Cross country session enjoyed by both horses and riders

Friday evening’s cross country session at Marina’s place in St Johnston was a great success. Rachel marked out a 1700 meter course through two hilly fields and a section of the old Londonderry & Lough Swilly railway track that runs along the banks of the Foyle at the bottom of Marina’s family’s farm. Staking the course tested the stamina of the riders and made the effort required of the horses patently clear.

Given the inclines of the route, Rachel designated a fairly slow time as the target. Ed and Gabriel clocked the riders. Despite the steep hills which severely reduced the pace in both downward and upward directions, a couple of the fitter horses came remarkably close to the optimum time set for the track.

After riding the course twice and meeting Winnie, the pot-bellied pig, everybody enjoyed a wonderful spread of home-baked treats at the very welcoming family table. Many thanks to Marina, Enda and all the family.

P.S. If people would like to do this exercise again and we can find a suitable farm and evening, Rachel is happy to oblige. It’s an ideal introduction to cross country riding for novices. Martina and Rosa enjoyed their first cross country experience and the whoop of delight as they charged up the hill was proof of the exhilarating pleasure of riding a horse in open country.

Festival weekend at Stradbally

With the sun shining on dry countryside it’s difficult not to be just a little envious of the riding club members from all over the country enjoying the Festival at Stradbally this weekend. After a virtual wash-out last year, this year’s event should be more of the “Equestrian Picnic” that everybody looks forward to.

With Sharon O’Donnell deciding in the end not to travel, Letterkenny is unrepresented for the first time in a couple of years. Five of our neighbours from the Donegal Gaeltacht have travelled – the McCrossan sisters, and Patricia, Bruce and Lawrence from the Killult stable in Falcarragh. They’ll fly the Donegal flag and we wish them the best of luck.

Pictured below: Mary Finneran on Bart and Drew on Kate at the Festival in 2008.

Drumlin Hounds Crossjump, Sunday 27 June

Drumlin Hounds Harriers are running a Cross Jump competition on Sunday 27 June at their all weather course in Cootehill, Co Cavan. There are Novice and Open classes and the event starts at 1pm. Several members of the club thoroughly enjoyed the hunter trials at the same venue this Spring and the track is excellent for schooling.

Further information from Arlene, 086 192 9939.

Pictured below: Mick and Leo negotiating the second water jump at the Drumlin Hounds Hunter Trials earlier in the year.

Guinea pigs for Monty Roberts

Have you a problem horse that you feel like hauling all the way to the RDS? Monty Roberts will be at the Horse Show in Dublin and Equus Training Ireland are looking for suitably difficult horses for his demonstrations. The AIRC is facilitating the search for young horses that have not yet been introduced to saddle, bridle or rider. There’s also a need for horses that buck, rear, kick, are headshy, hard to catch, won’t stand to mount, have been single line lunged, fear clippers, are difficult to load on a trailer, or that simply need ridden help.

It sounds like a great experience – almost worth teaching your perfect horse bad habits in order to have a candidate…

For further information please contact: Caroline Jennings on 087 985 5790 or selection@equus.ie

Monty Roberts | Equus Training Ireland · Download

AIRC Western Region Training Day

The Western Region’s annual training day takes place on Sunday 11 July at Flowerhill EC, County Galway. Training is available in three disciplines – cross country, show jumping and dressage. It’s a long way to travel for a day but it’s reportedly a very worthwhile event and some members might like to make a weekend of it. Contact Libby if you’re interested in attending (086 830 1392).

Regional Training Day 2010 · Download

Another magical day in the Donegal Gaeltacht

The Donegal Gaeltacht’s Beach Show in Falcarragh lived up to all expectations for another year. The superbly run and excellently attended event at Ballyness Bay attracted clubs from all over the region but the hosts held their own in many of the classes.

On a highly competitive day, our own club’s achievements included a first for Nadine and Molly in the Advanced Intermediate dressage, first for Orla and her Molly in the Dressage to Music, and a vintage success for Damien and Armstrong in the Topscore. There were plenty of other ribbons on the day, most notably Paddy and Lizzie’s third place out of a massive entry in the Advanced Primary show jumping, Francis’s near miss when taking second in the 3-way jump off for the Intermediate show jumping, and Nadine’s thirds in both the Topscore and Advanced Intermediate show jumping. To round off a great day, Orla won the Best Turned Out female rider and Damien took the Best Turned Out male rider.

Congratulations to the Donegal Gaeltachts on a truly memorable day. Roll on 2011.

Update for Sunday’s Beach Show, Falcarragh

Dressage on Sunday will now run from 11.30 am on and not from 1–4 pm, as originally planned. Dressage times for pre-entered competitors are now available on the Donegal Gaeltacht website: Dressage Times (updated Saturday 5 June).

Some 35 horses have been booked in for livery on Saturday night, an indication of the number of competitors to expect on the day.

Donegal Gaeltacht Riding Club
Accuweather | Burtonport (Falcarragh)

Pictured below: Paddy receiving his red rosette from Roisín McGee for Advanced Primary Show Jumping on Lizzie at the Beach Show, Falcarragh, 2009. The club also won the Primary SJ (Orla on Molly) and the Intermediate SJ (Damien on Armstrong), as well as the Intermediate & Above Eventing Challenge (Damien on Armstrong). That record will be fairly impossible to beat but we’ll give it our best shot.

Another new member

We’re happy to welcome Erica Glynn to the club. Erica lives in Ramelton and keeps her horse in Rathmullan. She rides at Intermediate level and already has a couple of stages of BHS exams under her belt. She’s a professional dog groomer so Harvey, Belle, Beanie and the rest of the canine crew can look forward to intelligent conversations with her.