Tuition and competition on an active April weekend

The  North West League may be over but there’s no shortage of activity for members who want to get out with their horses for club activities. Friday evening saw the first of three flatwork lessons with Patricia Warren at Cyril’s arena in Milford. It was good to have John Kelly back in the saddle after a hectic period spent keeping one eye on the Six Nations and the other on daughter Phillippa. He thoroughly enjoyed the lesson.

Sunday, the traditional competition day for riding clubs, saw the usual huge entries at Benbulben Riding Club’s spring league show in Tubberbride. Laura McGowan was delighted with her double clear in the Advanced Primary class and, although she didn’t place on the day, it won’t be long until she’s driving home with rosettes on her dashboard.

At Intermediate level Anne Chambers rode a lovely dressage test on (Kiltown Miss) Molly to finish a highly creditable 6th in a large class. She then went on to deliver a clear round in the show jumping arena to make it to her first ever jump off. Richard Kerins built one of his characteristically flowing courses with eleven jumps, two of which were doubles. There was no shortage of water trays, vibrant planks, lighthouses and the like, making it an ideal away test for horses and riders thinking of their place for the team show jumping qualifier. The results were encouraging with both Libby on Mai (Somhairle Red Tiger) and Francis on Zak (In A Hurry) going clear to join Anne in the jump off.

Francis was the one to produce a truly impressive round to take the lead for a short while and eventually claim fourth place in a huge class. Ruth McCrossan just pipped him to take third spot with the ever-reliable Finola Murphy finishing in second. But on Mothers’ Day, it was an evergreen grandmother who enjoyed a memorable victory. Kelda Morgan’s mother, Glynis Morgan, jumped a beautiful round on her cracking grey to conquer the field.

Pictured below: Francis and Zak in familiar company for the prize-giving at Benbulben Riding Club’s Spring League Show.

Coillte invites input on its Draft Strategic Management Plan

How many of you would like legal access to a nearby area of forestry? Now is your chance to let Coillte know that it would be beneficial to permit equestrian activity on their property.

Coillte invites comments and input on its draft strategic management plan which you can access on line through the Coillte website. The plan will be locked down on Monday 4 April so time is of the essence.

Some key dates nailed at lively club meeting

Last night’s excellently attended meeting at Tir na nOg was a lively affair and plenty of decisions were made. The calendar was mapped out up to the end of September and will be published shortly. In the meantime, here are some highlights for your diaries:

17 April Flowerhill, the AIRC National Hunter Trial Championship
1 May Team Show Jumping Qualifier, Claremorris
15 May Letterkenny RC Spring League Show at Eglinton
21 & 22 May Camping at Carrickfinn
5 June Donegal Gaeltacht Beach Show, Falcarragh
10/17/24 June Cross country Fridays at Mick & Suzanne’s
10 July Letterkenny RC Derby Show at Hillsborough Farm, Ramelton
12 August Formation Riding Challenge
19 August Treasure Hunt, Rathmullan
4 September Letterkenny RC Hunter Trial at Lenamore
10 & 11 September Millers Hill Weekend Away

There was plenty of other business covered at the meeting and everything will be reported in due course.

Another new member for our thriving club

Mary Finneran, one of the founders of the club, has developed yet another new member for us. Christopher Pyper, whom many of you will have met at last night’s meeting, is our newest recruit. From Moorefield, Ramelton, Christopher took up riding just a year or so ago at Glenleary Stables and puts in as much time in the saddle as he can manage. He’ll ride at primary level and hopefully we’ll see lots of him over the year.

Flatwork Lessons with Patricia Warren

This Friday evening sees the beginning of a series of flatwork lessons at Cyril’s with Patricia Warren. Patricia’s jumping lessons last autumn proved immensely popular and her flatwork sessions are bound to attract plenty of participants.

To book, contact Liz on 086 831 3799 by the end of Wednesday and let her know approximately what time suits you best to ride. She’ll try to arrange the groups accordingly

Happy birthday website

Today is the first anniversary of our website’s launch and it’s fairly safe to say that it has gone from strength to strength since beginning life with a short report on last year’s North West League Final.

It’s been a great year and the website has generated a lot of interest, both as a means of disseminating club information and as a source of news and knowledge on a variety of fronts. It has also become a model for many other websites, with the Errigal Polocrosse Club, Donegal Gaeltacht Riding Club, and East Donegal Pony Club all using our experience as a spring board for setting up their own WordPress sites. And the more good websites there are, the better fun it is for everybody.

Keep the news, information and photos coming in. You don’t have to write anything if you don’t feel that way inclined — just send a text or an email to Libby on 086 830 1392 or libby@cartonlevert.ie, if you know of anything that might be of interest. Put together a profile for your horse and root out some more photos of when you were younger. The website is only as good as its content.

The fine art of lungeing on a frosty Friday evening

Mary Finneran’s well attended lungeing demonstration on a dry but bitterly cold Friday evening opened the eyes of many members to a very fine equestrian art. Beginning with a talk on lungeing equipment, Mary then explained the three types of lungeing: lungeing to train, lungeing to exercise and lungeing to school.

Moving outside to the arena she showed everybody how to tack up a horse for lungeing in different situations. She then used her experienced old-timer, Tom, and her young cob, Tutu, to demonstrate how differently horses go on the lunge, depending on their stage of training. It was interesting to see how difficult it was to get the horse to concentrate on its work while Mary was talking to her audience, explaining everything she did. Anyone who has spent time lungeing will know that it’s a one-on-one experience with intense communication between handler and horse.

Suzanne, Nadine and Leo had a go at coordinating horse, lunge line and whip while a remarkably patient young Tutu played along.

If there was a single lesson that Mary would have liked people to take from the evening, it was probably “keep it simple”. Gadgets and gimmicks are all fine and good in the hands of experts but those experts don’t generally need them. There’s no such thing as a quick fix. Patience and practice are needed to develop the skill but it’s worth the effort.

Pictured below: Members look on as Mary explain the finer details to Nadine while Tutu plays guinea pig.