Past Team Events
Robins Round Up
LSE Horse Trials Championships Mattingley
With summer disappearing fast, light fading and the temperature dropping, I was just contemplating a migration to warmer climates for the winter (i.e. growing a thicker coat), when my day dreaming was rudely interrupted by a massive increase in my exercise regime …… well at least it made my diet worthwhile! This consisted of an endless round of circles, straight lines and transitions, the thought of which just sounds exhausting. Although just as you are starting to feel sorry for me, the slave did have the good grace to take me out for some show jumping and cross country practice as well.
With the extra work load, I had smelt a rat and was not too surprised to see the slave appearing through the gloom at some ridiculously early hour of the morning. I was definitely less than impressed with the bath that followed and the needless coiffuring.
Upon arrival it was straight out to do the circle thing, where the white snakes on the ground were very scary. I then bumped into my mate Basil, whose slave looked quite pleased by his efforts. After what seemed like hours we moved onto the pole thing, where Basil and I had a good natter. Basil did a great round, considering the course was extremely twisty and he is a giant, for a clear. I whizzed round, this was more like it …. fun at last. More time passed and then I watched Basil start off on the cross country. The commentary sounded as if they were having a good round, and soon it was my turn to be off. Wow, what fun, good galloping stretches, scary holes in the ground, nasty puddles and at last the finish flags.
Silverlea Robin’s Pincushion & Sonia Chapman
Basil Brown & Emily Seymour
With the extra work load, I had smelt a rat and was not too surprised to see the slave appearing through the gloom at some ridiculously early hour of the morning. I was definitely less than impressed with the bath that followed and the needless coiffuring.
Upon arrival it was straight out to do the circle thing, where the white snakes on the ground were very scary. I then bumped into my mate Basil, whose slave looked quite pleased by his efforts. After what seemed like hours we moved onto the pole thing, where Basil and I had a good natter. Basil did a great round, considering the course was extremely twisty and he is a giant, for a clear. I whizzed round, this was more like it …. fun at last. More time passed and then I watched Basil start off on the cross country. The commentary sounded as if they were having a good round, and soon it was my turn to be off. Wow, what fun, good galloping stretches, scary holes in the ground, nasty puddles and at last the finish flags.
Silverlea Robin’s Pincushion & Sonia Chapman
Basil Brown & Emily Seymour
Adieu
After 3 years of writing this column it is time to hang up my quill as I have retired from eventing. As much as I love jumping, I will not miss doing dressage tests and the thought of never having to do another is quite exciting. Although I will not be fully retiring with hacking, some show jumping, cross country and maybe some hunting (pretty please slave).
So all that remains is for me to say a big thank you for all your support over the years, so long, farewell and adieu.
Robin and Sonia
Horse Trials Team Manager
So all that remains is for me to say a big thank you for all your support over the years, so long, farewell and adieu.
Robin and Sonia
Horse Trials Team Manager
National and L&SE Horse Trials Qualifier at Rackham, Pulborough 10th July 2011
I am still on a diet, and have been since my last update, but, any Burghley bound horse would have been jealous to have my sleek physique! Although, it does seem slightly unfair when no one else seems to be on a diet and it fact some people are grossly overweight ….. not naming any names …… Ginger!
Anyway, as a result, one slightly cold misty morning I made out the slave moving towards me rather than any of the other less talent or brilliant horses. I did think about hiding in case she was going to put my fly mask on …. honestly it is really scary! However, I escaped that one, but the bath I had instead was probably worse, but apparently I looked very smart. Then the ramp of the tin box thing came down to reveal a new ‘Robin eating’ floor. …. And at last we were off! On arrival I was kitted out in a fabulous new West Surrey numnah.
Then I wandered over to take part in the silly circle thing, this was awful but I blame the slave for not practicing enough. Consequently there was a slight communication issue, what did you want me to do? Halt, walk, gallop? I have no idea but it was soon over with. Basil did a calm accurate test, which showed a lot of practice had gone into it. Then new team member Bailey and Alice raced through their test as quickly as possible.
Even if I say so myself, West Surrey were amazing in the pole thing, with us all jumping great clear rounds. Basil’s slave did particularly well as the track was very twisty, a bit like a handy pony course and Basil is quite large to navigate around. Bailey was also very good but I think he was slightly surprised at the height of fences as he is a proper show jumper and jumps at places like Hickstead!
At last it got around to the galloping bit, although not before a massive rain storm … my hair style was completely ruined! The only lucky part about it was that, unfortunately for them, Basil and Bailey had to go cross country in the down pour. Basil was awesome eating up the course and giving his slave a great ride. Bailey and Alice went a tad slower, well show jumpers do not normally have to go that fast or through deep mud … yuck. Finally, it was my turn and I zoomed round, although apparently I got scarily close to the ditch of the trakehner, I just wanted to take a closer look. Anyway, it was a successful day with 3 double clears, Wahoo and qualification to the LSE Championships.
The now traditional team picnic was a huge success …. not that I was allowed to join in.
LSE Novice Team 6th Place
Basil & Emily Seymour (2nd Individual)
Bailey & Alice Philips
Robin & Sonia Chapman (4th Individual)
Please come & support the West Surrey Team at the LSE Championships at Mattingley, Hants on 25th September.
Robin and Sonia
Horse Trials Team Manager
Anyway, as a result, one slightly cold misty morning I made out the slave moving towards me rather than any of the other less talent or brilliant horses. I did think about hiding in case she was going to put my fly mask on …. honestly it is really scary! However, I escaped that one, but the bath I had instead was probably worse, but apparently I looked very smart. Then the ramp of the tin box thing came down to reveal a new ‘Robin eating’ floor. …. And at last we were off! On arrival I was kitted out in a fabulous new West Surrey numnah.
Then I wandered over to take part in the silly circle thing, this was awful but I blame the slave for not practicing enough. Consequently there was a slight communication issue, what did you want me to do? Halt, walk, gallop? I have no idea but it was soon over with. Basil did a calm accurate test, which showed a lot of practice had gone into it. Then new team member Bailey and Alice raced through their test as quickly as possible.
Even if I say so myself, West Surrey were amazing in the pole thing, with us all jumping great clear rounds. Basil’s slave did particularly well as the track was very twisty, a bit like a handy pony course and Basil is quite large to navigate around. Bailey was also very good but I think he was slightly surprised at the height of fences as he is a proper show jumper and jumps at places like Hickstead!
At last it got around to the galloping bit, although not before a massive rain storm … my hair style was completely ruined! The only lucky part about it was that, unfortunately for them, Basil and Bailey had to go cross country in the down pour. Basil was awesome eating up the course and giving his slave a great ride. Bailey and Alice went a tad slower, well show jumpers do not normally have to go that fast or through deep mud … yuck. Finally, it was my turn and I zoomed round, although apparently I got scarily close to the ditch of the trakehner, I just wanted to take a closer look. Anyway, it was a successful day with 3 double clears, Wahoo and qualification to the LSE Championships.
The now traditional team picnic was a huge success …. not that I was allowed to join in.
LSE Novice Team 6th Place
Basil & Emily Seymour (2nd Individual)
Bailey & Alice Philips
Robin & Sonia Chapman (4th Individual)
Please come & support the West Surrey Team at the LSE Championships at Mattingley, Hants on 25th September.
Robin and Sonia
Horse Trials Team Manager
West Surrey jumpers triumph at Royal International Horse Show
Despite my despair at the lack of interest in show-jumping within the club, I set off with 3 enthusiastic competitors on Sunday 31st July, to Hickstead for the Riding Clubs team of three competition.
Emma Kampa and Harry had kindly stepped in at the very last minute to be our ‘novice’ combination jumping the 85cm fences. The course looked innocuous enough, but the wet grass on firm ground caused lots of slip ups (quite literally, but thankfully no-one seriously hurt) and clear rounds were thin on the ground. However Emma rode in her usual determined style and Harry rose to the occasion and cleared all the fences in fine style.
After the first round there were only about a dozen clears out of the 97 entered teams.
Next up for West Surrey was Emily Seymour with Basil. Emily looked slightly less nervous than last year and also rode with determination for another superb clear round over the 95cm course. By this time a small support group had appeared to cheer on the team and sunbathe by the arena. The teams on a zero score were down to a handful.
Last, but not least, was Alice Phillips riding Bailey. Alice had been at Hickstead all week competing successfully in 1.10m amateur classes. So, although only a junior, the 1.05 course was a little bit of a step down for Alice, although she did have the added pressure of keeping the team in contention on her shoulders. Despite his previous exertions Bailey wasn’t tired and flew around to achieve our third clear – the crowd went wild!!
Only one other club also finished on a clean sheet, so it was down to a combined time to decide first and second place. All our team members had gone at a sensible pace, bearing in mind the numerous falls we had seen occur on the slippery ground. It ended up being only 3 seconds that denied us the coveted winner’s rugs. However the second place rosettes were no less treasured and it was fantastic to see our team take their place in the lap of honour.
Keep an eye out for reports in Local Rider magazine where you should hopefully see our team in all their glory.
The next event on the show-jumping agenda is the team ‘friendly’ at Elstead Riding Club in November. It may not be quite so glamorous as Hickstead, but the fences are also less daunting, so please give me a call or e-mail if you’d like to compete for the club without the added pressure of being a qualifier. I am very keen for the club to be represented at these local events, so let’s get out there and have some fun!
I am also keen to arrange some more training sessions for anyone who wants to ‘take their feet off the ground’. How about some practice in a no pressure environment a couple of weeks before our indoor show at Merrist Wood? I can arrange instruction for every level of experience or courage – from poles on the ground to 1m plus - at Thundry Farm in Elstead. If anyone is interested please let me know as I can only make firm arrangements if I have sufficient interest. If anyone has other venues/instructors that they prefer please let me know as I’m personally not local to Surrey Heath so I am open to other suggestions.
Jacqui jacquipeterson@aol.com 07538 476896
Jacqui Peterson
SJ Team Manager
Emma Kampa and Harry had kindly stepped in at the very last minute to be our ‘novice’ combination jumping the 85cm fences. The course looked innocuous enough, but the wet grass on firm ground caused lots of slip ups (quite literally, but thankfully no-one seriously hurt) and clear rounds were thin on the ground. However Emma rode in her usual determined style and Harry rose to the occasion and cleared all the fences in fine style.
After the first round there were only about a dozen clears out of the 97 entered teams.
Next up for West Surrey was Emily Seymour with Basil. Emily looked slightly less nervous than last year and also rode with determination for another superb clear round over the 95cm course. By this time a small support group had appeared to cheer on the team and sunbathe by the arena. The teams on a zero score were down to a handful.
Last, but not least, was Alice Phillips riding Bailey. Alice had been at Hickstead all week competing successfully in 1.10m amateur classes. So, although only a junior, the 1.05 course was a little bit of a step down for Alice, although she did have the added pressure of keeping the team in contention on her shoulders. Despite his previous exertions Bailey wasn’t tired and flew around to achieve our third clear – the crowd went wild!!
Only one other club also finished on a clean sheet, so it was down to a combined time to decide first and second place. All our team members had gone at a sensible pace, bearing in mind the numerous falls we had seen occur on the slippery ground. It ended up being only 3 seconds that denied us the coveted winner’s rugs. However the second place rosettes were no less treasured and it was fantastic to see our team take their place in the lap of honour.
Keep an eye out for reports in Local Rider magazine where you should hopefully see our team in all their glory.
The next event on the show-jumping agenda is the team ‘friendly’ at Elstead Riding Club in November. It may not be quite so glamorous as Hickstead, but the fences are also less daunting, so please give me a call or e-mail if you’d like to compete for the club without the added pressure of being a qualifier. I am very keen for the club to be represented at these local events, so let’s get out there and have some fun!
I am also keen to arrange some more training sessions for anyone who wants to ‘take their feet off the ground’. How about some practice in a no pressure environment a couple of weeks before our indoor show at Merrist Wood? I can arrange instruction for every level of experience or courage – from poles on the ground to 1m plus - at Thundry Farm in Elstead. If anyone is interested please let me know as I can only make firm arrangements if I have sufficient interest. If anyone has other venues/instructors that they prefer please let me know as I’m personally not local to Surrey Heath so I am open to other suggestions.
Jacqui jacquipeterson@aol.com 07538 476896
Jacqui Peterson
SJ Team Manager
London & South East Dressage Qualifier
After struggling to get a team together, my team of myself & Horatio, Julie Johnson & King's Dragoon, Georgie Nott & Waterford Bay and Harriet Wilks & Santa Cruz headed off to Bookham for the London & South East Dressage Qualifier. It was a scorching hot day, even at 8.30 in the morning, the organisers kindly agreed to allow riders to go without jackets !
All teams were to ride Prelim - first to go was Julie & Goon - who did a lovely test, next to go was Georgie with Waterford Bay ably assisted by Jacquie Peterson - who again perform beautifully in the heat. After a quick dash back to the yard to get my horse and unfortunately due to circumstances beyond my control - I returned to Bookham horseless and had to withdraw. Last to go was our new member Harriet Wilks - with her rather handsome Santa Cruz - who had all the ladies swooning over him. Again they performed a beautiful test to leave the ring with a round of applause from his new fan club!
Sadly the team did not feature in the overall placings but individually in their relevant sections, Julie was 14th, Georgie was just out the placings with 7th and Harriet was 10th. I'm delighted with how everyone performed and hope to see them all at team dressage events over the winter.
If you would like to represent your club at dressage - please don't feel you have to be called Anky or have a horse called Totilas - as long as you can commit to attending on the day and if you qualify, can attend the championship - all are welcome.
Keep an eye out for dressage team events coming up over the winter.
Carol Cannon
Dressage Team Manager
All teams were to ride Prelim - first to go was Julie & Goon - who did a lovely test, next to go was Georgie with Waterford Bay ably assisted by Jacquie Peterson - who again perform beautifully in the heat. After a quick dash back to the yard to get my horse and unfortunately due to circumstances beyond my control - I returned to Bookham horseless and had to withdraw. Last to go was our new member Harriet Wilks - with her rather handsome Santa Cruz - who had all the ladies swooning over him. Again they performed a beautiful test to leave the ring with a round of applause from his new fan club!
Sadly the team did not feature in the overall placings but individually in their relevant sections, Julie was 14th, Georgie was just out the placings with 7th and Harriet was 10th. I'm delighted with how everyone performed and hope to see them all at team dressage events over the winter.
If you would like to represent your club at dressage - please don't feel you have to be called Anky or have a horse called Totilas - as long as you can commit to attending on the day and if you qualify, can attend the championship - all are welcome.
Keep an eye out for dressage team events coming up over the winter.
Carol Cannon
Dressage Team Manager
