Category Archives: 1

The final race in the Corinthian Challenge series takes place in Leopardstown on Saturday 27th October. Marina is currently in pole position for winning the series title but regardless of how fast she is on the day (or how slow her gallant steed may be) it promises to be a most enjoyable day at what is one of the nicest racetracks in Ireland. Needless to say a club outing has been arranged to support our resident jockey and anyone planning on travelling will be up to date on accommodation arrangements. Even if you aren’t able to do the overnight trip it would be great if you could make it up on the day to cheer Marina on.

Remember there is a charity ride-out from Porthall this Saturday in aid of Marina’s fund raising. The weather forecast for Saturday is promising mild and overcast, but dry, so why not enjoy a sociable outing in a good cause?

Our annual North West Riding Clubs autumn league is officially launched. With just eleven days to fine tune your showjumping skills (or at the very least to dust off your memory of what showjumping is) I’m sure the excitement will be building. Details are available on the promotional poster below.

The day before the first leg of the league is the Donegal Harriers pre-season charity rideout at Herby Lusby’s lovely Porthall. Proceeds are in aid of the Irish Injured Jockeys fund, which Marina Hamilton has been working tirelessly for. In her own words, Marina says “I want to make a difference. I’m inspired by the work of the Irish Injured Jockeys and wanted to support them by raising money as part of my participation in The Corinthian Challenge”.

Adults €25. U18s €15.

Food will be served afterwards in “Maggies”. All jumps are optional and everyone is welcome to come along. Take part in a leisurely ride, meet a few of the hounds & help raise funds for a worthwhile cause. The rideout starts at 12.00 midday.

Many thanks to Liz et al for the top class score keeping over the past league. The final results are as follows

overall-xc-league

overall-dressage-league

Moving on into the autumn we have a few good events to look forward to. On the 20th of October the Donegal Harriers are running a ride out from Maggie’s Bar, Porthall/St. Johnston area, in aid of Marina’s Corinthian challenge. All proceeds from the race season go to the Irish Injured Jockeys Fund and, as a mother of two jockeys, I can assure you it is a very worthy cause. There will be optional jumps on the day and it should be very sociable.

Sunday 21st October sees the start of the North West Riding Clubs autumn showjumping league at Templemore Equestrian Centre. This league is our last chance to turn out in force and whip the other club’s asses so let’s see some concerted effort….which will be amply rewarded at the annual dinner dance at the Villa Rose hotel, Ballybofey, on Dec 1st.

This Sunday brings us to Liz and Ryan’s Gordons Bay for the final leg of the North West Riding Clubs 2-phase and dressage leagues. With hot weather and hard ground causing the postponement of the second leg from July (who would have ever thought I’d have to put that sentence in a website post!) we enjoyed a badly needed return to the competitive field at Lenamore on the 16th of September. Our own club ran the event in conjunction with Inishowen and I have to say that it seemed to run like clockwork. The weather played ball and, with Mona supplying sustenance in the form of some superb cake, riders enjoyed a great day. Our club had a fairly small mounted turnout on the day but those of us who were there certainly enjoyed ourselves. Results are below…

The fun kicks off at 11.00 this Sunday, with Bruce Vial taking to the dressage arena first. The cross country begins at 2.30 and promises to provide a fitting finale to this fun league. If you haven’t taken the plunge to compete do try to come for the social outing and to cheer everybody on.

Talking of taking the plunge…welcome to our most recent recruits who are returning to the fold. Lorna, Hilary and Kerrie are all past members who have taken the opportunity to rejoin in time for a winter of fun and games. Hopefully they’ll get as much fun from the club as everyone else who turns out to the many events organised.

At a very productive meeting of the North West riding clubs the dates and format of the Autumn league were nailed down, as well as the (almost certain) date for our annual awards night and dinner dance.

The autumn league will consist of just three legs, so no chance of it getting stale this year, with the points from all three legs counting in the final reckoning. The final will not have double points, meaning that anyone who can’t make the final for any reason is still in with the same chance as those who miss one of the first two legs. Obviously the aim of the game is not to miss a leg at all but life does have a tendency to get in the way at times. There will be rosettes presented for first to third at each leg, with the rosettes and prizes for the overall league placings being presented at our dinner dance. The first leg will be in Templemore on the 21st Oct, followed by the second leg in Twin Towns Equestrian Centre on the 11th Nov and returning to Templemore for the final leg on the 25th Nov.

Strip off your boots and get on your suits for the 1st Dec. Mona, ably assisted by Liz, Hazel and Louise, are undertaking to organise the event and details will follow shortly.

The next inter-club meeting for the north west riding clubs is on Monday 3rd September in the Glencar Inn, at 8pm. All club members are not only welcome but actively encouraged to attend the meeting and put forward suggestions for activities over the coming winter season. With the seasonal autumn league up  for discussion, as well as other sociable outings such as the annual dinner dance, it will be an entertaining gathering. If you cant make the meeting on Monday do try to get in touch with some of our club members who will be going and give them your input. All thoughts and opinions will be taken on board.

As you will have seen from Hazel’s texts we have the next leg of the 2-phase league to organise on the 16th September. With very few remaining opportunities for getting outdoor competition over the rest of the year I hope you’ll all support this event. As always we need asses in saddles as well as hands on deck!

If you haven’t enough in the club calender to keep you busy you might like to stretch your legs at some of the upcoming events at Eglinton…

We don’t get many chances to compete remotely locally in dressage so it’s great to see North Coast Riding Club running dressage competition in Eglinton. Get the contact information st this link

https://www.facebook.com/events/1131118370377522/?ti=cl