Warwickshire News |
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The Heather Lucas Adult Gymkhana - Warwickshire needs you!
This event is to be held on 18 September 2010, we are looking for Warwickshire BHS Members who are interested in taking part. We need to form a team of 3 riding and 1 foot member. If you would like to be involved please email Ali@bhswarwickshire.org.uk or Sam@bhswarwickshire.org.uk or telephone Ali on 07775 994 131 (please leave a message if on answerphone).
The winners will win the 'Clueso Cup'
Come on, give us a shout and help us bring the cup back to Warwickshire !
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Chairman's Message, March 2010 |
| Thanks to those of you who joined us for the Annual Meeting in October; it was a great evening with a talk from Mary Weston who took part in the BHS Challenge ride in Mongolia and an Indian curry buffet – Yummy! Feedback was very positive and we will probably do the same again this year so do come along and join us.If you, like me, have felt that getting on with the New Year was suspended whilst we were all snowed in, now is a good time to set those new goals for the year! We are planning some more BHS TREC indoor competitions and would love to see more of you join us for what has proved to be a very successful venture for us over the last twelve months.
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We have turned the winter corner now and can look forward to better riding days; we wish you many happy riding hours!
Debbie Koster Chairman
Ps. We are still inviting enquiries from BHS Gold members who would like to find out more about becoming Chairman this year – do call for a no obligation chat if you would like to know more!
Warwickshire Spring 2010 Newsletter now online
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The ebbs and flows of committee lifecycles
The ebbs and flows of committee lifecycles mean that each year we inevitably lose some members; this is always sad but the pay-off is that we get new people too. This year we were very sorry to lose Ian and Gillian from the Access Team; they married and had their first baby last year and we offer them our thanks and hearty Congratulations! Fran Penn also resigned as Safety Rep due to other commitments. Fran will be very sorely missed; she worked in this role for many years and has made a huge contribution to Riding and Road Safety in the County for which, we say a huge, Thank You! We are fortunate that Fran continues to support the cause in another role.
We lost the support of two other special ladies in rather sadder circumstances last year; many of you will know that Heather Lucas (West Midlands Regional Chairman) died suddenly and unexpectedly. Margery Woodward, known to all as Nan, also died after a period of illness. Whilst neither lady was a member of the Warwickshire Committee, both gave vast support to the BHS, riders and equine welfare over many, many years. The sums raised in lieu of funeral flowers for both of them will continue to make a difference. They touched the lives of many and will be very sadly missed.
We welcome to the Committee, Sam Courtnell who takes over from Anna as Membership Secretary and Sue Jacques who has an interest in alternative equine therapies. My thanks also go to Nikki Inglis who takes up the role of Safety Rep, and Anna Weston who has become an Access Officer.
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Recent Events
By Anna Weston |
October 2009 BHS Warwickshire Annual Meeting
Following the usual quick formalities (we still hold the record for the quickest County Annual meeting in the region!) we enjoyed a delicious curry buffet and an illustrated talk from Mary Weston who went on the BHS Challenge ride to Mongolia during the summer. Mary’s talk was very interesting and the riding certainly looked very different to your t y p i c a l h a c k i n Warwickshire! |
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November 2009 BHS TREC Indoor Competition
This event formed part of the Kelly Marks Winter Series Indoor League. A very full day of competition saw over 50 rounds of the course between 10am and 6pm, finishing just as the first few Bonfire Night celebrations kicked off! Congratulations go to the class winners: Sue Lee riding Daisy - Affiliated Open Julian Brown riding Barney - Unaffiliated Open Georgina Brooke-Holmes riding Fred - Affiliated Newcomers Emily Marlow riding Grace - Unaffiliated Newcomers
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February 2010 BHS TREC Judges Training
At each TREC competition that we’ve run to date we’ve struggled to find sufficient judges so to encourage new volunteers for future events we ran a FREE judges training session. Two riders acted as guinea pigs demonstrating a variety of TREC obstacles. Cake and soup kept the cold out whilst everyone worked hard to get their heads around the scoring system - not easy!
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Warwickshire County Report - February 2010
We held our annual meeting in October; the theme was a talk about the BHS Challenge Ride in Mongolia and food was an Indian buffet. It was a great success and we plan to do the same again this year (Tues 19 Oct). We distributed the attached annual report. On the whole, things are going well, the Committee is very supportive and active. We need to focus on finding a new Chairman when my tenure is up in October.
Committee changes
I was sad to receive resignations from Fran Penn (Safety Rep),Ian Kingston & Gillian Spicer (Access). All resigned reluctantly due to other commitments and Fran thankfully continues to support Riding and Road Safety in the county in another role.
Sam Courtnell has joined us as Membership Secretary as Anna Weston has moved across to become an Access Officer; Sue Jacques has joined the Committee in a general capacity. An additional application is going through HQ for an Access Officer and I believe we have also filled the vacant Press Officer role.
We have continued to publish the newsletter in the same format which seems to be well received.
Several BHS TREC competitons have been organsised by a sub-group of the Warwickshire Committee, headed up by Anna Weston. They have been well run and well attended and have positively promoted the discipline. Further competitions are planned throughout Spring.
The Welfare Team continue to respond to local cases throughout the County in an educational and supporting role and attend Welfare days to keep up to date.
The Safety Team have run several Road Safety training and examination days in the South of the County. Road Safety promotion in the North of the County continues to be a weak area and we are looking for venues to become our recognised centres north of Coventry.
The Access Team are working with Warwickshire County Council on a possible new off road route and continue to deal with reported access issues.
Next Warwickshire meeting is Tuesday 13 April 2010
Debbie Koster
debbie@bhswarwickshire.org.uk
07977 101270
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Membership figures
Warwickshire ended 2009 with 1,199 members, an increase of 31 for the year. Regionally we had 5,040 members an increase of 130 for the year and nationally we had 70,935 members, an increase of 1325. I haven’t had the county/regional breakdown for January yet, but I do know that nationally we have 70,760 a loss of 175 members for January. We traditionally lose members in December and January so this is not surprising.
Andrea Jackman, Develpment Officer, West Midlands Region
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Gabrielle wins British Horse Competition |
| Gabrielle Inglis of Shipston on Stour was very lucky to have been one of the winners in the Masta Rug Competition in the September/October issue of British Horse. |
These photographs show Gabrielle's horse Thistles Gracie showing off her winnings.
Well done Gabrielle
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Driving Miss Daisy. . . - by Ian Kingston
We often get asked questions about towing horse trailers and driving horseboxes.
Questions such as ‘Does my license allow me to tow?’, ‘How much can I tow?’, ‘Do I need to take another test?’, ‘Can I drive a horsebox with a car license?’
Click here to read the full article
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Winter Rugging Guide - by Rachel Molloy
There are many different styles and makes of rugs available and it can be difficult to know where to start. However, there are a number of factors to consider when deciding what rugs to use and it is essential that any rugs fit properly to avoid causing the horse discomfort or injury.
Does my horse need a rug?
Many native horses and ponies when left to their own devices grow a thick winter coat, and can cope well with no or minimal rugging. Unclipped native types may only require a rug during periods of prolonged wet or cold weather. In order to keep warm all horses and ponies must have natural or man made shelter and a plentiful supply of forage available to them.
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During the winter many horses and ponies require clipping to allow them to continue ridden work without getting too warm. Clipped horses need to be provided with suitable rugs to keep them warm in the field, and when stabled. The weight of rugs required will depend on the type of horse or pony and the type of clip it has had. A fully clipped horse will need a thick high necked rug to protect it from the coldest weather, whereas a horse with a bib clip may suffice with a thin waterproof rug with little filling. Ideally you should have a spare winter turn out rug so you always have a clean dry rug available to swap to if one becomes damp or is damaged. Ideally turnout rugs should be washed and re-proofed every year to ensure they maintain their water repellency.
A good way to assess if your horse or pony is warm enough is to place your hand against the shoulder and judge the temperature, if they have a long coat ensure you have your hand against their skin. |
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Fitting
It is essential that all rugs are well maintained and fit the horse well. The size of rug required can normally be determined by measuring along the length of the horse from the middle of the chest, over the shoulder and hindquarters until level with the dock. Check the individual manufacturer’s guideline for determining what size rug is needed. Most outdoor rugs now have shoulder darts which help prevent the rug from becoming tight or rubbing the shoulder and allow the horse to move freely. All of the straps should be loose enough to allow the horse to roll and move comfortably without allowing the rug to slip or the horse to become entangled. No matter how well a rug fits it should be removed from the horse and refitted daily to avoid rubbing and sores. |
Would you be interested in sponsoring the next newsletter?
· Prime advertising opportunity
· Feature article within newsletter
· Target audience of equestrian population in Warwickshire
We are looking for businesses to sponsor future newsletters to help cover the cost of production.
The sponsoring business will secure the chance to place a feature article within the newsletter to reach a target audience of over 1,000 members across Warwickshire.
You will also feature on the Warwickshire pages of the BHS West Midlands website with a web link to your website
For further information on this exciting prospect please contact the committee via email (enquiries@bhswarwickshire.org.uk) for a no-obligation discussion of the opportunities.
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Newsletters
Spring 2010 ~ Autumn 2009 ~ Spring 2009 ~ Summer 2008
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