Gorley Vale Riding Club Newsletter October 2017

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Kelley Rodgers
5 years ago
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Last reminder for the AGM this Thursday 19 th October at The Foresters.

1 Gorley Vale Riding Club Newsletter October 2017 Hi all The nights are really drawing in, did everyone see the stunning harvest moon, and the draconid meteor shower? Then we had an unbelievably surreal red sun the natural world continues to fascinate and amaze. Last reminder for the AGM this Thursday 19 th October at The Foresters. October Stretch Here s the latest stretch from Theresa, hopefully everyone has been building them up each month into a lovely stretchy session. Start in a four point kneeling position then reach through with the opposite hand so left hand reaching through the right, then return to the start position and repeat going the other way. Tips on this move, don't weight shift backwards, and pulse through with the reaching arms twice, it's called thread the needle so envisage that's what you are doing with your arms

Stuff we ve done 15 th October Fun Le Trec A big thankyou to everyone that came along to this event. It was pretty well attended with some riding as individuals and some as a pair.

would give a bit of a challenge. Some obstacles that some found easy others found more testing, I hope everyone got something from the course and most importantly enjoyed riding it.

The winners of the pairs competition were Di & Wendy, 2 nd were Sally & Athena with Jane & Heather 3 rd. Individual winner was Mark, followed by Abbi 2 nd and Linda 3 rd.

2 Stuff we ve done 15 th October Fun Le Trec A big thankyou to everyone that came along to this event. It was pretty well attended with some riding as individuals and some as a pair. We opened it up to other riding clubs as we had not got enough entries from within Gorley Vale and are hoping that a few of them will now join us The course was set so that it wasn t too daunting but would give a bit of a challenge. Some obstacles that some found easy others found more testing, I hope everyone got something from the course and most importantly enjoyed riding it. Tina and I rode the map phase so many times while deciding exactly what to do that our ponies could do it on their own now! The winners of the pairs competition were Di & Wendy, 2 nd were Sally & Athena with Jane & Heather 3 rd. Individual winner was Mark, followed by Abbi 2 nd and Linda 3 rd. Really well done everyone, and an ENORMOUS THANKYOU goes out to all the stewards who gave up their morning to sit in a chilly field. We couldn t have done it without you - Sandy, Gill & Sally (from Wessex Riding Club) Sue, Brenda, Pip, Charlie, Alison, Liz, Tina Marmite, Shelagh, Lucie. and my long suffering husband Andrew! Abi and Mackie coming in after the ride phase Pairs winners Di on Roan pone and Wendy on Bert h Theresa, Athena and Sally on their way back to the finish

Individual winner Mark and Tex performing a perfect rein back.

Sunday, 15th October, saw lots of GVRC riders and their horses gathering at Tom s Field in Godshill.

Luckily for me, the quality of turnout was not being judged. It was all about having fun with your four-legged friend.

3 Individual winner Mark and Tex performing a perfect rein back. Jane and Heather making up a bit of time up the hill Ember supervising This was Claudia s first solo outing with her lovely cob Here are her thoughts on the event. Sunday, 15th October, saw lots of GVRC riders and their horses gathering at Tom s Field in Godshill. The horses and ponies came in all shapes, sizes and colours from New Foresters to thoroughbreds and everything in-between. The riders also came in all shapes and sizes and turnouts. Luckily for me, the quality of turnout was not being judged. It was all about having fun with your four-legged friend. Le TREC, short for Techniques de Randonnée Équestre de Compétition, came over from France in the late 1990s and is an equestrian sport consisting of three individual elements: 1) an obstacle course 2) a demonstration of control of the horse s paces 3) a mounted orienteering phase. The event organisers cleverly adapted this riding discipline to the capabilities of GVRC riders and their animals. The three different phases mean there is something for everybody. I imagine every rider discovered what he or she and their horse are particularly good at and where improvement is needed. My mount was really good at standing perfectly still in a circle, but not so good at cantering when it came to control of paces. But then I am a novice rider and he is a laid-back cob I thought the field where the obstacle course took place was perfect for that purpose, with its variety of natural obstacles, including a steep incline. A fantastic training ground for the aspiring LE TREC rider! The view over to Godshill Wood and Breamore was an added bonus.

4 Another obstacle had to be overcome just prior to riding out the gate on to the open forest. A cheerfully mocking bearded man stood there and tested our resolve to go out riding whilst being on stop clock duty. Once safely past him, we could relax and appreciate the beauty of our surroundings on this still autumn day whilst riding through varied terrain. The instructions and map were very clear and easy to negotiate. How lucky we are to live close to this beautiful landscape and be able to use it for events like this! It was indeed a FUN outing and hopefully there will be more of the same. Thank you to the organisers for a well-planned event, the judges and to Tina and Tom for having us! Claudia Weis with Bob the Cob Four members of GVRC decided they needed a break Do you want to go on a riding holiday? I can t believe that it is now over a month since we returned from our epic riding holiday in Spain. Four of us; Tom, Jane, Sarah and myself, all members of GVRC booked a riding holiday. Our chosen destination was Catalonia. An area above Barcelona in the foothills of the Pyrenees. There were a few reasons for this, mainly the dates coincided with Jane s holiday (set in stone) the temperature would be warm, the food appealing, and wine was included with meals!! 7 nights with 6 days trail riding over 200km during the week and staying at a number of hotels on route. An adventure indeed. We hired a car as there were 4 of us traveling and the only extra charge was for a transfer. This worked well, only we had to find the first hotel and it was dark by the time we were expected. A few wrong turns but eventually made it to the very beautiful La Palma Hotel and Spa! Ready for our first evening meal and to meet the rest of the guests. We were lucky that other members of the tour were really great fun and the guide was knowledgeable and likable, speaking at least 3 languages. The owners of the horse ranch met us on the first night and at other points on the journey, equally lovely was the lady who was the support and brought bags, lunch, horse food, water and much more. The horses were so well trained and knew their job, never did I feel concerned. All our varied abilities were matched with the horses, which was brilliant. Mine was called Geronimo and had been a lead horse back in the day. His only quirk was a buck at the end of a canter if anyone was too close. So I positioned myself in front of someone with brakes. The days were long 5-6 hours and at a fairly fast pace. General fitness was the main problem for me, and Tom experienced bad leg pain, but managed to swap horses to something more comfortable on the 3rd day which meant he was able to finish the tour. We rode early morning along the amazing Rose Coast,galloping in the waves, up into the hills and through a Cork Forest. Don t tell me Cork is soft as I managed to bash my head on a branch and whip my neck while not looking ahead, lesson learned! We stayed in 4 different Hotels all interesting, amusing or splendid so never dull. I think I can speak for us all that we laughed, ached, ate, drank and generally made the absolute most of this incredible holiday. I would definitely recommend it to anyone wanting a life experience and maybe a battery recharge.you do feel energized at the end and both Tom and I felt we could have carried on, well maybe 1 more

day! I must say I did have a lazy day on the Monday when we were home. This holiday was through Unicorn Travels. (Maybe I will get a discount on the next by mentioning their name!

Stuff Coming Up Remember - if you are interested in any of the events please please book as early as possible so that the organisers have a good idea of numbers.

5 day! I must say I did have a lazy day on the Monday when we were home. This holiday was through Unicorn Travels. (Maybe I will get a discount on the next by mentioning their name!!) Tina (our chairperson) Well, from this photo Tina sent me while away I think they weren t shy of trying out the sangria. Stuff Coming Up Remember - if you are interested in any of the events please please book as early as possible so that the organisers have a good idea of numbers. November 4th X Country at Tenantry Farm Have a go round the cross country course, pairs or groups welcome. Times between 10:00 12:00 This was a really good event last year so don t miss out, contact Joules on or joulescousteau@hotmail.co.uk Saturday 9th December Christmas Ride Oh yes, Christmas will soon be upon us so join in on the festive Christmas ride. Probably meeting at The High Corner Inn for mince pies and mulled wine. Details will be confirmed in the next newsletter but put it in your diaries and contact Jo to let her know that you are interested - jorudkin@yahoo.co.uk Happy riding all Tanya Sunshine.gardens@yahoo.co.uk

Love the house! Owning it for a week is awesome!!! Comforts of home. Snowmobile trails are awesome! Fishing was great! We loved it!

Love the house! Owning it for a week is awesome!!! Comforts of home. Snowmobile trails are awesome! Fishing was great! We loved it! We thoroughly enjoyed our time at The Edge! The place is in a league of its own, head and shoulders above any other rental cottage we ve ever stayed at. It is well equipped, well maintained and your attention