Riding Club life back in the groove after a great First Friday

Six lucky members and their horses made it to Templemore last Friday night for a cracking lesson with Kelda. Several others would have joined the party had it not been for an unavoidable clash with the East Donegal Pony Club Awards night in Letterkenny.

Nadine, Tanya, Leo, Cormac, Francis and Anne turned out to learn how to improve rhythm and tempo while jumping. New year, same ol’ theme: It’s the bit between the jumps that matters most! We can never hear it often enough. Audrey and Jenny made up the party and it was a very enjoyable Friday night for everybody concerned.

Lessons continue for the next two Fridays. Book by Wednesday at latest with Cormac, if you plan to attend.

Pictured below: Happy and attentive pupils, Anne and Francis! More photos in the Gallery.

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Non-riding club activities on the horizon

We’re not the only club to kick back into action as January progresses. There’s quite a lot going on out there and it’s worth checking out what neighbours are up to in case anybody wants to join in the fun.

First out of the blocks was definitely Orla with Donegal Trec. Following a groundbreaking 2013 this very active organisation, an affiliate of Trec Ireland, has a hectic calendar of events lined up. You can find all the details on the Donegal Trec website.

Several of our members are keen Working Hunter riders and their stomping ground tends to be in the North. All roads in this discipline lead to the Northern Ireland Festival in Cavan Equestrian Centre at the end of April. Check the list of qualifiers and find out more about the championship weekend on the Northern Ireland Festival website.

Hunter trials and hunt chases are few and far between and again, the richest pickings are to be found in Northern Ireland. Marina has spotted a great looking Team Hunt Chase at Dirraw Farm (near Ballymoney) on Saturday 29 March. Although it comes very close to Flowerhill it would make a great schooling experience for anybody who’s looking for some miles on the clock. Marina is keen to get a team together (four people per team, all riding the course at once). Contact her if you’d like to join in.

Meanwhile, with two hunts now in the county, there’s plenty of actual hunting going on this season also. The long-standing Donegal Harriers are a membership hunt but welcome visitors by arrangement. The newly-formed Donegal Tyrone Farmers Hunt meets on Saturdays and charges just a cap per day.

And if there’s anything else going on, just holler!

Club gear and embroidery order

Jenny will shortly be placing a club gear order so make sure you contact her, if there’s something you’re looking for. In addition to buying club gear, there’s also the opportunity to have any of your own items embroidered with the club logo for free. Just give the items to Jenny on a Friday night, making sure that you’ve attached some form of identification so that you can claim your goods later.

Fancy a parachute jump?

Cormac is never one to shy away from a challenge but he’s put his foot down at the prospect of hurling himself out the door of a plane. Notwithstanding this display of sanity, he’s undertaking to do some promotion for the St Vincent de Paul’s planned Charity Parachute Jump.

What he most wants is a volunteer to jump! There’ll be ten jumpers in total and each will need to raise a certain amount of money for the SVP, but there’ll be assistance with that end of things. There’ll be training beforehand and the parachute jump will almost certainly take place at Carrickfinn.

Friday night jumping lessons with Kelda

There’s nothing like that first foray of the new year out into the riding club limelight. We all think we’ve fallen hopelessly behind with our horses and our riding and it’s generally a pretty encouraging experience to find out that most of our fellow members are in exactly the same boat.

You have a chance to start chipping away at the rust for the next three Fridays with instruction from Kelda at Templemore. There’ll be two lessons, starting at 7pm. Let Cormac know by Wednesday at latest on 087 251 4417, if you plan to attend this week.

Calendar set, all systems go

Friday evening’s sociable meeting at Tir na nOg resulted in a well populated calendar of activities to keep us all out of trouble between now and late spring. We’ll publish the full details shortly but meanwhile here are a few highlights to look forward to:

Jumping lessons with Kelda at Templemore
Fridays 17, 24 and 31 January (book by previous Wednesday!)

Northwest League
Sundays 9, 16 February and 2,9, 23 March

Bowling evening at Arena 7 | Friday 7 February

Flatwork lessons | Fridays 21, 28 February and 7, tbc 14 March

Cross country schooling excursion | tbc Sunday 16 March

Flowerhill | Sunday 6 April

Northwest Team Showjumping & Dressage Challenge
Sunday 27 April (subject to venue and agreement of other Donegal clubs)

Inishowen RC Show | Sunday 11 May

Carrickfinn | Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 May

Beach Show | Provisionally Sunday 1 June

Festival at Stradbally | Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 June

Letterkenny RC Derby & Dressage Show | Sunday 15 June

Happy New Year (and remember to renew your membership!)

Christmas has come and gone and we’re already firmly rooted in the new year with sights set on a full 12 months of equestrian activity. Horses and riders might be a bit rusty after weeks of the festive season and generally truly atrocious weather conditions but there’s lots to look forward to.

To get up and going again for 2014 we’re having a general club meeting on Friday 10 January at Tir na nOg. Everybody is welcome and we hope to plan a good active calendar for the next three months or so. The early part of the year will be dominated by the Northwest Spring League which falls on its regular dates throughout February and March. The first show takes place on Sunday 9 February. There’s a meeting of the Donegal clubs this coming Tuesday evening, 7 January, to firm up plans for the league and to reflect on activities in the final months of 2013.

With all this competitive action in prospect, we’re running a series of jumping lessons with Kelda on Fridays 17, 24 and 31 January at Templemore. The intention is to keep Primary and Advanced Primary riders together in the 7pm group with Intermediate and above riders filling the later spot. Contact Cormac to book your place.

Looking further ahead to Flowerhill on Sunday 6 April, top marks must go to Marina for booking stables on site in record time. She has 12 stables reserved and you should contact her as soon as possible to lay claim to one of them if you plan to travel to this unmissable event.

Do your best to get to our meeting on Friday next, 10 January, and we’ll set the tone for an active, enjoyable and rewarding season. See you all there.

**Finally a reminder that you may not participate in any mounted club activities until your 2014 membership is processed. This takes about a week after your subscription payment to Francis or Cormac. So, if you plan on doing the jumping lessons with Kelda, this Friday’s meeting is your cut-off for renewing.