New Contributions Welcome

Countryside Deals.

It's a brand new daily deal website (similar to Groupon & Wowcher) aimed at equestrian & country pursuits. It's a place where your members can go to receive huge discounts on equestrian products.
If you could pass this email & attached flyer to your members, I would really appreciate it. We currently have a great prize draw running for anyone who signs up to the newsletters before 30th June 2012. All the details are at www.countrysidesidedeals.co.uk
As a thank you for using the site, your club members can get an additional discount if they use promo code: CLMAY12 if they buy a deal before the end of September 2012.
Thank you in advance.

Email News 12/04/12

Do you recognize anyone here

Posted by Helen Brettell on facebook

Email News 12/03/12

Email News 07/03/12

Email News 22/02/12

Email News 21/02/12

Email News 11/02/12

Email News 03/02/12

Email News 22/01/12

Email News 12/01/12

Email News 15/12/11

Email News 15/11/11

Stolen Carriages

From: Hannah Bryant
Date: 6 November 2011 21:30:08 GMT
Subject: Emailing: Carriage Photos

Hi Everyone

Unfortunately, we had a break in on Thursday night at the farm and two new carriages were stolen - pictures of one attached. It was very calculated as they went through the trouble of busting the gate out the way in the bottom hay fields, driving a truck as far up the field they could, walked up the yard and cut the chains to the barn where the carriages were, before pulling them all the way down the track in the mud to the field which is about quarter of a mile.




Anyway, please can you keep a look out for any carriages you see up for sale - also, do you have any ideas of how we can raise awareness and places to look for sales?

Thanks

Hannah xxxx

London and SE Champs

Thanks and well done to everyone who helped to run the L& SE Champs

Liz Bedingham who was as amazingly hardworking as ever,
Gaelan East and her Mum for the gigantic effort on Sunday, we really appreciate the huge contribution you made to the events success.
Thanks to the crew from OBH who tackled the most demanding job with huge pressure the scoring. They did a wonderful job and we ended the day earlier than most of the Championships
Thanks to Mike Scholl and Angela and George Bucknell for doing the SJ, Chiltern RC headed by Jenny Melbourne for the Dressage, SORC headed by Margaret and Peter for the XC, and Thames Valley headed by Laura for the S.J, and our Committee without whom the event would not have happened, Alison, Anna, Jenny and Julia,
We have had a few letters of thanks and there were quite a few thank-you's on the day, will forward these so they can be seen by those who did so much

Photos can be seen here
Results can be see here

Bridleway Petition

Would you consider signing this bridleway petition and passing the link to others please?

Woodlands petition

Championship News

BRC News

Patrick Print moves to Bucks

I received a surprise e-mail from Patrick Print (FBHS) this morning, telling me that he has moved to Long Crendon (near Aylesbury) and is available for teaching/training locally. Although he is in demand all over the UK and also abroad, he is keen to work a bit closer to home in future, leaving him more time to concentrate on his own horse.
He has also let Naphill RC know, but is leaving me to let everyone else know locally, so I am herewith sending you his details if you wish to contact him to arrange any commitments for your own Club, personal training or BHS events.
As many of you will know, he has recently stepped down as Chairman of the British Horse Society, a position he has held for 6 years, and this has given him much more time to spend with us grass roots people. I personally feel his move to our County will certainly be a huge boost and he is extremely talented but also, very grounded.
His details are as follows :-
Rose Cottage, 8 Chilton Road, Long Crendon, Aylesbury, Bucks HP18 9BU
Tel: 01844-201536
Mobile: 07771-538607
e-mail: patrickprint@hotmail.com
I hope this information will be of interest to you all, especially to your Training Officers.
Kind regards,
Jan Eedle-Wells

Kathy's day a great success

Kathy's day, a day in memory of our friend Kathy Lane was a great success and raised £654.37 for the Duchess of Kent hospice.
Well done to everyone who helped make the day a success
This is the Certificate and letter given to us by the Duchess of Kent Hospice for raising the money for Kathy's Day. view the certificate here

Bridleway news

Great Outdoors meeting Wed 25th May

Click here for details of an open meeting organized by the Mid & West Berks Local Access Forum (LAF). It follows on from the meeting last year which some of us riders attended - and which was noticed (I am not sure how we were noticed!). It won't get us new bridleway links and safer off-road riding straight away but it is really important that riders are seen at these sort of events as the natural tendency is to cater for walkers & cyclists and forget we exist. However, we are making progress (see below).
I will be facilitating workshop 3 but it would be good if we had riders represented at the others. Perhaps those who are involved with the fencing of Padworth Common might like to share their experiences at workshop 1 (parks and open spaces).......!!
Free buffet provided. The walk is optional. Hope to see you there.
The Local Access Forum is a group of volunteers, appointed by the Council, who wish to improve access. It is open to new applicants.

New provisional bridleway at Cold Ash

Some of you will know, and be using, the lovely new bridleway which connects the Ridge in Cold Ash with the Westrop Green area and the Bucklebury Alley - Bucklebury Common bridleway. This has been generously provided by Bernard Clark, the new owner of Westrop Farm. It was one of the many wishes put forward for the West Berks Rights of Way Improvement Plan (ROWIP) back in 2005. Bernard Clark wishes to divert the footpath running close to the farmhouse so Gill Hall asked if he would provide a bridleway at the same time! He said yes. It has been beautifully set out and we await the legal processing by the Council. I am sure everyone will be respectful of his stock while using it. I hear there has been a problem when a dog chased the sheep into the electric fence.

West Berks Local Transport Plan (LTP) - see www.westberks.gov.uk/ltp

This has now been published - and includes mention of equestrians! Councils are legally obliged to produce these. They concentrate on relieving congestion, providing travel choices etc. The BHS responded to the consultation pointing out that not all those who use roads were catered for in the draft plan, ie equestrians. West Berks Council listened and equestrians are now included more often in the LTP - search 'equestrian' and 'horse' - and it is not just 'racehorse'. The Local Access Forum was highly supportive of equestrian needs and continues to be so. In addition, a supplementary document is being produced titled 'Active travel'. I was invited to provide a chapter on equestrian activities which hopefully will be included. At Badminton this year, the BHS is launching a piece of research on the health benefits of riding in order to convince policy makers that riding is not an armchair sport......!!

Chieveley parish plan

A number of ideas were put forward by the community for multi-user off-road links and these are being pursued as opportunities arise. One is a new link to Snelsmore Common using a piece of neglected common land. A cycle route from Hampstead Norreys - Hermitage - Newbury has been on the cards for some while. The BHS has been invited to be involved in looking at the feasibility, but there are obstacles.

Keep a look out for the development of new cycling and walking links in your area. We need to bring our needs to the attention of the planners, preferably at an early stage, if they are also useful links for equestrians.

Historical research

One way of increasing our bridleways is to do historic research & put in an official claim. I have never thought we had any unrecorded routes in West Berks until I was involved with a footpath diversion. This 'footpath' is recorded as a 30 foot wide carriage road in the enclosure award and is currently the subject of a claim for a restricted byway which will open it up to horse riders, carriage drivers & cyclists. If successful, this will provide a new riding route about 2 km long in an area with few bridleways. How many other footpaths were mis-classified in West Berks & might be useful to get us off-road?

The Hants LAF has begun a an exciting project discovering unrecorded or under-recorded routes (ie footpaths which might be bridleways) called PATHH (http://pathh.hwtma.org.uk/). Many volunteers have been recruited and training given. A couple of us are involved looking at Hants parishes which abut West Berks. All we need is time to spend at the record office!

Hacking group

Many of you will be aware that Jacqueline Sandford at Bucklebury has started a hacking group which has held several well attended meetings /coffee mornings and hopes to organize some informal local rides. Next meeting (unmounted) is next Tue at Bucklebury Memorial Hall at 7pm.

Martin Clunes to be the next President of The British Horse Society

Actor, writer and horse-owner Martin Clunes has been named as President-designate of The British Horse Society. He will take up the reins when current President, Desi Dillingham MBE, steps down at the end of her extended term of office on 1 June. Already known to millions from his stage and screen appearances, including 'Men Behaving Badly', 'Reggie Perrin' and 'Doc Martin', his 2010 ITV documentary series "Horsepower" revealed Martin's passion for horses. He keeps twelve of them on his farm and regularly rides his favourite horse, a huge Hanoverian called Chester. His wife Philippa and daughter Emily are accomplished riders, too. Speaking of his impending appointment, Martin said: "Goodness knows how I am expected to follow Desi. 'Larger than life' is a cliché but it is well-known that, when she left her native Canada, the country teetered on the brink for some time. In fact, I think it still teeters occasionally, mostly at weekends and on public holidays, when it recollects the talent it so carelessly allowed to escape to the UK. "It is an enormous honour to be asked to serve the BHS as its next President. I have so much to learn and with the Society changing so much in recent years I hope that we can grow together, capitalising on the vitality, enthusiasm and passion of its membership. Animal welfare is a passion of mine and I am really looking forward to working with the BHS and all its members to retain the momentum for liveliness and continuous improvement, without losing the Society's prized reputation for promoting the very highest standards. "Every time we learn of another horse which has suffered at man's hands we realise how essential - and urgent - is the welfare work of the BHS. If, when I become President, I can help the Society alleviate the suffering of a single horse whose trust has been betrayed by humans, then I will have done some good. If tens of thousands of people join me, that good will be magnified. "Above all, I hope I can help spread something of the joy which comes from associating with horses to those, especially the young, who otherwise would never make their acquaintance. We all delight in our horses and we all should spread a little of that delight to as many people as possible." BHS Chairman, Dr Phil Wadey, said: "I realised, from the moment I met Martin and Philippa at the BHS Royal International Horse Show last July, that he was the best ambassador the horse world didn't yet have. So of course I was delighted when he agreed to become our next President. "Having worked so hard in recent years to modernise the society and refresh its image, it was encouraging for Trustees to have identified a future President whose enthusiasm and commitment so closely matches our own." Dr Wadey also paid a warm tribute to Desi. "Nobody ever says 'I think I may have met Desi Dillingham'. She is one of those people who make an immediate, positive and unmissable impact, and then go on making a positive impact, day after day. We are very fortunate that the most over-worked champion of the horse in the UK continues to find time to support the BHS so energetically and to such good effect." For further information and pictures, please contact: Alison Coleman, The British Horse Society, 02476 840463, a.coleman@bhs.org.uk For out of hours press enquiries please ring 07909 874918

Email Mike Scholl

Pictures from the RC Champs at Ardingly

Emma Harris riding Bournefield Jambalaya on her way to winning her section of the HT Championsips

EMERGENCY INFORMATION FOR HORSES - BERKS, OXON, WILTS HANTS

At 5.15pm tonight (Monday) I found my 30yr old horse upside down in a ditch - impossibly positioned with his head lower than his quarters. I dialled 999 on my mobile and asked for the fire brigade.

They came out from Newbury station and arrived with blue lights flashing - but sirens turned off about 20 minutes later. Because they had seen a pond on our property when checking the route they were wearing wet suit just in case.

After another 20 minutes a specialist "Animal Rescue" Unit arrived from central Reading (Including two who own horses). They came by Motorway with everything going. By 6.15pm we had two fire engines with mobile generators, arc lights, and specialist lifting equipment, 14 firemen, one policewoman to control traffic on our country lane and a Vet.

We were hugely impressed by their understanding of the situation with our lovely old horse and with our anxiety. They handled him and us with great sensitivity. They pla nned his rescue with careful thought so that they did not pull him around unnecessarily.They did get him out after much discussion, placing a special sheet under his head to protect his face and eye, using webbing straps, digging the ditch to make it easier, and then slowly pulling him out.

As he lay on his side exhausted, they decided that when he was a little more recovered that they would turn him over as this can help by relieving pressure on the leg that was stuck underneath. He tried to get up but couldn't make it. One fireman offered him a mint - which the horse thought was an excellent idea! Half a packet later and he decided to try to get up again - and with the help of the firemen he was on his feet.

A fireman held him while he had some food - very welcome - and then walked him round - obviously sore but otherwise fine.

Within ten minutes these fantastic people had quietly disappeared.

Horse now well rugged and bandaged and I'm about to go and check him again. I know that I don't need to explain the relief we felt.

A happy story that I am delighted to share - because I want to make sure that you know that there is a brilliantly trained and prepared specialist unit available if you ever have the need.

And if they ever need your support - just like the Air Ambulance Service I hope that you will give them your consideration.

The Unit is new - just 12 months old and they will be having an official launch - I think at Scott Dunn's in March. Please look out for them.

Thank you for reading to the end.

Linda Waller

Beware - horses have been found marked which means they have been identified by thieves
One of mine has been marked twice in a week and I also heard last night that some more horses were marked near baldons over the weekend.
They are being marked with what looks like a tangle in the mane but when you look at this tangle more closely it is actually a fine plait that then has more mane weaved around it.
If you think that a horse has been marked in this way then you should ring the police they will log your concern and give you a reference number they can advise you on various things you can do. I.e move the horse to another location, mark your horse in someway like if it has a white blaze or sock spray it a funny colour, if your horse is micro chipped or freeze marked put notices up on gates etc.

From the eye of a driver and horse rider.

Over the past few months as the light has drawn in and the winter months have set upon us it has become increasingly clearer that road users need to make themselves seen. I drive to and from work at the busiest times of the day and 9 of 10 cars have their lights on as the road conditions are not clear and simply to aid visual appearance to other road users. However, I am horrified to find horse riders out on the roads as the day is drawing in and commuters are rushing to get home and they are wearing no reflective clothing. Not only are you putting other road users in danger if they do not see you well enough, but putting yourself and your four legged friend in an unnecessary position. I am able to speak out as both a car driver and horse rider and say how frustrated I am by this. As a horse rider I expect a car driver to slow down whilst driving past me so my horse does not become frightened, for this I raise a hand or nod with thanks, but how can this be expected when we do not let ourselves be seen in the first instance? This is a difficult time of year for those of us who have horses and work full time as both ends of the day are dark, but compromising situations are unnecessary and will destroy the reputation of riders who are prepared to be safe and seen both within the village and surrounding areas. I hope this opens the eyes of road users in general, i.e cyclists, runners, dog walkers and pedestrians, better to be safe then sorry at the end of the day.