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OLDHAM & DISTRICT RIDING CLUBOLDHAM & DISTRICT RIDING CLUBOLDHAM & DISTRICT RIDING CLUBOLDHAM & DISTRICT RIDING CLUB NEWSLETTER NEWSLETTER NEWSLETTER NEWSLETTER

DECDECDECDECember ember ember ember 2010201020102010

Who’s Who at ODRC

Chair Person Sue Hollingworth 07970 857739 Vice Chair Steve Hopkinson 07973 268261 Treasurer Lisa Wake 01457 839919 / 07877 863513 Secretary Abi Atherton 01457 810211 Membership Lesley Illingworth 0161 785 8989 Instruction Krystina Bamber 07970 813193

Lauren Rothwell 07584 301253 Friezland User Group Sue Hollingworth 07970 857739 Arthur Prowse 01457 870407 Teams Vicky Hollingworth 07970 857739 Northern Liaison Grp Rep Arthur Prowse 01457 870407 Newsletter Editor Minda Wigley 01457 870421 mindaHGF@live.co.uk Bridleways Peter Carter 01457 873344 Website Andy Morrison 01457 820524 silverhillstables@btinternet.com Social Secretary Amanda Godwin 07754 742232 amandagodwin@aol.com Child Protection Haydee Seton-Jones 07734 405258

Show Organisers Members Only Novice Lauren Rothwell 07584 301253

Steve Hopkinson 0161 624 5269 Show Jumping Rachel Roebuck 07968 043539 Christine Howarth 07960 707619 Showing/Working Hunter Tracy Shaw 07927 044804

Judy Worthington 07876 782941 Dressage Lesley Illingworth 0161 789 8989

Bridget Tibbot 07814 327016 Combined Training Alana Bennett 07872 583182 Denzil Edwards 07899 054799 Sponsored Ride Peter Carter 01457 873344 peter-s-carter@tiscali.co.uk Riding Club Camp Sue Hollingworth 07970 857739 Minda Wigley 01457 870421

Other Committee Members: Tim Partridge 07976 561632 Deb Prowse 01457 870407

last call for

presentation night -

saturday

4 december 2010

8pm Saddleworth Cricket, Bowling and Tennis Club. (For directions see page 7) Tickets available from Abi Atherton on 07740 776565

From the Editor:

Welcome to the December edition of the Newsletter. As I send this out there is a blizzard raging outside my window. I hope the snow isn't causing you too many problems, although I suspect this is a forlorn hope! I know already of members having to clamber through waist high snow drifts to reach their horses. Such dedication is heroic but necessary.

We have one last event before the end of the year and that is Presentation Night on 4 December so make sure you don't miss out. If you haven't already bought your tickets, ring Abi Atherton on 07740 776565.

In the rest of the newsletter this month we've got:

• Details of how to get your tickets for Presentation Night and directions for how to get there pg 7

• news of impending drama over the future of Friezland Arena and some other items that cropped up at the AGM pg 2

• the list of new Committee Members for 2011 pg 3

• the thrills and spills of the team showjumping at Woodnook on 28 November pg 3

• the third in a series of articles for the winter months giving advice on what is involved at the various different types of show to prepare you for 2011, this month kindly written by Halia Williams (pg 5-7

• the story of Jacky Knight's struggle with bureaucracy to identify her horse! pg 4

Over to you ...

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just a minutejust a minutejust a minutejust a minute (snippets from the annual general meeting held on 11 november)

Impending Drama over Friezand Arena At the last meeting of Friezland User Group a council representative dropped a bombshell – that Oldham Council are to cease funding Friezland Arena after the end of March 2011. They gave an ultimatum that the Friezland User Group (or some other group) must take over responsibility for the management and maintenance of the arena or the council would not only shut it, but demolish it. FUG are to look at the original management plan set up for the arena to see if it is in any way possible for it to be managed by them. The main concern (apart from the practicalities of the upkeep of the site) is whether or not the council would continue to insure the site for public use.

Other news from the FUG included that the cattle grid at the entrance to the top car park has now been filled in to make it possible for horses to cross the entrance and so the top car park can now be used for trailers and horseboxes.

Bridleways Peter Carter expressed concern that maintenance of the bridleways might (like Friezland Arena) become an even lower priority for the Council next year given the overall pressure on the public purse. It was noted that one of the bridges on the bridle path behind Friezland had a hole in one of the planks which was dangerous but despite reports sent to OMBC on several occasions, no repair had been carried out.

Northern Liaison Group Two new clubs are to be affiliated to the group and these will be listed in the 2011p0o-[=p ODRC Schedule. In future Area Showjumping competitions and the Area One Day Event will be open to horses with points, although they will have to enter the Open classes. Also vaccinations certificates for area competitions will be checked on a different basis in future. The first 2 years of vaccinations plus the most recent 5 years will be looked at to ensure that the intervals between vaccinations are correct. The 2011 Area One Day Event will again be held at Kelsall Hill.

Team Events Members were reminded that it is up to them to contact Sue Hollingoworth (Teams Manager) if they are interested in participating in a team. The teams cater for all standards of rider and all members are welcome to have a go, but it is very time-consuming and expensive for the team organiser to contact everyone individually to invite them to join in.

Helpers at Shows Although it was acknowledged that help at shows had been less of a problem this year than in the past it was felt that members should be reminded of the obligation to help out at least once a year at a sh89io vow. You might also have missed the fact that, if you are awarded the "Most Loyal Member" trophy for helping during the year, you will be awarded free membership for the following year.

Changes to 2011 Dressage Show Schedule As all the rosettes for the Prelim class seem to be awarded to those riders who also compete in the Novice class (and are therefore more advanced) it was agreed that the Prelim class should be split into a restricted class (those competing only at Prelim level) and an open class (those competing at Prelim and other higher level classes). It was also agreed that the restriction on entering only two dressage classes should be removed.

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New Committee for 2011 Chair: Sue Hollingworth Vice Chair Amanda Godwin and Steve Hopkinson Treasurer Lisa Wake Secretary Abi Atherton Website Michael Wigley Membership Amanda Godwin Newsletter Minda Wigley Teams Sue Hollingworth Instruction Krystina Bamber Friezland User Group Arthur Prowse Northern Liaison Group Arthur Prowse Bridleways Peter Carter Showing & Working Hunter Shows Tracy Shaw Dressage Shows Rachel Roebuck and Heidi Newton Combined Training Sue Hamer Camp Sue Hollingworth & Minda Wigley Members Only Novice Show Lauren Rothwell & Steve Hopkinson Child Protection Officer Haydee Seton-Jones Helper Co-ordinator Alana Bennett Other Committee Members Denzil Edwards Lesley Illingworth

Andy Morrison Tim Partridge Norma Roberts Showjumping Vacant Socials Anyone with any good ideas! (so have a think!)

teams update by Sue Hollingworth, Teams Manager

On Sunday 28th November 4 teams braved the weather to compete at Woodnook arena in the Rockwood Pony Club team showjumping competition. The Novice team consisted of Caroline Coldwell, Megan Lockwood, Becky Hebb and Sarah Mottley (riding Buffy for only the second time ever! – the first time was only the day before walking and trotting on a hack!) Sarah was filling in for Jill Dinsdale who had loaded Black Jack onto the trailer and left the yard but, owing to road conditions, never made it to Woodnook. So thank you to Sarah for stepping into the breach. After all that stress the novice team came second out of nine teams after the jump off for first place. (Shame! So very nearly winning it!)

In the Intermediate we had two teams. One of Krystina Bamber's ponies went down in the trailer before she even left home so he was left behind. So after a bit of reorganisation the teams comprised: Team 1: Sue Hollingworth on Xander, Sarah Mottley on Buffy (again!) Megan Lockwood on Fay. Team 2: Sarah Mottley on Blue, Roger Matthews on Tommy, Lisa Wake on Buster, Krystina Bamber on Just Ginni

The team of 4 came 4th out of 10 teams. Unfortunately the other team was eliminated after Megan and Fay had a crashing fall in the working-in arena, in which both horse and rider hit the deck. (Fay appeared to be fine afterwards but, as team manager, I made the decision to withdraw rather than risk harming the horse after the shock of the fall.)

The Open team consisted of Bridget Tibbot on Brad (Easy Flight is his posh name), Roger Matthews on Tommy, Lisa Wake on Buster and Sarah Mottley (again!) on Buffy - by this third attempt, Sarah had well and truly worked out how Buffy ticks. The team came 5th out of 6 teams, which was a very good attempt indeed as this was the first Open team that we've entered in quite a long time.

Many thanks to all the riders for turning out despite the weather conditions and putting on such a good show.

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passport blunder threatens nijinsky's friezland appearancepassport blunder threatens nijinsky's friezland appearancepassport blunder threatens nijinsky's friezland appearancepassport blunder threatens nijinsky's friezland appearance by Jacky Knight Now that the winter is upon us I’ve been catching up on my equine administration and magazine reading and I came across some adverts and articles for the National Equine Database (NED). "The National Equine Database (NED) is a collaborative project between Defra and the horse industry. Defra need a database (NED) to hold details of all equines with passports to fulfil the requirements of European Union legislation and the horse industry need a public national database (NED Online) so that information on all UK equines could be held in a central location for everyone to view. (http://www.nedonline.co.uk/public/History.aspx)." Intrigued I decided to look at the passport details held against my horse to make sure they were in fact correct and I hadn’t bought a ‘clone’. As it turns out there are 22 male bays born in 1999 called Harvey but none registered with Weatherbys, the Passport Issuing Organisation (PIO). Maybe I had bought a clone! Quick change of search criteria after looking up the passport number and the results turned up ‘Foal Not Yet Named’. I checked all the other details e.g., Dam, Sire, microchip number etc. They all matched, he just wasn’t named. I decided to ‘associate’ myself with the aforementioned ‘Foal’ in order to at least change his name and there is an option to leave further details and photos just in case you have to report a missing or stolen horse. I couldn’t do the ‘associating’, and a few e-mails to NED online later it transpires that I have moved house since acquiring Harvey and the database did not recognise my current address. I also couldn’t change his name through NED. That has to be done via the PIO. Further dabbling on the website revealed that we had overlooked informing the passport authority of the death of our old boy last year. So it’s time to update the passports. Oops! I still wanted to register my 11 year old ‘Foal with No Name’ as Harvey, the name you have all come to know and love (or should I change it to Clint as in Eastwood?) [Ed: for those of you too young to know, Clint Eastwood was "the man with no name". Perhaps he should be called "America" who in the 1970s sang about riding through the desert on "a horse with no name"] I contacted Weatherbys, as the Passport Issuing Organisation, and asked them how I go about getting his name changed as the on-line forms are for change of ownership only. It transpires that for a small fee of £112.90 I can register a racing or breeding name for their stud/racing book. Other than that he remains ‘Foal Not yet Named’. I think I’ll give that a miss. There are over 200 male bays and over 200 female bays born in 1999 that are listed as ‘Foal Not Yet Named’ and with almost 400,000 Weatherbys passports issued it makes you wonder how many never made it to racing and have never been formally named. Anyway I did some more dabbling on the database and took an opportunity to look at Harvey’s pedigree. Now I don’t know a great deal about racehorses apart from a few famous names like Red Rum, Desert Orchid, Hello Dandy, Shergar and Nijinsky. NIJINSKY was ridden by Lester Piggott in the 70s and won the Derby a few times. Well the pedigree revealed that Harvey is his great grandson - No I wouldn’t have believed it either if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. So do I tell him he’s got a successful heritage and a lot to live up to or do I keep him in the dark as one of the anonymous ‘Foal Not Yet Named’?

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what's involved in competing at ....?what's involved in competing at ....?what's involved in competing at ....?what's involved in competing at ....? This is the third of a series of articles to be featured over the winter months describing what is required for the different kinds of shows you can participate in at ODRC at Friezland Arena. Many of us tend to stick to the same type of shows each year but perhaps one or more of these articles might whet your appetite to have a go at something different. My thanks to Halia Williams for her help with this series of articles. At ODRC we have many Ridden Showing and In-Hand classes. In January, February and March, I will go into greater detail for each Class. This month, we’ll be looking at the most important thing in every class, ridden or in-hand – the individual show. This will give you time to practise over the winter. RIDDEN SHOWING Every ridden class will require each competitor to do an individual show. There may be a slight variation in the rules for each class, e.g. in some classes it would be frowned upon to gallop. However, the all important basics are the same for each class. The aim of the individual show is to show off your horse whilst NOT sending the judge to sleep with the longest show in the history of showing! The judge needs to see that your horse:

• moves well,

• is well balanced,

• can show a lengthened trot,

• can bend correctly,

• has good paces,

• can strike off on the correct canter lead,

• is obedient and well mannered, and

• can show a good gallop and a rein back (if required) To achieve these things requires regular schooling, time and effort and will not only make your horse a pleasure to watch but also a pleasure to ride. So, let’s look at a show that allows you to include all the points mentioned in the shortest possible time. Imagine you are in the line up and it’s your turn to do your show. You walk out to the Judge and stand your horse whilst the Judge looks at his conformation. When the Judge has finished you will get a nod or a ‘Thank you’ which is your cue to go and do your show. In the diagrams on page 6 the Judge is at x. Diagram 1: Walk away from the Judge (A) in a straight line so that you show the straightness of your horse. As you get to the corner go into trot showing even rhythm along the short side. On the long side (B) show some lengthening and then circle left (C) showing a correct bend through the horse's body. Change the rein through D and circle right. Again it is important to show the correct bend. On reaching the centre of the figure of 8 (F) strike off into left canter. Diagram 2: Circle left (G) showing correct bend, control and obedience. On reaching the centre of the figure of 8 (H) change the rein through trot. This is probably the most important transition in your show and if done badly will show all your training faults. There should be no more than 3 trot strides during the transition and a common problem is striking off on the wrong leg. If you do strike off on the wrong leg and you correct it immediately, the Judge will see this as a mistake rather than a poorly schooled horse. Carrying on, on the wrong leg, is a big no-no and the Judge will drop you down the line. Top Tip: an odd number of trot strides will put you on the correct lead whereas an even number will put you wrong. Circle right in canter (I) but do not complete the circle, instead continue straight at J, turn the corner down the short side and as you get onto the long side (K) show a gallop if required. If you do gallop, then on the short side (L) you can continue around the back of the line up where you would slow down, trot, come round the line, approach the Judge in walk, halt and salute. If you do not gallop,

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trot on the short side (L) and on approaching the Judge, walk (M) then halt and salute. You may rein back 3 or 4 strides before you salute, remembering to walk forward again before halting. Diagram 1

Diagram 2

This show can be adapted depending on the ring you’re in so it is important that you look at the ring before your class and work out how you’re going to ride your show. IN-HAND SHOWING Showing your horse in-hand requires preparation and schooling in hand. These classes are all about the horse and it is up to the handler to show the horse off. The Judge is looking for:

• straightness,

• good paces in walk and trot,

• freedom of movement,

• good conformation, and

• presence. Teaching your horse to stand, walk and trot correctly at home will help to prepare for a show. As in the ridden classes, in-hand classes also require you to do an individual show. The show is very simple but done badly it is a missed opportunity. You will be required to stand in front of the Judge who will examine the horse’s conformation. During this time, your horse should be standing square. This will show it’s conformation off to its

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best. When the Judge has finished, you walk away from the Judge, walking very straight so that the Judge can watch the footfalls of the horse. You then turn the horse, always away from yourself, and trot back towards the Judge. Aim at the Judge, not to knock them over but so that they can see the straightness in the trot. Trust me; they will get out of the way. You are now going to trot around the ring, round the back of the line up, where you will come back to walk and go back in line. This part is the most important part of your show. The more you can lengthen your stride the more the horse can lengthen and it is this trot that will win the class. This is why it is important to practise at home where you should aim to teach your horse to lengthen its stride and for you to learn to match your stride to your horse’s. Some common in-hand problems are:

• The handler holds the rein too short causing the horse to turn its head into the handler and/or causing a shortened stride. The horse should be taught to be led with you at its shoulder and on a long rein; this will allow it to move forward and straight,

• The horse breaks into canter,

• The horse will not stand for the Judge. This, and the point before, is typical of youngsters so it is important to practise at home so that the horse is better prepared,

• The handler is in front of the horse pulling it along instead of staying at its shoulder and allowing it to walk freely.

As you can see, there is a lot of training involved in preparing a horse for showing. The more you do the better chance you have of winning and you’ve got a few months before the start of the season (weather permitting). If you have any questions email them to and I will try and answer them in the next newsletter. Happy schooling! Halia Williams BHSII (Regd.)

presentation night – 4 december 2010

Still not too late to get your tickets!

Depending on when you receive this Newsletter there may be fewer than 3 days to get your tickets for Presentation Night. So get your skates on and come and join us at Saddleworth Cricket, Bowling and Tennis Club to catch up with other members and celebrate the successes of the past year.

We'll be starting at 7.30pm with the presentations followed by a hot buffet and a disco. So, dust off your glad rags and cross your fingers that you'll be taking home a trophy, or at least a raffle prize! We look forward to seeing you there. Tickets are £10 per person available from Abi Atherton on 07740 776 565.

Directions to the venue

For those of you who haven't been to our presentation evening in the last few years, the Cricket Club is off Calf Lane, Greenfield, not far from our show ground. Assuming you're already familiar with the location of the showground, heading out from the arena, take a right turn onto Manchester Road (towards Mossley), pass the Royal George pub on your left and take the very next right down Calf Lane - it's a single lane track and quite easy to miss, if you pass a small estate of new houses you've gone too far. The entrance to the cricket club is the first right turn off Calf Lane.

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