Hi everyone – apologies for the newsletter being a bit late this month! The Editor was on holiday J but we were also aware that the majority of this newsletter would be about the August show, so wanted to hold off till we had everything organised to let you guys know!
AUGUST SHOW!
Doesn’t time fly! It’s 20 years in October since ARC made the big move to Oldfold Farm, to become a stand alone club. We celebrated our 10 year anniversary by doing a show, and we’re doing the same with our 20 year anniversary! The pic above is Emily and Holly, taking part (very successfully) in the 10th Anniversary show – so they are both 10 years older now!
The show will be running on Saturday 19th August for riding school members and Sunday 20th August for livery members. The weekend is always great fun – loads to watch, lots of support and encouragement and a great chance to come and have fun at the stables all weekend.
We have also made the decision to “freeze” the entry costs to what they were in 2013 as a “thank you” to our members for supporting the club and to celebrate our 20 year anniversary.
RIDING SCHOOL SHOW
For the riding school show, riders book a horse or pony for exclusive use that day and then book whichever classes are suitable for them (there are limitations of ribbon colour on some classes). The show is suitable for both adult and junior members and the pricing is very simple as it’s per class – we don’t charge a hire fee for horses/ponies. For riding school classes, entries are £12 for Best Turned Out and Equitation and £14 for poles or 50cm jumping. So, you book your horse or pony on the day and confirm which classes you want to do, then pay for those classes to secure your booking. The reason we don’t share/allow multiple use of the ponies is that we don’t want the ponies working too hard and we also think its nicer that if you are using the pony, then you aren’t worrying about others waiting for the pony.
The only other additional charge is if you want your horse/pony to live in that night (to keep him/her clean) – you can book and pay for a stable for £15 and this includes our staff mucking out the horse/pony, all its bedding and the hay for the evening/next day – so you don’t need to do anything other than groom/plait e.t.c!
BOOKING DATE
Bookings for the show open at 10.am on Saturday 29th July. We are aware that the show is likely to be very popular, so we are going to take bookings in person first – so the queue of people in person will be served before phone lines are answered. The yard opens at 8a.m, so people who wish to can arrive from 8a.m to “queue” to book their ponies. Many of our longer term members will remember that in previous years, our members used to camp/queue overnight and make quite an event of it J Whilst this was great fun, sadly nowadays, it isn’t possible to have members onsite without staff present, so 8am is earliest you can queue! Bring your brekkie and a paper!
Ali will then be available in reception from 10a.m to take bookings per pony and there are entry forms for the show, which you can collect beforehand if you want to, so you understand rules/classes e.t.c.
We obviously only have a limited amount of horses and ponies, so once they are booked, there is no further availability for the show, but we’d still encourage everyone to come and watch – whether you’re taking part or not – it’s a great weekend!
WEEKEND LESSONS IN AUGUST
We won’t be running riding school lessons on 19th and 20th August (due to the show) and we are also going to be closed the following Friday, Saturday and Sunday (25th, 26th and 27th August) as it’s “Blair” weekend and historically the majority of our members are away, so we are using that weekend to power hose and spring clean the whole building. We are running normal group lessons Mon – Thurs both weeks though, so riders can book into another group instead of the weekend ones if they want a lesson.
SHOW SPONSORSHIP
As you can see from the pic of Emily and Holly, we provide great rosettes for each class and we also provide prizes for 1st – 3rd in each class. We are currently emailing out to local/linked companies to see if they want to sponsor a class or two – but if any of our members have or work for a company who would like to sponsor, then please get in touch with Ali!
Sponsorship for one class is £150 and for two classes is £250 and sponsorship includes:
- An exclusive post on our social media pages (10k organic followers) including pics/logo and detail of company.
- Several mentions of company name in related social media posts.
- A5 page in programme (handed out to every visitor on show weekend) with company logo and info about company.
- Company name printed on tails of rosettes for sponsored class.
- Sponsors can attend the show and give out their rosettes/prizes if they wish.
We are also happy to include any sponsorship from private families or individuals if anyone would like to sponsor a class and there is also the option to sponsor anonymously if you would like – do just get in touch with Ali with your requirements.
OVERVIEW OF CLASSES
We know competing is new to some of you, so here is a brief overview of the classes:
Best Turned Out – this class is compulsory and is first in the day. The judges decide who is the cleanest and best turned out horse and rider – so plaiting/hoof oil/washed tails e.t.c. One of the best parts of the show is riders getting time to get ready for it, so the yard is open from 4.00p.m – 7.30p.m on the Friday evening (with helpers present!) so that riding school members can come and prepare their horses.
Equitation – this is a flatwork class and is judged on who has the best position/effective riding and how the horse or pony goes. These classes are split into ribbon levels, so you enter the class that your ribbon level falls into. You will walk/trot as a group and then you will do a short individual “show” of whatever you are happy doing.
Poles on the ground – A course of poles on the ground that riders steer round and are judged on style and accuracy.
50cm jumps – A course of jumps which rider and horse complete, aiming for a clear round!
Dog jumping – often the funniest and most popular class of the day! This class can only be entered on the day. Each human takes a dog round the course of small jumps – either on a lead or off, with scores for style and leaving the jumps up! Please note that dogs who are entered must be reasonably well behaved and friendly with other dogs – the dog and handler have the arena to themselves for their round, but there will be other dogs outside the arena waiting their turn.
If you have any questions in the lead up to the show or bookings, please don’t hesitate to ask your coach or Ali in reception!
PARTY TIME! We will also be having a “party” on the Saturday evening (19th August) to celebrate the club’s anniversary and a chance for everyone to celebrate their day at the show. So, we will have a BBQ onsite and it’s a very simple affair – from 7p.m just come along and bring your own BBQ food and drinks – kids obviously welcome. The indoor arena will be empty for the younger kids to play in and (weather permitting) the outdoor arena is a nice quiet sanctuary for adults