Archive for 2018

We were treated to a fantastic day at Aintree Racecourse. A guided tour and course walk was followed by a sit-down lunch in a private function room and an afternoon’s racing. December 8th dawned dry and sunny despite a wet and windy forecast. We were greeted with coffee and mince pies, which was a sign…

November 8th dawns – well actually it hasn’t as the alarm went off at 1.15AM & it’s pitch black!  Fran & I left Malsbury Cottage in Wexford at 2.15 AM to drive to Dublin Airport to change Faith into Fran as dear Faith had a family bereavement, the wig wouldn’t stay on Fran’s head &…

Honesty, Energy, Time Those that attended the course walk were in for a treat this year as we were lucky to get input not only from Eric but Captain Mark Phillips himself. At the very beginning of the walk the first thing Eric explained was that as a rider you need to know your horse,…

What a super day I had at The Royal International Horse Show on Saturday 28th July.  The day was spent with many other F & I members and their guests where we had the luxury of the BHS box    with a supply of drinks and a lovely lunch right next to the main ring. …

at Bold Heath Equestrian Centre, Cheshire on 5th July 2018. We had five groups of eager riders for the training day with Nick Turner. Mark Baker and his team at Bold Heath had built a fantastic track for us, with a testing series of jumping exercises for us. They have fantastic outdoor arenas at Bold…

BALLYPATRICK STABLES, FETHARD HORSE MUSEUM & COOLMORE STUD, 26th June 2018. ANOTHER FABULOUSLY ORGANISED DAY BY FAITH PONSONBY BHSI BALLYPATRICK STABLES On arrival we were greeted and shown round by Olga Doyle (Greg Broderick’s sister). Greg represented Ireland as the only Irish show jumper at the Rio Olympics in 2016. I think to say we…

We were lucky to have the opportunity to study the Burghley young event horse classes with the assistance of Nicola Baguley who has bred and ridden winners here. 
Firstly we studied the 5 year olds starting with the dressage where the marks are awarded with future potential in mind as a opposed to it being…

THE BRITISH HORSE SOCIETY CHARITY OF THE YEAR MY TAKE ON OUR FOUR FABULOUS DAYS So, Faith Ponsonby and I offered our services to the BHS as volunteers on their various stands and what fun we had. We started in the Carlton Hotel near Dublin Airport as with a very early flight to Bristol Thursday…

The F&I Badminton XC Course walk with Nick Turner, kindly organised by Ann Bostock, report written by Charlotte Tarrant BHS Stage 5 Performance Coach. This year the XC at Badminton ran in reverse to last year however it still started in the main arena with the traditional flower box. It’s not a challenging fence but…

16TH & 17TH APRIL CELEBRATING THE 70TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BRITISH HORSE SOCIETY So off we set on Sunday 15th April from Co. Wexford at 4am to Dublin Airport for the 7.10am flight to Liverpool John Lennon Airport, myself Himself (Fran) and an APC (St 4 Coach) Tara Sweeney BHSII.   Arriving in Liverpool our…

A study evening at Kirkley Hall (by permission of Northumberland College) led by Sandra Morrison BHSI and Alastair Parkin BHSI 19th March 2018 What a thoroughly enjoyable and thought-provoking evening with Sandra Morrison and Alistair Parkin at Kirkley Hall in the company of much knowledge, experience and enthusiasm from everyone. The evening was open to…