Welcome to spring everyone! And what a relief it is to get here...it's been quite a year hasn't it?! It feels as though there is hope that we can begin to get back to some sort of normality, which also means we can get out and about on our horses!!

We have SOOOO much planned for this year, it's going to be quite the summer! Fun (and wine) filled camps, loads of clinics, competitions and social events, we'll have it all going on. 

If you're not already a member, what are you waiting for? Join the best riding club around.

Go to the What's On section of the site to see latest clinics and events, or they can also be found on Webcollect - https://webcollect.org.uk/wbrc. Also if you aren’t already on our Facebook page why don’t you come check it out - https://www.facebook.com/groups/WokinghamandBearwoodRC/

We wish all our members and their families continued health and that you all stay safe. See you all out and about soon!

Further to the updated guidance from the government earlier in the week, BRC have reiterated the guidance from BHS on hacking and state that one-to-one training is now acceptable. They are clear to state however that BRC organised activities are not yet permitted, meaning that we are not yet allowed to offer you in person training or clinics. The committee have already started discussions on the types of training we may be able to offer once these restrictions start being eased however, until we have the say so from BRC, we cannot put anything into stone.
Sadly the National Champs at Lincoln have also been cancelled and there are changes to the FOH Championships going forwards to remove the Challenge element. These changes are hugely disappointing to all of us however our current priority is that all our members remain safe and healthy in order for us to be able to enjoy events such as these in the future.
There is however some good news as online BRC competitions are once again permitted so please look out for BRC Interdressage leagues in addition to dressage competitions run by both WBRC and other clubs.
As always if you have any questions do please reach out to the committee and if we don't have the answer we would be happy to seek information from BRC. We thank you all for your continued support in this difficult time and we hope to be able to provide you with further updates soon.
#staysafe
View the BHS Covid-19 update
View BRC's Covid-19 update

Here at Wokingham and Bearwood Riding Club we understand during this time that there is so much uncertainty with the future. With so many cancellations of events large and small it would be easy to lose heart, but during this time we need you more than ever to keep our wonderful club going.

We have no way of knowing what BRC will do in relation to the time your membership has been unable to be utilised however your membership to the club is important and we ask you to keep supporting us, whether that’s being patient and waiting for clinics to start up again, playing along with our competitions on Facebook or if you are in a position to do so, remaining a member in the future.

In the meantime we, the committee, have been working hard on how we can give back to you whilst hoping that you still feel a sense of belonging and club spirit through our Facebook page and newsletters. There will be ground exercises for the horses, top tips from trainers, welfare advice, throwbacks and photo competitions.

It’s important to keep connected throughout this time as we #stayhome and #savelives so please get in touch via Facebook or our contact page if there is anything we can help with.

We thank you for your continued support...

Jo
WBRC Chair

BRC FAQS
Visit the BHS website for the latest guidance for BRC members during the Covid-19 pandemic or view this BRC information document.

BHS Challenge awards
These awards are set up by the British Horse Society and run by BHS Accredited Professional Coaches for horse owners, riders and all those that care for horses, to promote training and education. There are awards at bronze, silver and gold for flat, jumping, lunging, rider fitness and horse care with training around your own horses. Find out more here.

BHS Online courses with Lisa
While lockdown is on the BHS have allowed the horse health and horse knowledge courses to be run on line as these are theory courses and are all at one level, also until the end of June without needing to be a BHS member.  I am proposing to start a Horse Health (equine first aid, wound management and minor ailments) online course as a 'clinic' for WBRC members at a discounted rate, to be run over 6 evening sessions of 2 hours on Zoom, leading to BHS Challenge Award certificate in Horse Health.

This is a fun way to update your horse care knowledge in an interactive way with other members, which includes use of videos, links and slides. Depending on numbers, the likely cost will be between £5 and £10 per week. Register your interest (no payment taken) on WebCollect and I will then send you full details.  Please register interest by 9th May and then I would like to get started a week or so later on a weekday evening. I am already running this course for non WBRC people and have run Equine First aid course as evening class for many years - everyone seems to enjoy learning and updating their knowledge. Hope some of you will join in!   
Lisa Oram.  BHS Stage 4 Teach, Care and Management.

Save the date...
Although all events to the end of May have been cancelled the following are booked into the calendar so please save the dates!

18th July OR 1st August (tbc) – Area Dressage Qualifier at Tweseldown
25th July – Area SJ Qualifier at BCA, Burchetts Green, Maidenhead
9th August – Dressage to Music Qualifier at BCA, Burchetts Green, Maidenhead

And of course not forgetting WBRC Camp running on 25th – 26th July at Boomerang. Contact us for more information!

From the committee...
As mentioned above your committee are working hard to ensure all of our members remain to feel part of the club so the following are excerpts of the content shared on our Facebook page recently. We will continue to add new content and for those of you who aren’t on Facebook, we will include some of that content in this newsletter going forwards! 😊

#Motivational Monday – Ideas for training at home
This week's exercise is pole/jump exercises that can be done in walk, trot or canter and only needs 4 poles, handy if you’re lacking poles. These are great exercises to get the horses thinking, keep them supple and also great for accuracy. So all get cracking with those ponies so they’re on top form for when we can all get back out competing and to clinics.

#TopTip Tuesday - Competition warm up brought to you by Keith and Shelly Doyle
Keith and Shelly Doyle were training people at shows before lock down and were shocked at how wrong people are getting the format of their warm ups... even really experienced riders.

#Welfare Wednesday  - The subtle signs of laminitis
Other subtle changes can be laying down more or seeming more lazy. Any sudden change in diet quantity, quality or type of feed/hay/grass can trigger laminitis. With current changes in horses' routines as well as quality and quantity of grass improving quickly, extra vigilance is needed. Prevention is essential as treatment can take months and is not always successful. Any type or breed of horse can get laminitis quickly if metabolism is disturbed with changes. Have heard of a few cases recently and vets are seeing more laminitis and colic currently due to changes in feeding, exercise and routine.

Hello August! Welcome to your bumper update for this month. As well as listing a small selection of upcoming clinics and competitions, we've also decided to include a few reports from recent events so everyone can hear about what all our members have been up to. We hope you enjoy it!
Please remember that full clinic listings and bookings are all on Webcollect and if you're on Facebook there's plenty of updates getting added all the time so please check these sites regularly.
I hope to see you all out and about soon!

Jo
WBRC Chair

Helpers needed
We've had a wonderful response from members when we've sent out pleas for help, and you'll be happy to know there are still plenty of opportunities for you all to get involved! It may seem like a long way away but we need helpers on Sunday 6th October to help out at the London & Southeast Championships being held at Snowball Farm, Burnham Beeches. WBRC are organising the XC for the Horse Trials so as well as the usual fence judges we need people to cover a whole range of other roles too - these include score runners (both mounted and unmounted), catering runners and scorers. If you're interested in helping out and trying your hand at one of these roles for a few hours (no experience necessary, briefings will be given!) then please reply to this email and put your name forward! By doing so your name will be put into the helpers prize draw being held at the WBRC AGM in January (see below for details)!

Helpers rewards
We've been banging on about helpers a lot recently and even though it's a condition of everyone's membership to help out each year, your committee would like to thank you for all your effort. Therefore at this year's AGM we will be holding the first WBRC helpers prize draw. For every half day you help out at an event in 2019, your name will be placed into a draw to win a variety of prizes (and don't worry, even if you've already helped out this year that will count too).

What's coming up?

Franklin Method for Equestrians with Nicky Clarke - Heckfield Village Hall - Friday eves
Nicky Clarke is a certified Franklin Method Equestrian Trainer and Equestrian Pilates Teacher. Come and learn how to use Franklin balls and bands to help your riding.
Unmounted session in groups (choice of dates) can be followed up by mounted session (pairs). To improve balance, biomechanics, breathing, use of core, feel of contact and many other areas.
Unmounted sessions £10 per person on Friday evenings at Heckfield Village Hall, mounted sessions will be held at a local school and are available to those who have done an unmounted session.
Bookings on WebCollect are now open for the three unmounted dates, with the first mounted date open to those who have attended one of these evening sessions.

Jamie Wright - XC Clinic - Mini Mattingley - Saturday 17th August
Many of you will know Jamie as one of our camp instructors.  Jamie is a very experienced eventing coach and British Eventing competitor and caters to all levels. He is fantastic at encouraging nervous riders & is very approachable.
Mini Mattingley have a wide range of professionally built smaller fences (60cm to BE novice height), including water drops, sunken road, ditches, etc.
You must ensure your horse has had their 6 month booster vaccination, please bring your passports with you.
Cost is £25 with max 4 riders for 1.5 hours for tuition. XC hire is to be paid on the day direct to the venue. It will be £20 if we have 5 riders or £25 if we only have one group. PM sessions only. Any questions please contact Amy (see WebCollect).

Bruce Haskell - SJ Clinic - JAC (Binfield) - Monday 19th August - afternoon/evening
Bruce is an International Event Rider, having competed up to 4* with experienced coaching for BE and producing his own youngsters to the top level.
Show jump lessons on surface for all heights and levels - private, shared and groups.
Horses must have 6 month flu jab.

Colleen Hoekstra-Knox - clinics - Bramshill (or at your own yard by arrangement) -
Wednesday 7th August PM, Saturday 7th Sept
Colleen is an international Grand Prix competitor and qualified judge in the USA. She has vast experience training horses from youngsters to the top levels, and has been riding at FEI for over 20 years. In addition to dressage, she has a background in natural horsemanship and grew up in warmblood breeding industry through her family. Through the study of biomechanics, horse behaviour and rider psychology, Colleen particularly focuses on back-to-front connection, classical riding, building confidence, and producing horses who are happy and relaxed in their work - which enables both horse and rider to achieve their full potential and have fun in the process!

Area Arena Eventing Qualifier - Cherwell Competition Centre
Course of SJ immediately followed by XC jumps with water splash followed by a joker fence set 10cms higher than maximum height.
70-100, junior & senior (70 & 100 mixed).  We will endeavour to send teams rather than individuals. Qualifier for national championship @ Aston Le Walls early March 2020.

Reports (click on links)
Summer SJ Qualifier
BRC National Horse Trials
Summer Camp 2019

With a total of 31 entries from WBRC we most definitely had a presence at the summer SJ qualifier at BCA and although we had numerous time changes from the organisers all our riders were in the right place at the right time. Lisa Oram was SJ team manager in the morning and then Lesley Burgess took over for the afternoon. WBRC smashed it again and it got quite embarrassing having to go and collect more rosettes for the club.

The following have all qualified for the Lincoln National Championships:
110 Mixed Team 1st - Leah McCrady (Ind 1st), Ian Spalding, Sophie Royall (Ind 4th) and Angela Sumner (Ind 3rd)
80 Senior team 1st - Jo Ridgley, Florence Holdforth, Sarah Gee and Annie Haigh
80 Individual 1st - Annie Haigh
70 Individual 1st - Liz Ruffler
Junior Style - Lola Dance Ind 1st & Louise Murphy Ind 3rd
Senior Style - Abbie Francis Ind 2nd
London and South East team qualified for champs at Snowball - Lesley Burgess, Teri Gray, Jo Ridgley and Annie Haigh - Team 4th

Also congratulations to:
Senior style team - Sarah Gee, Amy Dale, Jane Moore and Abbie Francis - Team 2nd
Senior Style Ind - Amy Dale 2nd and Sarah Gee 3rd
Senior 90 team - Sarah Gee, Trudi Fearnley (Ind 5th), Chesnee Edwards-Drew & Harriet Nice - Team 4th
Senior 100 - Lauren Huddy Ind 4th

We cannot thank our helpers enough as without you we would not be able to compete. It's a great day (although a bit hot) and get well looked after. If you haven't volunteered please do so as you don't need previous experience!