NEWS LET TER - Endurance GB

SOUTH EAST GROUP
NEWSLETTER
ENDURANCE GB
2015 — Issue Two
SOUTH EAST GROUP COMMITTEE 2015
CHAIRMAN, CHILD PROTECTION/
SAFEGUARDING and TEAMS &
TRAINING
ROSEMARY ATTFIELD
Rudgwick, West Sussex
01403 822567
[email protected]
RIDE EQUIPMENT
CO-ORDINATOR and HEALTH AND
SAFETY.
PETER DAVENPORT
Chelwood Gate, West Sussex
01825 740347
[email protected]
VICE-CHAIR and PR (WEBMASTER)
MANDY YARNOLD
Hever, Kent
01342 850028
[email protected]
MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY/PR (NEW
MEMBERS/MEMBERSHIP)
CAROLINE LONG
(see before)
&
TRILBY HERRIOTT
Crowborough, East Sussex
07966 136 560
[email protected]
ASSISTANT WEBMASTER
CAROLINE LONG
Chobham, Surrey
01276 485774
[email protected]
SECRETARY
KATE CURRY
Aston Abbotts, Bucks
01296 681137
[email protected]
TREASURER
JANE COOK
Burgess Hill, West Sussex
01444 244487
[email protected]
RIDES CO-ORDINATOR
GAIL JUPP
Hillingdon, Middlesex
01895 436733
[email protected]
2
PR (NEWSLETTER/NATIONAL
MAGAZINE)
LINDSAY SPARROW
Uckfield, East Sussex
01825 769364
[email protected]
&
TRILBY HERRIOTT
(see before)
TROPHY SECRETARY
LEO DAVENPORT
Chelwood Gate, West Sussex
01825 740347
[email protected]
CONTENTS
Articles
4 Chairman‟s Message
6 Spring Training Weekend
19 Tilford Helpers
20 Helping at Rides
22 Checkpoint Steward Duties
24 Route Marker Duties
26 Route to becoming a therapist
41 Graffham Down Helpers
48 Newspaper Cutting
50 Upon being a guinea pig
52 Learning to ride at a set pace
54 Planning your Endurance Ride
57 My first endurance ride
63 Editorial
Notices
2 SE Group Committee Details 2015
12 Inter Regionals-Teams
31 2015 Ride List
35 South East Group Team Trophies
Ride Reports
13 Tilford EGB
44 Graffham Downs EGB
Ride Notices
10 Church Farm Coombes Pleasure Ride
16 Berkshire Downs EGB
47 Primrose EGB
30 Tillingham Valley Pleasure Ride
49 Plumpton Pleasure Ride
61 Hornshill EGB
Forthcoming Events
39 Pub Nights
Forms
37 HCD Research Team Trophy Entry
38 Headway Team Trophy Entry Form
62 Newsletter Subscription Form
Adverts
18 Rosemary Attfield, Level 3 Coach.
40 On the Hoof Distance Training
42 Performance Equestrian
64 Cliffe Equine Veterinary Practice
3
CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE
What a fantastic start to the season in the South
East. I hope you all have had a successful and
enjoyable start too.
In March we started with Tilford, a national ride. A
huge thank you to Shelley Bates and Maggie
Pattinson for organising and running this. The
following week we had a training weekend at
Hornshill. A big thank you to Olwen from Baileys™ for
the best talk on feeding I have heard and Ali Beet,
who came and talked about getting fit and riding the
competition. Everyone was kept busy with lessons on
the school and a 14km ride followed by a vet gate for
practise. Mandy Yarnold did the honours with
keeping us all very well fed. So a big thank you to her.
The next weekend we had another National ride at
Graffham Downs. Again, a big thank you to the
organisers, Hilary Major and Sue Cooper. We were so
lucky with all three events as the weather stayed dry,
making such a difference to all organisers, helpers,
riders and their crews!
Now we are in April and our next national ride is
Southdowns. It is already over-subscribed so it looks
as if it will be a busy weekend for organisers John
and Janice Ranger! At the beginning of May we have
our first group pleasure ride at Church Farm,
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Coombes (near Lancing College), now in its third year,
organised by Julia Watts. Towards the end of May,
there is Berkshire Downs National ride, organised by
Kate Curry, and Primrose national ride in Kent,
organised by Liz Walton. All these rides take a huge
amount of work from the organisers and secretaries
so many thanks to them for their hard work. All the
rides need willing helpers to vet write, vet stewards,
check point stewards, starters etc etc. So if you are
not planning to ride please do give the organisers a
ring and offer your help if you can. Remember you
need to do at least two helps to be able to compete
for the South East Group Trophies at the end of the
season.
If you would like another training weekend please
email me and I will see what I can organise later in
the year.
Remember there is plenty of help and advice on our
South East Group website and any of the committee
are also happy to help-their contact details are at the
front of this newsletter. Good luck to you all and
enjoy your rides.
5
Spring Training Weekend
2015
Julia Watts
I had meant to take my young horse to Rosemary’s
training weekend in 2014 but completely underestimated
how long it takes to get some sense out of a four year old.
So one year later (he’s not 5 he’s six, says Rosemary)
Marvin (who is six in May) is ready to attend. I was also
very keen to try out the new-to-me Equitrek purchased last
autumn with BIG PLANS and anticipation of never
spending another night under canvas.
The first hurdle was that Marvin is never very keen to
spend time alone in said Equitrek so I took the precaution
of paying loading Guru Mike Austin to ensure that we
actually did arrive at Hornshill. Marvin sighed a heavy sigh
and reluctantly minced into the trailer with the air of a
French aristo being led to the guillotine. Less than an hour
later he was tucked into his stable opposite his new BFF
Vodi who belongs to Andrea Willmott and in full view of a
trio of donkeys who provided endless entertainment.
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There were supposed to be four of us on the course
but one lady cancelled due to pressure of work. Archie
Moffat wasn’t due to turn up until the morning so that left
me, Andrea, Rosemary and Rosemary’s endurance riding
lodger and Maths student James for supper and a general
chat on Friday evening.
After a cold night in the unheated Equitrek (yes Craig,
March is too early) we had a quick session in the outdoor
school balancing on an exercise ball for core strength
exercises with Katie Bedwin and then tacked up our horses
for a lesson with Rosemary. It felt like Marvin and I had ALL
Rosemary’s attention and I’m sure the lesson wasn’t two
hours long, but suffice to say, I slithered off bemused pony
ages after it started with luckily only a bruised ego. (Note –
my usual instructor is most impressed with mine and
Marvin’s new attitude to schooling in general so it was all
worthwhile)
The Baileys feed representative gave an interesting
presentation on feeding and only a gentle plug for Baileys
products which it turned out we were all using anyway in
one form or another. She then weigh-taped pretty much
every horse in the yard and pronounced Marvin, Solli
(Archie’s horse) and Vodi, in perfect
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condition for their ages and lifestyles.
Mandy Yarnold had devised an interesting afternoon lesson
using an application on her phone which tracked the
horse’s usual trot rhythm which she then matched up with
the track of your choice. Or nearly of your choice. I am
stuck with warbling away to Kate Bush’s ‘Breathing’ and
poor Marvin is a music lover too.
Julia Watts (Marvin) and Andrea Wilmott (Vodi) on the
12km practice ride.
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After a long and cold day the Equitrek didn’t look quite
as inviting so I decided that it was entirely OK to abandon
Marvin at Hornshill and go home for a bath, heating and a
glass of wine.
The next day dawned not quite as freezing and we
practised our trotting up skills and set off on a would-be 12
km ride. After a humiliating detour (pretty sure that sports
centre would have been mentioned on the talk round) we
made it back to Hornshill. Archie didn’t get lost. Actually for
me, getting only slightly lost was an improvement. Last time
Katie had to come out and rescue us.
We then practised our heart rate taking skills and put the
horses away. Andrea and I decided that with the extra
kilometres we’d covered in the morning, Marvin and Vodi
had done quite enough and after lunch and a chat about
our goals (mine are alarmingly un- ambitious) we loaded
our rather tired horses who didn’t complain at all about
loading to go home.
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Church Farm Coombes
Pleasure Ride
Bank Holiday Monday
4th May 2015
Lancing, West Sussex with
very easy access from A 27
A fantastic Downs route, with a mixture of nice old
turf and chalky tracks with wonderful sea views. The
route is suitable for barefoot horse used to the
Downs. An ideal fittening ride, as there are plenty of
hills, but no steep climbs. There are gates, but as it is
a training ride, an ideal opportunity to practice. There
will be one loop of 22km this year, with the option of
going round twice if starting early. This route contains
stretches across private land and is only available to
riders who have entered the Church Farm PR and is
for use only on the ride day.
The venue is a working sheep farm, therefore please
leave dogs at home-this will be strictly enforced as
there will be too many young lambs bounding about!
There is ample parking in a large field.
Wonderful home cooked refreshments available
from the farm, and a photographer will be in attendance.
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Entries should be on an EGB entry form please, with
cheques made payable to Endurance GB SE Group,
and include an A4 SAE .
£16 members, £24 non members
Ride Organiser and Entry Secretary:
Julia Watts
4 Old Fort Road
Shoreham by Sea
West Sussex
BN43 5RJ
01273 462291
07879678840
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The South East Group (EGB) needs you for the
Inter Regional Championship Team!
15th/16th August 2015, Cranwich EGB Ride, Norfolk.
The South East Team won the Inter-Regional Competition
last year, and therefore we need you to help us win it again!
Everyone has a great weekend, making new friends and really
feeling part of the Team, with help from the Team Manager
Rosemary Attfield and other volunteers. The emphasis is on
having fun, learning about your horses, and having the
support of and learning about being part of, a team.
So please email Rosemary [email protected]
giving your name, horses name and an idea of the distance
you would like to enter. And also, your results from 2014 (if
any, as there are classes for Novice horse and rider!) and any
results from 2015, plus proposed ride entries up to August
2015. Rosemary will then select the best twelve members to
be part of the team.
The classes are as follows:Saturday 15th August.
2 members to do 81km CER class 4
2 members to do 65km GER class 6
2 members to do a Two Day 42km GER class 10
Sunday 16th August
1 rider & horse (open/advanced) to do 42km GER class 34
1 rider (open/advanced) riding a novice horse to do 42km GER
(Novice) class 34
1 rider (open/advanced) riding a novice horse to do 33km GER
(Novice) class 37
1 rider and horse (both novice) to do 33km GER (Novice) class 37
Then we are allowed to wild card doing any of these classes.
The higher mileage will get more bonus marks.
What are you waiting for? Give yourself a challenge this year
and join the team!
12
Tilford EGB Ride Report-Becka Northover
Zeus was bit of a handful when we arrived, although
way better than usual, considering it was his first „party‟
of the season. We tacked him up and I walked him round
the venue and down the lane to settle him before vetting,
this trick seems to work really well!
He vetted in with a heart rate of 44. Two vets from my
practice were there and declared 'a conflict of interest'
but I think it was a tactic to avoid having to vet the devil
horse! Eva was concerned about trotting him up and
being able to stop him, but as usual he behaved well for
the trot- 'part of the job' he reckons!
Zeus en route at
Tilford EGB Ride
2015
13
Then we set off with Caroline Johnson on Hartley for
company. I'm always amazed how little Hartley can keep
up with Zeus even when he's racking at 20+ kph!
Hartley‟s little legs go like pistons!
I was very glad I had spent two nights studying the map
and transferring it to a larger scale Ordnance Survey™
map, without a thick blue route line, as there were so
many areas that were missing markers, due to vandals!
Many riders got very lost, but luckily we didn't.
The new route was fantastic. Going up over the Devil‟s
Punchbowl was beautiful. Zeus was superbly well
behaved, only once did he have very mini paddy when we
were overtaken, but he soon settled again. Most of the
ride was spent on a loose rein bowling along!
At the top of the Punchbowl we saw the herd of Exmoor
ponies, then at CP3 I met a stranded Sally Toye as Mia
had lost a shoe, so Eva went and got our trailer and
collected her as we would be fine without the last crew
point.
Coming back down the Punchbowl was slow as there
were big stones and Hartley is barefoot, but a walk break
was good. Through a gate by a cattle grid and as Zeus
nipped through he forgot to leave room for my knee! The
whack resulted in a dislocated knee cap which I popped
back in whilst Caroline got through the gate, but I was
sore for a bit so the compulsory walk section was good,
although it meant our average speed dropped, but we
soon got that back up on the lovely sand tracks round
Tilford, heading back towards the venue.
A special thanks to Caroline's crew giving us extra
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sloshes, even though Zeus said 'I'm not stopping here,
this isnt my crew!'
Back at the venue and Sally helped us crew down,
which was a godsend as Zeus was sweaty and itchy
faced and he's is quite tricky to deal with like this! By the
time he was washed off I was happy to present as his
heart rate was about as low as it was going to get!
Final heart rate 44 (same as start), and a pass-hurrah!
With an average speed of 11.7km/hr he got a grade 3,
any pass is a bonus with Zeus, I call it a good day if we
pass the pre-ride vetting, let alone the final!
We got him back to the yard in time for an hour to
mooch around the field with Kal, thinking he'd be tired
but need a leg stretch. I was wrong, he dragged Eva to
the field, trotted off, rolled and went right over, got up,
bucked and trotted off! Then when she went to get them
in they both came galloping, bucking and playing down
the field! I think Jo (vet) was right, I always get him too fit
and even with reduced work he had plenty to spare!
Ready for Haywood Oaks in 4 weeks? Yes please!
15
BERKSHIRE DOWNS EGB RIDE
Sunday 24th May 2015
Alden Equicentre, Upton, Didcot, Oxon, OX11 9HS
(Grid Ref: SU505855 OS Sheet 174)
The route runs across the beautiful chalk downs of Oxfordshire and
Berkshire, using the Ridgeway path, rolling downland and grassy
tracks.
Class 1
80km GER,
Class 2
66 km GER,
Class 3
40km GER
Class 4
40km Novice GER
Class 5
33km GER
Class 6
33km Novice GER
Class 7
33km PR
Class 8
20km PR
Crewing and Vet Gate area
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Closing Date: Monday 11th May
Ride Organiser: Kate Curry Tel: 01296 681137
e-mail: [email protected]
Entries Secretary: Leo Davenport: Reapyears, Streeters Rough,
Chelwood Gate,
Haywards Heath, RH17 7LL
Tel: 01825 740347
e-mail: [email protected]
Facilities: Toilets, refreshments, water, camping, corralling. For local
stabling list see schedule (available on SE Group website or contact
organiser)
Standard entry form available from www.endurancegb.co.uk and SE
Group website.
N.B. Crewing in larger vehicles only at Bury Down.
Corralling Area
17
DO YOU NEED HELP?
If you need a Top Class
Qualified Instructor
and a UKCC Level 3
Coach
LOOK NO FURTHER...
I have many years experience and success with Riders and
Horses both Internationally and Nationally in the following
disciplines: Endurance, Show Jumping and Eventing.
Come for a weekend at Hornshill or have a lesson here or at
home
Have help with an annual ride plan.
Good Competitive Prices - for more details:
Email Rosemary Attfield on: [email protected]
Or phone: 01403 822567
18
Tilford EGB Ride-Helpers
Thank you to all the helpers that gave up their time for the
Tilford EGB Ride.
Shelley Bates
Maggie Pattinson
Brian Floyd Davis
Roger Pattinson
Lyn Barratt
Organiser/Venue/H & S
Organiser /Course
Technical Steward
Communications
Communications
Kym Cookesley
Mandy Yarnold
Susie Roberts
Colin Haffenden
Richard Purkis
Nikola Kelly
James Sayers
Jo Woodman
Sarah Wood
Sarah Coombs
Iona Freeman
Sarah Chapman
Samantha May (+ 2 friends)
Secretary‟s Area
Time Keeper
Time Keeper
General Runner
General Runner
Parking/Runner
Farrier
Vet
Vet
Vet
Vetwriter
Vetwriter
Vetwriter
Viv Coleman
Vetgate Steward
Julia Harman
Vetgate TK
Miv & Nigel Fagg
Steward 1 & 2
Sarah Porter & Dean
CP1 The Grange
Rosemary Atfield
CP2 Pitch Place
James
CP2 Road Crossing
Linda Herriot
CP2 Road Crossing
John & Janice Ranger
CP3 Devils Punchbowl
Carol & Tim Page
CP4 Thursley Village
Lindsay Sparrow & Joanna Neyland Road Crossing Woodford Lane
Pam Pemberton
CP5 Woodford Lane
Debbie Horney
Steward Houndown
Jeanette Hopkins Road Crossing Stockbridge
Course Markers- Caroline Cowley, Claire Dovey, Stuart Baker , Chris Baker, Miv &
Nigel Fagg, Sarah Porter, Gail Jupp
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Full Definition of HELP
transitive verb
: to give assistance or support to (the ride organiser, all
competitors)
: to make more pleasant or bearable : improve, relieve
rescue, save ( double ditto!)
: to be of use to : benefit (treble ditto)
: to further the advancement of : (the ride organiser‟s
sanity)
We all love our sport and happily show our appreciation at each
ride for all the hard work that it has taken to allow us to do
what we love.
How many of us actually think about how much time and effort
it takes to plan and run an endurance ride?
How many of us realise just how many helpers it takes to run
just one day of competition, both before, after, and on the day?
To qualify for the end of season group trophies we all have to
do a minimum of two helps - one of which must be on the day
of a national competition ride. How many of us are guilty of just
doing the bare minimum to qualify when we could have helped
at more than two events?
Did you know its takes around 40 volunteers to run just one day
of competition? More if there are lots of road crossings and
checkpoints. That‟s a lot of people to find each time and we are
all indebted to those who turn up and freeze or boil or get
soaked thus allowing us to have a lovely day riding - we all
know whose faces we see selflessly helping time and time again.
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And one of the reasons that they do this is that it is an
enjoyable day! You learn a lot, meet and get to know your
fellow competitors, enjoy a scrummy packed lunch and if you
are lucky, stay dry into the bargain! The South East Group‟s
eight competition rides and four pleasure rides in 2015 means
we need over 400 „helps‟ throughout the season, with a group
membership around 100 the maths is easy…..
However, the Committee appreciate that some members are
unsure of what is expected of them and therefore we are
running a series in the newsletter on helping and explaining
what each help job entails. We hope that you find it informative
and useful, both as a helper and also a rider, and that it gives
you confidence to contact that Ride Organiser and offer to help.
So if you‟re not entered in one of the South East‟s rides then
why not offer to help at it instead, if your horse is unable to
compete and you need to withdraw then why not give the
organiser a ring and see if they need any help as they may well
have lost people last minute. If you‟re competing at a ride you
can always offer to help mark the course the day before (preride insider knowledge on the going and the route can only be a
good thing!) So why stick at your two mandatory helps? You
can learn a lot by being a helper, especially in and around the
vetting area, you meet new people and make new friends and
can go home at the end of the day with the warm glow that
you‟ve given something back to our wonderful sport and done
what an awful lot of people repeatedly do for you.
Sue Armitage, Christine
Smyth and Sue‟s granddaughter having fun
helping at Friston
Forest Pleasure Ride
2014. (Photo-Miranda
Kavanagh)
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If possible, before the day, obtain from the ride organiser a map of,
and directions to where your checkpoint is - the last thing you want is
to get lost and be late on the day of the ride.
Regardless of the weather you should have a couple of buckets and
some water with you for the horses to drink and slosh as some riders
are crewless and their horses may be in need. If it is very hot, the ride
organiser will have sorted replenishing water supplies at checkpoints.
A first aid kit is also a good idea. Make sure your mobile phone is fully
charged, switched on and not on silent!
You will need to go to the venue first, pick up rider list, ride incident
report form, packed lunch, high viz vest, relevant signage. It‟s worth
taking extra drinks and a flask to supplement your lunch as you will be
out there a long time. Make a note of emergency phone numbers and
ensure the Ride Organiser has your mobile number. Make sure that
you have the Ride Secretary‟s mobile number to check in for
withdrawals & eliminations.
If there is a CER class they will have different coloured bibs but there
may be duplicate numbers (find out if this is so - make a note on the
top of the class list the colour of bib for that class - to help you later
on when things get busy.
Once at your checkpoint, park sensibly so riders and other traffic can
pass easily, and you‟re not obscuring any route markings. Display your
checkpoint sign clearly so approaching riders can identify you easily.
Riders may be coming from different directions - make sure by
checking your map that they are on the correct loop for their class.
You need to note the time against the rider‟s number. If you have a
whole bunch clatter through its easier to just jot down the numbers on
a separate piece of paper with the time and transfer them to the lists
22
later on. It is ultimately the rider‟s responsibility to make sure you
have a note of their number, but that shouldn‟t stop you doing your
best in noting it and signaling to the rider that you have it. Alert the
rider if you see something amiss that they may not have spotted e.g.
loose girth, shoe missing.
Inexperienced riders may look to you for assistance as to where they
are on their map and how far they have got to go. Please offer help
and encouragement to this next generation.
Your checkpoint may also be a road crossing - officially we are not
supposed to stop traffic, just to be an alerting and advisory presence
to. If your check point is also a crew point check that crew cars are
displaying their yellow crew cards. Some crews can be inconsiderate if you feel this to be the case, report the rider number back to the
venue.
Check in with the ride secretary for any eliminations and withdrawals
during the ride if you haven‟t heard them from the venue. Also, alert
the venue if a horse seems to be missing/way overdue.
It can be a lonely job with long gaps so take a book, a crossword,
Sudoku, podcast to fill the empty bits.
Your job is important because if there is a query, the records you
have made will be vital.
When your last rider has gone through, all numbers on your list are
accounted for, you may pack up and return to the venue - worth a
quick call before you pack up to make sure there is no one still to
come through that you didn‟t know about. Don‟t forget to get your
„help‟ signed off on your trophy card.
Thank you for volunteering to do this demanding job
and helping with our ride - it’s hugely appreciated by
both the riders and organisers alike
EGB SE would like to thank the Iceni Group for allowing us to use their
fact sheets as a basis for our own.
23
This will involve you liaising with the Ride Organiser or their
appointed Main Marker the day before the ride.
Take refreshments, this is hard thirsty work and you will probably be
in the middle of nowhere. Look at the weather forecast to make sure
you have the right gear on. It is also a good idea to take loppers or
secateurs for overhanging brambles/twigs. If glasses are required to
read a map then remember to bring them!
Spray Chalk Marking
•Beware this stuff can go everywhere and stains clothing - so wear old
stuff. A rucksack is useful to carry spare/empty spray cans.
•Spray your arrows on the left of the route - if there is a two way
stretch then put two way arrows either side so that riders know to
expect people to be coming the other way and not to panic that
they‟ve gone wrong.
•At ‘cross overs’ or ‘merges’ in the route it might be helpful to put OUT
next to your outward-bound arrow and HOME next to the incoming
one on the respective left of the track
•Angled arrows before (to warn of a turning) and straight arrows after
the turn (to reassure) changes of direction are essential.
•Where possible spray on grass, dirt or gravel (remembering that
some surfaces are more prone to arrows being washed away by rain).
Spraying onto tarmac is very difficult to remove and can upset locals if
they remain for long periods. There is a balance to be struck between
being clear to riders on the day and being a nuisance to others after
the ride, the Organiser will not thank you if a day-glow nightmare is
left after the ride.
•Spray a circle around any hole/root/hazard you find on your route.
•You can spray a big cross at the beginning of a path that is not part
of the route if you feel riders may get confused and take it - or make
sure you have big arrows pointing straight ahead at the junction.
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•Make sure you mark regularly even if there have been no changes of
direction - it reassures riders - who all live in fear of getting lost and
long stretches with no markings send alarm bells ringing in their
heads!
•For diverging routes - put the class distance next to the relevant
direction arrow.
Ashdown Forest - the markings need to be removed the day after the
ride - the best method we‟ve found is a dandy brush and water - take
a couple of slosh bottles in a knapsack - as you have to de-mark your
own section make sure you haven‟t put huge arrows everywhere as
you will curse them on the Sunday….
Tape Marking:
•Try and tie these as high as you can - they are very susceptible to
marker vandals.
•Tie them to the left of the route.
•To show a LEFT turn coming up tie 2 tapes close together on the left
and then a reassuring tape after the turning.
•To show an impending RIGHT turn tie 2 tapes close together on the
right and, again, a reassuring tape after the turning.
Laminated Arrows stapled to posts:
Very clear to riders however very easy to remove by „marker vandals‟,
only useful if suitable surfaces exist to attach them to, e.g. gates and
fences on South Downs. MUST be removed immediately after the ride.
Don‟t forget to get your „help‟ signed off on your trophy card.
Thank you for volunteering to do this demanding job
and helping with our ride - its hugely appreciated by
both the riders and organisers alike
EGB SE would like to thank the Iceni Group for allowing us to use their
fact sheets as a basis for our own.
25
Route to becoming a TherapistSteph Allum
I have loved horses from a young age, first of all
imaginary horses which my friend and I skipped around
on, we played with toy horses, making cardboard stables
and bedding out of dry grass and taking them to imaginary
shows in their toy Landrover and Trailer. At the age of 9 I
finally persuaded my parents to let me have riding lessons
at a riding school run by a retired army man, his method of
teaching was mounted cavalry style ! Taking our saddles
off while trotting round, vaulting onto our horses and
having fun with gymkhana type games.
A few years later my two Uncles who had a small farm
bought a couple of New Forest ponies which I rode on the
nearby moors in my native Yorkshire. Blissfully unaware of
the finer points of riding I often rode bareback, only came
off once as far as I can remember!
After leaving school I worked on a Welsh Mountain Pony
stud for a few months and then took up a Working Pupil
course in a dealers yard near Lingfield. This really threw
me in at the deep end ! A consignment of horses would
turn up, loose (this was the early 70`s !) in a lorry, they
would tumble out and we would take one each, find tack
that `sort of ` fitted and take them in the indoor school,
point them at a few jumps and then ride up the A22 to see
how they were in traffic ! Surprisingly there were no
accidents !
After passing my BHSAI exams I worked freelance for
several years. I also hunted once a week with the OS&B
Hunt. In those days I could hack to most of the meets, an
26
hours hack each way and 3 or 4 hours hunting was
perfectly normal. I moved to Nutley in 1987 and kept my
horse with Su Barr who was an Endurance rider and lover
of Arab horses, she also raced and hunted the Arab mare
she had at the time. This was my first introduction to the
concept of Endurance riding. Her yard had direct access
onto the Ashdown Forest which was wonderful. A few
years later, when she moved, I needed to find a new
livery yard for my horse and that is when I met Caroline
Sutherland and learnt more about Endurance Riding. I
could not take part because my horse was a hunter and
could not tolerate any other horse being in front of him!!
But I learnt a lot about it through Caroline.
After my horse died at the age of 30 I was given a rescue
horse. I became interested in Aromatherapy for treating
animals after reading about it in a magazine. My rescue
horse was rather disturbed, mentally and physically and I
thought this would be a nice gentle way to treat him. I
studied alternative treatments including Essential Oils and
Australian Bush Flower remedies through books and work
shops and treated my own and friends animals with them.
I could not find a course in Animal Essential Oil Therapy
with qualifications in the area and so I decided to train to
use Aromatherapy on people first to give me my
qualifications and knowledge.
Not as simple as it sounds, the first step to this was
Anatomy, Physiology and Massage with several case
studies to complete and write up, written and practical
exams in A&P and Massage. Followed by a year studying
Essential Oils including how they are grown and produced,
their chemical and therapeutic values, more exams and
case studies.
27
I never knew I still had the ability to learn but it is easier
when you are interested in the subject and very satisfying.
A few years later I found a course in Essential Oil Therapy
for animals and took that 12 month course, staying in
Oxfordshire once a month. More A&P, this time with
animals and more chemistry (ugghh) and case Studies !
This treatment does not involve massage but inhaling or
licking the oils. Creams, gels, poultices etc for external use.
To my surprise I found that I really enjoyed treating
people with or without Essential Oils. Massage is incredibly
beneficial for many things, relaxation is probably what
most people think of but, (and my clients will verify this) if
you have tight, achy shoulders, hips, back or any other
awkward, niggly pain, a firm massage is what gets results.
`No pain no gain` is often the case, but I do specialise in
nervous clients !!
A lot of my clients are riders and find that their riding
improves as they are able to relax and drop their shoulders
once the tension has been released. Strains that we
encounter in the day to day looking after of our horses can
often be prevented with regular massage as a
maintenance for the body. You do it for your horses so
why not give the same tlc to yourselves !?
Four years ago I had the good fortune to be offered a
share in a wonderful horse, Paddy to his friends, he is a
16.2 ewbald Irish Sports Horse owned by Racheal Roles
who has a livery yard which I can walk to from my home.
He has mainly been a dressage and show horse in his life
but has taken to Endurance wonderfully well. We only
participate in Pleasure Rides, he will be 21 years young
this year, respectful of his age and the fact that he is so
well and so precious Racheal (and I) would like to see him
fit and well for many more years. Thanks to my good
28
friends Caroline Sutherland, Jennifer Newman and Lindsay
Sparrow who give me lifts to rides I have had some
wonderful days out on SE rides. It is such a pleasure to
see our wonderful English Countryside from a horse which
you feel so in tune with.
Finally, why not consider trying massage, I provide a
mobile service as well as a quiet, warm treatment room in
the garden of my home between Maresfield and Nutley.
My treatments include Aromatherapy, Hot Stone Massage,
Deep Tissue Massage, Reiki and Ear Candles. I can also
discuss Essential Oil Treatment for animals.
Contact me on 07752078714
[email protected]
www.touchtherapy.vp.co.uk
Steph and Paddy at Church Farm, Coombes Pleasure Ride 2013
29
*New ride for 2015*
Tillingham Valley Pleasure
Ride, Sunday 14th June 2015
A stunning ride through the beautiful
Tillingham Valley. Mostly fields and headlands, small
piece of woodland, and two very short stretches of private driveway. Nice going for barefoot horses. One
bridge crossing and a few gates which will mostly be
opened. Fairly flat with few small undulations.
Class 1: 8km (5miles)
Class 2: 16km (10 miles)
Class 3: 32km (20 miles) (2 loops of 16km route)
Venue: Parsonage Farm, Udimore, Rye, TN31 6AX on
the B2089 between Rye and BroadOak Brede
Plenty of parking and easy access
No crewing possible as no access to the route by road
Facilities: Toilets, first aid, and photographer. No water
available at the venue-please bring your own ample
supplies.
BBQ and refreshments available on the day.
Entries, using standard EGB South East entry form
(available on the website) , enclosing an SAE, size A5 or
larger with sufficient postage to:
Sandy Ralph, Little Acorns, Furnace Lane,
Broad Oak, Sussex. TN31 6ES
All enquiries, offers of help etc to the Ride Organisers
Sandy Ralph:phone:01424 882886
email: [email protected]
Leonie Wheeler:
phone 01797 222009
email [email protected]
30
Endurance GB
South East Group
Ride List 2015
LIST OF RIDES OPEN TO NON-MEMBERS
Did you know most endurance events that take place in the
South East include shorter pleasure ride classes?
Non-Members are always welcome. Come and enjoy
excellent riding over some of our most stunning countryside
and get a taste of what this friendly sport entails.
THIS LIST IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE
Please confirm details before entering
by checking our website:
www.endurancegbsoutheast.co.uk
31
HOW TO ENTER A RIDE
Non EGB members can enter Pleasure Rides as temporary day members. For more details on each ride please visit the South East Group
Website at www.endurancegb.co.uk/southeast.
Send completed entry form to the ride secretary (download from www.endurancegb.co.uk/southeast)

Include – large SAE (minimum A4) with sufficient postage.

Copy of flu vac certificate (if requested by the organiser in the schedule)
All horses must be aged four or over.
Riders under the age of 13yrs must be escorted by an adult who is also entering the ride.
Entries close two weeks before ride, or when full.
Approximately one week before the ride, you will receive a route map, general instructions, start time, directions to the venue, etc.
On The Day

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


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Riders to wear numbered bibs, a £5 deposit is required from non-members.
Hard hats PAS015 or equivalent to be worn. No spurs. Whips less than 30 inches.
Boots or shoes must have heel (or caged stirrups can be used with trainers).
Relaxed sensible clothing, any coloured jodhpurs/breeches (not jeans but hacking jackets/ties/stocks NOT required!)
All riders must follow The Country Code.
Pleasure Ride classes must be completed between 8-12 kph (approx. 5-7 mph).
Pleasure Rides at National EGB rides, all horses will be trotted up for vet without saddle/boots before the ride and within 30
minutes of finishing the ride.
Ideally riders should have someone to crew them at crewing points around the route. But this is not as necessary for the
shorter distances, if in doubt please discuss with the organiser.
All rides are run under Endurance GB Rules – available from National EGB Office (contact details overleaf)
NOTE: EGB rides have longer distance classes available for EGB members riding EGB registered horses.
See www.endurancegb.co.uk and click on 'Rides' for more details
Ride List: 2015 v1 (Jan)
DATE
SOUTH EAST GROUP RIDES
CLASSES
Sun 22nd Feb
2015
Brendon Pleasure Ride, Pyecombe, Brighton
Organiser: Jane Cook 01444 244487
Email: [email protected]
SE Group Pleasure
Ride
16km, 24km, 5km
Sun 8th
March 2015
Tilford EGB Ride, Farnham, Surrey
Organiser: Shelley Bates (07760264619)
/Maggie Pattinson
Email: [email protected]
EGB National Ride,
33km, Pleasure
Ride 16km
32
DATE
SOUTH EAST GROUP RIDES
CLASSES
Sunday 22nd
March 2015
Graffham Down EGB Ride, nr Chichester,
West Sussex.
Organisers: Sue Cooper & Hilary Major
01798 867238
Email: [email protected]
EGB National Ride
GER 42km, 32km,
Pleasure Ride 20km,
15km.
Sun 12th April
2015
Southdowns (Findon) EGB Ride,
Findon, West Sussex
Organiser: Janice Ranger 01903 873967
Email: [email protected]
EGB National Ride
GER 42km, 33km
Pleasure Ride 25km,
16km
Monday 4th
May 2015
Church Farm, Coombes Pleasure Ride,
Lancing, West Sussex.
Organiser: Julia Watts 01273 452968
Email: [email protected]
SE Group Pleasure
Ride
16km and 32km
Sunday 24th
May 2015
Berkshire Downs EGB Ride, Didcot, Oxon
Organiser: Kate Curry, 01296 681137
Email: [email protected]
EGB National Ride
GER 40km, 33km.
Pleasure Ride 20km
Sunday 31st
May 2015
Primrose EGB Ride, near Canterbury, Kent
Organiser: Liz Walton 01304 852952
Email: [email protected]
EGB National Ride
GER 40km, 33km.
Pleasure Ride 25km
Sunday 14th
June 2015
Tillingham Valley Pleasure Ride, Kent.
Organiser: Leonie Wheeler (01797
222009)and Sandy Ralph (01424 882886)
Email: [email protected]
SE Group Pleasure
Ride 8km, 16km and
32km.
Sunday 21st
June 2015
Plumpton Pleasure Ride,
Plumpton Racecourse, East Sussex
Organiser: Jane Cook 01444 244487
Email: [email protected]
SE Group Pleasure
Ride 20km and
30km.
Sunday 28th
June 2015
Hornshill EGB Ride, Rudgwick, West Sussex
Organiser: Rosemary Attfield 01403
822567
Email: [email protected]
EGB National Ride
GER 34km
Pleasure Ride 24km,
15km.
Saturday 25th
July 2015
Ashdown Forest EGB Ride, East Sussex
Organiser: Peter Davenport 01825 740347
Email: [email protected]
EGB National Ride
GER 32km
Pleasure Ride 23km,
14km
33
DATE
SOUTH EAST GROUP RIDES
CLASSES
Sunday 30th
August 2015
Friston Forest Pleasure Ride, Birling Gap,
Eastbourne.
Organiser: Linda Herriott 01892 853420
Email: [email protected]
SE Group Pleasure
Ride 24km and
32km.
Sunday 27th
September
2015
Devils Dyke EGB Ride, near Brighton
Organiser: Jane Cook 01444 244487
Email: [email protected]
EGB National Ride
GER 32km, Pleasure
Rides 32km, 24km
and 19km
Interested in finding out more about this
exciting Sport?
Keep in touch with updates to the rides and other
events in the South East by visiting our website:
www.endurancegb.co.uk/southeast
Please feel free to email us using the Contact Us page.
Or for National Rides and events from
The National Office:
Endurance GB
Abbey Park
Stareton, Kenilworth
Warwickshire CV8 2RP
Tel: 02476 697929
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.endurancegb.co.uk
The Endurance South East Group
now has its own Facebook page. To
find us search for Endurance GB
South East (official) and click ‘Like’.
You will find all of our events listed
here plus any other relevant news.
34
South East Group 2015 Team Trophies
Did you know there are 2 Team competitions run by the South
East group during the season?
The HCD Research Ltd Trophy is for a team
of 3 nominated riders, and points are from
the best ten vetted rides (CER and GER) for
each rider. Rosettes for all teams, and a bottle of bubbly for
the best team name! This team competition is free to enter,
but remember each rider must satisfy the South East Group
Awards criteria for helping at rides.
The second team competition is the
Headway Team Charity Challenge for the
James Cassar Headway Trophy. This trophy is
kindly donated by Anthony and Vanessa
French, who were part of the group who set
up the Tunbridge Wells branch of Headway,
now known as Headway in West Kent.
Headway in West Kent offers a variety of services in West
Kent and surrounding areas. Support and information is
offered through:
Headway centre in Tunbridge Wells - day opportunities - open
for social rehabilitation with activities designed to enhance
skills and interests and provide a welcoming environment.
Drop-in service at Maidstone - information, support, social
contact, activities - for brain injured individuals and families
and carers
Short courses - at the centre and other venues - woodwork,
gym visits, pottery etc - especially for people with a brain injury
in the community. Small friendly groups.
Family, carers and service users social meetings - to make
35
new friends and share experiences.
Community support - information and practical support for
anyone living with a brain injury in the community.
Links with other local voluntary groups and YIPPEE, a group
for young people with brain injury meeting socially every other
week.
Talks, social and fundraising events.
Such a worthwhile charity, entry into the competition costs
£20 per team of 4 horses. The team with the highest
kilometres in the season will win, but only counting rides (GER
and PR) under 42km. If you don‟t know 4 other riders/horses,
then send in your entry with £5, and the Trophy Secretary will
put you in a team! Or you can contact one of the committee
members, perhaps one of the members that lives nearest
you, and they can help you find some team mates!. A great
way to meet up with other members and make new
friendships! All monies go to the Headway Charity.
Winners of the 2014
James Cassar Headway
Trophy:
Linda Herriott, Sandy
Ralph.Trilby Herriott, and
Sylvia Herriott.
36
ENDURANCE GB
SOUTH EAST
GROUP
Team Trophies
HCD RESEARCH TEAM REGISTRATION FORM 2015
Trophy kindly presented by HCD Research Limited
Nominations must be received by 30th June 2015
TEAM OF THREE NOMINATED RIDERS
Team Name :
Rider 1:
Rider 2:
Rider 3:
POINTS FROM BEST TEN VETTED RIDES
(CER+GER) FOR EACH RIDER.
There will be a bottle of bubbly awarded to each member of the team adjudged to have the best name!
PLEASE RETURN FORM TO THE TROPHY SECRETARY BY
30th June 2015
Leo Davenport, Reapyears, Streeters Rough,
Chelwood Gate, Haywards Heath RH17 7LL
37
ENDURANCE GB SOUTH
EAST GROUP and
HEADWAY in WEST
KENT
JAMES CASSAR HEADWAY TROPHY
HEADWAY TEAM CHARITY CHALLENGE TROPHY 2015
TEAM OF 4 HORSES
Team Name :
Horse 1:
Horse 2:
Horse 3:
Horse 4:
Team with the highest kilometres in season to win from all rides
(GER + PR) of 42km and under to be counter. Rosettes to all
teams, awarded at the Branch Annual Meeting in December
2015.
Entry Fee: £20 per team, with all monies going to
Headway in West Kent, the brain injury association.
Individual entries welcome at £5 per horse and they will
be grouped into teams of four on a ‘first come first served’
basis.
Please make cheques payable to ‘Endurance GB SE’ and send
with completed form, to the Trophy Secretary.
TEAM REGISTRATION TO BE RECEIVED BY 30TH JUNE 2015.
Non-members of EGB may form part of a team. At least one
team member must be a member of EGB.
Trophy Secretary: Leo Davenport, Reapyears, Streeters Rough,
Chelwood Gate RH17 7LL
38
“PETE’S” PUB NIGHTS - SUSSEX
Dates available on the website.
Please give Peter a call on
01825 740 347
if you wish to eat, so the pub
can be advised of numbers and
reserve a table, or just come
along for a drink. Everyone welcome.
All 7pm onwards.
PUB NIGHTS - SURREY
Always the last Thursday of each month from
8.00pm.
The Castle, Brox Road,
Ottershaw, Surrey KT16 0LW
PUB NIGHTS - KENT
Does anyone in the Kent area want to
set up a series of pub nights? Please
contact Lindsay if you are interested.
01825 769364
39
The Endurance South East Group now
has its own Facebook page. To find us
search for Endurance GB South East
(official).
You will find all of our events listed here plus any other relevant news, in
addition to the information posted on our group's website:
www.endurancegbsoutheast.co.uk.
Please ‘like’ the page when you visit it. You will be able to post photos,
videos and comments. Those of you with smart-phones can download the
Facebook app and will then be able to get updates quickly without
needing to visit the South East Group's website.
To have an endurance event put on the page please email full details to
Mandy Yarnold at: [email protected]
Additionally, as the page will be open to everyone to view, we hope to be
able to reach a new audience of potential members and associates.
40
Graffham Downs EGB Ride,
Sunday 22nd March 2015- Helpers
Organiser: Hilary Major
Assistant organiser/secretary: Sue Cooper
Technical Steward (TS): Liz Hinings
TS Assistant: Rosie Follit
Vet steward: Su Middleton
Vet Steward's Runner: Ollie Holman
Vet Writers: Coralie Holman, Sam Hunt,
Matt Cooper
Course marking: Matt Cooper, Sue Cooper,
Hilary Major
Car parking: Chris Major, Rosie Follit, Jake
Thornley, Ollie Sanders
Timekeepers: Sam Major, Charlie Boyd
Checkpoints: Andrew Major and Jules, Liz
Mitchell, Janice and John Ranger, Julia
Holmes, Hilary Weaver, Thomasina and
Harriet Rowntree.
41
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specialising in products and equipment for riders who love the
thrill and excitement of long distance riding.
Whether for pleasure, competition or riding holidays we have a
large range of great products, all carefully developed and selected
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How can we help? We are totally passionate about the products
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do give us a call on 01933 624624 or email us at
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PerfEQ Water Repellent
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Manufactured in the UK by
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styled similar to the popular
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U.S. that has stopped
manufacturing.
Manufactured without inner seam
and designed to provide maximum comfort when riding, our tights
provide a 4 way stretch fit that eliminates the tucks and creases usually
associated with jodhpurs and breeches that can cause painful friction
burns.
The tights are manufactured from Meryl/Lycra a European fabric used
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• Water repellent.
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42
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Anti-wear Patch
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PerfEQ tights can be supplied either plain or with a soft, thin, fleece inner
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Printing on the legs of the tights is available for Rider, Horse or Team
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Manufactured from a
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chaps have an elasticated calf
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a velcro style adjustable top strap making them easy to achieve the
perfect fit and extremely comfortable to ride in.
The chaps are fastening at the side by a YKK zip
43
Graffham Down EGB Ride-Sally Toye
A huge thank you to Hilary Major and Sue Cooper, who organised this ride from Manor Farm, Cocking. What a great day
and how did you get the weather to behave this time of year?
So far in March I haven‟t been soaked while competing but
this is not going to last!
This is a favourite ride of mine for two reasons; one, I love
the South Downs Way and riding any part of this 102 mile trail
is a delight, as it is tough, it‟s beautiful and it is what I consider endurance to be! And two, last year here my mare learnt
a huge lesson in what we do and when we do it. We were on
the last loop coming up the big hill near Seaford College and I
had kindly tailed up it as she was doing well and I also wanted
to raise my own fitness a level. At the top somewhat breathless I got back on and said to her, “come on then, trot!” I know
some of you will understand that I knew what Mia was thinking when I did this. The answer I got wasn‟t the one I was looking for. Then I asked again and she carried on walking. So I
very gently slapped her with my stick then I felt her indignation that I had done this. Still no trot, so I repeated it!!! Well
slightly livid she trotted and I taught her that lesson which at
the start of her third season she needed to learn. Sometimes
we do stuff when we are a little tired, it‟s called “endurance”
and sometimes it‟s hard. She needed to learn that we are a
team and as I help her she needs to play her part too. I never
had to ask again as she became an endurance horse that
day. It was a big moment and somehow we both knew it. We
became a team together and it is a great bond.
So this year I entered the 62km class and had the pleasure
of riding with Katie Bedwin on her little pocket rocket “Burfield
Goody 2 Shoes” and hence being crewed by the Attfield/
Hornshill team. I would need to be on my best behaviour!! We
had a simply wonderful time.
I created a “first” for me at the venue when I arrived, by being the first trailer in (never happened before and I guess
44
won‟t again). A miracle as I was back from a work trip to Vegas the day before and I wasn‟t quite sure what planet I was
on due to lack of sleep. (The first 50 Vegas visits are ok and
after that the place gets a little dull…I know it sounds glamorous however…)
Katie and I got going early in the day riding out with David
Yeoman and Charlotte Woodland who was riding Haszar. We
had the usual banter and good spirits. Katie riding in jodhpurs
with diamantes on them, absolutely gorgeous. Blimey, I want
some and I will have to go to “Derriere Equestrian” if I do, Katie‟s new sponsor. Also panties were discussed in length, very
comfortable apparently! Back to the route and the marking
was good. This year Hilary had made the decision to ride the
route backwards on last year so bits of it seemed familiar
without being familiar, a bit odd and still as lovely. We rode
along the pretty tracks of the South Downs Way (SDW)
through the woodland and then down Graffham Down by the
College to Graffham Common and a completely different type
of going with twisty forest tracks and a nice ford to dunk
sponges in and crew the ponies. (There were plenty of water
troughs throughout the ride which meant the ponies were offered water as often as they were crewed by Rosemary which
was nice). In the forest we had not just a confidence marker
we had a confidence steward and all these amazing helpers
were in good spirits. Eventually we came back up the Downs
and onto the SDW and back to the venue. The going was good
and the weather almost perfect and into the halfway halt
quickly with minimal washing down due to it being a tad chilly.
Pulse rates for this were being done away from the main
barn due to the pig/cow effect near the trot up area. The
farmer had cows who had their calves and he had nowhere
else to put them so they had to come in. A useful education
for some of the horses!! So pulse rate done and then I did the
trot up three times as the vets said she looked a little odd behind and we tried different bits of the barn and eventually the
vets just told me to get on with it! Back for the rest of our rest
45
period which went really quick and I gave her a bit of a massage and some leg stretches which had her more relaxed and
moving better. So now we had done 35k with 26k to do, which
was good as it had gone definitely chilly and time to keep
them moving. Another new idea and a different route so no
chance to just switch off and ride we had to concentrate just a
tad.
Mia had a big grumpy strop on leaving halfway and Shoes
whose first ever half way halt this was, was the happy one! We
did lots of swopping the lead, changing pace from trot to canter and making great fittening use of the beautiful hills and
grassy going. She cheered up quickly. Quite close to the end
we saw David Yeoman and Charlotte making their way back to
a checkpoint as Haszar had had a big fall and they were retiring. Lots of blood and when we saw them back at the venue
they were doing much better and making the sensible decisions that we all have to sometimes. We carried on and all to
soon we were back with the good marking into the venue with
now nicely tired ponies and riders and presenting for a final
vetting and a grade 3 and a happy pony and rider. Our final
result of 12.5kph very respectable for this stage of the season
(10.3k last year)
We all had cake and of course the finest sausage rolls there
are which money can‟t buy because Rosemary makes them
and they are the best!
I drove home thinking about what we do and why we do it
and I still after all these years don‟t have the answers! There
is something about trotting for long distances on a fit horse
enjoying the company and views and that just does something
for part of my brain. I always come away more relaxed (or is
that knackered?) and peaceful. It seems to feed something in
my soul and I love it. The joy of riding with all ages (I rode one
Tevis with a 70 year old!!) is a delight as well.
We had had a great day and I was soon home to take care of
my little pony.
Another ride completed and another happy day.
46
PRIMROSE EGB RIDE
Sunday 31st May 2015
Chartham, Canterbury CT4 7TU (Map Ref TR122539)
Route Fairly hilly over a mix of open farmland and woodland tracks.
Class 1. 40km GER
Class 2. 40km Novice GER
Class 3. 33km GER
Class 4. 33km Novice GER
Class 5. 33km PR
Class 6. 25km PR
Class 7. 15km PR
Closing date: Monday 18th May 2015
Entries limited to 120
Ride Organiser: Miss Liz Walton
Tel: 01304 852952 Mob: 07809 779807
Email [email protected]
Ride Secretary: Julia Harman, 2 Old Court Cottages, Listways, nr Nonington,
Canterbury, Kent CT3 3HP.
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 07976 287775 between 5pm and 9pm only
Facilities: Toilets, refreshments, water
Special Instructions: PR Sponsored for RDA. Minimum sponsorship £5 payable on
the day.
Standard entry form available from www.endurancegb.co.uk and South East Group
website
Cheques payable to “Endurance GB”
Enclosing large A4 S.A.E. with sufficient postage stamps
47
Hilary Major saw this article in her local newspaper
after Graffham Downs EGB Ride. Who says we don‟t
do our bit for road safety!
48
PLUMPTON PLEASURE RIDE
SUNDAY 21st JUNE 2015
Plumpton Racecourse, Plumpton, E. Sussex
This ride includes lots of variety; The South Downs plus nearly
10km of lanes and bridleways to warm up before the big
climb. Lovely views and some nice downland canter stretches
on top. It is not an easy ride, but great for conditioning; a couple of steep climbs and a few flints plus lots of gates!
NO CREWING, but water available at checkpoints.
Class 1: 30 km (19 miles)
Class 2: 20 km (12 miles)
Entry Fee: £16 EGB Members & EGB Associate Members
£24 Non-members
ORGANISER: Jane Cook 01444 244487 (not after 9:30pm)
SECRETARY: Jenny Newman 07711 015773 (not after
9:30pm)
Send entry form (downloadable from:
www.endurancegbsoutheast.co.uk)
Please make cheques payable to "Endurance GB SE"
Enclosing large S.A.E. with sufficient postage stamps
To: Jenny Newman, Entries Secretary
3 Windmill Drive, Burgess Hill, West Sussex, RH15 8JW
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Upon Being a Guinea Pig-Sam Hunt
Although I‟m a long, long way from being any kind of scientist, in
recent years my interest in anatomy and physiology has increased in
direct proportion to the depth of my interest in endurance riding.
Therefore, on Saturday 21st March I found myself driving to Plumpton
College, near Brighton, having volunteered to take part in some research into rider fitness, being undertaken by Anglia Ruskin University.
The research involved me riding “Hero”, Plumpton College‟s horse
simulator, for two sessions of an hour each, separated by a 20 minute
break. The entire duration was an approximation of a 40km ride at
trot and canter. As guinea-pig, I had agreed to have my bloods taken,
and to wear a heart rate monitor and a mask so that respiration could
also be measured. The equipment was reading constantly throughout
the session, with bloods being taken (via a painless pin prick) every 20
minutes.
The format of the session was 4 minutes of trot, 4 minutes of canter,
4 trot, 4 canter etc. and at the end of every 4 minute session I was
asked to state my own tiredness perception on a scale of 0 to 10, with
10 being absolutely knackered (although it was worded much more
professionally than that!). At the end of the session I was actually
barely tired at all – I gave a rating at the end of 1 out of 10, simply
because my hip flexors were feeling it a bit from the trotting.
Hero the mechanical horse was a very gentle chap. I‟ve never ridden
his sort before and very quickly discovered that his trot is far bigger
than that of an endurance Arab (hence the achey hip flexors, as I was
rising in a completely different way) – but his canter – oh, wow! If
only horses could really canter that smoothly – you could almost be
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lulled to sleep by that gentle rolling motion, where your bum is never
in any danger of leaving the saddle!
Now I mentioned the respiration mask earlier. It wasn‟t too bad
wearing it as long as you took the time beforehand to make sure its
positioning was exactly right on your face. Once on board Hero, tubes
were then attached to the mask, reminding me somewhat of a plastic
elephant! Now, bearing in mind that directly in front of Hero is a huge
great wall mirror, the resulting image you can‟t avoid seeing isn‟t exactly very attractive – I did find that a lot of the time I was closing my
eyes and trying to pretend that I was on a real horse and visualising
some of the beautiful scenery that we are so fortunate to get to ride
through at endurance rides.
I was constantly monitored during the session, and was never left
alone at any time. The three researchers were all very friendly and
made me feel completely comfortable, yet at the same time were all
very professional in their attitudes.
When the two hours was up, I had a chance to ask a few brief questions before it was time for everyone to make their ways home. Bearing in mind that this was only first impressions gleaned from the readings taken from me on the day, and that the full analysis and research
still has to be completed, initial indications showed that my own
“perceived” tiredness levels were significantly lower than those of
other riders who had taken part in the research but were not endurance riders. Also, at a glance, the results
seemed to show that I was burning up
more fats at trot, yet more carbs/sugars at
canter. (I have subsequently had several
lady friends assure me that they will now be
doing far more work in trot!)
The team have promised me a copy of
their report, once this research project has
been completed, and I look forward to
reading it, although I do not as yet know
when this will be.
All in all, I‟m very glad I took part. It‟s all
for a good cause, it was something completely different, the discomfort was extremely minor, and it can only have helped
improve my own fitness levels too. A winwin situation for everyone involved!
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Learning to ride at a set pace
Mandy Yarnold
One of the ways of saving both your
energy and your horses is to ride at a
consistent speed throughout a ride.
The American Endurance Riding community have an
expression “learn to pace before you race”. We addressed this topic at the recent coaching camp and
now share the technique we used to establish each
horse‟s rhythm at rising trot.
We warmed the horses up with a
lesson on the school and once they
had settled down into a good rhythm we worked out
how many beats per minute (BPM) they were taking.
Using a metronome app on my smartphone, we
tapped every time the inside hind leg hit the ground
over 1 circuit of the school. We then practiced the
metronome at that pace watching when the rider was
rising to check we had got the correct BPM for the
horse, adjusting
it if necessary.
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Once the riders were dismounted and
with horse untacked and stabled we
adjourned to the house for a cup of tea and set about
finding a tune that fitted the BPM for each horse. You
need to pick a tune that you know well with a good
strong beat. My horse Marley‟s pace
is 75 BPM and I choose Adele‟s
“Skyfall”
You could also use this technique for
walk and canter too. Want to have a go yourself? We
used a free app called “Metronome Beats” on the android system. If you are using an iphone then you
need the app to have the facility to tap the tempo and
also a play facility. To select the tunes we used a
website called “Jog.fm” which lists music suitable for
running and you can filter it by BPM or use the search
facility to see if your favourite song/ artist is suitable.
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The 7 ‘P's of endurance
Planning your Endurance Ride
Becka Northover
In the army they have a great saying, Proper Planning
and Preparation Prevents Pi** Poor Performance.
I believe this saying is applicable to endurance at every
level. Not only in preparation of your horses fitness, but
also in your paperwork prep the week before a ride. It
can save much drama and stress on the day!
My routine :
The second the postman arrives I eagerly snatch the
brown envelope from his hands and rip it open, I
vaguely note my vet time and check I'm in the right
class and scan the other ride details, but what I'm really
interested in is the map! I love maps, I always have
done, they may be a flat bit of paper but they tell such
a story to those that know their secrets. (I love ride
organisers that send out ride info early!)
The first night I go to bed with my map instead of a
book and just get my head round it, which way are we
leaving the venue, what sort of shape does the ride
make, a left handed figure of 8 or a right handed
teardrop? If I'm doing multiple loops I try to come up
with a saying to remember in which order I ride them,
Blue Red Black = Be Right Back, or some such silly
theme!
Then the planning get serious the next evening! I have
a membership (under £20 per year) to the Ordnance
Survey (OS) online mapping service called 'Getamap™'
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it allows you to print OS maps of the whole country as
much as you like, draw routes which then tells you
distance and elevations etc, you can save them and this
can be seen in both scales of OS map plus an aerial
view and a road map view. So I spend the night plotting
the ride route onto the OS software which also helps my
learning process of 'left out of venue, follow byway,
across a ford, by the car park bear left' etc etc (see 3
weeks later I still remember the Tilford route!). Also you
can see what the track is you are going to be riding on
as often the official map lines obscure if you are on a
road, field margin or bridleway. I print a copy of this
map with no lines just the dots at changes of direction
and carry it as well as the official map. I decide
(depending on route terrain) on what I'd like my ideal
average speed to be for the ride (this could change with
weather on the day!) e.g. 12kph, then work out my
riding times to each checkpoint and crew point at my
ideal speed (12kph) and any minimum speed and either
max speed if applicable or a few km's faster than my
ideal, say 15kph, so that not only can I keep an eye on
my average ride speed as I hit each checkpoint but also
my crew knows when to expect me! On most ride maps
there is a spot I can put this info. And yes I do have a
GPS watch, but the battery can run out, technology can
fail, GPS signal is poor etc and sometimes the official
distance is different to what my watch captures so it's
better to have it written down to the official ride
distance!
I then spend time writing and printing a guide for my
crew, venue layout and turn by turn directions to each
crew spot and on this I write the ride distance, how long
I expect it to take me to get there from the start,
driving distance and expected driving time. Crewing can
be stressful, especially if you are on your own, so good
maps and directions and your riders ETA can really
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make their life easier! I also print a copy from
Getamap™ of my ride route overlaid on the road map
for them.
The last night before the ride I 'test' myself with my
map and make sure I really do know where I am going
so that by ride day I hardly need the markers or my
map, which is great in these days of marker vandals all
over the country! At Tilford there were issues with
missing markers and we didn't get lost, I did regularly
glance at my map to make sure we were on track but
only once did I need to look at the map to decide if we
were to take the left or right fork as the rest was stored
in my brain (despite my memory issues post head
injury!) and I knew where we were heading next.
I do this prep if I am riding a 16km PR or an 80km CER,
it's all the same as it can be blooming hard to try to
read an unfamiliar map when you are lost on a bouncing
17hh horse!
Becka‟s adapted map
from Tilford EGB ride
2015
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My First Graded Endurance Ride
Kym Cookesley
Last January 2014 I bought a horse because I liked his
picture on the advert so my Dad and I went to Blackpool and
viewed him. He wasn‟t particularly impressive and I couldn‟t
even get him to go on the track in the school and the owner
was hesitant for me to hack him as he hadn‟t been ridden in
months, but there was just something about him I had fallen
in love and so we purchased him.
The next week it was organised that he would make the 10
hour journey down south and as soon as he got into his new
home he settled in straight away. I planned to do dressage
with him and the odd endurance ride with Nicky Marshall and
Trilby Herriott (who are relatives of mine somehow!) So I
started with flatwork, having lessons and entered our first
walk and trot test in May. It went well we came 4th (although
the class was quite small) and a few weeks later we did
another one, where we actually came 1st. Then disaster struck
Denver came in from the field, lame. We took him to the vets
and he had fractured his nearside front splint bone. He had
an operation to remove the fractured part of the bone and
was then on box rest for the next two months before starting
rehabilitation. This meant that we missed the whole of
summer and he was left with an enormous lump. He came
back into work in time to do the Town Place pleasure ride in
September 2014 and both he and I loved it. So it was decided
that 2015 would be our „have a go at endurance year‟.
I entered Graffham as I was a bit scared about riding at
Tilford in case we met a Military Operation (Denver is terrified
of large vehicles), so instead I helped out at Tilford and I am
so glad I did. It gave me a good insight into the sport, what
you had to do as a competitor and how the day ran. Plus I
found out what a helpful and friendly bunch you all are. As
Graffham approached we stepped up our fitness regime and
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with a combination of lunging, flatwork in the school, hacking
and going on group rides with the Herriotts, we were ready.
Trilby had organised a chaperone to accompany us at
Graffham and we were all set. The night before Graffham I
could not sleep worrying that I would get vetted out before I
even started.
On the morning of Graffham we packed up the truck and
trailer and set off. I couldn‟t eat as I felt so sick and the
journey seemed very long but we arrived early which didn‟t
help my nerves but meant I had plenty of time to organise
myself. I got my bib and gave the secretary my paperwork. I
met up with the lovely Judi Vidler (who had kindly agreed to
chaperone me) and we went off to the vetting area. Whilst
waiting we decided we wanted to make it round at about 9kph
and Dad and I had sorted the ride times a couple of nights
before so I knew what time I needed to be at each checkpoint.
Denver got vetted, had a heart rate of 42 and we trotted up,
and then we had to trot up again but the vet was just
checking his splint as he hadn‟t seen a non-painful operated
lump that large before. We passed the vetting- RELIEF! But as
I turned to Judi, unfortunately her horse had hurt its back and
she had been vetted out. So my heart sank a bit as I didn‟t
have a ride partner. I was told to go and ask the secretary if
anyone else was in the same situation, but no one had said
that they were missing a partner. So we decided it was fine I
would go it alone.
Off we went down to the start and set off, all seemed fine,
lovely ride through woods Denver going beautifully, but after
20 mins I was wondering if we had got lost as I had expected
to see checkpoint 1 by now and it was nowhere in sight plus
more alarmingly I couldn‟t see hoof prints. A cyclist came by
and I asked him if he had seen horses coming this way and he
said yes so I carried on. But it just didn‟t feel right I hadn‟t
seen any arrows and the talkround didn‟t match what I was
seeing, so I turned around and went back and found the
turning I had missed. I felt so silly and had wasted about half
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hour, not to mention making Denver do probably another
5kms. I stressed a bit after that looking for arrows and was
going quite slow so that I didn‟t miss anything. I got caught up
by some faster riders, so we tagged onto the back of them
and they got us to the crew point where my Dad was waiting. I
felt terrible for Denver and was worried that I would get lost
again but Dad told me to get on with it and there were quite a
few horses at the checkpoint so I tagged onto them and set
off again. They were quite fast but Denver found a new gear
and kept up, then settled into his own rhythm and we let them
go on ahead and settled back to going on our own. By now I
had got used to the directions and using the talkround, so
that I really enjoyed the remainder of the section and when
we got to my Dad at checkpoint/ crew point 4 we had made
up time.
From here there were only 5kms left so I decided to take it
easy and just get to the finish, I knew by the times that we
were close to the 8kph minimum time so was happy to just
get to the end and hope for a completion. As we walked down
the hill into the venue and stopped at the finish to get our
Kym and Denver during the ride-Photo courtesy of LRG Photography
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finish time, I had a huge sense of pride, we had done it and
we had completed it mainly on our own. I was still annoyed at
myself for getting lost but there was nothing that I could do
about it now and Denver had done so well. I have never
ridden for 4 hours before and as I jumped off I realised my
legs didn‟t actually want to hold me up so I found a bucket to
sit on, whilst my brilliant Dad washed off just Denver‟s legs as
we thought it was quite cold and Denver didn‟t seem too hot. I
decided to take him straight to the Vet area as I was certain
we were only going to get a completion so his heart rate was
fine. The vet area was quite busy and there was a bit of a
wait. Our turn came and Denver‟s heart rate was checked it
was 40! Trotted up and all the other checks were completed
and we PASSED! I was so happy Denver had done really well
and I was very proud that we had completed our first event
with a pass. Went back to the trailer and Denver had a well
earnt feed whilst Dad and I started packing up. I went to the
Secretary to get our results and after a bit of waiting got my
rosette and card back. We got a Grade 4 and I was elated!
Thank you to all the riders who pointed me in the right
direction and those I tagged onto. Thank you to the Herriott
family for the training rides and encouragement, to all the
helpers and volunteers at the events and to my crew, my Dad,
who travels me about, makes sure we‟re alright and looks
after my son whilst I‟m riding.
I can safely say that I have the bug and I am looking forward
to every ride that we do this year. Hopefully I will have learnt
from my mistakes at Graffham and my map reading skills will
improve. I am very pleased to say that Judi‟s horse Bertie is
on the road to recovery and she‟s hoping to be able to get
riding him again in a couple of weeks – such a shame she
missed out on a lovely ride.
See you all throughout the year have fun.
Kym and Denver (M&S Apache Blue Eyed Boy)
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Hornshill Farm EGB Ride
Sunday 28th June 2015
Venue: Hornshill Farm, Rudgwick, West Sussex
Route over farmland and bridleways, over bridges and short
sections of quiet lanes (less than 10% tarmac).
Organiser: Rosemary Attfield, 01403 822567/07810580880
Email: [email protected]
Entries to: Rosemary Attfield,
Hornshill Farm, Guildford Road, Rudgwick, West Sussex RH12 3BH
Entries close Monday 15th June 2015
Classes:
1- 66km GER
3-40km Novice GER
5-33km Novice GER
7. 17km PR
2-40km GER
4-33km GER
6-24km PR
Facilities: Water, Camping(£5), Corralling(£5), Stabling(£15),
Refreshments.
NOTE: Entry to venue from A281. Restricted narrow entrance
through farm buildings-all drivers of vehicles over 7 tonnes MUST
have help entering venue. No entry after 8.30pm on Saturday.
No crewing in larger vehicles
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SOUTH EAST GROUP
NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIPTION 2015
£13 (4 issues)
Cheque payable to: ENDURANCE GB SE
Please send to:
Jane Cook, 29 Nye Road, Burgess Hill RH15 0JY
NAME:
_
ADDRESS:
_
POST CODE:
E MAIL:
EGB MEMBERSHIP NO:
62
_ TEL
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EDITORIAL
What a start to the season, 2 great rides (Tilford and
Graffham) plus a training weekend, all squeezed into March! I
hope everyone has managed to enjoy at least one of these
events, and get their horses out and about after a long winter.
It is lovely to see the sunshine again, and it won‟t be long
before it warms up and the countryside turns that lovely fresh
bright young green.
Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this edition of
the newsletter. If any of you are inspired by the articles and
think you can write something, let me know! I would love to
hear more about people‟s first endurance ride-can you
remember your first one? As a member, mine was Friston
Forest Pleasure Ride, and it has one of my favourite canter
stretches-across a rolling downland hill towards the sea. We
are very lucky in the South East to have the South Downs on
our doorstep-they offer the greatest landscape for
Endurance-challenging but rewarding and
exhilarating too!
Enjoy your riding!
The copy deadlines for the
Newsletters in 2015 are:
Spring: Sunday March 22nd
Summer: Sunday June 21st
Autumn: Sunday September 20th
Please think about what you could contribute and
contact Lindsay Sparrow:
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 07958 545473
63
VETERINARY CARE
THROUGHOUT
EAST AND MID SUSSEX
01323 815120
www.cliffeequine.co.uk
[email protected]
Cliffe Equine Clinic, Harbens Farm, Mill Lane,
Laughton, East Sussex, BN8 6AJ
Registered Office: - Cliffe Veterinary Group Ltd, 21 Cliffe High Street, Lewes, East Sussex BN7 2AH
Company registered in England& Wales Reg No: 7922529 VAT No: 130 5795 20
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