Treasure glitters in beautiful August evening light

For the second week in succession, the weather changed in the nick of time for our Friday evening action. What could have been a miserably wet and windy ride instead turned out to be a memorable treasure hunt in beautiful autumn light and spectacular scenery.

With just five members taking up Francis’s challenge, a quick but formal de-affiliation ceremony was conducted and the event took place as a non-AIRC activity. That allowed Maura’s brother-in-law Martin, on holidays from Wicklow, to join in the chase. He provided excellent company while he commanded Zak, the map and the clue sheet with the unflappable ease of an experienced rider.

Nadine, Damien and Sally set out first with the second team of Maura, Libby and Martin following in hot pursuit. Maura did brilliantly on a lively Hannah and must have doubled the hours in her trotting log book by the end of the evening. Fenway and Zak got a bit hot under the collar when asked to travel at a lady-like pace along one of their favourite canter lanes but settled themselves when their riders needed to earnestly ponder a puzzling clue about a portal a short distance further on.

There was so much accumulated pondering of clues that light was dwindling before the teams were two thirds of the way around the route. The hunt master pragmatically amended the course to eliminate clues 13 to 17 and everybody got back safely before dusk quickly became darkness.

Sheets were handed in and the result—a resounding victory for Team 2—was celebrated in style over a table laden with tea and scones with homemade raspberry jam and fresh cream. It was a great evening. Many, many thanks to Francis and Maura. Roll on Treasure Hunt 2012.

Pictured below: Team 2 follows the scent along roads and tracks with Lough Swilly in the background.

Raffle to raise funds for Irish Horse Welfare Trust

The Irish Horse Welfare Trust is running a raffle to raise some urgently needed funds. The prize is a place on a fabulous Riding Safari to Africa in November with a group going out for IHWT.

Tickets are €20 each but are restricted to 1000. The raffle will take place on 30 September 2011. IHWT are appealing for your help in selling tickets. Books of ten tickets can be sent out upon email request to info@ihwt.ie. If you don’t feel you can sell a book of ten, you can arrange to buy a ticket for yourself.

Find out more about the the Irish Horse Welfare Trust on their website.

Annual treasure hunt this Friday, 19 August

Francis is busy preparing a collection of cryptic clues for his infamous annual treasure hunt which takes place this Friday evening in the hills north of Rathmullan. With the evenings shortening noticeably, start time is scheduled for 7pm. You’ll ride in teams of three or four.

The hunt takes place along the tiny tarred back roads and tracks beneath the Knockalla hills and the starting point is Francis & Maura’s house, on the Knockalla coast road about 5km north of Rathmullan. There’s one short but very steep pull just before you reach the house, so mind your clutch!

Please let Francis know by Wednesday evening on 086 372 2542 if you intend to join the hunt so that he can provisionally organise teams. It’s a great evening’s fun and a test for your brain as well as your skills in the saddle.

Pictured below: Damien in search of clues on the 2009 treasure hunt before continuing with Nadine through idyllic scenery on the coast of Lough Swilly.

Schooling at Lenamore, Friday 26 August

Plenty of people will appreciate an opportunity to school around the cross country course at Lenamore in advance of our hunter trial there on Sunday 4 September. Cormac has arranged a schooling session for Friday evening, 26 August. There’ll be the option of jumping coloured poles in the sand arena for anybody who wants to jump but prefers to avoid the fixed obstacles.

Further details from Cormac on 087 251 4417.

Lots to look forward to at Castle Leslie this autumn

Castle Leslie estate’s cross country course is a tempting destination at any time. It features strongly in their newly published schedule of events for August–December 2011. There are still two more Go As You Please Sundays left, as well as two cross country clinics in early October leading up to their hunter trial on 15 October. Libby and Tanya competed at the hunter trial 12 months ago, along with several members of the East Donegal Pony Club.

Castle Leslie Schedule August-Dec 2011

Pictured below: Tanya on Jack and Libby on Armstrong, Castle Leslie Hunter Trials, October 2011.

 

Rain quits on cue for ride-out at Ray

As rain teemed from the heavens at 7pm, there were several desperate phone calls on Friday evening wondering whether the ride-out at Ray would go ahead. But by 7.30 it was dry and not a raindrop fell on the ten riders who turned out for the easy-going hack around the townlands east and west of the fast-flowing Glenalla River.

The sun came out and lit the surrounding hills as the group rode first around tiny tarred roads with lovely views south over the Swilly and north across the Devil’s Backbone. The horses were perfectly behaved except for a hiccup with Fenway who was making his riding club reappearance two weeks after returning from sabbatical. At an early stage on the route he decided to demonstrate the extended and accelerated reinback that he’d been practicing during his year in the field. Sally, who was riding him for the first time, sat tight while she tried to find the forward button but the gearbox was pretty rusty and she wisely handed Fenway to Francis and hopped aboard Hannah for the rest of the ride.

They swapped back as the group halted beneath the old Ray school. Sally and Libby walked sedately back to the meeting point while the rest of the group enjoyed an exhilarating canter up a steep forestry track where man-made brakes were largely unnecessary. Molly and Milly demonstrated that 6 weeks at grass is a perfect way to keep fit during the summer and Britney couldn’t have agreed more. Finbar was beaming with delight after tasting speed safely on a perfectly behaved Tia. Paddy, Hazel and Rachel completed the fast-moving posse who returned across the rough laneway bordering the Glenalla estate just as daylight faded. How can summer have disappeared so quickly?

Sights set on September’s hunter trial and dressage show

No sooner was Marina home from the Horse Show than she pulled on her wellingtons and joined Cormac for a reconnaissance mission to Lenamore on Tuesday. A year on from our last competitive event at the venue, they found the course in remarkably good condition. They closely examined the new derby bank which they describe as moderate in size but a perfect new challenge to add excitement to the course. There’s also a coffin emerging, currently in its infancy but guaranteed to be complete in all its glory by Sunday 4 September.

The pair  have mapped out a different route to previous years. The course will be less of a straightforward romp around the fields and will instead involve some more challenging navigation than we’re accustomed to, exploiting the obstacles to their maximum potential.

Marina will be in touch with members closer to the event to organise the major effort of sprucing up the course. She’ll also be delegating all the usual duties for fence stewarding, tack inspections, etc. In the meantime, you can take the initiative and contact her to offer your services for whatever task you most enjoy.

The good news is that there will also be dressage classes on the day, giving everybody an opportunity to compete. The tests are the ones used at our derby show in July so you don’t have to begin learning from scratch. Primary riders will have the opportunity to jump a round of knockable fences in an enclosed area.

See the full schedule below and start planning for competitive action in just three weeks’ time.

LRC 2011 Hunter Trial & Dressage Show

Pictured below: Action at our 2010 Crossjump at Lenamore. This year the competition is a hunter trial, a cross country competition with no show jumping element. See our Competition Glossary for an overview of the different types of jumping competitions.

Further Friday juggling – Practice your flatwork on a ride-out this week

In keeping with the somewhat chaotic nature of our Fridays this summer, Jackie is unable to make it for the last of her three flatwork sessions this Friday. Instead you can put everything you’ve learned into practice on a ride-out in the Rathmullan/Milford area.

Contact Libby on 086 830 1392 by Thursday evening at latest, if you’re thinking of riding. She’ll decide the exact route and meeting point at that stage.

Looking forward to Millers Hill

One of the highlights of the club year, our annual weekend at Millers Hill, takes place on Saturday 10 & Sunday 11 September. Libby is currently working out the details of the visit with Roberta and Robert and should have an idea of costs shortly. With luck it will remain at the same level as the previous two years, coming in at around €100 per person, depending on the exact combination of livery/cob hire/non-riding that you opt for.

For those of you who haven’t been along before, Millers Hill is an equestrian centre in Markethill, near Armagh. The McCrum family who run it are wonderful hosts and die-hard carriage driving enthusiasts. You’ll have a chance to try your hand at driving their schoolmaster as well as enjoying the freedom of the cross country course on either your own horse or a hired cob. You can opt to hack on the flat or school over the obstacles. There’s also a polo-crosse pitch and plenty of equipment so that anybody who wants can give it a go.

Best of all, there’s a wonderful club house where we get well fed and well watered before showing off the club’s pool playing and instrument playing prowess into the small hours. The whole emphasis of the expedition is on social life — the horses play a pretty peripheral role and you can join in the weekend on just two legs, if that’s what you prefer.

Full details shortly. If you want to know more in the meantime, contact Libby on 086 830 1392. Once the costs have been established, you’ll be asked to reserve your spot as soon as possible.

Pictured below: Some memories from Millers Hill in 2009. See more from the slightly wetter edition in 2010.