Extracts from the Branch Newsletters

Articles are re-printed from Grampian branch newsletters and the editors of this website take no responsibility for their contents.

Congratulations to our Branch members who took part in Lothian’s Hillhead ride:

Kate Robertson with Lady Bathsheba won the 120 km ER, in a phenomenal 9 hours 46 minutes, at a speed of 12.90 km/ph with an amazing Heart rate of 52 bpm!!!!!!!

Lorna Hogg and De Marco came 5^th in the 120 km ER in 10 hours 16 minutes at 12.27 km/ph with a fantastic Heart Rate of 60 bpm! after only a few minutes.

Katie Keith and Jakhiri achieved their Gold Thistle Final in one attempt, a distance of 85km, at 13.53 km/ph with a Gold Heart Rate of 48 bpm!!!

Well done to you all - incredible achievements which take years of dedication, enthusiasm and commitment.

Changes to Grampian Castles ride
Following on from the Grampian reps. offer at the Central Committee meeting to shrink Grampian Castles to give the long rides in the other branches either side more of a chance,  Grampian branch committee met to formulate this proposal and agreed the following with the ride organisers:

That we will honour the commitment to running the Pasquille Championship Ride. Otherwise the event will drop down to a branch one day ride on the Sunday.

The programme will therefore now be:  

 Saturday:     80km ER (1st leg of the Pasquill Trophy class)

 Sunday:        60km ER

 50km CTR

 30km CTR (2nd leg of the Pasquill Trophy class)

 20km Pleasure

Riders can therefore enter the Pasquille two day (80km ER + 30km CTR),  or an 80km ER Saturday (stand alone)  or any of the Sunday one day classes.

Please would members note that Grampian Castles will no longer be part of the Pleasure Ride Series.

Sad news from Ruth
There’s no easy way to say this.  Samee died suddenly last month.  She was found dead in the field in the morning with no visible injuries or evidence of trouble in the field.  This was a huge shock as she was looking great the last time I saw her and she was only 22 (her mother lived to 42, not that I expected Samee to reach that age, but I did think she would make around the 30 mark).  This happened while Malcolm and I were away on holiday and I couldn’t get back to be there so it’s been hard to come to terms with it.  I bred her from Hameda who I had bought after knowing her since the '70's (before some of you were born!), so it's a huge chunk of my life.  Ruth Riddell
The Committee and members offer their condolences to Ruth at this sad time.

An enjoyable “Drop in”

Those of you who were unable to come to the “Drop in to Endurance” morning on Saturday missed an enjoyable and informative time. This was a very friendly and informal gathering and those who did turn up, ranging from newcomers to very experienced riders, all chatted freely and went away better informed. We can all learn from each other’s experience, and there was a great deal of swapping boots (horses), trying saddles, discussing the merits of massage therapy, heart monitors, how the new rules might affect you, etc. all on a one to one basis.

Our grateful thanks to Lorna who made it clear that the rules are not that difficult, Katie Keith who showed individuals how to use heart monitors, Arlene and Emma Parvin who brought (and sold) some lovely tack, Janice Thomson, who brought her car loaded with half her tack room and gave lots of advice; Kate Robertson who discussed the training of horses up to the highest levels, Leon who showed most of the stuff you may need in your crew car or back at the venue to get your horse ready for the vet; and Clive Pollitt who had a great deal of interesting (and often home-made) kit and gave advice on getting through vettings.  Jane and Douglas were on hand to answer and ask any questions and Douglas performed the essential office of catering with tea, coffee and chocolate biscuits.

Breaking news ..Argent of Ballydougan announces his retirement from Grampian Branch rides - at age 15 and a half.

Lizzy Thornton sent this piece last November,

Archie is sure there will be a few sighs of relief from various Officials and Clipboard Ladies as he was notorious for breaking loose, scattering all and sundry persons/equipment/articles in his wake. His usual excuse was to see what other equines had in their buckets...... more

The Versatile Quarter Horse By Susan Jacyna

Simon and I live in Keith and are lucky to have really beautiful riding country on our doorstep.  Orinoco (sire Venture Max, dam Waccabuc Jr) is now ten and I bought him from Joan Cadzow when he was a just-backed and very green 3 yr old....... more

My Versatile Arabian

Katie & Jack’s view of the SRGAHS Versatile Arabian Event

The summer of 2007 has been memorable for most people as incredibly wet, and for me, as one of many some amazing highs and crashing lows. The week of National Arabian week I should have been travelling down to Swindon to compete on the Scottish team at Barbury Castle....... more

Blackhall ride report  from Highland branch member Fiona Monro 

Fiona & Nico – intro to Grampian

Well our first Grampian ride has come and gone.  We were fortunate that the venue field was nice, big and flat and Nico found the grass very tasty!!  The usual nerves kicked in with me, from the moment I awoke that morning and by the time I reached the yard I had probably double dosed on Rescue Remedy as did Nico before loading.  Lorna came with me to support our first ride back to SERC after being off since July last year.  Nico’s pre-ride heart rate was 48 and I (or rather Lorna) found us fabulous riding duo in Donna and Sameh.  Their paces were very similar as were their spooky moments!!  Would have enjoyed the ride even more if there were more canter opportunities, but the ground was hard and very stony in part.  We managed a couple of canters passing by the river though.  Nico and Sameh found the ascending hills quite a chore towards the end, but soon perked back up when we were descending down the final section to the venue which was a particularly fine moment, given that Donna & I were both soaked through by this point.  Always nice to see a photographer on route and Nico suitably posed for her, so dying to see how that looks.  We came through the finish and averaged 10.7km/hr.  No need for cooling down as the dreach day managed to do that for us.  Post ride heart rate was 52/50 and if it hadn’t been for him straining himself to look at something else, we may very well have been down to 48!!  My horse was a little star given that he did the ride carrying more weight than he should be (he, not me, I was referring to his tum).  But I am just glad that the two of us enjoyed being back at SERC and it wouldn’t have been possible without Lorna, (not forgetting Monty), Donna & Sameh.  Topping off my day was Nico loading in his new trailer without too much hassle.  Big smiles all round.  Thanks very much Grampian Branch for making my first ride back an enjoyable one without the threat of getting lost on route due to fabulous marking.

A wonderful Surprise at Balmoral

A report from Yvonne Thomson

The BHS  Diamond Jubilee Ride at Balmoral this year turned out to be a real surprise....... (more)

For photos of the event, click here   For further information, contact www.bhsscotland.org.uk

Drummuir Ride report

By Mary Stelmach

Drummuir is always a popular early season ride offering distances from 80k downwards. It attracts riders from our neighbouring branches who are ready to try an early 80k or wish to use it as a training ride for the Golden Horseshoe. ...... (more)

Greens of Afforsk, Blairdaff (alias The Easter-Egg Hunt Ride!)

Ride report by Lynda Keeler

Little did I realise when Lorna said there would be a surprise for us at the Greens of Afforsk ride that it would be a hunt for Easter Eggs!  ....... (more)

March 2007

Australian Physiotherapy Pilates

Kate Robertson is restarting classes on Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday evenings at Kemnay, Alford and Huntly respectively, commencing 16^th April.

Pilates can improve your core stability, fitness, flexibility, improve posture and help you feel invigorated.  Do you think a fitter rider would benefit your horse? If so contact Kate on 019755 62436 for details. 

March 2007

Therapeutic Grooming

Eight lucky horses and their riders attended Pauline Kidd’s Therapeutic grooming session at Drumnagesk. Lucky, firstly because the weather was kind enough to allow it to happen, and secondly because it was such a unique and beneficial experience. Pauline began by observing each horse in walk and trot to assess its general well-being, i.e. stiffness or lameness, and then embarked on a process of all-over touch and light massage. Her infectious enthusiasm and practical hands-on approach, using a very laid-back demonstrator horse (unlike our jumpy Arabians) was a memorable way of getting to grips with each individual horse’s sensitivities and thus its aches and pains. As a point of interest I think all the horses exhibited at least one sore bit. Likewise most of the riders admitted to sore bits, often a mirror image of the horses’ problems. Therefore surely our individual imbalances greatly affect our faithful mounts – a point to consider and work to eliminate, maybe using this technique.

Therapeutic grooming is an all-over assessment and gentle massage of every muscle in a horse’s body – I would recommend it for every horse.

Of particular interest to endurance riders, this technique could be used during and post ride, at vet gates and pre-ride vetting as a way to identify any tightness in muscles, sensitivity or soreness.

Tony Comerford

Our thanks to Tony for organising this interesting and useful event.

March 2007

Glen Tanar Ride Report 2006

From Yvonne Thomson,  Ride Organiser, writes an interesting story on organising a new ride........ (more)

Kirkhill – A Great Success

Ride report from Ruth Riddell

Congratulations to Gundula and Lorna for a great success with the Kirkhill ride on Sunday.  We were very lucky with the weather, not only the wet weather beforehand to soften some of the hard tracks, but the wind during the previous week to dry off the surface to provide some of the best going we have had at Kirkhill for some time.  Then on the day, we had a nice cool wind which was excellent for everyone except the vetting team – I hope they have all thawed out now.

The new tracks seemed to ride well – no compulsory walk or industrial estate, less tarmac and in their place a few new “less well known” connecting tracks to give a bit of variety.  Added to that, one or two planes coming in to land and the occasional train going under the bridge all added to make the route a nice outing after what seems like a long winter.

We had lots of new faces (and some old – or should I say well-known – faces too) and lots of smiling faces at the end of the day which makes it all worthwhile.

But the main reason for the success of the day was the time and effort put in by both Gundula and Lorna beforehand and the attention to everything to ensure that the ride ran smoothly.  Well done to you both.

New Members

Grampian Branch would like to give a warm welcome to the following new members: Donna Hemmings, Angus Nesbit, Mark Nesbit, Iona McDonald, Arlene Killoh, Judith Barker, Claire Wallace, Freya van Midden, Christina van Midden, Katharina van Midden, Jenny Milne, Morven Lawson, Jacqueline Christie, Susan Duncan, and Mr & Mrs Duncan Hynd

And welcome back to Linda Taylor, Yvonne Monro, Kathy Meyer, Michael Lomax, Willie and Janet Keith and Angela Horrod who have all rejoined us after having had a break.

Please be assured that most members enjoy sharing experiences and advice relating to endurance so don't be afraid to ask- although preferably not if we're standing waiting to vet our own horse!

Christmas Fun Day on 28^th December

Our thanks to Tony and Karen Comerford who ran this enjoyable day.  A number of riders expressed regret at not being able to attend as it was a very icy morning.   Tony and Karen wrote the following report.  ....... (more)

New trophy

This new trophy is called the Schadow Trophy.  No, my wonderful Haflinger Schadow is not dead or sold on; she is still very much with me and still enjoying her endurance. 

I decided to give this trophy to Grampian SERC  to encourage and reward the riders that for reasons of their own do not do big miles or very long distances and have the pleasure of achieving a reward for their efforts and enjoyment.  Riders going the longer distances already have many trophies to aim for.

This trophy is for the most Golds for 30 miles  (48 km) and under.   The Golds can be from other SERC branches as well as Grampian.   It is surprising how many miles you can ride in a year just doing twenties or thirties. 

( I hope to win it myself some day!)

You may say that we already have a Gold trophy.  Yes, I gave that one too; the Cresta Lee Trophy, for the most Golds in a year for all distances.

Yvonne Thomson 

Strathdon Ride

Report from ride organisers, Karen and Tony Comerford.

From the organisers’ point of view, the ride on 15^th October was a breeze! A small entry, all of the riding variations on a 36km loop, and we had lots of helpers. ....... (more)

A Happy/Warm day for Whitehaugh 2006

Ride Report from Kate Robertson (with a sigh of relief)

Happy – because we had strong, knowledgeable people in charge – including Dawn Saunders as first-time Chief Steward, Janice Thomson as Vet Writer, and my husband Hugh as essential background support. These three were the back-bone of the organisation on the day and proved a formidable team. The warm glow came from Mandy Craik’s Mum’s gorgeous chocolate cake, sampled by the majority!

Huge thanks go to Yvonne and Dawn for marking the pleasure ride, Robert Keeler for sense of humour and start/finish timekeeping; Kathleen Howie and Pat Williams for Caravan/results, sign-maker Anna Craik; typing expert Leona Whiteoak; Forest Enterprise for lovely riding tracks; and Hugh for all his hard work cutting back broom and gorse.  Apart from the memorable chocolate cake, Mandy found helpers, made all the packed lunches, and most important of all – boosted the morale of the fraught ride organiser – what a friend!

Hugh and I demarked all the routes ourselves – no offer of help with that task. Thanks also go to Raynet, vet Heather Simpson and Farrier – the special Ken Playle.

Perhaps new members and those who do not help with rides might realise just how many people we need to put on even a small ride – just 16k and 33k – making together a 49k.  Even though it is hard work, you make new friends and have good fun. 

Jack in the Box

Have you ever watched someone trying to load a difficult horse? Wanted to help? Felt sorry for them? Shaken your head in disbelief? Like many problems, it looks less complex from the outside looking in. ......... (more)

Coloured Tail Ribbons - by Marlene Arthur

I've always assumed most equine owners are aware of the "colour coding" of horses tail ribbons:

Blue for stallions ie. if you have a mare in season, you'd better steer clear of him.

Green for novices and youngsters ie. please pass wide and slow and at a reasonable speed.

Red for kickers ie. please look out and stand well back (my horse falls into this category)....... (more)

A Finnish Horse's First Year in Endurance - by Lynsey Gordon

The best thing I ever did was to buy Valittu, otherwise known as Dino, a 14.3hh palomino Finnish horse which I bought from Kirsi and Mika Malaska when they came over to Hayfield Riding Centre. He had spent his first years competing in trotting races ...... (more)

Helping at Rides - by Tracey Banks

Yes, these 3 horrible words that everyone loves to hear – helping at rides.  Our rides can only take place if we have enough volunteers to run them.  There are a number of jobs you can do so I’ve decided to give a brief description ........... (more)

20 Mule Team 100  by Clive Pollitt

In 1880 a team was established to haul borax from the Harmony Borax Works in Death Valley and the Amargosa works near Shoshone to the railhead at Mojave.  These 20 Mule Teams soon became a legend, .................(more)

GRASS SICKNESS – my part in its downfall – by Dawn Saunders

Like Tony and Karen (Comerford), I too lost a pony to grass sickness.  Within 24 hours of being diagnosed he was gone.  So five years down the line I was devastated to come home from holiday and find our little black Shetland, Magic, obviously in the throws of it too...... (more)

Mud Fever: Getting It Right by Kieran O’Brien MA MVB PhD MRCVS

EqWest Equine Veterinary Clinic, Tavistock, Devon PL19 8QA kob@eqwest.co.uk

Mud fever is very common in the Arabian breed, due at least in part to the high prevalence of white legs.....(more)

Equine Grass Sickness

Just over a year ago I lost my horse to Grass Sickness.  It has taken that year and a new horse before I felt able to write about it....(more)

Hitting The Wall and Electrolytes by Clive Pollitt

In a recent ride at St Fort, I had the pleasure or riding with a group of 40 milers, one of which was using the ride as a Silver qualifier.  This was to be her first 40 miler and she was full of confidence  that, based on previous rides, both rider and the horse were well prepared and would have no problem doing a 40.....(more)

Drumtochty 2004 Ride Report

(This was sent to your editor from a member of Tayside Branch)....(more)

Grampian Rider To “Go The Distance” For Scotland

The profile of Endurance Riding has been raised considerably recently as a local member of Grampian Branch of the Scottish Endurance Riding Club has succeeded in being selected to represent Scotland in October 2004.....(more)

75 Miles at Cirencester (76 actually)

Cirencester Park, is part of the 14,000 acre Gloucestershire estate owned by Lord Bathurst. It is home to the Cirencester Park Polo Club but on the 18^th of June it hosted a 75mile and 100mile FEI ride run under the auspices of Endurance GB....(more)

A Short Ride in the Hills by Simon Jacyna

The West Highland Pony Camp is an innocuous title for one of the most unusual and demanding challenges in Scottish riding. Started in the 70s by Teddy Gray of the Garry Gualach Outdoor Centre the challenge is simple – organise a horseback expedition in the Scottish Highlands covering at least 35 miles with one night away to finish at a given destination on the first Friday in June. .....(more)

And Finally, Some Thoughts From Rob Winmill

A Small Drama Turns Up Some Interesting Information By Elaine Wafer

If you are thinking of starting the 2004 ride season with a new riding hat you may find the following story of interest.

My preferred model of hat is the Advanced Tech Helmet made by International Riding Helmets who are an American company.....(more)

Afraid! Be Very Afraid (Riding on the roads)

For once the sun was shining and there was just a gentle breeze as I got ready to ride, the usual saga of white hat and fluorescent tabard and almost white horse surely I was visible.  So off we went hoping for a pleasurable couple of hours.....(more)

Horse and Pony Cremation

Disposing of the body of your best friend after the fateful day finally comes is not easy.  This service, offered by the Scottish Agricultural College (SAC), may be of interest to many Scottish horse owners now that on-farm burial of livestock is banned....(more)