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Team Report 2004Equi Ads sj started the team events early in the year. We fielded 1 novice and 2 Intermediate teams for the occasion. With the intermediate A team (Kirsten McPhillips, Arlene Haydock, Lynn Barr & Lyn Miller) placed 4th with our only double clear of the day going to Alison McRae. Next on the calendar was the hunter Trials at Manderston, Duns where the open team of Alison Bogue, Vanessa Starling and Ann-Marie Van Heelsum won and qualified for the Champs at Peterborough however decided it was a long way to go and not to attend. The Horse trails was next, 30th May, for the last year on home turf at Biggarshiels. 1 open team, 2 novice and 2 indiv novice riders represented us unfortunately for some it was not as good a day as hoped. Alison McRae had a nasty fall at fence 2 resulting in a broken ankle and many months of being in a plaster cast however she is on the mend and we look forward to having her back in team events next year. On a happier note acknowledgements must me made to the Novice B team consisting on Jenny Robbie, Chris McCosh, Laurie McGowan and Julia Drearden who were placed 2nd and qualified for the Champs despite Julia having a small paddle up the hill. We had additional individual successes for Arlene Haydock who won her arena, Helen Newlands who won the Nov indiv section and Ann-Marie Van Heelsum who won in the Open Arena. This resulted in us having 7 riders who qualified for the champs. The novice and open dressage weekend was spread over the 2 days at Rozelle Park in Ayr which is a fantastic venue. 2 clubs (Ayrshire and South West Scotland) joined forces to make this event happen due to a lack of clubs interested in holding Area events. However a sunny and enjoyable day was had on Saturday 5th June with some new faces once again joining the teams. We had many individual prizes on the Saturday. In the warm up tests Prelim 4 gave rosettes to Laurie McGowan 4th, Christy Browne 6th and in Prelim 7 Karen Barratt 3rd. The new format of the Novice qualifier tests then took place in the afternoon with each team member being judged completing the same test but all by a different judge. In Section 3 Geraldine Gould 2nd, in Section 4 Karen Barratt 5th and in Section 2 Christy Brown 6th with the A team (Wendy Jackson, Christy Browne, Karen Barratt and Geraldine Gould) placed 4TH.
The following weekend was the Area sj taking place at Dalkeith Pk again this year. Unfortunately new British Riding Club rules on Flu vacc’s prevented some members from competing and a few pre-competition casualties horses and riders alike caused some last minute problems but a good turn out from Peebles with a friendly all be it serious team spirit in the air. 6 novice members Chris McCosh, Susan Terris Weir, Jane Bell, Lisa McGee, Lisa Mullen and Lesley Armstrong fought it out with approx. 100 competitors taking part. Chris McCosh, Lisa McGee & Lesley Armstrong started out well on clears with Lisa McGee doing very well to obtain a 2nd clear and make it into with jump off where after a long day she unfortunately had a couple down. 2 of the novice competitors also managed to become an acquaintance of the hard ground, however there were no serious injuries sustained except a few bruises and perhaps some hurt pride. The newly introduced Intermediate section (1st round 3ft, 2nd round 3ft 3) had a total of 15 teams entered. With a spacious arena and many bright fillers penalties caught a few of us out in time and faults. Our A team 7th (Arlene Haydock, Lyn Miller, Laurie McGowan & Jenny Robbie) and B team 8th (Alison Bogue, Jane Bell, Wendy Jackson & Kirsten McPhillips). Luckily the Open event took place before 6pm this year, we fielded one team consisting of Jenny Robbie, Pam Carrell, Vanessa Starling and Kirsten McPhillips. Unfortunately in the 2nd round both Jenny and Nula had a very awkward thump to the ground but more importantly they both walked away and were fine. However we managed to pull off a 2nd place with Pam coming 4th and Vanessa 6th individual. All the courses proved to be quite tough this year with brightly coloured fences, water trays and technical stride patterns but I think I can safely say that we all had a great day. Before we knew it the Champs were upon us. Other commitments and injuries prevented Arlene Haydock, Helen Newlands and Julia Drearden from attending so as reserve rider I fortunately got to take Julia’s place in the Novice team. Once again the weather was roasting hot although unpredictable with occasional thunder storms. Ann-Marie completed a good test of ?? on the Friday, on Saturday the novice team had their turn with the dressage and sj Jenny on 34,0 Chris 35,8 Laurie 42,4 and myself 40,0. Saturday also saw Ann-Marie complete the roads and tracks steeplechase and xc, where she went well round a demanding course. Sunday was the fun day for us and Ann-Marie show jumped. However the xc did not quite go to plan for a few of us however Laurie stormed round to gain a clear but had a few time penalties. Meanwhile Ann-Marie was completing a clear sj round to earn her 9th place in her arena. I am sure everyone who went will tell you what a good time was had socially with our barbecues and drinks and competitively and would recommend that if you qualify try and make the journey for the experience more than anything although the weather is normally pretty good too! Finally the year ended with the Caledonia Championships at Fraserburgh on 2nd & 3rd October with Arlene Haydock, Laurie McGowan, Danielle Crawford and myself heading north. Saturday morning brought the Dressage and the early afternoon the show jumping. Dressage tests were all performed well however the sj for some of us did not go to plan especially for me. The events of Saturday drew to a close with the team lying in 7th place. The Cross Country, well I have to say that the xc had some of the most difficult and technical jumps I have tackled at RC novice level and it certainly gave some areas to think about and some other clubs things to moan about! Luckily all of our horses are quite comfortable xc so we were happy enough, Arlene was first and went clear. Laurie was 2nd to go and unfortunately had 2 run outs at the 2nd part of a drop combination, congratulations must go to her on this though as not only was she bogged down with the cold but I think we were all worrying about jumping the drop once, never mind 3 times! Danielle was next and flew round under the time, then it was my turn, I also managed to come back clear being 1 second over the time, all in all a good days work from us all. As the results started to go up we realised that we were only one of two teams to have all their team members back from the xc and only 4 teams out of 30 who started managed to be placed due to members being elimination. Team results went up and we were 2nd which was a great achievement for us. Individual placings were also gained, Arena 1: Danielle 6th, Arlene 8th and in Arena 2: Kirsten 5th & Laurie 8th and it is a great note to finish the year on. To finish the year the Indoor Nov (max 2ft9) SJ takes place on Sat 6th November at Ingilston House Stud. I am currently looking for volunteers so if you are interested please let me know. Kirsten McPhillips |
| Email: info@peeblesridingclub.org.uk |
The Open qualifier was due to take place on Sunday
6th June also with a new format where 3 Novice tests are ridden and
one Elementary. Unfortunately
casualties arose with Ann-Marie Van Heelsum having to withdraw and
Sally Burns having transport problems, it was then decided by Pam & Nigel
Carrell not to travel through. However Pam Stevenson and Havannah Express
spent all week practising and decided to make the trip. A good day
was had with a 2nd in the Prelim test and 4th in the Qualifier Novice
24 making it worthwhile.