Gorley Vale Riding Club Newsletter

October 2017

Hi all

The nights are really drawing in, did everyone see the stunning harvest

moon, and the draconid meteor shower? Then we had an unbelievably

surreal red sun… the natural world continues to fascinate and amaze.

Last reminder for the AGM this Thursday 19th October at The Foresters.

October Stretch

Here’s the latest stretch from Theresa, hopefully everyone has been building them up each month into a lovely

stretchy session.

Start in a four point kneeling position then reach through with the opposite hand so left hand reaching through the

right, then return to the start position and repeat going the other way.

Tips on this move, don't weight shift backwards, and pulse through with the reaching arms twice, it's called thread the

needle so envisage that's what you are doing with your arms

Stuff we’ve done…

15th October – Fun Le Trec

A big thankyou to everyone that came along to this event. It was pretty well attended with some riding as individuals

and some as a pair. We opened it up to other riding clubs as we had not got enough entries from within Gorley Vale

and are hoping that a few of them will now join us

The course was set so that it wasn’t too daunting but would give a bit of a challenge. Some obstacles that some found

easy others found more testing, I hope everyone got something from the course and most importantly enjoyed riding

it. Tina and I rode the map phase so many times while deciding exactly what to do that our ponies could do it on their

own now!

The winners of the pairs competition were Di & Wendy, 2nd were Sally & Athena with Jane & Heather 3rd.

Individual winner was Mark, followed by Abbi 2nd and Linda 3rd.

Really well done everyone, and an ENORMOUS THANKYOU goes out to all the stewards who gave up their morning to

sit in a chilly field. We couldn’t have done it without you - Sandy, Gill & Sally (from Wessex Riding Club) Sue, Brenda,

Pip, Charlie, Alison, Liz, Tina Marmite, Shelagh, Lucie…. and my long suffering husband Andrew!

Abi and Mackie coming in after the ride phase Pairs winners Di on Roan pone and Wendy on Bert

h

Theresa, Athena and Sally on

their way back to the finish

Individual winner Mark and Tex performing a perfect

rein back.

Jane and Heather making up a bit

of time up the hill

Ember supervising

This was Claudia’s first solo outing with her lovely cob – Here are her thoughts on the event.

Sunday, 15th October, saw lots of GVRC riders and their horses gathering at Tom’s Field in Godshill. The horses and

ponies came in all shapes, sizes and colours – from New Foresters to thoroughbreds and everything in-between. The

riders also came in all shapes and sizes and turnouts. Luckily for me, the quality of turnout was not being judged. It

was all about having fun with your four-legged friend.

Le TREC, short for Techniques de Randonnée Équestre de Compétition, came over from France in the late 1990s and is

an equestrian sport consisting of three individual elements:

1) an obstacle course

2) a demonstration of control of the horse’s paces

3) a mounted orienteering phase.

The event organisers cleverly adapted this riding discipline to the capabilities of GVRC riders and their animals. The

three different phases mean there is something for everybody. I imagine every rider discovered what he or she and

their horse are particularly good at and where improvement is needed. My mount was really good at standing

perfectly still in a circle, but not so good at cantering when it came to control of paces. But then I am a novice rider

and he is a laid-back cob…

I thought the field where the obstacle course took place was perfect for that purpose, with its variety of natural

obstacles, including a steep incline. A fantastic training ground for the aspiring LE TREC rider! The view over to Godshill

Wood and Breamore was an added bonus.

Another obstacle had to be overcome just prior to riding out the gate on to the open forest. A cheerfully mocking

bearded man stood there and tested our resolve to go out riding whilst being on stop clock duty. Once safely past

him, we could relax and appreciate the beauty of our surroundings on this still autumn day whilst riding through

varied terrain. The instructions and map were very clear and easy to negotiate. How lucky we are to live close to this

beautiful landscape and be able to use it for events like this!

It was indeed a FUN outing and hopefully there will be more of the same.

Thank you to the organisers for a well-planned event, the judges and to Tina and Tom for having us!

Claudia Weis with Bob the Cob

Four members of GVRC decided they needed a break…

“Do you want to go on a riding holiday? “

I can’t believe that it is now over a month since we returned from our epic riding holiday in Spain. Four of us; Tom,

Jane, Sarah and myself, all members of GVRC booked a riding holiday. Our chosen destination was Catalonia. An area

above Barcelona in the foothills of the Pyrenees. There were a few reasons for this, mainly the dates coincided with

Jane’s holiday (set in stone) the temperature would be warm, the food appealing, and wine was included with

meals!! 7 nights with 6 days trail riding over 200km during the week and staying at a number of hotels on route. An

adventure indeed. We hired a car as there were 4 of us traveling and the only extra charge was for a transfer . This

worked well, only we had to find the first hotel

and it was dark by the time we were expected.

A few wrong turns but eventually made it to

the very beautiful La Palma Hotel and Spa!

Ready for our first evening meal and to meet

the rest of the guests. We were lucky that

other members of the tour were really great

fun and the guide was knowledgeable and

likable, speaking at least 3 languages. The

owners of the horse ranch met us on the first

night and at other points on the journey,

equally lovely was the lady who was the

support and brought bags , lunch , horse food,

water and much more.

The horses were so well trained and knew

their job, never did I feel concerned. All our

varied abilities were matched with the horses,

which was brilliant. Mine was called Geronimo and had been a lead horse back in the day. His only quirk was a buck

at the end of a canter if anyone was too close. So I positioned myself in front of someone with brakes.

The days were long 5-6 hours and at a fairly fast pace. General fitness was the main problem for me, and Tom

experienced bad leg pain, but managed to swap horses to something more comfortable on the 3rd day which meant

he was able to finish the tour. We rode early morning along the amazing Rose Coast ,galloping in the waves, up into

the hills and through a Cork Forest. Don’t tell me Cork is soft as I managed to bash my head on a branch and whip my

neck while not looking ahead, lesson learned! We stayed in 4 different Hotels all interesting, amusing or splendid so

never dull. I think I can speak for us all that we laughed, ached, ate, drank and generally made the absolute most of

this incredible holiday. I would definitely recommend it to anyone wanting a life experience and maybe a battery

recharge .You do feel energized at the end and both Tom and I felt we could have carried on, well maybe 1 more

day! I must say I did have a lazy day on the Monday when

we were home. This holiday was through Unicorn Travels.

(Maybe I will get a discount on the next by mentioning their

name!!)

Tina (our chairperson)

Well, from this photo Tina sent me while away I think they

weren’t shy of trying out the sangria….

Stuff Coming Up

Remember - if you are interested in any of the events please please book as early as

possible so that the organisers have a good idea of numbers.

November 4th X Country at Tenantry Farm

Have a go round the cross country course, pairs or groups welcome.

Times between 10:00 – 12:00

This was a really good event last year so don’t miss out, contact Joules on 07833 313 933 or email joules-

cousteau@hotmail.co.uk

Saturday 9th December – Christmas Ride

Oh yes, Christmas will soon be upon us…so join in on the festive

Christmas ride.

Probably meeting at The High Corner Inn for mince pies and mulled

wine. Details will be confirmed in the next newsletter but put it in

your diaries and contact Jo to let her know that you are interested -

jorudkin@yahoo.co.uk

Happy riding all

Tanya

Sunshine.gardens@yahoo.co.uk