There are many different riding disciplines ranging from simple local shows to top class eventing.

Although most shows have a certain dress code, for local shows you can get away with smartly dressed, but anything higher you need to wear a proper show coat, long boots, beige jodhpurs, and certainly a riding hat with smart cover up to the current BHS or BSI standard, (if you are doing cross country body protector is an absolute must.)

One day event
A one day event is for those who are not at top level quite yet.
Iti s a mini version of three day eventing, and is dressage, cross country and showjumping all in one day.
The cross country is about twenty jumps long and stretched over several fields, the dressage is about two minutes long, and the showjumping about fifteen jumps long.

Eventing
The first discipline is dressage where the horse performs complex movements, the second is cross country and the third is showjumping.
The showjumping course is high and spooky and the horse is expected to jump clear without time faults, knocked rails, runouts and refusals. The cross country consists of barrels, solid wooden jumps and drops into water.

Jump cross
if you want to have a go at cross country but dare not risk your horse on the hard jumps, try jump cross, knockable show jump like jumps in across country situation.

Polo
At top level,Polo is a sport involving specially trained and bred polo ponies, and riders with their ‘mallets’.
There are two teams and each team are made up of four players. They play in a special polo field with a 3 inch ball of willow and bamboo which needs to be scored between the goal postsof the opposing team.
The game is divided into 71-2 mins long parts or ‘chukkas’ and each chukka has a three min interval afterwards.
You can play with your pony at a local club, but ponies must be agile and fit.

Endurance
For endurance ponies need ro be fit and healthy and have plenty of stamina. All breeds of horse and pony can be sufficiently fitenned to make endurance ponies but arabs are generally chosen because they are strong, willing and coragous.
Endurance ranges from pleaure rides beginning at about 10 miles going up to over 100 miles spread over several days.

For all of these riding disciplines ponies need to be fit, and have stamina.
Driving
Not strictly a riding discipline, carriage driving is done single, in pairs, in threes or in teams and requires skill and constant attention to the situation .
The harness looks daunting and complicated at first and must be correctly fitted. It istraditionally made of leather but now a days is made up of lots of man-made materials.

Grooming your pony

Besides water, food and sufficient exercise, another important aspect in horse care is grooming. Whether you own or loan a pony, or simply help out at a friends house, grooming is an important skill you need to learn beside riding.

As well as keeping a ponies coat clean, grooming promotes blood flow, stimulates breathing, strengthens the bond between you and him /her and it removes dead skin cells and dead hair.

If you think of grooming as flicking a random brush over your pony, then you are mistaken. That certainly is NOT the way to groom a pony. When you groom a pony you should do it methodically so that you do not flick dirt back on to a part of the pony that you have already brushed. Start by picking out the hooves but remember to pick them out from heel to toe as otherwise you may hurt the frog(!) (the sensitive middle part of the bottom of the hoof) if your hand slips.

Check for signs of thrush (smelly feet, black discharge) and carefully put the ponies hoof down. Next, start grooming the mane and use a body brush or your fingers to comb the mane till you can go through it without trouble. A de-tangler spray would really help.

Remove mud from the coat with a dandy brush and and then use a body brush to remove grease and scurf. After a few strokes with the body brush use a metal curry comb to remove the hair from the body brush. Note: the metal curry comb is only used for cleaning the body brush, and should NEVER be used on a pony.

Now set to work with the tail, but stand to the side to avoid getting kicked and pull the tail to the side. Use a body brush or your fingers because, however tempting it may seem to use a plastic curry comb, this is not advised as it breaks the hair and can give your pony split ends.

Now as a finishing touch, why not add some hoof shine?
Otherwise you can use effol or another well known hoof strengthening cream or paste.

Riding a horse (or doing anything else for that matter) cowboy-style tends to be a byword for not doing it correctly or properly hence the expression such as cowboy builders, cowboy plumbers etc. When the author of this article was learning to ride a horse at a riding centre in Herefordshire, one of the instructor’s way of rebuking his student for not holding the reins correctly or doing things incorrectly was to say “we do not want to ride cowboy style”.

An article in The Guardian of the 15th of August 2010 where a rider describes how she learn to ride a horse Western-Style seem to contradicts what the instructors at the ridding centre in Herefords seem to consider cowboy style ridding to be.

Describing Western Style riding, the rider describes how she was asked to slacken off the reins so that the horse has control of its own head and can see where its feet are going, this if very interesting and directly contradicts what English riding instructors tends to say which is to maintain rein contact .

One the whole the article on Western style riding seem to suggest a much more human and laid back way or riding which probably helps the rider enjoy riding more and the horse more freedom. Comparing English style riding and Western style riding Katherine Blocksdorf said ”

Western riding developed according to the needs of ‘cowboys’. The Western saddle is made to distribute weight more evenly over the horse’s back so horse and rider can counterbalance the weight of a roped cow. English riding takes many of its traditions and equipment from European mounted military styles”. If indeed most of our our riding schools in England takes their riding tradition from the Military, no wonder we are so strict about so many riding postures and position.

There are many western style riding centres in the UK, if you want to learn to chill out and learn to ride like a cowboy, you may want to visit some of them, list of some Western-Style riding centres in UK follows:

Western – Style Riding Centres

• Sycamore Ranch Western Riding Centre – http://www.sycamoresranch.com/show/english/contact_us.aspx
• Unicorn Trails Western Riding Holidays -  http://www.unicorntrails.com/ridecategories/westernridingholidays/
• Rocky’s Western Riding Adventures – http://www.rockyswesternadventures.co.uk/
• burlea Villa -  www.burleyvilla.co.uk
• Rock’s Western Ridding Adventures – www.rockywesternadventures.co.uk
• The Mendip Stud -  www.themendipstud.com
• Valley Farm – www.valleyfarmonline.co.uk
• Fairfield Stables – www.fairfieldstables.co.uk

South West Christmas Equine Fair Details

Event title: South West Christmas Equine Fair
Venue: Westpoint Arena, Clyst St Mary, Exeter, Devon, EX5 1DJ
Date: Saturday 4th & Sunday 5th December 2010
Times:
08:00 – 20:00 Saturday
08:00 – 17:00 Sunday

Details:

Two days of fabulous equestrian shopping, exciting and informative demonstrations and exhibitors offering advice and information.

Starring
Oliver Townend, International three day Eventer
Oliver is firmly established as Britain’s number one three-day event rider and was winner at last year’s Badminton and Burghley

Geoff Billington, International show jumper
Geoff Billington has been a leading figure on the show jumping circuit for over 30 years. He boasts both European and World Championship team bronze medals and has won numerous grands prix

Geoff and Oliver will be conducting two 45 minute demonstrations each on both the Saturday and the Sunday.

Featuring

* The return of the ever popular Pony Club horse & hound challenge
* Strictly Showing competition
* A magnificent Sport horse & competition stallion parade (Saturday only)
* A beautiful Native breed Stallion parade (Sunday only)
* Breed Society Area
* Over 150 trade stands offering special show offers on 1000’s of equestrian products for both horse and rider. A shop and drop facility will be available in the Westpoint foyer
* Explore the annexe area- packed with yet more fantastic trade stands
* Please note: No dogs allowed

Ticket information: Advance ticket line 01749 813899
Prices:
In advance
Adult £8
Child (5-16) £6
OAP £7
Family (2 Adults + 2 Children) £23

On the gate
Adult £10
Child (5-16) £7
OAP £9
Family (2 Adults + 2 Children) £26

Organisers:
Contour Exhibitions & Events
Website:
www.contour.uk.net
Email:
sales@contour.uk.net

On Sunday, the 9th of March 2010 the annual Carriage Driving Spring Show organised by the Hereford District Driving Group (HDDG) took place at Hampton Court in Hope under Dinmore in Herefordshire.
Set against a scenic backdrop of lush countryside and beautiful rolling hills about 20 turnouts were competing in the show ring in various different classes.
Gleaming horses and Ponies, meticulously scrubbed and painted carriages and immaculately dressed whips and grooms as well as the spectators enjoyed a sunny day. Cows and their calves were grazing in the adjoining field, curiously observing the spectacle which was a test of nerves for some of the more flighty horses.
The judges had a hard job awarding Rosettes and cups, as all the turnouts were stunning in their own right. Two of the participants brought their Dalmation dogs along into the show ring to run next to or under the carriage at the back of the vehicle. This breed of dogs was traditionally used to accompany carriages for their protection, especially at night.

Show Schedule

The show schedule was made up of the following classes:

1. Novice and disabled whips
2. Veteran classes
3. Ride and drive (part one)
4. Pure bred registered Welsh
5. Ride and drive (part two)
6. Concour d’Elegance
7. Junior driver
8. Exercise vehicle up to 13.2hh
9. Exercises vehicle over 13.2hh
10.Coloured horses and ponies
11.Private driving

For those spectators wishing to have a break from watching horses and ponies there was the option of strolling over to Hampton Court Castle or visiting the magnificent gardens surrounding the castle.
Overall the event was a very enjoyable day out for all the family and certainly something I will look forward to doing again next year.

War Horse is a touching story about a boy’s love for his horse and their mutual suffering amid the carnage of the First World War, the story not only explore the horrors of war from both the boys viewpoint and his horse’s viewpoint and how it affected them both.

In previous films, Spielberg has explored the relationship between children and other creatures, bringing out sides of children and seemingly dumb creature that actually have a lot to offer, his extra terrestrial film (ET) did just that; communication and understanding between ET an alien and child formed the core of the story. Spielberg also directed another film exploring the survival of a boy in the Japanese occupation of Shanghai which was based on J G Ballard’s autobiography; Empire of the Sun.

Theatre purist argue that no amount of magic Spielberg and his DreamWorks studio can apply to War Horse to make it a memorable as the stage version which is still going very strong at New London Theatre and it due to open in New York in 2011.

Garden Matchmaking is not what it appears to be. On hearing the name you probably have an image of a dating services introducing garden loving singles to one another but no, it is actually a service run by a group in Bristol which match people who has gardens but do not have time to look after it with people who would love to do some gardening but could not get an allotment nor have a garden of their own.

Garden Matchmaking is said to be working very well in Bristol where the group running the Garden Matchmaking services has been paring gardeners with garden owners. Both groups benefit, with the garden owner getting free gardening and the gardener getting to improve and get the fulfilment of having a garden to work on. The scheme is said not to be for garden owners who are very strict about what their garden must look like because the tenant gardener is given some creative freedom to do what he or she wants with the garden. The Garden Matchmaking services is said to have work very well, plans are in place to introduce it to other parts of England.

People living in rural areas in the UK are less aware of their rights to complain about financial companies than those in towns, an ombudsman has said.

Those in urban areas have greater access to information about banking, insurance and investment complaints, the Financial Ombudsman said.

Rural residents were more likely to be low-paid or in seasonal work. Complaints include a Lithuanian farm worker who was offered translation by his bank – into Polish. Access to the internet was highlighted as a key reason why people might not be able to access consumer advice.

The new chief Financial Ombudsman, Natalie Ceeney, has been in the job for a month. The free ombudsman service is set up by law to settle complaints between consumers and financial businesses on anything from pawnbroking to mortgages.

As the service prepares an annual review, expected in May, it has highlighted groups who are less aware of what it does.

“People living in rural and more remote areas tend to know less about the ombudsman service – and their right to complain – than people living in urban areas,” it said in Ombudsman News.

“The nature of much of the rural economy – traditionally involving low-paid employment, seasonal jobs and less skilled work – can mean disproportionately more people in poverty and unemployment.”

Those in the lower income scale were less aware of their rights as consumers, the group added.

full story here: news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/10093176.stm

The 3-day event sponsored by Mitsubishi motors puts bother horses and riders through their paces in three different events including cross country, dressage and show jumping. The event attracts eventers from allover the world. The 2010 Badminton horse trials expects participants such as two-time Olympic gold medallist and 3 times Badminton winner Mark Todd of New Zealand and his compatriot Andrew Nicholson.

Badminton horse trials starts with dressage, followed by cross country and concluded with showjumping.

You can find more information about the event at Badminton Horse Trials homepage.

The author of this article is not a fan of horse racing but it is quite interesting that Lib Dem are using horse racing analogy to target rural votes . Imbued with new confidence from the surge they enjoyed in opinion polls after the first TV debate where their leader Nick Clegg is said to have won, Lib Dems are now on the all out offensive to capture rural votes by targeting Labour members they think could easily be converted to voting for them at constituencies where they feel Labour voters can easily be persuaded to vote for them to keep the Conservatives out.

One thing that is true in the LibDems literature is the fact that most Labour support tends to be in the cities rather than the countryside as most rural constituencies tends to elect a Conservative or Liberal MP.