IN THE SADDLE

Members of Chipping Pony Club have this month taken advantage of the change in weather and utilised the sunshine to fuel their capabilities to the maximum, writes Megan Conlon. Photography: Diane Marsden and Sean Conlon

Despite the strong winds at the Area Show Jumping, hosted by Lancaster Pony Club, Chipping Pony Club had an incredibly enjoyable day. An early start for their team in the 80cm class seemed to give them a boost in the right direction and Oliver, Evie, Olivia and Erin finished in third place and qualified for the Regional Grassroots Championships at Eland Lodge in Derbyshire.

Olivia and Miles also went a step further and came fourth and sixth individually, which was a massive achievement for them and the whole club was very proud to see that so many competitors will be trekking down to Derbyshire next month. The Intro Class saw Ella, Immy, Kaitlin and Lucy navigating a tricky course and riding superbly – to have competed in this competition all adds to their experience.

The Novice team, consisting of Lauren, Megan and Rebecca, flew round the course with Megan finishing just out of the ribbons. Rebecca executed a wonderfully calm and controlled round and Lauren rode her young horse fabulously well across the technically tricky course.

The following weekend, Chipping’s horses were being plaited up once more in preparation for the Area Eventing at Somerford Park, which was organised by East Cheshire Branch. Eventing consists of Dressage, Show Jumping and Cross Country so plenty of training sessions have been available to build up the fitness and accuracy of the horses and riders in preparation for the day. These paid off as the Grassroots Team (Oliver, Amy, Olivia and Lauren) elucidated their superb, sensible steps in the dressage, their technically terrific turns in the show jumping and their perfectly planned perseverance in the cross country!

The tireless day was all worth it when they were placed fifth, adding another day onto the trip to the Eland Lodge Regional Championships!

Olivia also came third in the Cheshire Shield and second as an individual.

Megan also rode individually in the Novice class and was placed a very respectable fourth after demonstrating accurate dressage, speedy show jumping and controlled cross country.

As a relaxation from the previous busy weekends, Chipping organised a fundraiser picnic ride across Leagram Fell. A big thank-you to Karen Kenyon for leading the ride across difficult terrain such as steep hills and streams and a huge thank you to the Stott family for letting members ride over their land. Being able to ride your horse out in a group over open countryside is another great discipline for horse and rider. It was a great day out for all and there were smiles all around!

The Branch now looks forward to the school holidays and the summer camps and championships which lie ahead.

If you are interested in joining the Pony Club, please contact Chipping’s District Commissioner Joanne Conlon 07739 687972 or email: chipping@pcuk.org

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