Latest News:

• Dressage Extravaganza at Hartpury in aid of Gt Ormond St
• Suspicious vehicle in Cherry Orchard, Newland, Glos
• Be Vigilant - Weobley area, Herefordshire!
• British Riding Clubs kick off their 2010 Champs in April
• World Horse Welfare’s Make a Noise campaign
• 13 - 14 hand bay cob has been found. Is it yours?
• The missing horse is found, sadly having suffered a fatal fall.
• Forest of Dean & District Horse Riders & Carriage Drivers News

• Thinking of breeding from your mare this year? Check the stallions page.  And if you need a foaling alarm, 1 has just been posted on the secondhand equipment page
• David Llewellyn is running the Paris marathon in memory of Herefordshire's Di Lee. You can sponsor him here.....
• The latest Trec news
• BHS respond to Natural England’s Consultation on Coastal Access
• Don't miss the bargains on the 'Not Horsey' Page!
• Hyperflexion
• Fox Grant & Jackson Equestrian continue to sponsor the property section
• The BHS Forestry Campaign: Now write to your MP
• Freezemarking opportunity for Herefordshire horse owners.
• Fancy a trip to London to see 'Warhorse'?
• New concept for dressage - Online dressage competition!
• Ofsted rate Hartpury College as 'Outstanding'
• BSJA becomes BS
• New BE rule
• Get Training - Spring is just round the corner!
• Get fit for 2010 - see the Not Horsey page for 2nd hand equip
• Can you help Herefordshire RDA with their request?
• Urgent help needed – have your MEPs signed the Written Declaration - Make a Noise Campaign
• FEI to investigate case of hyperflexion (rollkur)
• Safety & history
• Is your horse microchipped yet?
• BHS urges equestrians to help end Forestry Discrimination
• New Transport Rules
• Put 'ICE' (in case of emergency) - on your mobile!
• Disclaimer

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26th & 27th June, at Hartpury, a DRESSAGE EXTRAVAGANZA in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children. 
See the website: www.dressageextravaganza.co.uk which is being regularly updated with news.

There are two days of competition from Preliminary to Grand Prix, with some novelty events for extra entertainment on Saturday’s Gala Evening in the superb indoor arena. All classes open to non BD members.

Carl Hester our most successful International rider of modern times has agreed to be Patron. The most senior judges and professional riders have already committed their time to support the Event. Some of the riders will not only be competing in advanced level competitions up to Grand Prix, but will also be giving their time to work with other competitors, helping them to prepare for their competitions – as part of the fund raising efforts.

There are a variety of sponsorship packages available. As fund raising is the principle aim of the Event they are seeking cash sponsorship, trophies, prizes and donations. The more sponsorship they can generate the more costs will be covered and therefore the more money will be raised for Great Ormond Street. Anybody able to help with this worthy cause, should contact David Pincus, email: info@sheepcote.co.uk

Incident 349 9/3/10 - Gloucestershire Police

Suspicious vehicle in Cherry Orchard, Newland, Gloucestershire, 9th March at 5.45pm with two white males.
 
The first male approx 25 yrs is very tall (over 6ft) and has dark hair and was wearing Jeans, sweatshirt and trainers  he walked into a stable yard where he proceeded to take photos of a young girl grooming her pony mare with coloured foal at foot.
 
The 2nd male also white and described as being large (overweight)  
 
The girls father challenged the male who became verbally abusive and ran off to the parked car and they drove away heading in the monmouth direction through Redbrook. The vehicle was a Silver VW Golf
This incident has been reported to Glos Police inc no 349 of 9-3-10 any sightings please call 0845 090 1234

I have been emailed the following:

"A man driving an old blue horse box was seen today in the outskirts of Weobley (Weobley Marsh area) stopping every time he saw a horse & taking photos. Was seen to start to approach a field shelter on foot (possibly to see if there was a horse as the gelding wasn't in sight from the road) when he caught sight of the owner & turned & walked back to his vehicle. He then drove off. The police have been informed. Perhaps you could post this info for people to be vigilant, it may have been nothing but better safe than sorry."

British Riding Clubs kick off their 2010 Championships this April with the NAF Superflex Novice Indoor Show Jumping and the NAF Magic Winter Dressage Championships.

Sponsored by Natural Animal Feeds, the Championships will take place at Hartpury College, Gloucestershire over the Easter weekend of 3 and 4 April.

The Championships are a team event open to both Seniors and Juniors, with the Seniors competing on the Saturday followed by the Juniors on Sunday 4 April. All riders will have competed in Area Qualifiers up and down the country to be eligible to take part.

The NAF Superflex Novice Indoor Show Jumping competition involves two rounds of jumping, with the best three scores from each round counting towards the final score. The second round will be timed and these times are used to determine lower placing if faults alone cannot do this. If there is an equality of faults for first place, there will be a jump off against the clock. In the NAF Magic Winter Dressage arenas the Overall Individual title is there for the taking as well as team honours.

Last year saw a record 360 horses competing over the two days. The atmosphere was charged with excitement as teams cheered their riders home. Tracey Lloyd of NAF was on hand to present the winners with their rosettes and the much sought after NAF rugs for the Champions.

Entrance for spectators is free and there will be a trade stand village with catering available.

A 13 - 14 hand bay cob has been picked up (Friday 5.26pm) from alongside the A40 near Monmouth, if anybody can help trace the owner please contact Linda Powell on 01600 715228 immediately.

Sadly a phone call from the owner of missing horse 'Melford' revealed that she had found him dead.  It seems he jumped a 6ft fence with ditches either side and landed in the ditch on the other side and broke his neck. His owner had to stand on the top rail of the brush hedge and caught a glimpse of him. Very sad and our condolences to his owner. 

Local bridleways group, The Forest of Dean Riders and Carriage Drivers Association, have been working very hard behind the scenes bidding for funding to create a network of long-distance and local, circular routes across the Forest of Dean District.

The great news is that their application has cleared the first hurdle and they now need to add some more details to their final bid. They need to show just how many people would appreciate a “joined-up” network of bridleways. As riders and carriage drivers there are obvious benefits to creating new paths, and especially linking some of the areas that are currently inaccessible due to busy road crossings or lack of connecting bridleways.  To read more and download the support form, please click here! THEY NEED YOUR SUPPORT - IT'S FOR YOU!

Don't miss the bargains on the 'Not Horsey' Page!

The 'Not Horsey' page is the page for buying, selling and swapping your non horsey items. From sofas to fish tanks, treadmills to beds!

British Horse Society declares policy on use of hyperflexion:

As the debate over the use of hyperflexion as a training technique continues, The British Horse Society has published its official stance:

The British Horse Society strongly recommends that all riders training horses on the flat and over fences should adhere to the official instruction handbook of the German National Equestrian Federation. Whilst we appreciate that horses are as individual as humans, and that some may require corrective schooling, the BHS’s stand on hyperflexion (by which we mean the extreme flexion of the horse’s head and neck beyond normal limits) remains clear: it is an unacceptable method of training horses by any rider for any length of time.

We recognise that the scientific evidence is conflicting, and likely to remain so as each party seeks determinedly to prove its case. For this reason we doubt that science will ever provide a single, clear, unambiguous and unarguable answer. It therefore falls to humans to do what the horses cannot, namely to follow the precautionary principle: as nature provides no evidence of horses choosing to move in hyperflexion for an extended period of time; and as hyperflexion can create tension in the horse’s neck and back which has no justifying necessity; and as the horse in hyperflexion is, by definition, unable fully to use its neck; and as the psychological consequences of such treatment remain latent (perhaps in an analogous position with horses which are whipped aggressively but which can still pass a five star vetting), we should take all appropriate steps to discourage the use of this training technique, for the horse’s sake.

Fox Grant & Jackson Equestrian continue to sponsor the property section:

I am delighted to report that Fox Grant & Jackson Equestrian, both specialists in equestrian property in the area, are continuing their joint sponsorship of the Property section of this website.  For Fox Grant, this is the 3rd year in succession, while Jackson Equestrian begin their 2nd year of sponsorship. 

If you are looking to buy, sell or rent an equestrian or
country property, you need look no further than these two leading rural estate agents.  See the Property page for more information.

The BHS Forestry Campaign: Now write to your MP

The British Horse Society’s recent postcard campaign has made the Forestry Commission (FC) aware of riders’ views on forestry access in England. Now the BHS is calling on all equestrians to lobby their MP to support the forestry campaign, and fight for better access for riders and carriage drivers to their forests across England.  Please add your support to the campaign and send a postcard to your MP. Postcards are available from the BHS Access Department. Alternatively, you can download a letter to print and post to your MP from http://tiny.cc/NoFCpermits

Click here for more information.

Freezemarking opportunity for Herefordshire horse owners.

A Herefordshire horse owner is trying to arrange to have her horses freezemarked, but the company who do the freezemarking require 6 horses in the area for their trip to be worthwhile. If you live in Herefordshire and would like to have your horses freezemarked, visit www.freezemark.biz and let them know you are from the Hereford area. The cost is £46.95 per horse.

Fancy a trip to London to see Warhorse?

Coach Trip to see the award winning play WAR HORSE on SAT 10th April. Ticket price including coach £40pp or £37pp if paid before 8th Feb. Tickets will sell fast so don't miss this spectacular show , get your
tickets now. For more information Phone 07785 245580

New Online Dressage Competitions!

If you have no transport, or not enough time, or getting to a dressage competition is just too expensive, this may be for you - online dressage!
Register for free, choose which competition to enter, click to enter and follow the instructions to pay online.
Upload your test video at any time before the close of entries.
All tests will be judged by British Dressage or FEI judges.
Receive notification when your score sheet is ready to download.
Why not choose the Pick Your Own class to practice a test for an up and coming live competition? Receive a score sheet and helpful tips from the judge on how to improve your marks. Find out more....

Outstanding Hartpury College

A recent visit by Ofsted has resulted in Hartpury College receiving an 'Outstanding' rating reports Horse and Hound.  Read more here

BSJA becomes BS

The British Showjumping Association has re-branded itself as British Showjumping which will bring it in line with other governing bodies such as BE - British Eventing, BD - British Dressage, BR - British Reining etc.  Their website is now: www.britishshowjumping.co.uk

New BE rule

Riders competing in their first British Eventing (BE) competitions must start at BE100 (pre-novice) instead of novice level from July, under new rules designed to improve safety.

Time to start thinking about Training if you havent started already!

We may still be recovering from the ice, snow and flooding, but Spring is just round the corner! So get planning and training.

XC Training

Hilltop, Ledbury run XC training clinics throughout the year including the popular Lucinda Green days.  Petplan Equine, is once again sponsoring Lucinda Green's X-C the Safe Way clinics in 2010. The clinics are designed to teach riders the skills to ride safely and effectively across the country and take place in locations around the UK from February to September. Clinics run over one or two days and involve pole work before heading out onto a cross-country course. See the what's on page for dates

Herefordshire RDA need a trailer to put muck in. If you have one which you would be happy to either donate or sell as cheaply as possible
please get in touch with Herefordshire RDA. They are happy to do a bit of work to it as long as it is road worthy as they have to cross over the road with it once full. Tel & Fax: 01432 870831.

Are you concerned about sharp metal objects in your paddock or on your gallops ? Have you lost any jewellery in the garden or a field? Would you like to know more about the history of your land?  Click here to read more about this opportunity

The idea was thought up by a paramedic who found that when he went to the scenes of accidents, there were always mobile phones with patients, but they didn 't know which number to call. He therefore thought that it would be a good idea if there was a nationally recognized name for this purpose. In an emergency situation, Emergency Service personnel and Hospital Staff would be able to quickly contact the right person by simply dialing the number you have stored as 'ICE. '
For more than one contact name simply enter ICE1, ICE2 and ICE3 etc. A great idea that will make a difference!

Fed up with Internet explorer being slow and crashing too often?

Google's new 'Google Chrome' is exceptionally quick and they say safe. click here to try it - I am and, believe me.....it is QUICK!

or, try Mozilla Firefox - click here.

You can run all of them on your computer if you wish, while you decide which you prefer.