I have been approached by a television production student at the university of Gloucestershire.  They are currently making a short documentary about Highwaymen. They would like to film a Highwayman getting on his horse and riding away.  If you are a man with a horse and wouldn’t mind dressing up and riding for an afternoon, please contact me by email sally@herefordequestrian.co.uk so that I can pass your contact details on. They will provide the costume.  If you think you are the man for this part, please send me an email explaining why you would be perfect!

Local riders secure grant to improve and extend the bridleway network in the Forest of Dean and district. If you think you might have the skills to project manage this, then go to www.deanforestriders.co.uk and follow the link to the Greenways Project.

Win a 12″ x 10″ framed photograph of your horse (or dog), sponsored by Wendy Lilygreen Photography. Visit www.herefordequestrian.co.uk/collecting-ring/competitions/ to enter and for full details.

is Gemma Webster who has won a £20 voucher to spend at the Olde Forge Tackshop, Wormbridge, Herefordshire.

A new competition will be launched very soon.

Theatre production sees boost in ticket demand thanks to film adaptation ~

The forthcoming release of Steven Spielberg’s film adaptation of War Horse this weekend has seen fans of the story chomping at the bit for tickets to see the stage production according to viagogo, Europe’s largest ticket marketplace.

The excitement around the film release of War Horse has seen searches for the theatre show double in the past 72 hours on viagogo, making it currently the most popular theatre production based on demand.

With new highly acclaimed productions like One Man Two Guvnors and Richard II running over the next month theatregoers are spoilt for choice, but it is the long running War Horse that has galloped into the lead as the most wanted theatre ticket in the UK.

Ed Parkinson, Director of viagogo UK said: “The recent “Royal” buzz around the film release has reinvigorated ticket demand for this award winning production, with film fans cantering to theatreland to compare the stage performance to the big screen”

As preparations for the Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials get underway for the 2012 Event, the organisers have an extra reason to start the year with optimism. Continuing what is one of the longest sponsorships in sport (starting in 1992) Mitsubishi Motors in the UK has extended their support for three more years, up to and including 2015.

Said Event Director Hugh Thomas,

“This welcome renewal will take Mitsubishi’s involvement to twenty four years of a very happy relationship with Badminton and we look forward to a secure future in these challenging economic times.”

In response, Lance Bradley, Mitsubishi Motors in the UK’s Managing Director, replied,

“Even in difficult times for the UK motor industry and the world economy, our commitment to equestrianism and especially three-day eventing at all levels is as strong as ever. We are proud to pledge our ongoing support to all those who take part in the sport, whether riders, support staff, friends or families. This new agreement underlines our commitment to every level of the sport by including the Mitsubishi Motors Grassroots Championship as well as the main Mitsubishi Motors Badminton Horse Trials itself.”

Badminton 2012 will be significant as a last chance for many international team managers to see their riders perform at a top 4 star event before heading to the London 2012 Olympics at Greenwich in the summer. It is also a reminder that it was at the last London Olympics in 1948 that the 10^th Duke of Beaufort, after watching a lacklustre performance by the British Three day Event team, offered Badminton Park as a venue for an annual Olympic format Event. In 1949 the first ever Badminton was run.

This year the International Trials run from Friday 4^th – Monday 7^th May, with the Cross Country again taking place on the Sunday and the climax on Bank Holiday Monday for a record first prize of £65,000, a fitting reward for the world’s premier Three Day Event. Riders will also be conscious that Badminton is part of both the Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing and the HSBC FEI Classics Series, the two combinations of top events that unite the sport throughout the year. William Fox-Pitt as the current Burghley Champion is the man to watch for the Rolex Grand Slam, while Mary King will be keen to win the Classics Series again and was indeed the leading rider in the HSBC Rider Rankings at the end of the 2011 season.

Reflecting the excitement of a home Olympics, Badminton has decided to make its official ‘cause’ for 2012 Equestrian Team GBR, raising money for all the British teams taking part in Olympic, World and European Championships over the next four years.

Running just before the International event (Wednesday & Thursday 2^nd/3^rd May) will be the very popular Mitsubishi Motors Grassroots Championships, where qualified leisure riders get their chance to compete on the hallowed turf. Once again enthusiasm for this part of Badminton is huge, riders having qualified in autumn 2011 and now preparing for the most important days of their sporting life. In addition, for the first time for many years, Badminton will host on Thursday 3^rd May the first 2012 qualifying round for the Dubarry Burghley Young Event Horse Championships, which is sure to bring many breeders and followers to see the potential stars of the future.

As ever the Badminton weekend promises top sport, over 500 trade exhibitors and a great family day out. Wednesday 2^nd May which is Grassroots Dressage (only) day is free of charge but tickets for the rest of the great event go on sale now through the Badminton Box Office, which opened to previous customers on its Mailing List on 4^th January and will be available to everyone online from 11^th January at www.badminton-horse.co.uk.

Have a happy, healthy and successful New Year!

And lets look forward to many medals in the equestrian events at London 2012!  Good luck everyone.

I received an email from Marion saying:

“I thought that several incidents which have happened in my area might be of interest to other horse owners in the Pembridge, Bearwood area of Herefordshire….

Before Christmas I went out to feed my four horses …no horses ! we discovered that one of the field gates was lying flat on the ground ,I found the horses half a mile away grazing at lower Bearwood ,we thought that the gales we had overnight, had lifted the gate ,a few days later my nieghbour found two horses in her garden escaped from a farm nearby ,yesterday I helped my friend Sue who has a livery yard half a mile from me, rehang two paddock gates that were taken off there hinges ,we also discovered the tying strings on a horse box parked at the same yard had all been cut ..does this follow on from the tail cutting incident that happened in Sept or is it pranksters out for a bit of fun?”

If anything similar has happened to you, please let me know either by leaving a comment below or email sally@herefordequestrian.co.uk

December 21st is the shortest day, so everyone can now look forward, not only to Christmas and New Year, but also to the days getting gradually longer. Snowdrops will soon appear, then daffodils and before you know it the competition season will really get going again. Keep your eye on the What’s On page as new events are being added and there will no doubt be a flood of new entries to that page early in the New Year.

If you use Internet Explorer or Firefox to view this website, you can download a free toolbar which will get you where you want to go even quicker! Links directly to pages within the website and to place an ad, submit an event, search the website, even get your gmail!

Click this link to download then just follow the instructions. It’s really easy!

“Beau – A Canker Case History” has just been published on the website. Visit the Collecting Ring, then Horsecare & Knowledge.

A new article called “Sustainable worming and the value of worm egg counts” written by the experts at Intelligent Worming, has just been posted in the Horsecare section of the website, accessed via the Collecting Ring

Think of your horses and dogs during the firework ‘season’. Personally I prefer to keep horses in. I’ve heard horror stories of horses galloping in panic when out and having an accident. However, you must make any decision based on knowing your own horse/s. I leave the radio on for the dogs too, preferably music with a beat to it! Have fun and stay safe!

See what advice the BHS offer re fireworks here: http://www.bhs.org.uk/Press_Centre/BHS_News/Fireworks_2011.aspx

Dressage rider Beth Ward-Barnett,  from Hereford has taken a step closer to her aim of representing Great Britain at Olympic level by being selected onto the British Equestrian Federation England Excel Talent Programme, which includes around 50 riders earmarked with the potential to represent Great Britain on senior teams in the future.

The selected riders from all four Olympic disciplines – Dressage, Showjumping, Eventing and Para-Equestrian Dressage – gathered on 20 October 2011 at Warwickshire Racecourse for an induction day to learn more about the British Equestrian Federation (BEF)-run programme, which provides selected individuals with access to top equestrian specialists including coaches, physiotherapists, psychologists, vets and nutritionists via a series of rider performance camps.

Beth (21) said: “I feel very privileged and excited to be a part of the BEF Excel Talent Programme. Being part of the programme is going to help me take a positive step in my career by helping me improve all the skills I need to reach my goals. I found the induction day inspirational and am looking forward to our first training camp.”

Riders also had the opportunity to find out what it takes to succeed at the top level from those on the World Class Programme. Laura Collett (Eventing), Simon Crippen (Showjumping), Maria Eilberg (Dressage) and Natasha Baker (Para-Equestrian Dressage) all gave motivational talks to the riders in their own disciplines.

Simon Wergan, Senior Talent Development Manager for Sport England, said: “These athletes have already been identified as having the talent to succeed and the Excel Talent Programme is the next step of this journey. It is important that these riders grasp the opportunities on offer with both hands.”

The Excel Talent Programme has been set up through funding from Sport England and replaces the Regional Foundation Squad system. It is intended that the revised nationalised format will allow the BEF to provide a heightened level of expertise, so aiding riders’ development as all-round athletes. The programme’s managers are working closely with British Dressage, British Eventing and British Showjumping to ensure they add value to what is already on offer through the disciplines.

Leader of the Excel Programme, David Hamer, said: “We are lucky to have the funding to support these riders from the Lottery and Government Exchequer through Sport England. The induction day has set the theme for the programme which is to develop riders for future Olympics and Paralympic Games.

Visit the Ask the Expert page to read the latest question and answer to Alison Goodwin, our equine legal expert. Visit the ‘Collecting Ring’, then click Ask the Expert. Or just click here.

Horse and Hound report that Brightwells auctioneers have banned at least four people from future sales following alleged “brutality” at Fayre Oaks Sale, Royal Welsh Showground. Well done Brightwells for taking a stance on this.  Read full story on Horse and Hound website.

If you have anything advertised in the classified ads section, you are likely to receive an email like the one below.

All you need to do it ignore it and delete it.  But read the content first as it is typical of an email scam.

“Hello,
My name is Ryan i saw your advert placement of your (HORSE) which
am interesting in purchasing it.. I want you to answer all the
following question before below :
1)Why do you want to sell it
2)For how long do you have it
3)Is it well okay or what’ i mean the present condition.
4)And am located in Sweden and i want to purchase your horse to my
family, especially my wife and my only son…I promise your horse will
be in good home and my family will take good care of your horse..
5)I want to know if you have is health certificate and you have deworn
your horse.
6)And i will like to have the recent pictures of it .
7)And your LAST ASKING PRICE please get back to me.And i want you to
understand that my mode of payment lays on U.K certified bank cheque
and i will be handle the pick up….
Thanks”

also:

“I must tell you am really interested about the (horse) and
also I hope the (horse) is good condition. I want the best that’s I’m
saying this.

Concerning the shipment of the (horse) from your location to my
house,this will be taking (horse) of by my shipping agent, who will be
coming directly to your location for the pickup of the (horse). If
there are papers, he can use this for clearance and also for the
shipment of the (horse).This is all the requirements needed at this
time. The shipper agent will handle every other thing necessary when
he Arrive sour O cation.

So i will like to pay £1,500 for the (horse) plus an extra £100 for
you to keep other buyers off till it is picked up by the shipping
agent. So please get back to me, and also keep other buyers off. My
client who owes me will send you a bank certified cheque of £1,950.
Can I trust you to have it cashed, take £1,600 and and send the
balance to the agent, so he will be using the rest of the money for
the pick up of the (horse).?If yes, kindly reply with the following
payment details so I can inform him to make out payment to you.

Thank you.
FIRST NAME……
LAST NAME.
ADDRESS…….
CITY…….
STATE….
ZIP CODE..
COUNTRY….
PHONE NUMBER (S).

Looking forward to your soonest reply.
My very warm regards to your family,..
Sincerely
James”

from a ‘James Jerry’ email address: Mail.st.james.jerry2010@gmail.com

Orphan foal urgently needs surrogate mother (a companion foal has now been found). This foal is only 5 weeks old. 5 star long term loan home is offered.  If you can help, please tel Margarette (The Olde Forge Tackshop, Herefordshire) on  01981 570 639 or 01989 570 288 or 07810 413997.

Nick Skelton won the individual bronze medal at the European SJ Championships in Madrid which concluded yesterday (18th September 2011). After he had knocked down one fence, it was thought his medal chance had gone, but the final dutch rider Gerco Schroder, having not had a rail down all Championships, had 2 down to knock him out of the medals, and enable Nick to win bronze.  If Nick had gone clear, he would have won gold, but this went to Sweden’s Rolf-Goran Bengtsson riding Ninja La Silla, while Silver went to Germany’s Carsten-Otto Nagel riding his mare Corradina.

The European Show Jumping Championships are currently taking place in Madrid. The British team comprises John Whitaker, Ben Maher, Nick Skelton and Guy Williams. Read more news on the British SJ website: www.britishshowjumping.co.uk/

The British team have moved up to 4th position after day 2 and Nick Skelton lies 3rd individually.  For instant updates, you can follow http://twitter.com/#!/BritShowjumping or  http://www.facebook.com/pages/British-Show-Jumping/14631532570

Friday 16th September – Show jumping on red button from 3.30 teams in reverse order from 4.15pm

Sunday 18th September – BBC2 on Sunday afternoon

Horse and Hound report that the funeral of  Terry Johnsey, father of show jumper Debbie Johnsey, will take place at St Mary’s Priory Church, Chepstow on Monday 12 September. Read more information here: www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/397/309492.html

It’s 2 horses apiece for top riders at Burghley following the cross country.  William Fox-Pitt is in the lead with Parklane Hawk and 8th with Neuf des Coeurs. Andrew Nicholson is lying 2nd with Avebury and 5th with Nereo and  Mary King is lying 4th with Kings Temptress and 7th with Apache Sauce.  Last year’s winner Caroline Powell is lying 3rd with the lovely grey Lenamore,  Ireland’s Elizabeth Power puts her bad fall at Badminton behind her with a good clear on Kilpatrick River to lie 6th, Australian Sam Griffiths lies 9th with Happy Times and Tom McEwen has a fantastic first Burghley to jump clear round the huge course inside the time to lie 10th with Dry Old Party.

Comanche the ride of Herefordshire vet James Robinson is one of the oldest horses competing at 18, but he jumped clear with just  7.6 time penalties to lie 21st of the 58 who completed the course. 11 were eliminated and 9 retired.

You can watch the coverage on BBC2 tomorrow (Sunday) at 2pm until 3.45pm.  If you can’t wait until then, go to http://www.youtube.com/BurghleyTV

Herefordshire’s James Robinson, a vet with the Three Counties Equine Hospital, lies 10th at Burghley with Comanche following the first day of dressage at Burghley, with 48.8 penalties. Any score under 50 is good, so good luck James!  Follow all the news and action at www.burghley-horse.co.uk

Opposition Buzz

So, in the end, we had to settle for just a team bronze at the European Eventing Championships when things didn’t really go the way the GB team would have liked. However, considering all the problems encountered on the way, they did very well to win bronze! How did Cool Mountain stay on his feet in the water and how did William Fox-Pitt stay on ….twice (!) to avoid any jumping penalties XC? Mary King suffered a crushing fall, but in her true style got up smiling and waved to the crowd – what an amazing role model she is. Piggy French has a habit of beating herself up, but she really shouldn’t – she has fantastic talent and surely always better to go clear with a few time penalties than risk jumping penalties.  As for Nicola Wilson and Opposition Buzz – once again they make it look so easy! According to the interview afterwards, Laura Collett, riding Rayef as an individual, obviously felt Rayef wasn’t on form XC. They were eliminated for 3 runouts. Disappointing for Laura, but no doubt she will have learnt a lot from the experience and she will be back.

Sadly a show jumping fence down for each of our 3 team members meant we couldn’t retain our overnight silver medal position and France who all show jumped clear moved up to take the silver while we took the bronze.

The German team were on fire and deserved the Gold, but you couldn’t help but feel sorry for Ingrid Klimke with 6 knock downs SJ after being in Gold medal position after a great dressage and XC. And also poor Sara Algotsson-Ostholt (lying in Silver position before SJ) who completely ‘missed’ at the final treble causing a knock down and then a stop. She was lucky not to fall too. Ironically that helped her husband, German rider Frank Ostholt, move up to take the individual bronze and both Ingrid and Sara dropped right out of the medal positions although Ingrid won a team gold.  But the talented 24 year old Sandra Auffarth thoroughly deserved her individual silver medal with the lovely chestnut Opgun Louvo.  As for Michael Jung, well he now adds the European Champion title to his existing World Champion title and he finished on his dressage of 33.40. What more can you say except WOW!….. And the horse I’d most like to ride (in my dreams!!) – Apollo van de Wendi Kurt Hoeve, ridden by Stefano Brecciaroli.

Following a very eventful XC day at the Europeans, the British Team, now down to 3 following Mary King’s heavy fall, are lying 2nd. This morning, Sunday, all 3 passed the trot up and will show-jump this afternoon. The German team look as if they can’t be beaten with 10 fences in hand. You can watch the action on the BBC2 from 3.15, but possibly on the red button too from 12:40?  Also on TV this morning, Country Tracks at 11am on BBC1 features Burghley Horse Trials.

The German team posted excellent dressage scores at the European Eventing championships to hold a big lead over GB who lie 2nd after the dressage phase. Italy are in 3rd with a small advantage over Sweden in 4th.  Ireland lie 8th of the 11 teams.  Our standings individually are Laura Collett (riding as an individual) in equal 4th, Mary King 10th, Piggy French 11th, William Fox Pitt 17th and Nicola Wilson 39th out of a total field of 69 competitors.

4 German riders fill the top slots after the dressage with Ingrid Klimke riding FRH Butts Abraxxas on an excellent score of 30 penalties, 80%!  See the full live scoreboard here: http://janssen.sportcg.net/2011/luhmuehlen/leaderboard01.html

For up to date news, photos etc., visit http://www.luhmuehlen.de/index.asp?tree_id=101&sprache_id=2

If you are selling an item or horse/pony on this or any other website with your email address included in the advert, you need to be aware of the many email scams about. To avoid them, just don’t include your email address in your advert. Below is an example of an email sent to a seller, as well as the response sent after the seller responded.  (This person (Fiona Margie) sent  a cheque not bankers draft, to the seller. The cheque was actually stolen. The police were informed and are now in possession of the cheque and details of all emails)

“Am Fiona Margie..I just want to know if your {Saddle}is still for sale..Kindly get back to me with this details if still available for sale such as :-

1.Present Condition.
2.Least selling price

Looking forward to hear back from you so we can proceed further.
Regards
Fiona Margie”

The response to the sellers response:
“Hello ,
Thanks for your swift response,I’m very much interested in your (Saddle) And the asking price  which is £500 is Okay by me .and I  have read and understand that the {Saddle} is in  good Condition. However I’ll instruct my colleague to issue you a Banker’s Draft” in your name with an advance which will cover the shipping  of the { Saddle} to our home and having it in mind that business is based on trust,

when you receive the Banker’s Draft check, take it to your bank,Have it verified and cashed,Deduct the cost price due for the purchase of the {Saddle} and the rest will be used for the pickup by my reputable shipping company’s staff who will take care of the pickup at your location,So you should be expecting a payment by next week Monday. If
this is clear please write me back with all the details below in order to make the payment: :-
Info needed as follows:

(1)Cheque payable to:
(2)Home Address:
(3)State:
(4)Post code:
(5)Country:
(6)Telephone number/mobile phone:

Note :- Am ready to offer you an additional £50 plus your sales price,If you do consider the { Saddle} sold to me and turn away every other interested buyer’s that has been Sold.

Thanks With Regards
Fiona Margie”

Becky Goodwin, 15 yrs, from Shobdon, near Leominster in Herefordshire, and her Connemara pony Finbar won the 138cm mountain and moorland working hunter class at the Royal International Horse Show held at Hickstead, a major achievement for anyone, let alone a family with totally home produced ponies. To crown an unbelievable week for the Goodwin family, they went to the National Pony Championships at Malvern where Becky and Finbar qualified for the Horse of the Year show in October. Her twin sister Kate also qualified and competed at the Royal International qualifying her welsh section B for the 3rd year running and is trying to get him and a new partnership with a Dartmoor through to the HOYS this year so fingers crossed for them both.

Pippa Wilson, Jeanette Stayt & Pippa Morris

The Cheltenham and District Riding Club (CDRC) Show Jumping ‘Panthers’ team shone at Hickstead recently, finishing 7th out of 103 teams!

This was made even more special due to the fact each team only has three members and all three scores count.

Team Manager Michelle Holder said ‘I am delighted and overjoyed by the result, not only for what the Panthers team achieved, but also because our two other teams, the Tigers and the Lynx, both came in the top end of the class. This is a national competition open to all UK Riding Clubs and all who represented CDRC at Hickstead have made us very proud.’ Michelle continued ‘The class was held as part of the Royal International Horse Show and took place on the same day as the King George VI competition – it was a great experience for all of us who travelled down to Sussex to support our members.’

The Tigers team were Lisa Hyett on Bella, Genevieve Reading on Scooby and Katie Mills on Solo .

The Lynx team were Louise Willkinson on Tarka, Arlene Mansell on Jackanory and Cassie Wood on Magic.

The Panthers team were Pippa Morris on The Bosun, Pippa Wilson on Dudley and Jeanette Stayt on Smirnoff. The competition, organised by the British Riding Club, has three members to a team, each jumping one round of different heights – 85cms, 95cms and 105cms with time taken into consideration as well; CDRC Panthers were drawn the 93rd team to go.

First to go in the 85cms section were Pippa Morris on The Bosun (known as Alf) who did a good round, with just one jump down, inside the time allowed.  Pippa said ‘I am really chuffed with our round as I’ve just been told there were only three clear rounds in the whole of this section. Alf is great, he is so genuine and also a true family horse – I share him with my son and he has been doing Pony Club camp with him all week! I have only been a CDRC member for 2 years and it was a big step to put myself forward for selection – I am so pleased I did now!’

Pippa Wilson on Dudley were next;  they competed in the 95cms section and did a lovely clear round, also inside the time allowed. This combination competed at Hickstead last year in this competiton but a fortnight later,  Dudley injured his check ligament in the field. Pippa then gave him most of the year off and this was his first competition back on grass for a whole year. A delighted Pippa said ‘It was worth every moment of caring for him and the weeks of box rest to be able to jump at Hickstead. This was his first competition outside and on grass since Hickstead last year and I am so pleased I saved him for today!’

Last to go, in the 105cms, were Jeanette Stayt on Smirnoff (known as Smurf).  The tension had risen because there were no score boards for the day, so it was a case of listening to others at the ringside to see  how other teams were faring;  it sounded as though CDRC were in the running with only 4 faults. Unbeknown to Jeanette, the two Pippas had a plan that if she went clear, they would run the half mile back to the lorry to get changed as quickly as possible, whilst Kayleigh and Megan fetched the horses from the stables for them and still be back in time for the prize giving….

Jeanette had injured her shoulder in a fall at Hickstead last year and she had undergone another operation on it just a fortnight ago. She kept a really cool head, and produced an effortless, smooth clear round inside the time allowed. An overjoyed Jeanette said ‘I punched the air when we’d cleared the last fence as I so was so pleased with Smurf. He had not been ridden since before my operation and he looked after me and carried me around the course. My shoulder was still hurting and I was riding virtually one-handed! He is a star.’
When the results were announced, there were only two teams who had finished on a zero score, with five finishing on 4 faults; the placings were then decided on time.

Michelle Holder concluded ‘This result has placed CDRC firmly on the map and shows we are a force to reckoned with. The team spirit was wonderful and everyone supported each other – a fabulous time was had by all!’

Tilley Jewell

The South Hereford & Ross Harriers Hunt Branch of the Pony Club Intermediate girls tetrathlon team were victorious at the 2011 PC Tetrathlon Championships at Hartpury.

The team members: Tilley Jewell, Lucy May Turner, Kitty Jewell and Hannah Prestwich, had to shoot, swim, run and ride XC in a hotly contested championships run over 2 days. 13 yr old Kitty scored an impressive 960 in the shooting, where the maximum possible score is 1000, to be the best shot.

After shooting, the team had to swim the farthest distance possible in 3 minutes.  The next morning, the girls had to run a 1500m course and complete as close as they could to a bogey time.

Finally, they all rode XC round a course which caused quite a lot of trouble. Bold riding was needed, but with the control required to quickly dismount to do a slip-rail and remount to continue XC followed a few fences later by opening and closing a wicket gate which was only 1 fence before the water.

Well done Tilley, Lucy, Kitty and Hannah and all team trainers, supporters and families involved. A great result! Click any photo to enlarge (all photos copyright Sally Newcomb)

Lucy May Turner

Kitty Jewell

Hannah Prestwich

Click on ‘Collecting Ring’ and then ‘Ask the Expert’ to see the new questions and answers in that section.

Current warning:  emails from Bobby Tony – email address: newmart2009@gmail.com  This man is scamming sellers on this website. Do not respond to his emails, just delete them.

Sellers of items on websites need to be aware that including your email address in your advert does make you susceptible to receiving scam emails.

These scam emails are fairly obvious  as they sound foreign, the english is poor and also strange phrases and words are used which just don’t sound genuine.

Below are examples of a scam email currently in circulation and also an example of the reply you will get if you respond to his scam email:

“Hello.
This is just to let you to know that i came across your advert on the website and I’m very interested in buying it from you. I’ll like you to kindly write
back if you still have it for sale and what is your final price? Also I’ll really appreciate it if you can send me some recent pictures. Meanwhile i live in London, but I will like you to know that I will.
Thank you.
Regards,
Tony”

And the reply you may receive back:

“Hello ,

Thanks for your mail back and also for the information of your
(item) I must tell you am really interested about the (item) and
also I hope the (item) is good condition. I want the best that’s I’m
saying this.

Concerning the shipment of the (item) from your location to my
house,this will be taking (item) of by my shipping agent, who will be
coming directly to your location for the pickup of the (item). If
there are papers, he can use this for clearance and also for the
shipment of the (item).This is all the requirements needed at this
time. The shipper agent will handle every other thing necessary when
he Arrive sour O cation.

So i will like to pay £1,300 for the (item) plus an extra £50 for
you to keep other buyers off till it is picked up by the shipping
agent. So please get back to me, and also keep other buyers off. My
client who owes me will send you a bank certified cheque of £1,980.
Can I trust you to have it cashed, take £1,350 and and send the
balance to the agent, so he will be using the rest of the money for
the pick up of the (item).?If yes, kindly reply with the following
payment details so I can inform him to make out payment to you.

Thank you.
FIRST NAME……
LAST NAME.
ADDRESS…….
CITY…….
STATE….
ZIP CODE..
COUNTRY….
PHONE NUMBER (S).

Looking forward to your soonest reply.
My very warm regards to your family,..
Sincerely
Tony”

The old classified ads system has been removed and replaced with the new system.

Photo ads have been imported from the old system and are in place and most of the free lineage ads have been moved too.  However, please check whether your ad has been moved and if it hasn’t, fill in the Place an Ad form.

Photo ads cost £10 with one photo, plus £5 per additional photo and include up to 1500 characters.  Ads will remain online for 30 days at which point they will be removed. However, you can request that your advert stays online longer if necessary at no extra charge! The more photos you have, the higher your advert will appear in it’s category.

Free ads are always placed below photo ads and can include up to 500 characters. The free ads will be removed after 14 days.

There are 14 main categories, all of which have sub-categories.

Any questions, please email me: sally@herefordequestrian.co.uk

The domain name Hereford Equestrian was first registered on 1st July 2003, but the first page of the website was uploaded on 23 July 2003. Admittedly it was a very small and rather amateurish website to begin with, but I was learning as I went along!

At the beginning of this year the website was professionally redesigned and built on a new platform which is enabling the continuing growth. Google analaytics show that in June there were 16,393 visitors and 106,099 page views.  If you have a few minutes spare, please leave a birthday wish/testimonial on this page: www.herefordequestrian.co.uk/testimonials/ You’ll see a link in the top right corner to write your testimonial.

Want to know a little more……

So it was on 1st July 2003 while chatting to my now brother in law, Peter, over a glass of wine that I first mentioned an idea I had for a local equestrian website which could provide a one-stop shop resource for the local equestrian community.  At the time I had my own yard at Warham, nr Hereford and was very busy teaching and training riders and horses.  I told him that while teaching,  I was constantly being asked questions such as where you could find this or that, what competitions were on, where to go schooling, who to use for saddle fitting or horses teeth, etc etc.  Many questions every day.  Peter listened carefully to my idea and said only about 2% of ideas come to fruition, so if I really believed it could work why not give it a try. After all, I wouldn’t need to stop doing any of the work I was already doing, just work in the evenings and in any spare time!

That was enough encouragement for me. I went home, instantly registered the domain name herefordequestrian.co.uk (not realising at that stage how big it would grow and that it would expand beyond Herefordshire) and next day went to PC World to buy a website building software package.  Total expense at this stage, about £30.  I used the software ‘wizard’ to build the site and 3 weeks later the first pages were uploaded. I then added pages as the directory and classifieds grew.  I soon had to upgrade to the industry standard html software package Dreamweaver (another steep learning curve) and used that until the beginning of this year.  I loved working with Dreamweaver, but had to accept that the site was growing too big and that it was difficult for me to maintain it manually in this way for much longer.

So a visit to ‘Naked Creative’ at Fownhope, with whom I had had a meeting 2 or 3 years previously, meant the beginning of the rebuild which began in November 2010. It was a mixture of emotions, lots of sadness losing the old site, lots of excitement re the new site and the possibilities that would bring and then there was the stress! So much to do, so many decisions to make and a lot to learn!  But it is all settling down nicely and hopefully those used to the old site are now used to the new.

Next week will bring the new classified ads system, forced upon us as the developer of the classified plugin in the USA has not been able to resolve a few issues with the system.  With all these decisions, there are advantages and disadvantages.  The new system will be similar to that of the old site, so that will mean more scrolling and less clicking for you with more ads viewable on one page and no chance of getting lost!

Please continue to let me have your feedback, after-all this website is for you. Criticism is fine too as long as it is constructive.  But most importantly, please keep on using the site!

Sally

Don’t miss the reports and results page.  The latest report and results are for The Cotswold Vale Farmers’ Hunt Pony Club who held their Summer Show on 10th July in Deerhurst Walton near Tewkesbury.

To visit the page, visit the Collecting Ring – www.herefordequestrian.co.uk/collecting-ring/

British Eventing have announced the squad of riders who will compete at the European Championships at Luhmuhlen, Germany from 25-28 August. New to the senior team, Laura Collett, aged 21 gets her first senior badge riding Rayef. Laura may be young, but she has flown the flag successfully for Britain in Pony, Junior and Young Rider teams in the past. Also in the squad, William Fox-Pitt, Piggy French, Mary King, Polly Stockton and Nicola Wilson. All 6 will compete, but the team of 4 will be named nearer the time. Non-travelling reserves have not yet been named.  It’s a strong squad – good luck and GO Team GB!

Many of you will welcome the forthcoming move to a similar layout for the classified ads section as was used on the old site. The current system has been plagued with problems for those placing or trying to edit their adverts due to ‘bugs’ in the system and I haven’t been satisfied with it since it was first launched!  It will take a little time to alter it, but I can assure you I will be working on it behind the scenes.  Businesses will no doubt welcome this improvement too as it will enable me to control the placement of their adverts much better, thus ensuring more views and clicks to their adverts.

Meanwhile, don’t forget you can click the category itself within the classifieds to ensure you don’t miss an advert.  For example, click ‘Horses’ and you will see every advert placed within the sub-categories under horses. They are listed chronologically, but with featured ads always at the top of the list.

Purchase a photo ad to sell your horse, horsebox, saddle, property or any other item and I will ‘Tweet’ your advert and also ‘Share it on Facebook’.

Hereford Equestrian has over 1000 friends on Facebook, with new people joining every day, so your advert will reach all those people, PLUS all their friends. It’s a great way to sell your horse, house or other items.  Look at the photo ads on the classified ads pages and see how many views they get compared with adverts without photos.  All this for just £10 with one photo (£5 per photo after that) and your advert will be online for 60 days unless you remove it before that time.

To place an advert, just click ‘Place Ad’ which is underneath the property banner on the Classified Ads page.