Wonderful day out in Creeslough

Not for the first time we have Liz Potter to thank for some great photos of club members in action cross country. The Donegal Harriers Creeslough meet is a firm favourite on the hunting calendar and visitors are welcomed at the event. With Gaeltacht members Rosaleen Harkin and John McDaid amongst the key players in organising this fantastic day out,  riding club participation was healthy.

Regular hunt members Keary, Anne, Leo and Rachel were joined by visitors Marina and Libby for a wonderful day out over marvelous natural obstacles through stunning scenery. And the weather for once was vastly better than the atrocious forecast had predicted!

Pictured below: Keary’s face says it all!

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Website usage 2013

Our website runs on the ultra-easy-to-use WordPress.com blogging platform. The WordPress stats helper monkeys prepared a 2013 annual report for the blog which throws some interesting light on what we most enjoyed looking at on the site and where most of our views come from.

Here’s an excerpt:

Madison Square Garden can seat 20,000 people for a concert. This blog was viewed about 68,000 times in 2013. If it were a concert at Madison Square Garden, it would take about 3 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

Northwest league is upon us : Time to rally the troops

Next Sunday, 9 February, brings the much-anticipated first leg of the 2014 Northwest League. It seems a long time since our first-ever Northwest League show back in January 2009 at Deanes in Bruckless. The annual event has been an outstanding success and is a tribute to the riding club members who support it from year to year, either mounted or from the ground. It has been the making of many of our riders and has done more to help novice riders progress than any other competitive event on the riding club circuit in our area.

This year the league follows a familiar pattern with alternating competitive and training classes each day. As far as points are concerned, riders with more than one horse should note that their points horse must be nominated before competing. Training rounds take place after the competition rounds at each grade and riders may train at a height above their grade.

NWL Schedule Spring 2014

Please remember that Letterkenny is responsible for running the first show. That means that everybody possible should turn out on the day to lend a hand. A certain number of people need to be on site in good time so that set-up takes place before competitors arrive.

Above all, try to participate in the competition and training itself. The classes begin with crosspoles and there is no better environment in which to overcome your own nerves or encourage your inexperienced or ring-rusty horse to enjoy an outing over coloured poles.

Numbers swell for final pre-league training session

Last Friday’s training with Kelda at Templemore stretched to two classes as numbers grew with the league approaching. It was a very sociable evening with Audrey on hand with tea and goodies and plenty of time for a chat.

Ann enjoyed mixed fortunes when she rode in both lessons. Molly, her old pro, behaved like a dream while Star, the young pretender, challenged her rider to her limits and earned some choice adjectives for her efforts. Doubtless she’ll put all that behind her when she steps out into the competition limelight next weekend.

Tanya was back in the pink of health and put Al through his paces. It was great to see Liz Cuffe out again too and hopefully she’ll enjoy a good competitive league. Leo is working hard and, like Ann, rode in both lessons as he seeks to retain his NW Spring League crown. Damien, Marina and Enda were putting the finishing polish on their preparation, completing a field which promises much for the forthcoming competition.

Many thanks to Cormac for organising the training evenings and for Kelda for motivating her pupils and building up the confidence again after a long winter.

Leo’s and Cormac’s names floating around on the grapevine

The western region dinner dance took place this past weekend (and apologies if any of you would like to have gone but were relying on the website for information). Snippets of gossip are floating around the airwaves as news of regional points winners filters through. As yet no official reports have arrived but we believe that congratulations are due to Cormac and Leo. Well done chaps. Now maybe we should have a quick competition to suggest what they’ve received their accolades for. Entries to Libby…

A big welcome to new members Claire and Dawn

The club is very happy to welcome two new members into the fold. Claire Cuffe has come of age and now joins her mother, Liz, as a representative of this talented family of riders. Claire lives near Ramelton and she’ll be coaxing the best out of Judy once Liz has done all the hard work of schooling this great family mare.

Dawn Hyndman‘s name is familiar to many, particularly in association with her old partner, the handsome grey cob Ron’s Academy. She’s joins the club now with a young horse and we wish her all the best. Dawn is based in Drumkeen.

Friday night lights shine on six diligent members; one more session to go

Last Friday evening saw yet another handful of cobweb-covered members descend from their winter roosts to blink with wonder around the course of jumps at Templemore. Damian, Enda, Marina and Libby joined Anne and Leo for a simple but effective school over coloured poles under Kelda’s watchful eye.

This coming Friday sees the last of the current series of jumping nights and with luck there’ll be a large enough gathering of riders to stretch things to two lessons. Let Cormac know by Wednesday if you plan to attend.