Our Members
Riding Holidays in France – Progress by CHG member Gill Bullocke
Since writing about the final stages my training for my ATE (Accompagnateur de Tourisme Equestre) we have made considerable progress in establishing our Riding Holiday business.
As soon as I passed my second exam I started going through the necessary formalities to open as a Ferme Equestre and also to open the Chambre d'Hôtes. Oh the red tape it never ends, declaration to the Haras National, the mairie and so on. We had a few visitors in the summer of 2011, mainly walkers with donkeys who came via a colleague in the next village who does walking holidays with donkeys.
Our next big step was to set up our website, very exciting. We are very lucky to have my son to help us do the technical stuff and most importantly make sure that is was and is optimised so that people looking for riding holidays on Google will find us. Not an easy task.
Our first full season is now coming to a close and we have a bit of time (though not too much as we have to work on publicity for next year) to reflect on what we have achieved.
Starting a riding holiday business has been a huge learning curve, no more so then we actually started receiving our first riding guests this season.
We were very lucky to have wonderful weather for all our visitors, which made life a lot easier from the start. The very first ones arrived for a scorching hot week in May and so it went on. We even had reasonable weather at the end of September for our last guests.
Since launching the business we have re-orientated our target market and length of holidays to 4 day breaks for novice riders, most of whom ride in a riding school back in the UK. These people are a delight to take out as they are always keen to learn more and want to improve their riding. Interestingly too they almost all do not know how to tack up their horses as they are normally ready for them to get on, mostly I suspect for practical reasons such as the horse has already been used in a previous lesson. Anyway I have found most people are pleased that I have time spend showing them how to groom and tack up and they enjoy the extra contact with their horse. It also gives them a chance to get to know their horse more.
For me I have learned that it takes a very long time to get even 4 horses ready when each horse needs to be checked for correct grooming as well as that it is tacked up properly, an absolute essential before leaving for a ride of any length.
We also spend time making sure people have correctly fitting up to standard hats, as well as boots and chaps where possible.
On the first day I either take our guests to my colleague Nina, who has a riding school just up the road, for a proper riding lesson (I am not qualified to teach) or I take them in our grass school and assess them in walk, trot and possibly canter. The time we spend there depends on their level of confidence and skills. Riders must be able to stop and turn their horses in walk and trot with confidence before we go out on a ride. There is so much more to take into account when you are out of the school, loose dogs, huge tractors, fast cars, deer in the long grass etc etc to take into account. As experienced riders we take these things largely in our stride so it is very important to remember that novice riders also need to be able to handle these situations.
If everything is going well and it is safe to go out we will go for a short ride after the session in the school. I will then build up the length and difficulty of the ride each day to include things like cantering, crossing a ford, going up and down steeper hills etc. I continue to give advice to riders during each ride on how to control their horse and on their riding. However I find that the amount of extra advice people are looking for varies, some just want to enjoy the countryside and be safe, while others are very keen to know more and to improve things like their position or their understanding of how to control their horse. Occasionally they are looking for more excitement which can be tricky if they are not quite ready or the horses are a bit frisky!! However this formula seems to work well with guests going home feeling they have achieved a lot at the end of their stay. For me it is deeply satisfying to take someone who was quite nervous at the beginning and to get them to cross a deep ford and have a good canter by the end of their stay.
Even more satisfying is that everyone has gone home happy and most say they will come back again. In fact I already have a provisional enquiry from our very first guests for next year.
We are also happy to take people for day rides or morning rides. We have many varying routes, frequently going out by the magnificent bison which are a big attraction in the village. In addition we are doing a Special Offer of New Year's Eve Dinner, a night in our chambre d'hotes and a half day ride the following day to blow away the cobwebs. If you are interested please have a look at our website www.ridingholidaysinfrance.com or ring me for more information on 05 53 62 58 11.
Read Gill's articles about training for and obtaining the ATE qualification below...
Since writing about the final stages my training for my ATE (Accompagnateur de Tourisme Equestre) we have made considerable progress in establishing our Riding Holiday business.
As soon as I passed my second exam I started going through the necessary formalities to open as a Ferme Equestre and also to open the Chambre d'Hôtes. Oh the red tape it never ends, declaration to the Haras National, the mairie and so on. We had a few visitors in the summer of 2011, mainly walkers with donkeys who came via a colleague in the next village who does walking holidays with donkeys.
Our next big step was to set up our website, very exciting. We are very lucky to have my son to help us do the technical stuff and most importantly make sure that is was and is optimised so that people looking for riding holidays on Google will find us. Not an easy task.
Our first full season is now coming to a close and we have a bit of time (though not too much as we have to work on publicity for next year) to reflect on what we have achieved.
Starting a riding holiday business has been a huge learning curve, no more so then we actually started receiving our first riding guests this season.
We were very lucky to have wonderful weather for all our visitors, which made life a lot easier from the start. The very first ones arrived for a scorching hot week in May and so it went on. We even had reasonable weather at the end of September for our last guests.
Since launching the business we have re-orientated our target market and length of holidays to 4 day breaks for novice riders, most of whom ride in a riding school back in the UK. These people are a delight to take out as they are always keen to learn more and want to improve their riding. Interestingly too they almost all do not know how to tack up their horses as they are normally ready for them to get on, mostly I suspect for practical reasons such as the horse has already been used in a previous lesson. Anyway I have found most people are pleased that I have time spend showing them how to groom and tack up and they enjoy the extra contact with their horse. It also gives them a chance to get to know their horse more.
For me I have learned that it takes a very long time to get even 4 horses ready when each horse needs to be checked for correct grooming as well as that it is tacked up properly, an absolute essential before leaving for a ride of any length.
We also spend time making sure people have correctly fitting up to standard hats, as well as boots and chaps where possible.
On the first day I either take our guests to my colleague Nina, who has a riding school just up the road, for a proper riding lesson (I am not qualified to teach) or I take them in our grass school and assess them in walk, trot and possibly canter. The time we spend there depends on their level of confidence and skills. Riders must be able to stop and turn their horses in walk and trot with confidence before we go out on a ride. There is so much more to take into account when you are out of the school, loose dogs, huge tractors, fast cars, deer in the long grass etc etc to take into account. As experienced riders we take these things largely in our stride so it is very important to remember that novice riders also need to be able to handle these situations.
If everything is going well and it is safe to go out we will go for a short ride after the session in the school. I will then build up the length and difficulty of the ride each day to include things like cantering, crossing a ford, going up and down steeper hills etc. I continue to give advice to riders during each ride on how to control their horse and on their riding. However I find that the amount of extra advice people are looking for varies, some just want to enjoy the countryside and be safe, while others are very keen to know more and to improve things like their position or their understanding of how to control their horse. Occasionally they are looking for more excitement which can be tricky if they are not quite ready or the horses are a bit frisky!! However this formula seems to work well with guests going home feeling they have achieved a lot at the end of their stay. For me it is deeply satisfying to take someone who was quite nervous at the beginning and to get them to cross a deep ford and have a good canter by the end of their stay.
Even more satisfying is that everyone has gone home happy and most say they will come back again. In fact I already have a provisional enquiry from our very first guests for next year.
We are also happy to take people for day rides or morning rides. We have many varying routes, frequently going out by the magnificent bison which are a big attraction in the village. In addition we are doing a Special Offer of New Year's Eve Dinner, a night in our chambre d'hotes and a half day ride the following day to blow away the cobwebs. If you are interested please have a look at our website www.ridingholidaysinfrance.com or ring me for more information on 05 53 62 58 11.
Read Gill's articles about training for and obtaining the ATE qualification below...
Obtaining the ATE Qualification – by CHG member Gill Bullocke
The FFE reinstated the ATE (Accompagnateur de Tourisme Equestre) at the beginning of the year. I need this qualification to run our riding holiday business for legal and insurance purposes. I only found out about it by chance in the middle of August when buying a trailer from a centre equestre in the south of the Charente. Initially I looked into validating my previous experience, however as with BPJEPS I needed to be able to prove that I had 2400 hours of teaching which is very difficult given most was either for cash or for nothing as I helped a lot in the pony club. Having given up on that option I then made enquiries about local training (at the Centre Cheval Poney near Perigueux) and found out
that I could train there but I had to an entry test first which was to take place in 10 days time. This did not leave me much time to prepare given that I had to get my Galop 6 and a first aid qualification. You
also need to have a minimum of 7 days of randonnees including 4 consecutive nights away from the point of departure. Last but not least to take the entry test you need to be a member of the FFE.
I got all the necessary qualifications and the paperwork to support them to the Comite de Tourisme Equestre in the Dordogne (it is not always managed by the CTE but sometimes by the CRE) just in time and received a letter confirming that I had been accepted the day before the test.
The test itself took place at the Centre Cheval Poney which is an excellent establishment and very well equiped with horses and buildings and in an superb location for riding out. More..
The FFE reinstated the ATE (Accompagnateur de Tourisme Equestre) at the beginning of the year. I need this qualification to run our riding holiday business for legal and insurance purposes. I only found out about it by chance in the middle of August when buying a trailer from a centre equestre in the south of the Charente. Initially I looked into validating my previous experience, however as with BPJEPS I needed to be able to prove that I had 2400 hours of teaching which is very difficult given most was either for cash or for nothing as I helped a lot in the pony club. Having given up on that option I then made enquiries about local training (at the Centre Cheval Poney near Perigueux) and found out
that I could train there but I had to an entry test first which was to take place in 10 days time. This did not leave me much time to prepare given that I had to get my Galop 6 and a first aid qualification. You
also need to have a minimum of 7 days of randonnees including 4 consecutive nights away from the point of departure. Last but not least to take the entry test you need to be a member of the FFE.
I got all the necessary qualifications and the paperwork to support them to the Comite de Tourisme Equestre in the Dordogne (it is not always managed by the CTE but sometimes by the CRE) just in time and received a letter confirming that I had been accepted the day before the test.
The test itself took place at the Centre Cheval Poney which is an excellent establishment and very well equiped with horses and buildings and in an superb location for riding out. More..
Joanne and Socianda
"As some of you may know, this young mare wears many hats! This hat being an Endurance one!I am no serious competitor at this discipline, but each February, being the time when my Club hold their annual competition, I just feel the need to give it a go. This picture was taken after 5 kms, as a six year old she was feeling as strong as I have known her, hence the look on my face!
She achieved her best speed and result so far.
Her breeding is Selle francais, a coloured jumping stallion and a lovely Spanish mare, which gives Socianda, I feel, an air of chic. She was named by her owners, after a bottle of red wine from the Medoc region." Joanne
She achieved her best speed and result so far.
Her breeding is Selle francais, a coloured jumping stallion and a lovely Spanish mare, which gives Socianda, I feel, an air of chic. She was named by her owners, after a bottle of red wine from the Medoc region." Joanne
Joanne Campbell - a day at the CREA (Comite Regional Equitation Aquitaine) 7 Feb 2012
"Hello everyone and I would like to tell you about an interesting day at the CREA (Comite Regional Equitation Aquitaine ) meeting and training day for Judges in various disciplines in Bordeaux recently.
I was happy to meet fellow CHG member Gill B , we attended the same formation during the afternoon session about Trec judging.
CREA had arranged its meeting at the Palais de Congress at Bordeaux Lac, a grand building squeezed in between Ikea and the venue for the Bordeaux Horse show!
The morning session was taken by Frederic Morand, the President, He gave a presentation about present trends, achievement's and aims for the future, with many other interesting stats.
After a convivial lunch, all the delegates set off for their afternoon session, depending on what preference you had, there was Judge training for various disciplines and Rules updates .
Our session was about to how to Judge Trec difficulties,both for ridden and attelage, how to interpret the marking system, the documentation , dates for Aquitaine for 2012, and a question and answer session. Our Group Leader was the charming M Patrick Ollivier.
A full and enjoyable day ended at 5 pm .We were given a Certificate to say we have done the training and which will entitle us to start doing some judging as a trainee, and a shirt to wear when we are so doing.
The whole experience was enjoyable, I met some old friends from different disciplines,and have a lot to think about!
I look forward to meeting some more of you in 2012."
"Hello everyone and I would like to tell you about an interesting day at the CREA (Comite Regional Equitation Aquitaine ) meeting and training day for Judges in various disciplines in Bordeaux recently.
I was happy to meet fellow CHG member Gill B , we attended the same formation during the afternoon session about Trec judging.
CREA had arranged its meeting at the Palais de Congress at Bordeaux Lac, a grand building squeezed in between Ikea and the venue for the Bordeaux Horse show!
The morning session was taken by Frederic Morand, the President, He gave a presentation about present trends, achievement's and aims for the future, with many other interesting stats.
After a convivial lunch, all the delegates set off for their afternoon session, depending on what preference you had, there was Judge training for various disciplines and Rules updates .
Our session was about to how to Judge Trec difficulties,both for ridden and attelage, how to interpret the marking system, the documentation , dates for Aquitaine for 2012, and a question and answer session. Our Group Leader was the charming M Patrick Ollivier.
A full and enjoyable day ended at 5 pm .We were given a Certificate to say we have done the training and which will entitle us to start doing some judging as a trainee, and a shirt to wear when we are so doing.
The whole experience was enjoyable, I met some old friends from different disciplines,and have a lot to think about!
I look forward to meeting some more of you in 2012."
Andrea, Dan and Chantelle have a TTouch session;
Today was Dan's second session with Danielle. I'd heard of TTouch (or TTeam) in the UK, bought Sarah Fisher's book and was impressed with the case studies illustrated, but didn't know of anyone nearby who practised it. Then Danielle's parents came to Kerry's pilates session and told me that Danielle was training to practise TTouch, and Gail put me in touch with Danielle when I talked to her recently about Dan's jaw/muscular problems.
On Danielle's first visit she spent a lot of time assessing Dan, feeling him for hot/cold areas, muscle knots, imbalances and watching him, how he moved, stood, his facial expressions, and asking questions about what he does/how he is. She did some "touches" on his tight areas, stroking and wobbling, and some gentle tail circles - I could see the reaction from that all down his back. We walked S shapes, slowed the walk, halted, reined back, to get him to take his weight back and become more aware of moving his feet, and Danielle suggested that I walk him over scattered poles, and I've been doing this will all 3 horses. ......read more and pics
Today was Dan's second session with Danielle. I'd heard of TTouch (or TTeam) in the UK, bought Sarah Fisher's book and was impressed with the case studies illustrated, but didn't know of anyone nearby who practised it. Then Danielle's parents came to Kerry's pilates session and told me that Danielle was training to practise TTouch, and Gail put me in touch with Danielle when I talked to her recently about Dan's jaw/muscular problems.
On Danielle's first visit she spent a lot of time assessing Dan, feeling him for hot/cold areas, muscle knots, imbalances and watching him, how he moved, stood, his facial expressions, and asking questions about what he does/how he is. She did some "touches" on his tight areas, stroking and wobbling, and some gentle tail circles - I could see the reaction from that all down his back. We walked S shapes, slowed the walk, halted, reined back, to get him to take his weight back and become more aware of moving his feet, and Danielle suggested that I walk him over scattered poles, and I've been doing this will all 3 horses. ......read more and pics
A letter received from one of our new members:
"Thank you CHG!
After riding (well, trying to) a friends horse a couple of years ago, it started me thinking about having my own horse one day.
During the spring and early summer of 2010 I went to a French riding school and booked myself in for some lessons, I had a great time, really looking forward to my lesson each week. For that hour each week I had a permanent smile on my face, no matter how well or how badly I had done. I’d really been bitten by the bug, so half way through the year I’d made up my mind, I was going to get a horse for myself… then the problems started.
I have a good fiend who is a very good dressage rider, she usually came with me to look at the horses I’d found advertised but nothing was really suitable. Then one day I found Jonny advertised, so I made an appointment to go and see him, unfortunately, my friend couldn’t make it as she had to pick up family from the airport. Unperturbed, I set off by myself to see him, what a beautiful horse he was, not putting a foot wrong in the ménage or out on the road when his previous owner was riding him, saying that, he didn’t put a foot wrong when I tried him in the ménage either. I was 95% sure he was the horse for me but I could have done with an expert eye to reassure me. While things were turning over in my mind, the owner put his two year old daughter up on Jonny’s back and we made our way from the ménage back to the stables, they didn’t even glance back, Jonny just followed on behind. Well, this made up my mind, if they trusted him with their daughter, he must be OK for me, so after some haggling he was mine.
Jonny arrived three weeks later in quite poor condition and with problems I didn’t know a thing about. We made friends really quickly and I seemed to have gained his trust, he would stand with his head on my shoulder and loved being made a fuss of. A couple of weeks later my friend came down, we tacked him up and made our way down to the arena I’d taped off, this was going to be the first time I’d ridden him since he’d been home. I mounted the block, put one foot in the stirrup and then…as he felt my full weight he was gone, bucking and kicking leaving me on the ground. I walked over to him, reassured him and he walked back with me like nothing had happened.
It was at this point I met a member of the CHG and she told me of the group and said why not join. I gave it a lot of thought, being a country man did I want to join the ‘horsey set’ with their 4*4’s and posh accents? Well I did, and I must say it was the best decision I could have made, everybody was so welcoming and helpful, not the ‘horsey set’ that I’d been thinking of, just very nice people.
I’ve been introduced to some wonderful people, not wishing to embarrass anyone by name, a new tutor who taught me more in ten minutes that I’d learned in having ten lessons, a wonderful farrier, a thoughtful and gentle equine dentist, a lady who’s always on the end of a phone or email for me and the list goes on, you all know who you are. With the demonstrations and meetings that are held regularly I feel I’m really making progress with my understanding of everything equine. All I can say is a big THANK YOU and I look forward to the day when I can reciprocate!
I now look forward to learning how to ride properly on my second horse and under supervision, training Jonny, now that his problems have been pointed out to me. I don’t really know how I would have managed if it hadn’t been for the members of the CHG, once again, a big thank you to everyone."
"Thank you CHG!
After riding (well, trying to) a friends horse a couple of years ago, it started me thinking about having my own horse one day.
During the spring and early summer of 2010 I went to a French riding school and booked myself in for some lessons, I had a great time, really looking forward to my lesson each week. For that hour each week I had a permanent smile on my face, no matter how well or how badly I had done. I’d really been bitten by the bug, so half way through the year I’d made up my mind, I was going to get a horse for myself… then the problems started.
I have a good fiend who is a very good dressage rider, she usually came with me to look at the horses I’d found advertised but nothing was really suitable. Then one day I found Jonny advertised, so I made an appointment to go and see him, unfortunately, my friend couldn’t make it as she had to pick up family from the airport. Unperturbed, I set off by myself to see him, what a beautiful horse he was, not putting a foot wrong in the ménage or out on the road when his previous owner was riding him, saying that, he didn’t put a foot wrong when I tried him in the ménage either. I was 95% sure he was the horse for me but I could have done with an expert eye to reassure me. While things were turning over in my mind, the owner put his two year old daughter up on Jonny’s back and we made our way from the ménage back to the stables, they didn’t even glance back, Jonny just followed on behind. Well, this made up my mind, if they trusted him with their daughter, he must be OK for me, so after some haggling he was mine.
Jonny arrived three weeks later in quite poor condition and with problems I didn’t know a thing about. We made friends really quickly and I seemed to have gained his trust, he would stand with his head on my shoulder and loved being made a fuss of. A couple of weeks later my friend came down, we tacked him up and made our way down to the arena I’d taped off, this was going to be the first time I’d ridden him since he’d been home. I mounted the block, put one foot in the stirrup and then…as he felt my full weight he was gone, bucking and kicking leaving me on the ground. I walked over to him, reassured him and he walked back with me like nothing had happened.
It was at this point I met a member of the CHG and she told me of the group and said why not join. I gave it a lot of thought, being a country man did I want to join the ‘horsey set’ with their 4*4’s and posh accents? Well I did, and I must say it was the best decision I could have made, everybody was so welcoming and helpful, not the ‘horsey set’ that I’d been thinking of, just very nice people.
I’ve been introduced to some wonderful people, not wishing to embarrass anyone by name, a new tutor who taught me more in ten minutes that I’d learned in having ten lessons, a wonderful farrier, a thoughtful and gentle equine dentist, a lady who’s always on the end of a phone or email for me and the list goes on, you all know who you are. With the demonstrations and meetings that are held regularly I feel I’m really making progress with my understanding of everything equine. All I can say is a big THANK YOU and I look forward to the day when I can reciprocate!
I now look forward to learning how to ride properly on my second horse and under supervision, training Jonny, now that his problems have been pointed out to me. I don’t really know how I would have managed if it hadn’t been for the members of the CHG, once again, a big thank you to everyone."
Action pics from CHG member Paula and her team at a recent Driving Competition
PTV Practice - Amicale de Cheval de Bandiat Tardoire - CHG member Sheila
PTV practise held by Amicale de Cheval de Bandiat Tardoire on 09 October at Oradour sur Vayres
We had over two dozen entrants from children through to moniteurs trying out new horses and on to retirees! Everybody was complimentary about our efforts and lots said they would come again - so watch this space, we will hold more of these informal events in the future. Next time maybe with a POR (orienteering) section as well. Main problem is lack of volunteers as it takes a huge amount of people to judge, time-keep, score, control etc. As you can imagine. So the trec'easy was without time limit, and we grouped difficulties together so that they were more easily manageable by fewer people. The site at Les Chapelles, Oradour sur Vayres, is ideal, with a wood with paths through it, some natural ditches, natural banks and plenty of flat grass as well. I think it was good value at 5€ per entrant, which gave them the right to have another go after everybody had been if they wanted. Everybody received a rosette and small prize as well - nice for the younger riders.
PTV practise held by Amicale de Cheval de Bandiat Tardoire on 09 October at Oradour sur Vayres
We had over two dozen entrants from children through to moniteurs trying out new horses and on to retirees! Everybody was complimentary about our efforts and lots said they would come again - so watch this space, we will hold more of these informal events in the future. Next time maybe with a POR (orienteering) section as well. Main problem is lack of volunteers as it takes a huge amount of people to judge, time-keep, score, control etc. As you can imagine. So the trec'easy was without time limit, and we grouped difficulties together so that they were more easily manageable by fewer people. The site at Les Chapelles, Oradour sur Vayres, is ideal, with a wood with paths through it, some natural ditches, natural banks and plenty of flat grass as well. I think it was good value at 5€ per entrant, which gave them the right to have another go after everybody had been if they wanted. Everybody received a rosette and small prize as well - nice for the younger riders.
This is a report from CHG member Joanne Southall at a recent Dressage and Team Trec event
'During the month of June,the opportunity arose for the young mare to compete in her first dressage competition, In our area, we have mostly Endurance and Jumping, so I thought we would give dressage a go.Well actually, I admit I called a friend and her daughter rode, she is a very good young rider, and has done dressage before. The thing that was freaking me out was learning a test, by heart
I shouldn't have worried, as a Reader was apparently allowed, but I was still happy to be the owner/ groom and not the rider for the day!
The class was called Club 3 Grand Prix, and comprised of 19 movements,
Another surprise to me was that there were 2 judges in their cars doing the marking,and that we got a computer printout to bring home with us.
The little mare gained some pleasing marks, her rider had sat on her for half an hour the previous day, and competitions so far have consisted mostly of Endurance and Trec.
For the record, the pair came a very pleasing 5th out of 12, must find some more dressage.
Then came a Team Trec, with regular jockey back on board.
Friends and I made up a Team and used the day as a learning curve,pleasing to have a results sheet to bring away and have a good look at .The morning was given over to the obstacles, and the Paces section. All of us got similar marks in the obstacles, the Paces remain a mystery to us, despite our best efforts! After a civilised lunch, it was into the Inspection of horse and kit, many more revelations here from the Judge!, and then into the Map room, not my aptitude at all!
We set off and had a couple of changes of direction, but made the checkpoints and the stamp things to mark your card ,hanging from various branches along the route.
We disturbed a camping car couple who cleverly thought they had parked at the back of a quiet Mairie, only to be surrounded by 4 riders on greys, looking for another card stamper !
We made it to the final check point, and then to our delight and disbelief, we were announced as first team, albeit only out of 2, but hey ho, a win is a win and we can't wait to do it all again.
Next time, I might even remember to take my glasses to trace the map!
'During the month of June,the opportunity arose for the young mare to compete in her first dressage competition, In our area, we have mostly Endurance and Jumping, so I thought we would give dressage a go.Well actually, I admit I called a friend and her daughter rode, she is a very good young rider, and has done dressage before. The thing that was freaking me out was learning a test, by heart
I shouldn't have worried, as a Reader was apparently allowed, but I was still happy to be the owner/ groom and not the rider for the day!
The class was called Club 3 Grand Prix, and comprised of 19 movements,
Another surprise to me was that there were 2 judges in their cars doing the marking,and that we got a computer printout to bring home with us.
The little mare gained some pleasing marks, her rider had sat on her for half an hour the previous day, and competitions so far have consisted mostly of Endurance and Trec.
For the record, the pair came a very pleasing 5th out of 12, must find some more dressage.
Then came a Team Trec, with regular jockey back on board.
Friends and I made up a Team and used the day as a learning curve,pleasing to have a results sheet to bring away and have a good look at .The morning was given over to the obstacles, and the Paces section. All of us got similar marks in the obstacles, the Paces remain a mystery to us, despite our best efforts! After a civilised lunch, it was into the Inspection of horse and kit, many more revelations here from the Judge!, and then into the Map room, not my aptitude at all!
We set off and had a couple of changes of direction, but made the checkpoints and the stamp things to mark your card ,hanging from various branches along the route.
We disturbed a camping car couple who cleverly thought they had parked at the back of a quiet Mairie, only to be surrounded by 4 riders on greys, looking for another card stamper !
We made it to the final check point, and then to our delight and disbelief, we were announced as first team, albeit only out of 2, but hey ho, a win is a win and we can't wait to do it all again.
Next time, I might even remember to take my glasses to trace the map!
And finally a bit of summer madness.
The above Trec event held a training session for judges and stewards, over an Amateur Elite PTV course.
There were 2 huge tree trunks that were drawing me in to jump over them, young horse might have been too inexperienced, so semi retired horsey got the call!
Trec is something she has never done, here even at the age of 24, she was running away with me!
Apparently she achieved 14 perfect scores out of 16, and here is the aforementioned log....
The above Trec event held a training session for judges and stewards, over an Amateur Elite PTV course.
There were 2 huge tree trunks that were drawing me in to jump over them, young horse might have been too inexperienced, so semi retired horsey got the call!
Trec is something she has never done, here even at the age of 24, she was running away with me!
Apparently she achieved 14 perfect scores out of 16, and here is the aforementioned log....
Enough fun, no more competitions for a while, next month will probably have some Ralleys to report from.'
We've been quite busy over the last few months with several demos on training the young horse, long-reining and lungeing both horse and rider.
Our member, photographer Fleur Hallam has kindly taken some great pics for us.
Our member, photographer Fleur Hallam has kindly taken some great pics for us.
CHG member Sheila Tragett at a Trec Training Day 13th Feb at Le Chambon (near Montbron), Charente
Shirley and I arrived just before 9 a.m. and were shortly joined by a further dozen or so riders and half a dozen driving teams. There were also about a dozen people without horses. The venue was wonderful - le Chambon is an outdoor activity and group holiday centre owned and run by the Conseil General of the Charente, set within a gorge of the River Tardoire. The Centre is housed in a beautiful maison maitre and its outbuildings, all converted to a high standard, with facilities for water sports, climbing, orienteering, and riding, amongst other things.
Shirley and I arrived just before 9 a.m. and were shortly joined by a further dozen or so riders and half a dozen driving teams. There were also about a dozen people without horses. The venue was wonderful - le Chambon is an outdoor activity and group holiday centre owned and run by the Conseil General of the Charente, set within a gorge of the River Tardoire. The Centre is housed in a beautiful maison maitre and its outbuildings, all converted to a high standard, with facilities for water sports, climbing, orienteering, and riding, amongst other things.
Those without horses spent the morning in the salle de carte, practising various methods of mapreading, and in the afternoon did a short orienteering excercise on foot.
Those of us with horses traced a fairly simple route (about the standard one would normally encounter on a Club Elite competition) but a bit shorter, and then set out to follow it. The main purpose of the excercise yesterday was to be able to regulate our speed, rather than do any really complicated mapreading, (as we had done a few weeks ago at Les Cellettes). We set off with a designated speed of 8 kph, so having marked our route at 1/4 km intervals on the map, we knew that we should cover each km in 7 and a half minutes. This meant trotting where the going was good, but keeping an eye on the time lest we went too fast. No problems for the first few km, and we reached the first poincon (clipper?) point off the main track in a wood, and the second in a small hamlet, with no hitches. Unfortunately, the organizers had themselves made a mistake, and placed the first control point, where we should have been given a new speed, and had our time of arrival marked on our "carnet de route", in the wrong place and so everyone missed it, and therefore continued at the same speed. At this point Shirley and I also made a mistake, and took a wrong path, so wasting time as we had to retrace our steps once we realized our error. Had we checked our compass direction, we would have been ok. We then did some cantering where possible to make up time, but still arrived at the next control some 9 minutes behind time. However, most people had gone too fast, which incurs the same penalty, one penalty point per minute. Then we had to pass through 4 points marked on our maps, taking any route we wanted, in an ideal time of 20 minutes. This we managed to the second!
Those of us with horses traced a fairly simple route (about the standard one would normally encounter on a Club Elite competition) but a bit shorter, and then set out to follow it. The main purpose of the excercise yesterday was to be able to regulate our speed, rather than do any really complicated mapreading, (as we had done a few weeks ago at Les Cellettes). We set off with a designated speed of 8 kph, so having marked our route at 1/4 km intervals on the map, we knew that we should cover each km in 7 and a half minutes. This meant trotting where the going was good, but keeping an eye on the time lest we went too fast. No problems for the first few km, and we reached the first poincon (clipper?) point off the main track in a wood, and the second in a small hamlet, with no hitches. Unfortunately, the organizers had themselves made a mistake, and placed the first control point, where we should have been given a new speed, and had our time of arrival marked on our "carnet de route", in the wrong place and so everyone missed it, and therefore continued at the same speed. At this point Shirley and I also made a mistake, and took a wrong path, so wasting time as we had to retrace our steps once we realized our error. Had we checked our compass direction, we would have been ok. We then did some cantering where possible to make up time, but still arrived at the next control some 9 minutes behind time. However, most people had gone too fast, which incurs the same penalty, one penalty point per minute. Then we had to pass through 4 points marked on our maps, taking any route we wanted, in an ideal time of 20 minutes. This we managed to the second!