The NW BYRDS Newsletter is published 3 times a year

Summer (August/Sept), Winter (December) and Spring

(April/May)

Welcome everyone to the Spring / Summer BYRDS NW

Newsletter. We have had loads of positive feedback about the Christmas edition and inside this

one you will find lots of interest-ing articles about BYRDS written by our members.

I am still looking for more

BYRDS members to volunteer to be part of the Newsletter Editori-al Team so if you fancy a career

in journalism, enjoy writing arti-cles or just want to help out please let me know.

We are also looking for more

people to join our volunteers list so if you can spare time to help one

of the best BYRDS regions just drop me an email.

If you are already a BYRDS NW member then read on and relive through your friends the events of

the last couple of months. If your new to BYRDS or fancy attending

camp then read the camp reviews!

There are new initiatives a foot for

2012 and it’s your chance to get involved and be part of one of the best BYRDS regions so don’t delay,

remember to update your contact details forms to-day!

To contact me either send me an email to moira.lafferty@o2.co.uk

or ring on 07808 924695.

Your news, by you, for you!

Contacting your BYRDS Rep Dr. Moira Lafferty

BYRDS NW NEWSLETTER

S P R I N G / S U M M E R E D I T I O N M A Y 2 0 1 2

In t h i s

i s s u e :

The Camp Experience

High Performance Camps

New Initiatives

NW Championships

Getting involved

Comments from the NW

Chairperson

SUPPORTING

BYRDS NORTH WEST

Contents :

2012 Into the New Year Moira Lafferty

2

BYRDS An Introduction

3

April Camp Hebbe Williamson

4

National High Perfor-mance Camps Emily Watts

5

National High Perfor-mance Camps Chloe Whitney

6

Getting involved in BYRDS

NW Sarah Brooks

Devan Bellis

7

NW Championship Show Maddie Whelan

Laura Bennett Ruth Kennerley Lauren Wilson

8

BYRDS NW Team Spirit 11

Guide to teams 2012 12

BYRDS NW AWARDS

2012

13

Training Award Details 14

Comments from the

NW Chair

Judith Harris

15

Off the Wall 17

2012 A new year! —The BYRDS Rep Review

P a g e 2

Hi Everyone,

Welcome to our first news-letter of 2012, and I hope

this finds you all well and enjoying the sunshine (which means by the time you read this the wind and rain will have returned,

sorry in advance).

We began the year with our usual monthly training clinics and twelve of our

top A and B squad riders were selected to attend the National High Perfor-mance Camps which ran from January to March. This is a new National initi-ative and I would urge an-yone who fulfils the criteria to apply for selection this year, watch out for the ad-

verts, if you want to know more about them read our riders reviews.

April arrived and it was our first camp of the year at Somerford Park. We are so lucky to have access to such a brilliant facility and having learnt from last time we turned the cooker and showers on with no problems. Our Friday evening get together set the tone for the weekend and it was great to see

how all our riders devel-oped their skills and made new friends over the two days. Saturday saw every-one training, test riding

and taking part in a Pilates workshop taken by Kathy Flinn. Our gym ball supply has now grown and at one point it seemed that they

were going to take over the canteen. Thanks to everyone who came to the rescue inflating balls!

On Saturday afternoon rid-

ers and parents were treated to a most informative talk from World Class Farrier Ian

Hughes. We are so lucky that so many experts continue to give up their time to help us, and help you, develop your equestrian knowledge.

Saturday evening concluded with our usual team building activities with plenty of sparkle and bling as riders became

fashion designers as to what the 2012 rider should be wear-ing. Special thanks must go to compere extraordinaire Toni Jennings who provided a run-ning commentary as each model took to the catwalk.

We moved from Camp into our NW Championship show and we survived what can only be described as appalling weather which tested our famous team spirit to the max. However, as always we did control what we did and you all rode amazingly,

with lots of laughter and smiles despite the weather. This event would not happen with-out the huge input and support of Jane Whitney our Secretary, Jill Watts as chief scorer and prize and rosette coordinator and of course the one person who keeps the whole show go-ing Geoff Simpson. Most im-

portant of all though is all our sponsors who provide amazing prizes, so thank you everyone especially Annie at Albion for the super Fledgling Chick priz-es. To everyone involved thank you so much, I am sure we will

be talking about the ups and downs of the day for a while to come but there are one or two

special stories, so read on to

find out more.

May arrived and just as we

think we can all take a breather it was all hands on deck at the Premier League where BYRDS NW members strutted their stuff down the centre line of the catwalk modelling equestrian fashion as part of the Charity / Fund-raising evening. It was a bril-liant event and well done to

Lottie Flinn and Debbie Halstead for organising and coordinating the BYRDS input from models through to the all important Pimms! They even managed to display the Home International Team Trophy as a mint pot holder, patriotically decorated in red, white and blue!

So everyone, a whirl wind review of BYRDS NW year so far, as I write this we are gearing up to the first team competition of the year the

Inter Regionals and remem-ber to keep your progress charts up to date as we will be putting out a call for up-dates prior to final selection for teams for Sheepgate BD Under 25 National Champion-ships Teams and for the Home International, details inside.

Take care everyone, ride well, and most of all have fun over the coming months.

Moira and

Doodle.

The British Young Rider Dressage Scheme (BYRDS) is open to all young riders aged between 6-25 years of age. It

was set up in 1989 by Egon von Greyerz and Dane Rawlins and since then it has developed into an active part of

British Dressage, providing activities for all young riders across the country through regional and national training

events and competitions. All training is taken by highly qualified and experienced trainers so to get involved just

check out our Diary of Events on the NW pages of the BD website (click on the BYRDS link).

P a g e 3 P a g e 3

Squads and Squadding

The BYRDS Rider Squad tests are designed to focus on rider development. Fledglings ride

a specific Fledgling Test and once you move from Fledglings you can begin to move

through the squad levels from C to A. It is important to remember that the squad tests

are not pure dressage tests and are judged on rider position, influence, way of going and

accuracy.

If you don’t know which squad you should be on ask your trainer at your next BYRDS Clinic or at Camp. All our train-

ers are also assessors and know the system really well, each training clinic covers all levels as sessions are individu-

ally tailored to each rider. Remember the system is all about development and progression, so keep practising so

you can move onto the next level.

BYRDS AN INTRODUCTION & GENERAL INFORMATION

BYRDS Clinics are open to everyone. All our trainers cater for all age groups (6 -25) and all levels,

booking a place at one of the clinics is easy just contact the Clinic organiser (details are in the Diary

of Events), email me or check out the website. Come along, have fun and learn more about dres-

sage and the correct way of going.

BYRDS NW Camps are open to everyone (8 -25 years), and details of October Camp

have been released and you can also email Moira for information. It's a great opportuni-

ty to learn about dressage, meet like minded people and have a fun packed dressage

orientated weekend.

We have a limited number of places for people to attend unmounted, that way you can

come and meet everyone, be part of camp and take part in all the workshops. Email

Moira for details.

The BYRDS Camp Experience

http://www.britishdressage.co.uk/your_regions/

north_west_region#BYRDS

Having fun at Camp!

Camp April 2012

P a g e 4

Unseasonal weather, gallop-ing farm rides, silver foil and cling film were amongst the challenges that we faced at Somerford Park BYRDS camp, in April 2012. After travelling by car, boat and box we finally arrived on Fri-day 13th. We unpacked and unloaded everything, settled the horses before registra-tion, welcome and an intro-duction by Moira.

On the first day we all had our pairs lessons and record-ed squad tests. I was paired Will Blackshaw and we were taught by Patsy Bartram. One of the most challenging parts of our lesson was mak-ing our reluctant horses walk to the bottom of the arena that was adjacent to the farm ride gallops. Both of our horses seemed to find the sight of 15 Norwegian ford ponies galloping past them absolutely terrifying. We discovered that, my horse, Ulysses has a remark-able talent for piaffe and that Will’s horse could pirou-ette. Patsy remained very

calm and encouraging and as-sured us that the next lesson would be much better. Later on that day, we did our squad text which Ulysses remained com-posed for. I was happy to be ranked as a B squad rider. That evening after a delicious home cooked dinner, we partook in one of Moira’s infamous ‘team building sessions’ which involved the silver foil, cling film and numerous other

household items. This entertained us and our par-ents.

On day two, I had a great pairs lesson with Hannah Grummett and taught again by Patsy. This time round, Ulysses was more willing as I had put on my rowels

and there was a lack of gal-loping ponies to distract him. Patsy helped me with my half-pass and shoulder in. After lunch, the judge gave me my video feed back on my squad test, which looked better than it felt which was reassuring.

During the course of the two days there was pila-tes and a very informa-tive talk, about laminitis by one of the leading farriers in the UK which was very interesting. There was also a pairs ride but unfortunately my partner, Rebekah Wintle fell ill so we did-n’t take part. Over the course of the two days, I en-joyed myself and learnt a lot about my horse. I would like to thank Moira for organ-ising the camp and the ladies in the kitchen for producing some amazing food.

“ A great

weekend”

By

Hebbe

Williamson

DRESS CODE FOR TRAINING & CAMPS

Please remember that for all BYRDS training events you must wear a 3 point harness hat and gloves. Shirts and tops must have sleeves in them.

Team Building BYRDS NW Style!

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR THE REGIONALS SEE PAGE 11

National High Performance Camps By Emily Watts

P a g e 5

I was fortunate enough to be selected for a BYRDS new initiative of National High Perfor-

mance camps held in the North and South. With our region being North West we were sent up to sunny Hull

(in our case windy) for 3 weekends of intense training with Dan Sher-iff, Daryl Thickitt, An-drew Gould (much to

the mothers delight - especially Ruth's!), Becky Moody and Judy Harvey.

The first and second

camp I had Dan as my trainer, he was very complimentary about mine and Rio's part-nership even though in Andrew Gould's words she’s a 'gypsy po-ny' (don't worry, we didn't take it to heart.) What was even more

positive was the fact that Dan didn't tell me anything our NW trainer Patsy already hadn't so I found Rio's work went from strength to strength over the lessons, getting some really clean changes and

flowing half passes.

I also found the fit-ness testing very

useful - OUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My legs still ache from the wall sit, but the individ-

ually tailored fitness plans emailed to us are really good and so is the sports psychology support we have been

given. We all got to pick a championship test to ride, so this was a good chance for myself and Chloe also to attempt

our first ever Medium tests!! To my surprise it did not go down too badly as I read through my sheet during the judge feedback we also had. Rio seemed to re-ally enjoy a slightly harder test and got her best marks for her half

passes - oh - and the halt at the end which as Chloe says so I should as I don't have to do anything!

I have found these camps really inspiring

and a good confidence boost to know my training is along the right lines and my gyp-

sy pony isn't all that bad :). It was also a great time to make new friends and catch up with all

North Westers who were there and see how well everyone's horses and ponies were going.

I urge anyone who fulfils the criteria to apply you will cer-tainly not regret it. My thanks goes to

Willerby Hill Eques-trian Centre for be-ing so organised with stabling etc, but especially Moira giving up Rugby at the last camp to make it so so good and for all her ideas to make each camp

different, individual and interesting. I hope i am

lucky enough to get selected again next year.

HPC Information will be available on the BD website!

“ I hope I

get

selected

this year!”

National High Performance Camps by Chloe Whitney

P a g e 6

At the beginning of this year I was fortunate enough to be selected for the high perfor-mance camps at Will-erby Equestrian Cen-tre. The three camps in January, February and March were great preparation for the season ahead and real-ly helped to develop my knowledge as a rid-er. The trainers that we had were fantastic and it was brilliant to have a fresh pair of

eyes looking at you and your horse. I had Dan Sherriff for the first two camps and for the final one I had Becky Moody, this was especially good as I was able to continue what I had learnt with Dan to the next camp. The continuity of the three camps was one of the best things about it as you were able review your progress every time

and develop on what you had learnt from the pre-vious camp.

The structure of the camps was quite similar to what we have in our North West camps but they were designed to be more specific to you as an individual. Our individual sports psy-chology sessions and the fitness sessions were very helpful as it focused more on you and how your fitness and mental attitude can make a difference to your horse’s way of going. The video feed-back was one of the best things about the camps as you had the opportunity to ride a test at the level you were competition at and gained valuable feed-back from the judge.

“ The

trainers

were

fantastic!”

WELL DONE TO ALL BYRDS NW MEMBERS SELECTED FOR THE HPC CAMPS 2012!

REPRESENTING THE NW IN 2012

Remember if you want to be considered for selection to represent the NW in 2012 you must have done 3 training sessions since August 2011. Camp counts

as 2 sessions.

BYRDS HIGH PERFORMANCE CAMP CRITERIA—You can apply for selection for

the National High Performance Camps if you are: Aged 14 and over, B squad level

or above, achieving 65% regularly at elementary. All details will go on the BD web-

site.

Sport Psychology HPC

Video Feedback

P a g e 7

My story starts in January, I was extremely lucky to be given the op-portunity to ride a young dressage horse owned by some friends.

The first time I saw her I was over-whelmed and very excited, I immedi-

ately fell in love and could not be-lieve this was actually happening. The first time I rode her I felt this was a true partnership and that we could achieve great things.

I took part in a few affiliated compe-titions and it was suggested to me that I should enquire about joining BYRDS NW.

I contacted Moira Lafferty who was very friendly and helpful and she ad-vised me how to become involved. Moira provided me with all the rele-vant information to enable me to

book a place on the BYRDS NW Camp to be held at Somerford Park

and I spent the next fortnight driving everybody mad about it as I was very excited.

Once there I found everyone to be very friendly and I had a wonderful weekend and I found the training

very beneficial. Having being put into Squad B I competed at the BYRDS NW Summer Championship Show. The weather conditions were far from ideal but I enjoyed the experience and had lots of fun.

I am now looking forward to future events with BYRDS and I am very pleased that I decided to join.

Getting Involved in BYRDS NW

“Loads of

fun!”

By Sarah

Brooks

This year I got a new pony called Gejser. After 2 months of getting used to Gejser I started BYRDS North West and we went to our first clinic at Richard Currathers with Janet

Horswill who made me feel very wel-come and she introduced me to some other members.

My mum found out that they had a

camp so she signed me up. I had no

idea what to expect on this trip.

On the first day of camp I made friends with Charlotte who had a sta-ble opposite me .On the second day we got put in pairs for training I was with Maddie and we became friends too. I was very sad when camp fin-ished as I made really good friends with people and learnt a lot.

I went to the BYRDS championships show and met up again with my ma-tes which was really nice. I came second in the C squad that day and have now been picked to go to

Keysoe inter regional Championships so I will be able to see all my friends again and am looking forward com-peting in the team for the first time.

“ I was

sad when

camp

finished”

By Devan

Bellis

Having fun at BYRDS Camp

Stable Yard at Somerford

BYRDS NW CHAMPIONSHIP SHOW

P a g e 8

This was my first ever BYRDS NW

Championships and due to the windy weather on the motorway we nearly didn’t get there.

I’m very glad mum made the journey though as we all had

a great day, despite the bad weather. It was really nice to see all the friends that I made at camp two weeks be-fore.

We warmed up in the wind and rain but thankfully the weather was better during my tests. My favourite bit of the day was the prize giving. I brought with me my

two new puppies and all of my

friends had cuddles with them……including Moira!

Everyone was lovely when I won the Fledgling Champi-onship and I will always re-

member the large amount of prizes I was given!!

Even though the weather was awful everyone kept

smiling and had fun! Thank you Moira for a great day out and I look forward to

the next one!

By

Maddie

Whelan

Fledgling

Champion

The day dawned very wet and very windy with mum in two minds as to whether we should go or not, espe-cially as we were in a bor-

rowed trailer. However we decided to set off with lay-ers of waterproofs. Fortu-nately, the rain did stop whilst I was warming up for

my first test.

After having gone well in the warm up, we did not have high expectations of my results as I wasn’t con-vinced I had ridden my best test and the standards of other competitors was so high. Although, I still came out of the arena with a big smile on my face

which, as several of the judges know in the past has not always been this

way as my previous horse would often dump me in my tests. I then put the

waterproofs back on and waited to do my second test, which followed shortly.

Tom relaxed enough to perform a lovely second test for me. This was quickly followed by untack-ing and getting warm and

dry. We then indulged in the hot drinks and ex-tremely tasty cakes in the café.

Before doing some retail

therapy, we thought we would have a look at the scores so far. To my sur-

prise and amazement I was in the lead with only a few more competi-

tors to go. We then had an agonis-ing, nail biting wait until 3 o’clock to

see the final result.

By

C Squad

Champion

Laura

Bennett

P a g e 9

the BYRDS NW show is held is a fabulous

venue and I think we are very lucky to be able to ride and compete there. I think eve-rybody appreciated the indoor viewing area especially given the weather conditions!

A massive thank you should be given to everyone who helped out at the competition however big or small their role was. Without their help the show would not be able to run so I take this opportunity to send them a massive thank you from all competitors!

One thing which BYRDS provides which I urge anyone to take part in if they can is the BYRDS High Performance camps as the knowledge, understanding and the training which I have re-ceived from them has been remarkable.

I think we are very lucky to have BYRDS as it an organisation that runs many events, talks and the training opportunities are in-credible with some of the most out-

standing trainers made available to us. BYRDS NW is a friendly region that I think every young rider in the area should get in-volved with and it always provides a great atmosphere to ride in and a reliable support

network.

Once again the BYRDS NW Champi-

onship Show reflected how well BYRDS NW work as a team and was a credit to all those helped to organise the event.

Despite the atrocious weather, the

turnout to the show was as busy as expected and a good day was had by all. A bit of a hiccup occurred when 2 classes were due to be run in the same arena and there was an ex-

pected delay of up to 30 minutes. However, I was prepared to get wet and bought lots of spare clothes and waterproofs and rugs for my horse, Rio. I

used the delay to my ad-vantage and made sure that Rio was completely calm and relaxed with his sur-roundings and I think this

paid off!

When I was completing my test, the weather took a turn for the worst with the some of the arena boards blowing in-to the arena with me! My test had to stop so that the boards could be put back and I continued with Rio who despite the situation behaved impec-

cably so I was delighted! It was an extremely close call in the B Squad competition as to who would take the title of champion and I was stunned to receive it. I am proud of everyone who competed that day as to ride with a smile on your face in such con-ditions deserves a pat on the back.

Somerford Park Farm which is where

NW Championship Show Reports cont..

Ruth

Kennerley

B Squad

Champion

B SQUAD PRIZE WINNERS

Don’t forget to keep your progress chart up to date!

P a g e 1 0

NW CHAMPIONSHIP SHOW REPORT

Cont...

performance for the inter regionals! The main reason I absolutely love byrds north west is because despite the rain, it was still a fantastic show; our es-teemed steward (Geoff) was even giving out cake! (Thanks Carol!) Now where else would you get that kind of service....! And despite a bit of a mix up with times, no one complains and everyone pulls together, and there

aren't many organisations which would do the same! There was also some fan-tastic prizes; I think I have enough gar-lic to last me the next 20 years! Good luck to everyone participating in byrds this year, it was fantastic to see so many fledgling riders, and the standard was so high. Things are looking good, and if this year is as good as last year for north west,

then we have a lot to look forward to!

Never in a mil-lion years did I think I had a chance of win-ning the A squad champi-onship, mainly because I haven't ridden a squad test

since I last went to camp; which is a cou-ple of years

ago now, and the fact that we proba-bly have the strongest riders of all the regions! At first glance the test looked horrific, it was looking likely that I was going to get lost and re-quire a sat nav to get round it! But

actually it didn't ride that badly, and at least all moveable objects stayed firmly put; in the elementary test the arena fence decided to join me in the arena for my final salute! Needless to say, Piper was not impressed. De-spite a couple of hiccups, getting ab-solutely drenched whilst preparing, and having managed to remember both tests, we came 3rd in each

which gave us the overall champion-ship. Piper is so consistent, and fin-gers crossed we can improve on our

‘A Squad

Champion’

Lauren

Wilson

OCTOBER CAMP 2012

DETAILS & BOOKING FORM RELEASED IN

AUGUST—ACTIVITIES, WORKSHOPS & MUCH MORE!

A SQUAD PRIZE WINNERS

P a g e 1 1

BYRDS NW—TRUE TEAM SPIRIT

Helen and Philip Needham heard of our plight and, although they were further up the M5 than us, they turned around and drove miles back to help us pull off the motor-way. They then loaded up Frankie and her horse with me, leaving my poor hus-band to deal with the police and horse lorry rescue, and took us up to Somer-ford with them.

We arrived just in time for our class and both girls did really well, especial-ly considering the upheaval and rush. We would never have got there without their help and, more importantly, where we had had to stop was in such a pre-carious place by escorting us off the motor-way they saved us from a potentially terrible accident.

We are hugely grateful to them. I felt I must share with you how, in my opinion, theirs is a real example of truly unselfish team spirit!

With best wishes.

Jeanne Swallow

The weather for the competition was truly awful and a few people had problems getting to Somerford—however Frankie Swallow’s journey

was more event than anyone else as her mum explained to me in an email, as it is such a special story we have decided to share it with you as the tale epitomises our BYRDS NW Spirit:

Hi Moira,

Saw you briefly on Sunday and how busy you were so I didn't get the chance to speak to you! However, I thought I must drop you a quick note to make you aware of how amazing the NW team spirit really is.

In the horrendous conditions of Sunday the wind got under the metal shell of one side of our lorry and tore the side, like a sardine can, back from the cab to the liv-ing. We were stuck on the M5 in the pour-ing rain and high winds with the side of our lorry being buffeted by the metal. It was absolutely terrifying.

A real example of team spirit!

We need your help, as a BYRDS NW member it is important and ex-pected that you put something back into BYRDS NW – your help is

needed at the NW Summer Regionals. Please contact Jane Whit-ney, we provide all the judges lunches, sheet collect, and provide

tea and coffee for the judges.

Please email Jane - janewhitney@talktalk.net

The funds raised go towards all our training includ-

ing the team training, we support you so please help and support us!

A Guide to Representational Teams 2012

P a g e 1 2

BYRDS NORTH WEST ALWAYS NEEDS HELP AT EVENTS AND FUND

RAISING, SO GET INVOLVED BY DROPPING ME AN EMAIL.

Selection for

teams in 2012

I will be putting out a second call for progress charts in the next few weeks so please make

sure we have your contact details. To be considered for any team you must have done 3 BD

training sessions in the previous 12 months. Remember Camp counts as 2 and for those on

National / Squad training this year these count as well.

For all competitions apart from Sheepgate and the Inter Regionals you need to be achieving

64% and above at affiliated competitions, for those of you wishing to be considered for the

Home International where you will wear the St. Georges Flag you need to be competing at

Novice level or above (up to medium).

The composition of each team varies from one com-

petition to the next and sometimes one year to an-

other. We have tried to outline below how teams for

each of the major competitions are constructed.

Whilst anyone can come to Regional training we

recommend that you become a BD training member

and to be considered for a team you must be a full

member on a registered horse.

Home International – In 2012 this is being run

by England and will be on the 20th-21st October at

Bishop Burton. We will be sending 3 teams, each

team is made up of four riders which is a combina-

tion of pony, junior and young riders (at least one

at each level), riding at novice, elementary and me-

dium (again at least one at each level). Riders se-

lected will be notified in July / August.

Sheepgate Under 25’s Championship - Is open

to BD members on registered horses and ponies.

We will be sending teams and the composition of

teams is different for 2012, we can send one team

of 4 riders at each level from prelim to medium /

Advanced.

For Sheepgate you can qualify and compete as an

individual by obtaining 2 score sheets at affiliated

competitions in the current year at the appropriate

percentage (Prelim. 62%, Novice 65%, Elem 65%,

Med 63%, Advanced Med 62%). Copies of score

sheets clearly stating date and venue must be for-

warded to Karen Ryder at the BD Office.

In line with the National Selection Policy riders can

usually only represent their Region twice in any year

so please indicate both your first and second choice

on the Progress Chart and make sure your contact

details are clear.

P a g e 1 3

BYRDS NORTH WEST AWARDS 2012

Do you enjoy being a BYRDS NW member then why not become a BYRDS NW Ambassador?

For those members who continue to help out at all our BYRDS, regional and national events we are introducing the Ambassador award. To qualify as a BYRDS NW Ambassa-

dor and earn your ambassador badge which

can be worn on training tops and shell jack-

ets you need to help out at two regional BYRDS events (BYRDS Camp, sheet collect-ing at our Championship show, helping at a training clinic welcoming new members) and one regional/ national event (sheet collect-ing at the Premier League, the Regionals, Addington CDI Pony/Jnr/YR).

To get involved just download the Ambassa-dor Log from the web and start logging when you help out. Remember to get it signed off by either Moira or, the event or-ganiser. BYRDS members who achieve their Ambassador Award will be honoured at our Annual Presentation Evening.

NEW

FOR

2012

OLYMPICS COMES TO THE NW

Do you regularly attend monthly train-ing and camps would you like to work towards a ‘training medal?’ then our

new award system could be for you.

In 2012 BYRDS NW is introducing the NW Training Medal Scheme for fledgling, pony, junior and young riders. The pathway is de-

velopmental and riders move through three stages bronze, silver, and gold, at each level you will receive a badge which can be worn on your training tops/shell jackets. When you achieve your gold award you can put

yourself forward for your Training Medal As-sessment, when you successfully complete this you will be awarded with your Training Medal at our Annual Presentation Evening. To learn more about the structure and what you have to do read on, details on the next page.

CHECK THE WEB FOR TRAINING RECORDS!

TRAINING AWARD

SCHEME

NEW

FOR

2012

Are you in the Pony Club? Have you told

your friends about BYRDS?

P a g e 1 4

TRAINING AWARD DETAILS 2012

Earning Your Points:

At each training session you will be award-ed points (1-10) by your trainer in the fol-lowing areas:

1. Tack and turnout

2. Trainability (how much you listen, com-

municate – ask questions, effort)

3. Improvement from the last session (how much you have improved/ homework worked on)

You will be responsible for bringing your

log to each session and your trainer will complete the scoring. When you get the required number of points / have complet-ed the necessary components at that level you send your log to me (by post) and you will receive your level badge and certifi-cate.

You need to remember to always have your log with you, trainers can only sign it at the training session, and you can’t back date or say I’ve forgotten it. You carry over points so the system is progressive; when you get your bronze award then you have to get another 60 points for your silver for example.

Bronze Training Badge

60 points and attendance at stable management workshop (this can be done at Camp).

Silver Training Badge

120 points, attendance at a stable management work-shop (this cannot be car-

ried over from the bronze award), one squad test sheet at your level.

Gold Training Badge

180 points, attendance at a stable management/ work-shop (again a different one from your silver award),

completion of proficiency certificate, two squad test sheets at the appropriate level.

TRAINING MEDAL

When you have complet-ed your gold training badge you can go for-ward to your training medal assessment. You will go to an assessed training session where you will have to complete

a training session (including riding your

squad test) participate in a question and answer session with the trainer and ob-serve another rider and give feedback to the trainer on what you have observed, you will need to have a good knowledge of the scales of training and the way of going for this part. The trainer will then ask you some questions and based on your perfor-mance through all parts you will if success-ful qualify for your training medal.

Training

Award

Scheme

2012

NEW FOR 2012

P a g e 1 5 P a g e 1 5

Judith Harris North West Chair on

the Success of the BYRDS NW Activities

Are you in the Pony Club? Have you told

your friends about BYRDS?

After each of our events I email Judith and let her know what has happened and what we have been

up to. I thought you would all be interested in what she has to say about BYRDS and our successes

ABOUT OUR LAST NEWSLETTER…...

I am again very impressed with the content, the reviews by the riders, the training and all that is going on. I think the medals for Olympic year are a brilliant idea. What a fantastic team of trainers, judges and riders we have in the North West. I wish I was young enough to join BYRDS!, such a lot of thought goes into the seasons programme. This is a wonderful and con-suming sport and to have access to such talented and committed people can only improve our sport and produce world class riders.

ABOUT OUR NW CHAMPIONSHIP SHOW…..

what BRAVE BYRDS, parents, stewards, judges etc. etc. etc. What a shock to have the side of the lorry blown off, thank goodness there was someone to help them. Riders and horse people are made of such strong stuff and to go on and get placed is absolutely remarkable. Like the bit about Abide with me and the Titanic, there must be a moral there somewhere. You got blown about but didn't sink, I like it.

Coming up in the next issue:

Reports from the Inter Regionals, Sheepgate, competing for GB, and being a

BYRDS NW member

New initiatives

10 things you didn’t know about your trainers!

Have we got your contact details? If you have changed email addresses, or not updated your contact details in the last 12 months then download and fill in the Contact Details Update form on the BD NW website. You could be missing out on getting involved in our

activities!

Albion Saddlers

Ashbrook Equine Hospital

Watts Transport

Corbett Feed Merchants

Knowsley Safari Park

Mrs. Toole

Patsy Bartram

Janet Horswill

Off the wall…… Some of your comments

P a g e 1 7

We would just like to say Thank you and what a truely enjoy-

able weekend both myself and Ruth had at camp, It has really

encouraged her to take part and stop doubting her abililty to

be a good rider. Everyone was very friendly and although we

did find it a bit daunting having not really met anyone

before, We were soon made to feel part of

Byrds. Thank you once again and we

would live to be part of the

October camp too.

Hi Moira thank you for all your efforts this weekend . It was our 1st camp and we all had a great time, made new friends and learnt a lot. Steph's lessons we felt were bril-liant and that she really improved the way she was riding. Please pass on our thanks to the ladies in the canteen whome without their fab

food and friendly banter, our weekend wouldn't have been such a nice experience

The camp was fabulous. Megan got a huge amount from it

(secretly I also enjoyed the washing up in the kitchen!). I think

she was worried that she did not have a horse, at the right

level, to be part of Byrds but the camp really proved her wrong

on this point. She is now trying to steal my horse as well once she completes her A levels!

Thank you once again to you and all the sup-port troops.

Appearing on the wall is easy just email

me and let me know what you think about

our BYRDS activities

I just wanted to drop you a line to say a big thank you to you.

We had a fantastic first trip to BYRDS Camp, Caitlan hasn't stopped talking

about what such a good time she had and she learnt this and that. So it

looks like you got the mix of fun and training just right. (Caitlan and Annette

Birley)

A huge thank you to everyone involved in making our first BYRDS camp a

fantastic experience!

Louise said that it was "the best weekend ever" and that she had gained a

great deal of knowledge, new friends and a lot of new found confidence both

in herself and her riding.

The welcome from everyone concerned was second to none and the friendly

team spirit created a platform to build upon at future camps - Louise will

certainly be a regular attendee.