idea what the competition entailed. Luckily the ring steward was very helpful saying we would have a 5 point penalty for wearing a martingale, with that the martingale came off ! We watched the competitor before her go and asked that parent what was expected, she kindly told us that she had to walk to the judge & salute, show trot, then canter round on both reins , continue over a course of 7 jumps then continue cantering again until the horn sounded.

Lucie and Miss Digion (Sherry) did look gorgeous as they did a beautiful square halt, proceeded to show a dressage like trot & canter, then continue to do a good clear round. Lucie was quick to see which leg Sherry landed on and continued in canter on this lead. They score you on collectiveness, responsiveness to aids, submission and overall appearance as well as it being timed. Lucie scored 117 with no faults incurred, 2nd place scored 95. We still have a lot to learn in this class and we were very lucky that people were so helpful, in hindsight a little research wouldn’t have gone amiss!!

She looks forward to doing a few more of these types of competitions now and hopes that others from the riding club will qualify for Lincoln as her Dad has said it’s too far for us to go alone (she is working on him though.)

Her foot is a lovely blue black colour where the bruising is coming out but she is off to Kemble tomorrow to compete in Working hunter and show jumping.

Take Care Sally (A proud mum)

Senior report by Donna Godwin & Eleanor Newman

Team members (l-r) Kathryn Durston with Curly, Jo Jarvis with Rock Star, Donna Godwin with Jay, Eleanor Newman with Harley Noble

One sunny Sunday team SDRC made a trek to Malvern.The venue was lovely with a backdrop of rolling hills basked in glorious sunshine. To start off we were a team of three as Jo had broken down on the M5 and was waiting for breakdown assistance. Ten minutes later team coordinator Eleanor received a call telling us that Jo was on her way! We were back to a team of 4! Jo arrived in time so we could all course walk it together. we then jumped as a team Catherine, Jo, Eleanor then me. We all managed to jump the fences we were concerned about well. Off to lunch and wait for round two! Round two was the same as round one keeping the fences in the same order. We all jumped a better second round with me getting a double clear. I then went into the jump off unfortunately knocking a pole down. The team stayed to help me warm up for the jump off. There was a real sense of team spirit and a thoroughly good day was had by all. Donna.

The team consisted of Jo Jarvis and Rock Star, Kathryn Durston and Curly, Eleanor Newman and Harley Noble, Donna Godwin on Jay. We finished on a total of 54 penalities, and Donna produced a double clear, Jo a clear in the 2nd round. Kathryn had a few poles down and myself, well, hide my face in shame, missed a jump!!! Don't think I've ever done that before and will never forget it. Did a better 2nd round though. We had 2 training sessions for this competition and I think Donna and Kathryn had a couple of extra with Caron. Being the summer competition we have been out and about more, competing, so felt we didn't need as much training as we did in the run up to Hartpury during the winter. As Donna mentioned, the setting could not have been more glorious, the sun was shining and with rain a few days previous, the ground couldn't have been better. None of us used studs except during the jump off round, when with so many horses having jumped, the grass was wearing slightly on the corners. Donna felt the extra grip was needed. There were 24 Novice teams entered, it was a very busy day with 3 showjumping rings going at the same time, but the Malvern Hills Riding Club did a brilliant job of organising and as far as us, the competitors, were concerned all ran smoothly. Join the team for the Winter Showjumping in November. Information will be on the RC website later in the summer. Eleanor

Area 18 Indoor Senior Winter Dressage Qualifier at Hartpury - Saturday 28 February

Photo: Jackie Taylor Collins and Lynn Hawkins taken by Alex Knill

My first time riding in the team for the club arrived with the normal balance of nerves and excitement. After managing to get some half decent plaits into a very thin mane and a large comb-over at the front, we set off for Hartpury. Good journey in heavy rain but as we pulled into a space blue sky appeared thankfully. Presto came off the lorry and was in giraffe mode when he surveyed the venue. Managed to locate some team mates and do introductions and exchange notes.

This was only our second novice test so was feeling a little inexperienced in the warm up area. This was eased somewhat as we had managed to park next to Zara Phillips who was looking fabulous and wished us good luck, how good was that! Presto took the warm up arena in his stride and Jackie gave me the run down of what to expect when called. He warmed up well and was very elevated in his paces, showing off I think but was very strong, I was missing the Waterford.

The event was so well organised and everyone was really friendly. Everything was running bang on time, if not a little early. Tack check completed and warmed up we were called to the holding area and with a very jelly belly. Presto was very excited in the holding area and after we managed to get our front feet back on the ground and moving forward he walked round quietly.

Then we were called in to the fantastic arena. Very over whelming for the first time. Gave my details to the judge and got into the mode. Started off with a good straight centre line which was great as have been very snaky at home all week. Head spinning with the test and all my training tips from Caron we got on with it. Well hardly had to use a spur as Presto thought he was at the Olympics! Medium trots really good and then giving with reins in first canter circle a bit dodgy as thought I’d lost him ! which threw me and then disaster, crossed the school rather than medium canter up the long side, Arghhhhhh ( sorry Caron !!). Well recovered and another good straight line to our halt. Well done P, you did good. Was good to see the support crew (thanks Jo & Paul) when we came out and Jackie gave me an encouraging debrief.

We managed to get a decent score and came 22 out of 70 horses and team 2 came 12th (out of 35) so a great result and a great day. Would recommend riding with the teams as we had a really great day and have to say a huge thank you to Jackie for being around all day and picking up our sheets and scores and ringing us all that evening. Thanks Jackie.

Tammie Thornton

Tam - Well done! Thanks for the report and so speedy!

Area 18 Indoor Show jumping at Hartpury - Sunday 21st February

We seemed to draw the short straw of being the first team of seniors, with the second of our teams 20 minutes later. This meant we were all up at the crack of dawn and on the road by 7ish. My horse, Harley, seemed rather puzzled when I appeared at 5.30am to get him up! Snow had been forecast and as we approached Birdlip, sure enough there was snow and fog. On our descent to Gloucester though the sun came out to boost our enthusiasm. Having an early time slot did mean there was lots of parking; we managed to group ourselves together and set off to walk the first course.

There were 22 teams competing. I felt that the course builder had been kind to us. The first two jumps were inviting, cross poles with a back rail and then an upright. While walking the course we paced out the strides (having all practised this with Caron during training!) all nice threes. The fourth and fifth jumps had been set up against the wall so only one side to run out to and then a stile on a dog leg, just to catch you out. The course flowed well and set us up for the next round.

The International arena is huge; echos and has a large seating gallery, a lot for any horse to take in. The advantage is that there’s space, so we made use of it, but may be just a bit too much as we did get some time penalties. Jumps varied, again first and second inviting, quite a few fillers, a black and white chequered one that caught other teams out! Hooray for Caron’s fillers. The bogey fence was a V-shaped skinny, we had to turn left handed between jumps and suddenly it was there. That’s where I had a problem, but we got over it on our third attempt and completed the course, which had been my aim (to get round).

I felt Harley jumped fantastically, he’s only four and considering it was his first time in an indoor arena he gave it his best shot.

There were 22 teams competing. Oxford Riding club won the competiton with 0 faults. Swindon team A, David Graham, Jo Jarvis, Donna Godwin & myself finished on 25 faults. Swindon team B, Kate Senior, Kerry Alexander, Nic Davis & Nicky Ford finshed on 17 faults. We jumped one round of 80cm and one at 85 cm, there were 5 clear rounds out of our two teams.

All team members enjoyed their experiences. Their comments below:

Nic – (helped along by her hip flask, if she can take it hunting why not show-jumping?) After a hideous first round I was feeling positively sick about the ‘BIG’ arena. Jumped a good round with just 4 faults and a few time penalties. Now on a ‘high’ and can’t wait to jump again.

I had a great experience at Hartpury, the day was brilliant and I came away with what I went to achieve. Double clear and a calm, balanced horse. I know we had time faults but she didn't run on and jump flat, she kept a lovely rhythm and pinged her fences. Will have to work on covering more ground but in that same controlled style, ready for next time?! See you soon Nicky

Put your name’s down for the summer show-jumping at Malvern, 30th May, team training starts at the beginning of April.

See you there - Eleanor Newman

TEAM REPORTS -2009

SDRC QUADRILLE TEAM - HOMAGE TO THE TIGER

It all seems along time ago now, but back in November 2008 there were two friends Jane and Margaret who wanted to have a go at riding to music with a team; we heard about an open evening on “Quadrille Riding to Music” with the Bath Riding Club and went along. We both decided this was for us and wanted to get involved because the ultimate goal would be a wonderful achievement, because if you are placed in the top four at the competition on the 3rd October at Addlington Manor, then the team would be put forward to go to Olympia to perform, a child hood dream. However, things are never quite that easy and we were not making much progress until one Saturday morning when I was having a lesson with Caron and I said “did she know anything about Quadrille Riding”, it was at this point Caron told me about SDRC and I asked if the SDRC would let me have a meeting to see if there was any interest in this. So on the 14th March 10 of us turned up for a meeting in Caron’s yard. It was from this point that both Margaret and I thought what an extremely friendly group of people and the fact that we were not even members but people were prepared to listen and give us a chance was fantastic.

From that meeting we found out more about each other and how we could get this off the ground and the first trial took place on the 3rd April with both Caron and David running us through our paces. David definitely enjoyed drilling us and putting us through our paces and surprisingly enough most of the horse took to drill riding quite well, which is surprising as we all seem to get so anxious at dressage competitions, about oh are there lots of people warming up mmmm, my horse wont like that, but it goes to show most of them really don’t mind.

We then held several other practices on Friday nights to see who was going to be dedicated and who really wanted to do this, as pulling together a team obviously 4 riders, but you do need more than four because as we all know horses are prone to injury and as you will hear later we have had our fair share of this. Most importantly you need someone to train you undertake the chorography which is by no means an easy task, then there is the costumes oh yes its fancy dress oh and did we come up with some silly ideas and finally there is the music and of course the time, as time is always so precious as everyone seems to lead a hectic life.

Considering all of this and due to peoples commitments we became a group of six, and both Margaret and I joined the SDRC, as yes this was obviously the club to be in.

Margaret Miles – Tadpole
Julie Venis – Jack
Fiona Ambidge – Ben
Eileen Devenish – Milley borrowed a horse later called Kidd
Janet Stares – Molly
Jane Austin - Crunchy

So on sorting out some riders we then very luckily managed to persuade David to be our official trainer/ choreographer which has meant a lot of commitment and time from David in planning all the moves and being available pretty much most Fridays and some longer sessions where we have met up on Sundays. I have to say though once we have done this show on the 3rd of October I think the club should talk to David and see if he would continue to run drill sessions to music for groups of 4 to 6 because it is great fun and good for the horses.

As we progressed the training and the routine started to come together we then had the difficult task of deciding what music we should use and what theme should we pick, and then should we decide on the music first and then the costumes or the other way round some of our ideas, Red Arrows, Egyptians, Help for Heroes, English Civil War – Military Theme, M people, Hunting 2xfoxes and 2xhunt masters with someone playing the horn in the middle. Then someone suggested the music from Slum Dog Millionaire as this would be well known and from this we came up with the idea of 3 princes chasing a tiger. So with the idea now agreed all we had to do was to make some costumes. This is where Fiona came into her element what a fantastic seamstress and the pictures she drew to get us all to think about what we may look like were amazing. However thankfully for us there was also another surprise, as Wez had lived in India and how lucky for us because Wez had two/three bags of clothes and materials which she very kindly donated to us and I have to say this has formed pretty much all of our costumes so we were very lucky. We then continued to meet to either practice, discuss the floor plan or make costumes.

Then on the 16th June I received a call from Janet with some bad news regarding Molly, she had a fat fetlock and was resting her for 5 days then going to call out the vet, so we continued to practice as a 5 hoping all would come well, but unfortunately for the group Janet wanted to take Molly out as they could not get to the bottom of her condition but as Molly was older and Janet did a lot of other competing she felt it was not right to push her too hard. Then when we though well it would be ok as there were still 5 of us my horse Crunchy went lame but unfortunately he had to have an operation as he had damaged the deep digital flexor tendon and so this took us out of the team as it would be a long time for Crunchy to recover.

All of this was not going to put us off we continued sewing, practising, and the routine was really coming together with David spending considerable time sorting music and changing the moves around to fit, but it was all good fun which is why the team pushed on. We also had a demo line up on the 15th August where we were going to perform at the riding club barbecue so we needed to get into shape. Then came the third blow, horses, who would have them! Milley went lame we could not believe it you would not have though it would be so difficult to find horses and riders to keep them all fit and well. Unfortunately Milley also tweaked a tendon so was told to have 6 weeks rest. Luckily for the team Eileen was able to borrow one of her liveries as she runs a small yard so Kidd came along to see how she fitted in and thankfully all was ok.

15th of August arrived and the teams first live performance, nerves were a little high but following a pep talk from David out they went and undertook a great performance. This was just what the team needed and of course the evening was rounded of with burgers and a few glasses of wine at the barbecue.

Following, the performance we had some feed back which was great and this lead us to changing a few things the main change was that we would become 4 princes riding our tigers not chasing one and we were all grateful for the feedback and obviously had time to adjust our costumes.

September is now here and the date is coming up very quickly when we first started this it seemed like we had ages but it is just amazing how time passes. We also took two weeks out from training as a group as our coach had something far more pressing and important to do and that was to go and get married, how exciting and fantastic for both David and Caron. However, on their return we knew we would not have long so we put a few extra dates into the diary.

Then when we thought we were nearly there with only 13 days to go Ben was not well he was not his usual self in practice he seemed very lethargic so Fiona pulled him out and the team continued as a three. The vet attended Ben on the Monday and his white blood cells were very low so practice is not going to be possible this Friday for Ben but we all have to keep our fingers crossed that he will be ok and he will have more bloods on Friday.

Please do come along and support our performance on Saturday 3rd October at Addington.

Thank you Jane

Area 18 Show Jumping Qualifier - Novice team wins!

Report by Vicky Cronin

Our victorious show jumping team with their red rosettes at the Area 18 show jumping qualifier at Malvern (24 May 2009). The winning team (from l-r) Toni Besley and Mannington, Hannah Booker and Mister Detroit, Tammie Titcombe on Crystal and Siobhan Smith.

So 7.30am on a bright sunny morning on 24th May, 9 members of SDRC set off for Three Counties showground for the Area SJ qualifier. After various shenaningans with horses not fitting into lorries and such things which culminated in some of us having to unload horses, tack, kit, food (v.important), people and Danny the dog and throw the lot into Caron's rather large lorry, we head on our way.

We arrive at the showground at the base of the beautiful Malvern Hills and a very efficient Toni is taking her role as parking officer seriously and making sure we are all parked together. We make camp with Toni's well travelled gazebo, ready to provide us with lots of shade. The team all head off to course walk, 2 Novice teams and a lonely Kerrie Fleming as the sole Intermediate competitor (come on club members, get going for next year!).

So first round in the blistering sun :

* Jenny Griffiths riding Dont Tell Sue

* David Graham riding Flypast Wizard

* Vicky Cronin riding Sacred Bull

* Donna Goodwin riding Jay

David jumped a good clear with Donna taking 2 poles and Jenny and Vicky, riding their young horses, taking some poles and Sacred Bull quite a few time penalties!

* Hannah Booker riding Mister Detroit

* Tammie Titcombe riding Crystal

* Toni Besley riding Mannington

* Siobhan Smith riding Athena

All four riders rode stylish clear rounds to finish as a team on 0 faults.

Then billy no mates Kerrie Fleming riding her own Murphy jumped a grand clear in the Intermediate ring. After first round successes and seeing to the horses, lunch commenced! Everyone gathered under the gazebo and shared their picnics, great atmosphere, much laughing and chattering and over eating before we all rolled away to get ready for the second round. The first novice team jumped again and took a few more poles and time penalties and agreed that we wouldn't have to worry about transport to the championships!!!

Second team again all rode cracking rounds with Tammie's horse just breathing on a pole to give her 4 faults, which didn't matter to the final results as SDRC had annhilated the competition as the best 3 scores from each round are taken forward which meant that they finished on a 0 score - the only team to do so....the winners!! Off to the championships in September at Lincoln.

Area 18 Hunter Trial Qualifier - Baile Dares to win again!

Monica Howarth and Baile Dare (seen here at Broadway)
Winners at the Area 18 Open Hunter Trial Qualifier
at Ascott-under-Wychwood.

Area 18 Junior Dressage Qualifier - MAGIC WIN FOR ABBIE!

On Sun 17th May I went to Evesham to compete in the junior dressage I was feeling really nervous as it was the first competition i had done for the riding club and i was going with my mums friend Jenni (mum was in sunny Spain, it was also the first time competing without mum there to shout at me!) Jenni, Jennis dad Paul,myself & Magic left Brinkworth at 7am to drive to Evesham it was raining lightly all the way we managed to get lost and arrived just in time, i had about 7mins to warm Magic up when they called me into the grass arena I did my test which i was quite pleased with just as i finished my test the heavens opened. Jenni & I quickly loaded Magic and sat in the lorry , whilst poor Paul waited for what seemed likes ages in the rain for the results wow what a suprise Magic & I were first.

Abbie Newbury

NAF Riding Clubs Inter-Branch Team Competition at Event Insurance Winter Dressage Championships
12 April 2009

On a lovely sunny spring day in April, four intrepid dressage divas, their horses, their assorted helpers and team coordinator (me) travelled to Hartpury to take part in the NAF Inter Branch Novice dressage competition which forms part of the BD Winter Championships. The test was Novice 22, to be ridden in the long arena.

It’s a great venue, for those of you who’ve never been, and as this was part of the BD Championships it was a great atmosphere too. The inter branch competition takes place in the outside arena, with flowers everywhere, judges at C and B, photographers, trade stands, advertising banners, flags and spectators!

I arrived to see Becks uncharacteristically throwing his toys out the pram and Amanda Fitzgerald wondering what was wrong with him! Next to arrive were Helen Marsden and Siobhan Smith with Willhebe and Caron Robert's grey mare, Lady. Aero and Charlotte Lawrence made up our team of four.

Amanda was first up with ex racehorse Becks. He’d got over his earlier strop and was warming up really well. Their test was lovely to watch and Amanda was very pleased with Becks, whatever their score turned out to be.

Siobhan and Lady looked amazing as they came down the centre line and that continued right up to the end of the test. Siobhan confessed she’d never ridden in a long arena before but you would never have known as she rode a very accurate test.

Helen and Willhebe were next to go. This is a new partnership and Will hasn’t done much recently so we weren’t really sure what would happen. He warmed in nicely but as soon as Helen was called forward he became quite tense. Helen rode him beautifully and sympathetically as always but there were some parts of test he just didn’t want to do!

I must admit that I was starting to get excited about the scores but didn’t let on as I didn’t want to put pressure on the team!

Charlotte and Aero were last to go, literally almost as they were the penultimate test of the day! Aero had been a bit odd at the quadrille training but put that aside to do a really solid test for Charlotte at Hartpury.

The scores were in! Amanda and Becks – 64.8%, Siobhan and Lady – 70% Helen and Will – 58.7%, and Charlotte and Aero 62.4%. This gave a team score of 1144 points. We were 2nd to an on form ISIS (1199 points), who were difficult to beat with all four of their scores up around 70%. The team got lovely rosettes, and a bag of goodies from NAF.

Lady and Siobhan were 4th overall, a great result for such a young horse.

Thank you to all the girls, their horses and assorted helpers. I look forward to the next time. Jackie Murphy

Area 18 Winter Indoor Dressage Qualifier - 22 February - Hartpury Arena

Firstly thanks to Cheltenham and District Riding Club for putting on such a fabulous event at Hartpury Arena. It was a real treat for members to be able to compete in the prestigious International Arena. Riders, supporters and spectators enjoyed a friendly welcome and well organised day, which started off with us calling on the services of CDRC's Mike (human satnav and commercial vehicle electrical genius, not to mention lorry parking attendant extraordinaire) to direct our team manager to Hartpury after a wrong turning somewhere in the Gloucestershire countryside.

Our two teams put in excellent performances with a team second pipped by only one point, and an individual second for Angela Roberts and Snapdragon.

Thanks to our competitors for their dedication in training and team spirit in competition!

Toni Besley & Mannington (pictured left in the International Arena)
Lynn Hawkins & Bubbling Under
Terri Hemmings & Malibu
Helen Marsden & Ashfield Alley Cat
Angela Roberts & Snapdragon
Janet Robinson & Rockhill Speedwell
Janet Stares & Misty Dream
Julie Venis & Crumble Jack

Full team and individual results are on CDRC website.

TEAM REPORTS - 2008

Swindon stars shine at National Horse Trials Championships!

Our fabulous Intermediate Horse Trials Team placed second at BRC National Championships 2008

Our Intermediate Horse Trials team, who qualified for the National Championships, by winning their class in spectacular style at the Area Qualifier at Broadway, have returned victorious. The three day event format took place at Offchurch Bury, near Leamington Spa, over the weekend of August 8-10.

Our team, consisting of Monica Howarth and Baile Dare (Bailey), Gill Horton and Pendragon VI (Arthur), Kerrie Fleming and Polanski Mill (Murphy) and Vicky Cronin and Missi Lee (Missi) performed superbly over all three days to romp home with second place overall, plus they won the very prestigious ‘All Four Scores To Count’ prize, which came complete with a very fetching silver salver trophy!

Gill and Kerrie also won their individual sections, with Gill racking up one of the best dressage scores of the event – 27.6, which saw her with an overnight lead in her section (after dressage) of over 10 marks!

Monica and Vicky also did extremely well, with Vicky 11th in her section and Monica 13th in hers.

And all this despite monsoon-like weather conditions for the entire weekend – and the team were camping out! The tents were pitched to get as much shelter as possible by the parked horseboxes, and there was a gazebo (kindly donated by Toni Besley) pitched as the central team HQ. This is where the master scoreboard was kept updated by team chef/groom/photographer and general all round star, Tim. Help also came from Monica’s chappie, Rich, and Gill’s husband and boys, George, Brad and Harry.

The camping conditions were ok, but the on-site showers were not so good – so the team braved it and went shower free for the weekend – I think many packs of baby wipes were used in the Horton lorry.

The weekend kicked off on the Friday, with a vet inspection and dressage. All four of ours passed the vets ok, although a few other teams didn’t – including the team from Scotland that were actually turned away when they reached the event for passports not being correct…a very long journey home for them.

I was due to drive up on the Friday – but for various child-and-chicken-pox related issues, I couldn’t. I also couldn’t actually sit down – I had had to have four large injections in my bum due to the fact that I’m pregnant with our second baby, and haven’t had chicken pox, so there was a danger of me catching it from Child Number 1. The thought of sitting down for a 2 hour drive to Offchurch didn’t appeal, so I was in phone contact during the day!

All four of our lovely ladies rode beautifully and managed excellent scores. Gill was the dressage star – with her magnificent 27.6, Kerrie scored a very respectable 35, then Monica with a 36 and Vicky with 37. All very close after dressage – our team were in third place overall.

Saturday actually did dawn bright and cheery – as I drove up the Fosse Way (able to sit down by this point – hurrah!) I really did think we had a nice weekend of weather in store. But alas, it was not meant to be – by about 9am, the clouds were back and the rain started – and didn’t stop for the rest of the weekend.

I walked the cross country course before our pathfinder, Kerrie set off on Phase A of the Roads and Tracks. I was impressed with the course – a decent level Pre Novice track. There were a few fences that required a bit of thought, and careful riding, including the second water complex – a downhill fence on a related distance to a step into water, a run through, step out then a 90 degree turn on about six strides to a narrow key-hole brush fence. Tricky – but our team all jumped it well. The corner, towards the end of the course was also pretty beefy, and did cause a few problems during the day – but not for our girls!

So off went Kerrie, Phase A being 20 minutes at walk, trot and canter speed. We met her in the start box for Phase B, the steeplechase, to see her off. She sped off like a scalded cat – the two minute time, and six 3’6” steeplechase fences awaited. The time was achievable – at a fast gallop – and Kerrie made it look easy. In fact all four of team made the steeplechase look easy – they all came in either bang on the time, or just under – including Gill who’d been having kittens about galloping over fences that fast. I was standing with her husband, George, as she went round, and I can definitely say that he enjoyed the round a lot less than Gill! Talk about nervous!

Kerrie then went on to Phase C – 40 minutes of walk and trot speed Roads and Tracks. She arrived in the 10 Minute Box at the start of Phase D, the cross country a few minutes ahead of time. Murphy was looking well, and very on his toes, he was certainly ready for the cross country ahead. After the two vet checks in the 10 Minute Box, they were called for their 3 minute warning, so Kerrie was legged up, warmed Murphy up, and went through to the start. She was counted down – and was off. In her typical pathfinder style – she blazed the trail, and managed a superb clear, with a few time penalties. The time penalties played a huge part in the weekends scoring – with only 6 people out of the 100+ competitors managing to get on or under the time allowed. Given the ground conditions with all that rain, this was hardly surprising.

Next to go was Monica with her lovely young Irish chestnut gelding, Bailey. They set off calmly on Phase A, sped round Phase B like I’ve never seen Bailey move before – he did his very best racehorse impersonation. Phase C was completed, then it was into the 10 Minute Box. Monica sat in the Rider’s Chair, and sipped Lucozade while Bailey was attended to by us all, he was fit, calm and happy (unlike the rest of us!). They were called through to the start, and were off – Bailey’s favourite bit was underway. They too managed a lovely clear – again with just a few time penalties. Monica was elated and delighted with Bailey – he’s only 6 – and was coping so well with the pressure of the weekend.

Then it was Gill, on her seasoned campaigner, Arthur. Arthur has the look of a horse who has seen it, done it and got the T shirt, but he was actually the one who panicked most with the temporary stabling – given the weather there was a lot of wet flappy canvas flying about and this nearly sent him into orbit quite a few times. Didn’t do much for his or Gill’s nerves! The first drama of the weekend unfolded as Gill was about to start on Phase A. The starter told her that she could go, but wouldn’t be competitive as our entire team had been disqualified for not presenting their Declaration Sheets! This did nothing for Gill’s nerves, but she set off anyway. The first I knew about this disaster was when George came speeding over to me after seeing Gill off. So off I went to the secretary’s tent – and to cut a long, painful and frustrating story short, we had done what we needed to do (ie. handed in the Competitor Declaration Sheets when we were supposed to), it was just that the Riding Club Officials had not then written that information on the correct piece of paper… We met Gill at the start of the Steeplechase, and she was much relieved to hear that all was well and she was indeed back in the competition. I’m sure that this news helped her speed on the course – as mentioned before, she had been nervous, but looked like a true pro as she galloped round. Good job I know first aid though – for poor George – as he got more and more anxious and less inclined to breathe as Gill’s two minutes of fast galloping ticked by. Phase C was fine, then it was on to the 10 Minute Box, where we met Gill and took over Arthur’s care. Then Drama Number 2 happened… Gill was given the 3 minute warning by the Steward, she remounted and started to warm up. Then…….nothing. We assumed there was a hold up, so waited, and waited some more. Then the Steward came rushing over, shouting at Gill that she should be in the Start Box – they were counting her down. Well – Gill cantered through to the Start, by the time she got there, they had already started the clock, and she was 8 seconds down. She sped off on the course, and despite the drama, managed a lovely clear, with again, a few time penalties. After discussion with the Stewards, and an investigation, I managed to get those 8 seconds knocked off Gill’s time – which helped with the scores – marvellous stuff! And then onto Vicky and chestnut mare, Missi Lee. Phase A was fine, steeplechase very very sweetly ridden (Missi is a thoroughbred, so had no trouble galloping), to produce a bang-on-the-time round. Phase C was good, then into the 10 Minute Box – and compared with Gill’s previous drama, all went quietly!

Vicky set off at a fast pace, and sped round the course to produce a brilliant clear, with the least time penalties of all four of our riders – which, given the state of the ground by this late stage in the day, was superb. Then it was an afternoon of icing and claying ponies’ legs, effectively wrapping them up in cotton wool to try and ensure they were sound for the final day of the competition. For the riders (and us hangers-on) it was back to the Team HQ Gazebo for a barbecue feast, followed by a trip to the scoreboard to gloat over our still-in-third place and looking good position.

Sunday dawned grey and drizzly – we expected nothing less – and it was time for the last vet inspection. Murphy, Bailey and Arthur all sailed through the trot up. Missi…hmm. She’s not the best mover in the world, and after a weekend of effort, was feeling decidedly like she needed a lie-in. So she was trotted up twice, help in the Holding Box, and then assessed by a second vet. He did flexion tests on her, which made Missi very bored indeed – no reaction to having her legs pinched, just utter boredom – so the vet had to pass her!

And so on to the show jumping. The riders jumped in order of their scores, so as our four were doing so well, they all jumped fairly late in the proceedings. By this stage, the ground in both the practise and main rings was horrible – so it was a tough ask with tired ponies. The course was ok – up to height, but not too testing, thanks goodness. Bailey jumped first, and tapped two down – just a case of a slightly tired pony really. Missi and Vicky were next, and Missi sadly has never really liked showjumping much, and combined with the indignity of the vet inspection obviously felt it was all too much, and she had three down. Next up was Murphy. He jumped in beautiful style - until the last, when it all got a bit much, and he gave it the lightest of taps. Sadly, it fell, so he had one down. Gill and Arthur were last to go – and jumped a very commendable clear. They had the opposite to Murphy – tapped a couple – but very luckily, they stayed up!

So – the competition was finished, and all we had to do now was wait until the results were posted – and then we thought (hopefully) we’d probably have to wait for the prize giving – at 6pm! Given it was only 12 o clock at this stage, we thought we’d have some food, start to pack up, and chill for a bit. We wandered back to the scoreboards at 1pm, to check on the progress – to discover that the scores were up – and we’d finished second overall!! How amazing, and even more amazing – we’d won the All Four Scores To Count prize plus Kerrie and Gill had won their arenas!

As we danced around with joy, a little voice spoke up – ‘If you’ve done so well, why aren’t you in the presentation?’ it said. I turned around in horror – then rushed down to the Main Arena, and sure enough, there was the presentation taking place! I sped down to the organisers, who were trudging back with a basket of un-presented rosettes, and raised the question of what on earth was going on? I was met with the explanation that they’d brought the prize giving forward, as the sponsors wanted to go home as the weather was so bad – had I not seen the sign posted outside the Secretary’s tent? Well – one small sign put up outside a tent we’d had no need to go to all day was clearly not obvious enough for us. I did pose the thought that perhaps this should have been put up in several places, plus announcements made, plus winning teams chef d’equipes could have been contacted on their mobile phones etc….but apparently that wasn’t seen as being necessary.

Anyway – we then had a mad mad panic to get four ponies and riders dressed up so we could get some official photos taken, and rosettes and the trophy presented, all very Benny Hill as we dashed about like idiots, but we got there, and got the loot! So a funny (ha bloomin’ ha!) end to a magnificent weekend.

I am so very proud of the team, not just their brilliant riding but also their care of their ponies to keep them sound and happy over the weekend. Plus all that work that had gone in to getting them fit and ready to compete in the first place…

It was my last mission as Team Chef D’Equipe, and it’s with a very sad and heavy heart that I now hand over the metaphorical reins to Ali Potter and Tammie Titcombe. They will do a fabulous job, I’m sure, but I will really miss the great times I’ve had looking after our Cross Country and Horse Trials teams. Thanks to everyone involved in the weekend – it was fab Kirstie

WHAT AN EXCITING DAY! (and what a busy one for the Swindon and District Riding Club)

The Riding Club Area 18 Horse Trials qualifier was held on June 15 at Broadway, in Worcestershire.

As well as competing in the Senior Novice and Intermediate competitions, the Riding Club was also responsible for organising the dressage phase of the event. This proved to be a mammoth task, one which was ably and competently managed by Toni Besley. To say that it took up a huge part of her life in the weeks leading up to the event would be an understatement – I think it more or less took over Toni’s life. She was living, breathing, eating and dreaming dressage organising and probably now wonders what she’s going to fill her life with! Huge thanks must go to Toni – and to all the wonderful helpers that were recruited for the day. Many of the Riding Club members gave up their time, as well as others who weren’t members – but had heard about it and wanted to get involved. So – back to the days’ action… The Senior Novice team had originally been planned as a team of 4, but on the day, we were one man down, so the team completed with just 3 members. Both Siobhan Smith (riding Lady Frisky – lovely mare owned by Caron Roberts) and Tammie Titcombe (riding her own Crystal) put in exceptional performances. Siobhan’s fabulous dressage score of 25.5, and Tammie’s brilliant double clear and her fast cross country time, meant that they both did fantastically well in their sections. Siobhan was first in her section, and Tammie second in hers – wonderful results, congratulations to them both. The third member of the team, Ali Potter (riding her own Lord Oscar) didn’t have the best of days. Ali had been working really hard on her training in the weeks leading up to the event, and in particular had been working on her dressage – not Oscar’s favourite occupation. Sadly, Ali suffered a complete mental block in her test – and made a couple of errors. She definitely wouldn’t put it down as one of her greatest moments! However, the bits of the test that went, went very well indeed, with Oscar looking like he’d grown up loads over the few months since I last saw him do a test. Their show jumping and cross country rounds were polished and slick – with one unlucky fence down in the show jumping. Onto the afternoon’s competition, and our Intermediate team. The team consisted of Kerrie Fleming, riding Polanski Mill, Monica Howarth riding Baile Dare, Gill Horton riding Pendragon VI and Vicky Cronin riding Missi Lee.

Dressage was brilliant – both Gill and Kerrie scoring 28.3 penalties, with Monica and Vicky not far behind with scores of 32 and 34. What a fantastic start to the proceedings!

Onto the show jumping, and they were at it again – there just seemed to be no stopping these girls, with four beautiful clear rounds. As I said to the show jumping steward chappie – ‘I’ve got four stars there – what a fab team they are’.

So – it was on to the exciting bit, and there was no stopping these girlies on a mission. First to go was pathfinder Kerrie, and Murphy (Polanski Mill) loped round with a huge grin on his face (as well as his rider’s) to secure a fab clear, at a fast pace. Next up was Monica and the lovely Bailey, who also did a fabulous clear, and weren‘t quite so exuberant over the big drop fence as they were when they’d jumped it a couple of months earlier at the BE event. They also produced a fast time.

Onto Gill and Arthur – they looked like a pair of scalded cats going round the course – a grey blur would be how I’d describe them. A very fast and very clear round was the result. They were a little too exuberant over the big drop – I think Gill may have taken a slight pull after that shock!

And bringing up the rear was the lovely Vicky, on the chestnut mare, Missi Lee. Yet another wonderful fast clear followed – and the cheers from the Club supporters could be heard back in Swindon I think as Vicky and Missi crossed the finish line. What a marvellous end to a marvellous day! The team finished in a very deserved first place – and were over 8 penalties ahead of the second placed team. Ha - take that! So the Championships await – it’s off to Offchurch for August 9-10. Watch out all the other teams, Swindon are coming, and we’re hungry… .hungry for the win!!! Thanks to everyone who helped on the day, and thanks again to my marvellous teams, you were all brilliant. I sign off with a tear in my eye, as I’m hanging up my Team Captain boots after the Championships – with another baby on the way, I won’t have time for anything soon other than nappies and bottles… Kirstie

Janet’s Clover Patch

According to Kate Healey’s report in the Wiltshire Gazette and Herald - Robinson jives into finals.

The ‘Janets’ were out representing Swindon and District Riding Club in the British Riding Clubs Dressage to Music area qualifier at Cheltenham RDA. Janet Robinson with her Irish chestnut roan gelding Clover Patch, known as Bertie pictured left, won the elementary class to qualify for the SEIB sponsored Championships at Addington in October. Janet freely admits that she did have a bit of luck on her side as her first music tape didn't work and had to be replaced with her backup copy, which gave her a bit more time to give Bertie a look round the very spooky indoor school.

She entered the arena to the original instrumental ‘Teddy Bear’s Picnic’ score in canter, which has been Bertie’s trademark since he started competing in music classes. His trot routine was to the upbeat ‘Swingin Safari’ and his walk to Joe Loss’s version of ‘This Guy’s in Love with You’. This was an exciting win for Janet who is always upbeat and optimistic despite ups and downs with her health, but she reports that her consultant has given her the okay until her next appointment after the championships!

You may rest assured that Janet and Bertie will be working hard with the support of her trainer Amanda Brewer, her friends, and the club to perfect their routine for the prestigious championships. Janet’s long time friend and pupil Janet Stares finished third in the novice class and seventh in the elementary with Misty Dream, known as Molly.

ANOTHER WIN for the unstoppable Swindon and District Riding Club!

We’ve done it again, this time at the British Riding Clubs Area 18 Novice Dressage Qualifier. The victorious team, qualified for the Novice Dressage at the NAF sponsored British Riding Clubs (BRC) National Championships at Lincoln showground in September.

(l-r) Vicky Cronin, who substituted her usual ride for Zeena, a former racehorse showed great adaptability to put in a very good performance despite never having done a competition like this before. (11th with 60%).

Kerrie Fleming, on her brilliant ex-racehorse Polanski Mill (1st in section with 69%);

Angela Roberts, and Snapdragon III (2nd in section with 66.67%).

Terri Hemmings, with Llangaller Mally (3rd in section with 67%), making her first appearance on a Swindon dressage team.

The team (l-r, Kerrie, Vicky, Terri and Angela) held the lead by one point over Cropthorne and Evesham Vale RC and six points ahead of the Oxfordshire based Isis Dressage Group.

The whole team deserved this win as they have been dedicated and meticulous, leaving no stone unturned in their training with Caron Roberts at the new place in Wootton Bassett. They will now be training hard for the finals, where we were third as a team two years ago... no pressure then!!

The team competition consists of four riders doing a Preliminary dressage test with three scores to count. Holding the qualifier was very touch and go due to the heavy rain, but the organizers from Cotswold Edge Riding Club found an alternative venue near Gloucester at the last minute, which proved to be a very happy hunting ground for the Swindon team!

We also made a début in the pairs competition with Fe Ambidge and Jo Lamond on their lovely geldings, the appaloosa Gallants Gold and the tobiano Jimmy. They had loads of fun, training and competing and finished 7th, with the judge commenting on how well the horses were matched in terms of paces. This is a great competition to work with a friend and have the opportunity to use your creativity in designing a floor plan that suits your horses.