Berkeley

(I will only know about activities and results to put things on this page if - either I was there OR if you tell me, so if you've done something non FFRC and want to tell us about it e mail the news to me at diane_davies10@hotmail.com)

Lisa iliffe and Moonlightdancer out at Summerhouse, first outing and first Working Hunter Class, placed 2nd.

Let's hope it continues for the year ahead for us both.

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Bailey and Paula Newman competed at Moreton Morrell BE90 on 24th and finished 8th. 38 dressage, 1 down SJ

 and clear xc in the 2nd fastest time - 14 seconds under the optimum time! Last event for us them season as

they have been competing on day tickets and have used the 4 allowed - but will definitely be joining as a full

member next year!

Teresa Ventimiglia qualified for the BRC BE80 Championships due to her 5th placing at the West Wilts BE80 on 10 September. Charlie was great. They did a nice 33 Dressage and clear S/J & XC. Just a couple of time penalties across country which put them on a final score of 41. Hopefully they are off to the BE80 Championship on 25 September at Brooksby Melton College, Leics.

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Baby Tabitha Celeste born 1.48 am, Sunday 10th July, 7lb 3oz. Arrived in under 3 hours!

Ellie Luffman and Velvet competed at Mount Ballan Novice Horse Trials on Saturdayday and had an excellent day! Dressage was 36, clear showjumping and clear XC with just 8.8 time penalties. Tom Searle was there and had already gone round the XC and said the ground was quite hard in places, so advised Ellie should take it steady - plus there were some quite technical jumps so Ellie just let Velvet go at her own pace this time, so she wasn't too unhappy with the time penalties. The 3 previous riders before her had fallen off so her Mum Ann was a nervous wreck!

Anyway she got round had 9th place in the section! A first for Ellie - a BE rosette and another BE point - Velvet now has 2! A very small number but a very big one to Ellie!

Paula Newman and Bailey did the ppre novice at Mount Ballan on 22nd May. They finished with 42.5 penalties in the dressage, clear show jumping and 0.4 of a time fault on the XC and were really pleased! They got their first foundation point too which was a bonus. Still not up among the rosettes but they had a great day… 3rd time lucky at the next one maybe??

Teresa Ventimiglia and Charlie competed in the South West Unaffiliated Dressage Champs at Hartpury on 21 May. They were 7^th in the Prelim with 70% and 5^th in the Novice with 65%. Theresa acknowledges her trainer, Rachel Sheldon, as her inspiration.

Sheenagh Bragg won her section of the Open Class at the South Oxfordshire (South) Pony Club Horse Trials on the BE course at Hambledon. She won by a good margin of 15 points. One of her prizes was a lovely Musto fleece, because Musto are sponsoring a Pony Club Open series this year.

Paula Newman and Bailey did their first BE90 at Moreton Morrell on 4th May. Paula was really pleased - 39 dressage, clear SJ and 2 (pilot terror) stops at the top of some big steps on the XC, real shame because he flew over everything else. Not a prize winning round but not a bad start! Off to Mount Ballan on 22nd May for their next attempt!

Teresa Ventimiglia and Charlie Brown were 2^nd in the Novice 85cm ODE at Pontispool on 2 May 2011. They were leading with a 26.3 dressage going into the XC phase. They had a lovely clear but just a few XC time penalties dropped them to 2^nd. They are now looking forward to their first BE 80 at Ascot Under Wychwood in June.

30th April - Withington Manor BE

Pixie Thomas & Tinkas Gold were placed 6th, finishing on their dressage score in the competitive Open Novice section!

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WELL DONE to Kirsty Camm and Paint By Numbers who competed at the Badminton Grass Roots Championships at Badminton, 37 dressage, one down SJ and clear XC!!!

Sheenagh Bragg had a 2nd in the Open class (BE Novice equivalent) at the Grafton Pony Club event at Crown Farm, Ascott under Wychwood, finishing on her dressage score. The new Musto Pony Club Eventing league promises to be a viable alternative to BE for Pony Club members, providing competitive events on BE courses, at half the price of BE.

Sally Miles and the luscious Sid had a good day out being placed 9th in the 80T section at Howick.

The Braggs are busy, this weekend sisters Holly and Sheenagh competed in Faringdon at the Old Berks Hunt Team Chase. The team that Sheenagh was in won the Intermediate class and the team that Holly was in were placed 5th in the same class. Well done girls! and after a night of rain it turned into a really pleasant day to attack the very hilly course.

Sisters Holly and Sheenagh Bragg were out competing in the Intermediate Team Chase and although they did really well with good times they weren't placed.

Sally Miles and Sid are on a roll, they have qualified for the Hartpury Dressage Champs by being placed 2nd in the Prelim and ......... WINNING the Novice at the Area competition held at the RDA at Cheltenham! (and she says - yes, there were more than just her in it!!!!)

Sally Miles and Sidney Bay are moving onward and upwards. On Saturday 26th they went to Cheltenham Racecourse where Sid was bred to compete in the racing classes but never did! They competed in Novice 27 gaining 61.87% and were placed 3rd and Novice 34 gaining 64.85% and being placed 2nd. Sid now has BD points! Well done Sally!

Another successful FFRC girl, Sarah Donnelly and Craig went to Wisloe on Saturday and scored 74% and joint 1^st in one prelim and 75% and 2^nd in her second one. It was unaffiliated but a brilliant achievement! She's worked really hard at her flat work over this winter and it really shows.

Charlie Brown and Teresa Ventimiglia were crowned Abbey Dressage Winter Open Points Champions on 6 February 2011. They went to a number of Abbey’s winter shows and Charlie produced some lovely tests to gain consistently high placings which translated into lots of points towards the final tally. The last show on 6 February in the series was a tense affair with their nearest rival hot on their heels but they kept their nerve and got a 1^st and a 3^rd in their classes which was enough to win the title. She is pleased with her little cob!!

Sally Miles and Sidney Bay competed in two classes, in preparation for the Area Winter Dressage next weekend, at Burrows Court on 6th February and won the Novice 28 with 68.8%, an outstanding winner of a decent sized class.

Sally bought Sid as an untouched three year old who had been bred by a local farmer for the race track but because he was small was never sent race training and Sally, using FFRC rallies and Team Training has brought him on herself. It looks like the pair are heading for great things, Sid is only just coming 7 - well done Sally (and Sid!).

Sheenagh Bragg and Lakestreet Nicole competed in the Golden Button Challenge. It is a traditional steeplechase over 3½ miles hosted by the Ledbury Hunt, and hotly contested by top team chasers, amateur and sometimes profesional jockeys and hunting folk. There were 60 entered, allegedly 15 dropped out after walking the course, 48 started and 21 completed. Sheenagh and Nicole managed to be up with the leading pack in probably 4th or 5th place 3 from home when Nicole pecked and they both fell. She remounted and as Nicole was fine she hacked her over the last 2 fences to finish and came in 12th. The horse was an absolute star, jumping so cleanly that she didnt have a scratch on her despite jumping many thorn hedges many of them 5 ft high and more, with open ditches in front of them filled with flood water.

A different sort of senior out and about news - many congratulations to Teresa when she married her long term partner Carl on 25th September at The Berkeley Barns. Doesn't she look stunning!

22nd October - Aldon Horse Trials. Ellie Luffman and Velvet got their first Novice point by going double clear with a 36 dressage and only a handful of time penalties. Well done Ellie.

17th October 2010 - Berkeley Hunt Team Chase. There were quite a few FFRC members there, quite a lot of us helping, Mike and I jump judged as did Joy Spencer and Sarah & Katherine Witchell and the Luffmans were time keepers and there were quite a few competing. However because events like this don't put up score boards and only give teams names I'm afraid I found it difficult to come away with any Frampton results, so if Frampton members would like to give me their details I'll enter them here.

I do know that Ellie Luffman went round 5 times, obviously a glutton for punishment and got a good placing on Helen Hillard's grey Sam. Our up and coming juniors did well in the Novice Team Chase coming 4th, I recognised Leah Glover and Ellie Merrett, Katie Chivers and Lily Poltock. Fran Pearce was in a novice team on Peter, Lily Witchell went round twice and both Sheenagh and Holly Bragg were competing, one in the Novice and the other in the Intermediate Team Chase and I'm sure the list goes on but they all wizzed past me so fast and I was concentrating on seeing their number!!

It was a glorious day, probably the last day of summer, wonderful autumn weather and a pleasure to be forced to sit in a chair ticking a piece of paper!

On the same weekend was Broadway BE Horse Trials and I know there were members competing there. Kathy Oliver rode both her Ollie and her mother's Echo very successfully. Again perhaps members competing there would like to tell me how they did at pretty much the last BE Event of the season.

The tales of the little piggies…………Nicky Henderson’s work jockey…………and £20 !

The day dawned for Ffion and Penny’s annual holiday with their ponies. When Miss Powell eventually emerged from under the duvet and loaded her horse myself (Penny) and my exceedingly handsome mount Bit of a Blether (BB) were waiting patiently…..after grumpy Sean had condescended to allow BB to share his box and my tiny amount of luggage had been loaded we were on our way to Lambourn.

Ffion had arranged for us to stay at an organic farm just outside of Lambourn from which you could access the Ridgeway (we had stayed in this area before with Bridlerides and so were armed with the OS maps from our previous trip). The lady we were due to stay with was somewhat forthright – we had been warned ! – however after a pleasant journey we arrived at our destination. Penny Reid’s drive was directly off the Ridgeway and on the corner of her drive she had one lot of Tamworth free range pigs (and their oh-so-cute little piglets).

Now at this point let me say that I have owned my chap for 11 years and he has never had a huge problem with pigs – he may have a bit of an attitude towards them but nothing could prepare me for what was to come!

We let the boys stretch their legs for an hour or so in a field adjacent to a further family of Tamworths whilst Fi force fed me some home made pizza. We tacked up after lunch and rode out – past the piggies who were dozing in their stys– no problem at all. After ten miles or so of off road riding on the Ridgeway we were almost home – in fact we were about 50 feet from the end of Penny’s drive when BB noticed the piggies who were now running around. He froze, lock solid, and refused to budge. I tried shoulder in, leg yield, beating, spurring and generally getting very cross but he was not going anywhere – until he sprang into action and ran backwards so fast he nearly bowled Sean over – much to Fi’s annoyance.

After negotiating a small amount of the Ridgeway backwards at breakneck pace we managed to stop. I decided, in true Trec fashion, that this was an obstacle that he could be led past – probably score a 6 but better than no points at all – dismounted and prepared to lead – after being dragged back down the Ridgeway at a startling pace I had to let him go otherwise I was quite likely to be making the third rut in the track with my chin and just resigned myself to a long walk. Sean, however, was quite calm and could not see what all the fuss was about. Fi dismounted and led Sean back to the farm, we both assumed (and probably Sean did as well) that BB would eventually follow.

Suddenly BB decided he didn’t like his first plan and so trotted back up the track, I thought fine he’s going to follow Sean in but NO – he took himself over a barbed wire fence which actually brought him down, stood himself up, looked at us and then disappeared over the horizon of this enormous wheat field ! Somewhat bewildered Fi and I made our way back to the farm with the oh-so-good and never naughty Sean. Penny Reid was initially very concerned that BB had dared to trespass into her very expensive organic wheat field but was then most happy that in fact he was in her neighbour’s ordinary wheat ….oh and was Penny okay ? We set off in Penny R’s pick up truck (with flat back tyre) to try and locate the beast of Lambourn – to no avail. Stopped at a racing yard but no sign. After driving around for 10 minutes I decided that I had better ring hubby as BB has a tag on his saddle with his name and home number on it – Trec Rules – explained to hubby that I had lost horse (cannot repeat actual response). Anyway, I had just decided that I had better ring the Police as if BB was loose on the road he could be a danger to road users.

Hubby then phoned and said that if I rang my mobile an Irish chap called Gerry had my horse (mobile was in saddle bags). Rang Gerry (very nice) and he was 5 miles away at a racing yard. Drove off in lorry (Sean eating happily in paddock) to collect runaway. Very nice yard, very very nice Gerry. Apparently BB had got himself back on to the Ridgeway, galloped down on to the road and was spotted by one of Nicky Henderson’s work jockeys on his way home! He stopped his car, flagged the horse down and as only an Irish working lad would do …hopped on him and rode him back up the Ridgeway looking for a body (i.e. mine). He then rode him in and out of a couple of racing yards to see if anyone recognised the horse, two farriers looked at his shoes to see if anyone recognised the shoeing and then arrived with the lovely Gerry.

(Meanwhile, I had received a telephone call from the emergency services suggesting that they needed to locate me via helicopter. Although I had enjoyed a previous helicopter ride I declined and assured them everything was okay – the lovely Gerry again)

They had washed the horse down (hubby said they should have put him down not washed him down) and turned him out in a sweet paddock (not a pig in sight!). After a bit of a chat and explanation during which time the lad admitted that he thought BB was about 7 or 8 and would not believe he was 21 ! We collected horse and lad and dropped him off at his car and gave him £20 for his trouble. Brought horse back to farm and lo and behold what was the first thing he saw when we put the ramp down……those gorgeous piggies. Eyes out on stalks, most distressed, would not eat tea, breakfast, paced up and down all night and in the morning…..rearing when we were trying to tack him up and generally panic stricken….we managed to get me in the saddle although we were all nervous wrecks by the time we got down the drive !! Decided that we would have to find somewhere else to stay which we did with the help of Fi’s (and now my best) friend Wendy. The moral of this tale is …always have a tag on your saddle although Fi said we are not putting ANY identification on BB ever again and if we lose him …………………..next month – orienteering, being bucked off (yes me again!) and the burger van !