Riding Club Activities

What Sort of Activities Will be Organised?

Mounted – Activities / Instruction:

• General flatwork
• Lunge lesson
• Schooling / riding to music. Musical ride / Quadrille
• How to lunge the horse correctly
• Dressage test practice – how to improve your score from the judge
• Jumping – general practice with practice over a course
• Jumping - gridwork
• Jumping – simulated cross country using show jumps
• Style Jumping - what the judge is looking for
• Showing - how to ride an individual show, judges tips, ring craft
• BHS Ride & Road Safety Examination
• Guest Instructors 
• Pleasure ride - pub ride in summer
• Club Camp week / weekend – just like Pony Club days!
• Show jumping - course building or how to walk a course

Competitions:

• Instructional Dressage – ride a test, have it judged and marked, then have a short lesson on how to improve your score, and then re-ride test
• BRC & Interdressage League
• BRC Riding Tests, BD Tests, Dressage to Music / Quadrilles
• BHS TREC, arrange an Arena TREC Competition
• Combined Training – dressage and show jumping
• Eventers Challenge / Mini Prix – either Dressage with SJ and XC indoors/outdoors - over working hunter style jumps for XC course
• Eventing team of 3: 1 rider does the dressage phase, another rider the show jumping and the final rider the cross country phase
• Cross Country pairs - following or side by side
• Style Jumping (formerly Equitation Jumping) - BRC & Interdressage League
• Clear Round Jumping / Fancy Dress Jumping
• Horse & Hound Relay – two courses (side by side) the horse jumps the course, followed by the dog (over a smaller course) and handler  
• Themed Show Jumping - Christmas (Olympia style), Hickstead
• Gymkhana - even adults enjoy this old favourite!
• Centre Points League / Centre League competitions

Talks & Demos:

• Celebrity talk / demo
• Saddle fitting
• General Stable Management
• Principles of Feeding 
• How to treat minor wounds, First Aid for horses and people, vet talk
• Alternative therapies - Equine Massage, Aromatherapy, Shiatsu, Reiki
• Natural Horsemanship techniques
• Correct rider and horse clothing for competitions (I.e. cross country)
• Confidence coaching - how to tackle riding fears / competition nerves
• Hacking safety and rules of the road / reflective clothing and its uses
• Equine psychologist, behaviouralist
• Stable vices and how to prevent them / how to create a natural environment for the domesticated horse
• Shoeing - different types and their uses
• Equine Dentist
• Equine security - horse, tack & equipment, stables and trailers

Social & Fun:

• Quiz night
• Bingo night
• BBQ, Club meals and Club Dinner Dance for Christmas
• Auction of Promises – in aid of a local charity
• Dismounted Grand Prix dressage (performed on foot – imagine an adult trying to do piaffe and flying changes! You could even do proper dressage score sheets with prizes for the best efforts, etc). Interdressage also have Dog Dressage Tests!
• Gymkhana on foot!
• Trailer reversing competition
• Ladies Night (sorry chaps) – night of pampering for busy horse riders!
• Group outing to demos/ clinics and equestrian events such as Badminton and Burghley HT, HOYS, Hickstead or Olympia
• Treasure Hunt - on horseback or by car
• Bring & Buy tack sales BRC Centre Membership

What Competitions does BRC Offer to All Members?

British Riding Clubs & Interdressage

British Riding Clubs and Interdressage have formed a British Riding Clubs & Centres League, which is available online at:

www.interdressage.com. On this site you will find all the tests and rules for the league.

The league will run throughout the year, it has been designed to encourage more riding club centre members to ‘give dressage a go’ by making it possible for them to ride their tests in a relaxed manner from the comfort of familiar surroundings. The tests just need to be videoed and submitted to Interdressage for judging. All that is required is a level surface with markers. The league has a specific Riding Club Centre category, with the leading points Individuals and Centres winning top prizes.

Competitors entering the League will automatically be entered into the monthly Interdressage competitions and have the chance to compete internationally for further:

• Fantastic Prizes and Rosettes
• Generous Prize Money
• Superb Achievement Certificates
• Positive and Constructively Marked Score Sheets
• National BRC Competitions Available to all Members

Often one of the key reasons clubs affiliate and want to be part of the BRC Movement is the fantastic competitions structure we have.

BRC offers National Championships in all the major riding disciplines, for both Junior and Senior members.

Which disciplines are covered?

• BRC holds the following National Championships every year:
• April Winter Championships - Hartpury
• May Royal Windsor Horse Show, Top Score Show Jumping & Dressage
• June Cross Country and Showing at the Festival of the Horse (FOH) - Aston le Walls
• July: Teams of Three Show Jumping - Royal International Horse Show, Hickstead
• Aug Horse Trials - Aston le Walls
• Sept Show Jumping, Style Jumping, Dressage, Riding Test, Showing - Lincoln
• Sept Eventer Challenge - Blenheim
• Oct Dressage to Music & Quadrille Selection - Aintree
• Dec Quadrille - Olympia Horse Show

How do Clubs/Centres Qualify for the Championships?

As we split the country into 23 Areas, each Area holds a Qualifier for each competition. The top Teams and, where applicable, Individuals by Area, then progress to the National Championships for that discipline, except for; FOH Showing Classes, Teams of Three Show Jumping, Eventer Challenge and the Quadrille, which are normally entered directly.

As you can see there are lots of fantastic opportunities that will be available via Tumpy Green BHS Centre Riding Club. Why not get involved.