General club meeting, Monday 26, 8pm

Our current calendar of events runs until the end of April so it’s time for a general club meeting. Everybody is welcome. We’ll agree our activities until the end of the summer and work out the details of special events like our spring show and camping weekend. If you can’t make it to the meeting but would like to raise any issue, just contact Libby or Francis before the meeting. Even if you don’t come to the meeting, you may end up with a job like organising a set of Friday activities!

Monday 26 April, 8pm, Tír na nOg, Ballymacool, Letterkenny

Approximate start times for Benbulben Spring Show

Leah McNulty, secretary of Benbulben RC, has done her best to estimate start times for classes on Sunday. Primary and Advanced Primary classes are being allowed 3 hours starting at 11 am (clear round, individuals and pairs). Intermediate clear round will begin at about 2 pm. Massive entries for Intermediate and above classes are expected since most clubs, like ourselves, will be making the most of the practice for the following week’s team show jumping championship qualifier. Dressage times have been allocated but are not set in stone.

Teams selected for TSJC (aka EPS) Qualifier

With just ten days to go until the Western Region Qualifier for the Team Show Jumping Championships, teams were selected on Tuesday evening in time for Wednesday’s entry deadline. Eight members had expressed an interest in training and all eight elected to participate in the competition giving us the perfect number for our quota of two teams. Each club in the region is entitled to enter two teams making for a massive competition of up to 38 teams.

Team A
Damien on Armstrong, Marina on Jenny, Nadine on Molly, Tanya on Al
Reserves: Sharon on Sky, Libby on Spitfire

Team B
Sharon on Sky, Annie on (Nadine’s) Molly, Francis on Zak, Libby on Spitfire
Reserves: Damien on Al, Tanya on Lizzie

So how were the teams picked?

Team selection is never easy but happily there are no big egos to deal with in the club. Everybody was agreed that we should field the strongest possible “A” team, with the residue making up the B team. Will Crean gave his views following two training sessions with us. To that we added our own knowledge of everybody’s current form and past experience. At the end of the day the club came first and the selection was made accordingly. We’re lucky to have two competitive teams heading to the qualifier. If we get there on the day, we will already have achieved our goal. Anything more is gravy!

Training continues with Will Crean this Friday evening at Lenamore. Most team members will then travel to the Benbulben Spring Show on Sunday for a dry run at the venue.

Who will ever forget the first and (until now) last time we fielded a team for a show jumping challenge? In 2008 the “Letterkenny Hopefuls” stunned our neighbouring clubs when winning the Northwest Show Jumping Challenge. Pictured below: The winning team of Damien on Armstrong, Nadine on Molly, Rachel on Matilda and Orla on Molly (standing in for Daisy).

Festival showing guide

Anybody could be forgiven for feeling confused by the sheer volume of showing classes on the Festival schedule. To help you organise your brain, Orla has put together a good overview of the different types of specimen, from small hunters to traditional Irish cobs:

Something to Show · Download

Remember, Festival entries close online on Monday 3 May. Full details available on the AIRC website: Festival Info

Dressage tests

Copies of all dressage tests being used in 2010 are available from Libby (086 830 1392 or libby@cartonlevert.ie). If your test is an AIRC test, you’ll find it on the AIRC website. If it’s a non-AIRC test, it can’t be made available on line for copyright reasons and you must request it specifically from Libby. We will be posting the AIRC tests on our own website shortly. In the meantime, here’s the link to the AIRC source: AIRC Dressage Tests

Remember to pre-enter the dressage at Benbulben’s Spring Show this Sunday, if you’re planning to go.

No rosettes but smiles all round at Flowerhill

No rosettes for the club this year but a lot of exceptionally happy club members. Martina was first off the mark with downloading her photos. There’ll be plenty more contributions but her collection sums up a great weekend. Go to the gallery for the full show.

Flowerhill NHTC 2010 Final Results · Download

Pictured below: Anne and Keary on Sakima and Joe in the Advanced Primary Pairs.

Final countdown to Flowerhill

Competitor times have been published so everything is set for the annual pilgrimage to Flowerhill. We have six members competing this year: Mick, Leo, Anne, Keary, Rachel and Libby. Sharon O’Donnell had also hoped to travel but has been forced to withdraw at the last moment. Anne hopes to ride Sakima but Cyril’s Lady will step in as a super-sub, should Sakima not be fit in time.

More information will be posted by the AIRC shortly. For now, here are our own club’s competitor times and numbers:

Flowerhill Entries and Start Times · Download

Pictured below: In 2009 Nadine on Molly finished 2nd in the Intermediate Championship and Rachel on Lady took 3rd in the Advanced Primary Championship.

LRC Spring Friendly, 23 May, Lenamore

We have encountered difficulties this year scheduling our Spring Show because of calendar clashes with other clubs in the region. The Western Region won’t allow two league shows to take place on the same date, even though our region stretches from County Clare to Malin Head. We’re undeterred by the regional stance and will simply run a non-league show to circumvent the problem. Our neighbouring clubs, Donegal Gaeltacht and Tírconaill, have welcomed the news. The plan is to include show jumping and dressage classes for all grades.

Further information to follow. All help and ideas welcome in organising and running the event.

The Wednesday Club

For the first time ever we have photographic evidence of the Wednesday Club, that elite band of novices who meet every Wednesday evening at Cyril’s arena in Milford. Under the tutelage of Rachel Carton, they make progress in leaps and bounds — intentional leaps and bounds, of course. The lesson takes place at 8pm and Rachel likes people to book with her by lunchtime that day on 086 161 7087. All novice members are welcome.

Pictured at dusk: Suzanne on Jack, Maura on Hannah, Rachel, Jess the Dog, Cyril on Lady, Martina on Rosa and Leo on Grace. And as night falls, Maura on Hannah.