e-newsletter December 2013

trian.

So what are your goals for

2014? Win a local competition,

take part in your first clear

round jumping. Get back in the

saddle after a fall? Or sit nerv-

ously as your dear child takes to

the saddle for the first time?

No matter how big or small

your goal is for the coming year;

we believe we can help you

along the way. We will no

doubt have seen it, heard of it

or in a lot of cases, been

through it ourselves.

We all have our own battles to

fight, whether it be a difficult

youngster when breaking in, a

dressage test that keeps getting

the better of you or something

that affects us all, our own con-

fidence and self belief. We hope

that if you come up against any-

thing in the horsey world, you

can feel confident you have the

local facility to help and guide

you.

Whatever your goals for 2014,

we’d love to hear from you and

take a small bite of an elephant

for you….metaphorically speak-

ing!!!

Seasons greetings to all. Well

we’re on the verge of another

new year. A new beginning. A

fresh start. Time to turn over a

new leaf. Its amazing how many

phrases we have for something

that scientifically is perhaps

quite trivial; the end of one day

and beginning of the next. We

don’t set ourselves a new Mon-

days resolution; so why do we

feel the need to make such an

occasion of what is just the

continuation of time? For me at

least, I love a the start of a new

year, I see it as a chance to

reset the clock and psychologi-

cally re-charge the batteries in

readiness for another years

work. With our lives so full of

work, stress, money issues,

health worries and the little

things that make us mutter un-

der our breath, I believe its

quite a luxury to look ahead and

conjure images of a better fu-

ture for you, for your children

or even for your horse. Looking

ahead gives us the freedom to

dream, to make a master plan

without the daily grind getting in

the way. I believe that it is this

positive thinking and goal setting

that leads to a fulfilled life. So

that one day we may look back

and say I did that, or I built that,

or I nurtured that or quite

simply, I lived that.

In the world of horses it’s im-

possible (without a lottery win

and a wealth of talent) to boldly

say, I’ll go to the Olympics in a

few years time. But I believe

there’s a saying to do with eat-

ing an elephant, that applies

here. I’ve always thought it a

strange analogy, but the senti-

ment is spot on. Life, if you try

to fathom the whole thing at

once, can be very daunting,

that’s why its important when

we set goals to realize that it’s

small steps that get us there,

small victories that set us on the

path or in the case of the ele-

phant, small bites apparently!

As your friendly riding school,

we would love to be able to

help you on your way to all of

your goals and dreams, but

something’s may be out of our

jurisdiction. i.e, if the goal is to

climb Everest, we may not be

able to help. What we can and

will help with is anything eques-

Well Christmas wouldn’t be

Christmas without our annual

trip to Olympia. Its strange what

we horse lovers do in the pur-

suit of enjoyment. Getting up

whilst its pitch black, cold and

wet. But every year we cannot

get our hands on enough tick-

ets. We hope you all had a fab

time and didn’t go too crazy in

the shopping area. It almost as if

the word temptation was in-

vented specifically for the mar-

ketplace at Olympia!!! Quite

unbelievably its only a

few months until the

tickets go on sale again,

so once they do, we’ll

let you all know. ….

Until next year dear

friends….

They come from all over

the globe…….

N E W S L E T T E R D A T E V O L U M E 1 ,

As we wave goodbye to 2013….2014 beckons.

People are coming from

across the globe to enjoy

SCE’s tuition!!! Well, may-

be a slight exaggeration.

But we have now formed a

partnership with a compa-

ny called Europartner. They

were looking for a location

on the South Coast to take

German exchange students

horse riding; where better

than South Coast Equestri-

an?! We trialled the system

last year and with both

parties very happy, we will

continue to host our Ger-

man cousins each year in

the School holidays. Lets

just hope we don’t train up

the next German Olympic

rider! This doesn’t really

affect our local customer,

but maybe a nice verifica-

tion that you’re coming to

the right place!

Owners club...

Due to popular demand, we are pleased to announce

that we have now created a club priced lesson spe-

cifically for local horse owners. Priced at just £16.50

for the hour. These group lessons are specifically tai-

lored to the needs of the group and have a strict max-

imum number of riders, so you can rest assured that

the lesson will be very good value for you and your

horse. So if you are a local horse owner looking for a

structured lesson, then don’t hesitate to get in touch.

The clubs will be fortnightly and a great way to get

your horse used to new environments. Also, when

the weather turns for the better, we will be able to

use our cross country training course to further add

to the lesson types available. Any further questions,

then please get in touch. We hope to see you and

your horse very soon.

...not just for Christmas

We understand the purse strings are

probably smoking with the amount of

use they’ve had over the Christmas

period. But just in case you have

somebodies Birthday coming up or

you’d just like to treat someone. We

can offer gift vouchers for any

amount, large or small. Get in touch

for details.

Recommend a friend... We can’t start a new year without a special offer.

So we’re bringing back recommend a friend. So, if

you recommend a friend and they book a lesson

with us then you will get a lesson absolutely free!

That’s right free! (up to max value £22.00). So do

you know someone that’s looking for a new facili-

ty? Know someone that’s been thinking about

giving it a go? A friend that has a child that would

like to start? A stranger in the street looks like

they may be horsey….try anyone!

2014 Price increases

Weekend group lessons —£22.00 No change

Pony Club — £28.00

Clubs — £16.50 No change

Private lessons — 1 hour £33.00

45 min £30.00

30 min £23.00

Semi-private — 1 hour £28.00

45 min £24.00

30 min £21.00

Stephs lessons — 1 hour £40.00

45 min £35.00

30 min £30.00

Own a Pony Day — £48.00

Activity Day — £38.00

As always we’ve tried to

keep any increases to a

minimum. Where we can,

we’ve kept prices the same.

Other prices have increased

by just £1.00. It’s above my

brain power to fully under-

stand economics, inflation

and other exciting topics,

but all we mortals see is

that it unfortunately makes

feed, insurance, utilities etc

more expensive. As ever,

we are just aiming to keep

pace with increasing costs.

We hope you understand

and believe our services still

represent good value.

Beginners luck.

It was a busy years competing for Steph. Those that are regulars at SCE towers will

recognise the pretty boy Murdoch in the photographs. He was bought as a project as

although his breeding was second to none, he hadn’t had the best start to his career.

His rider/owner unfortunately became ill and was unable to compete him. When we

contacted the owner, she was over the moon to let him come to us to restart his

training. This delayed start to the handsome chaps competing meant he had to work

hard to make his competition successes match his years of age. So Steph took the

proverbial bull by the horns and got to work. Whilst Steph favours eventing and

showjumping, Murdoch is a pink papered Hanoverian who is bred for dressage. So that’s where his journey

began. His breeding and talent showed through from the start and Murdoch Quali-

fied for the Pet Plan area championships with relative ease. This was a great achieve-

ment for a horses first season competing. When at the area champs, Murdoch and

Steph produced a solid performance. It didn’t even cross Stephs mind that he would-

qualify for Nationals.

So after washing her noble stead down and getting back into her ‘civvies’ Steph, in

true good sportsmanship, went to the arena to Clap the

placed riders at the end of the day. Fortunately for Murdoch

but not for Steph, 1st and 2nd placed riders were smart as

guardsmen and being handed their rosettes. Whilst the tannoy was hailing a mysteri-

ous Stephanie Geran who had been placed 3rd. Queue a very embarrassed Steph

now standing, on foot, next to two people on horses! At least she could laugh about

it, as did everyone else! So the boy had done it, in his first season competing, he had

qualified for the National Championships at his level. So it was back to Stephs old

stomping ground at Hartpury College in Gloucestershire (where she studied for her

Equine Science Degree). The trip was enjoyable for all and Murdoch performed brilliantly. Unfortunately he

wasn’t placed this time but for his inexperience, he really was a winner.

So, after a job well done, it was time for Murdoch to continue his Journey with a new owner. He now lives

at a lovely yard in Devon with a devoted new owner. We wish him and her all the best for the future.

I hope you enjoyed reading our newsletter. We again thank you all for your con-

tinued support. 2013 has been another great year for us and at last…...it stopped

raining (he says whilst looking out the window at saturated fields!!) If ever you

have any recommendations or thoughts, or even any services you would like us

to offer. Please get in touch.

We wish you a happy, healthy and horse filled 2014

Until next time, I wish you well.

Stephen