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18 May

By witteringadmin
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DressageTimesMay19

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Mentoring

Mentoring with Claire Llewelyn

5th December

Mentoring

Dressage test riding clinic with Kate Hancox

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12:00 am

5th February

Booking details

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Confessions of a Committee Member:Chapter 7- safeguarding lead, assistant dressage person to Janice and general dogsbody! I’m SharanMy eldest daughter Becky joined WARC as a junior closely followed by Annabelle who is still (just!) a junior. I think I joined when I became a committe member.We have two horses Star a TB who now lives in Norfolk with Becky and Cola who we brought in February when we outgrew Bertie our 14.2 Connemara pony.With Annabelle now at Uni, Cola is mine to keep fit and enjoy! He gives the best hugs and is very kind to me!! Annabelle and Cola do all things riding club and I spend much of my time as faithful groom and bottle washer! But recently I have revisited dressage and tiny jumping, I’m sure he finds this a challenge when he’s more used to big jumps, fast work and high powered dressage but he humours me and I love being back in the saddle. My day job is working at a primary school which I love, but my background is nursing and pharmaceuticals. I have had a pony since I was 12, my first pony, Pixie was a very naughty 12.2 who I adored. I was a member of the Woodland pony club and spent my teen years showing working Hunter ponies which I loved! My horsey claim to fame is from many years ago while riding at Windsor Horse show, Harvey Smith held a gate open for me and my pony and told me we looked very smart!!What do you actually do?I am the safeguarding officer for the club which requires lots of training courses in order to provide support to our members should it be required.I am also Janice’s dressage deputy, but like all of us on the committee a little bit of everything! What do you love most about the club?The inclusiveness, the support and the enthusiasm.What do you hate the most?The challenging weather and having to cancel things!The most difficult decision you’ve had to make?Burger or sausage roll on competition days! Actually not a committee decision but what weight rug to put on!The easiest decisionWine!What’s your first memory of riding?Riding Noddy at the local riding school, he was a skewbald pony with enormous ears!Hay or haylage?Haylage.. I love the smell!Biggest achievement for 2021Competing with Cola in the online Christmas cracker dressage competition 2021What do you look forward to the most for 2022?Not wearing a mask and maybe going abroad in the summer!I now nominate Ann to write her Confessions of a Committee Member. ... See MoreSee Less

6 hours ago ·

Confessions of a Committee Member:Chapter 6 Membership Secretary Thank you Debbie Robinson for the nomination! I’m Emma👋I’m retired 😁 but have volunteered for many years for Riding for the Disabled both at our Fenland group and more recently our Peterborough branch. I’ve been a member of Wittering Academy for years - since when they started I think 🤔… I joined the club after finally owning my first horse in my 40s Keeping him at home I needed to meet other horsey friends to discover what fun horse ownership could be. I actually had riding lessons here at Wittering when I was in my 20s when it was a riding school so joining the club was a no brainer and I love being a member. It’s such a welcoming club and I have not looked back! When I joined I was both a mature rider and first time horse owner so the help and encouragement from mentors and members has been invaluable. Being a committee member helps me put something back in thanks for the help and friendship I have receivedWhat do you actually do?Well, I am responsible for ensuring all your membership details get entered into our database and passed to Riding Club HQ. I allocate all your membership numbers, enter your data and then pass the information onto HQ. We have over 150 members this year which is a big increase on last year and many of our members have been members for many many years - so Thankyou. I haven’t done admin work for years so becoming membership secretary has been quite good for my non-existent IT skills 😂I have also been promoted this year to a Trainee Equigym Organiser 😉 helping Angela out with some of our Equigym sessions. Me and my horse, Arti, are both dressage divas but love to have a go at most things horsey that doesn’t involve jumping so I also introduced Quadrille to the club and organised our joint demo with Rearsby Lodge Riding Club. It took some work to organise (you wouldn’t believe the hard work that’s goes on behind the scenes by your committee to bring together all our events) and with the amazing help of all our lovely committee members we had a fabulous day. My horse had a foal this year so we haven’t done anything with the club at all this year so are really looking forward to joining in again in 2022. What do you love most about the club?As all have said I love how friendly, supportive and inclusive the club is. I love the friends I have made. Our unique mentoring programme is also a winner for me. It was invaluable when I bought my new very green five year old some years ago. If it hadn’t been for the mentoring programme I am not sure I would have had the courage to eventually go out and about at all never mind compete. I also love helping out at our events and area events when you can get to meet up with other members and friends on foot to watch and support them. What do you hate the most?Trying to get members to help set up for events 😬The most difficult decision you’ve had to makeHaven’t had to make any difficult ones😁The easiest decisionTo join again 😁What’s your first memory of riding?Entering the WH Smith Win a Pony competition every year convinced I would be the winner. From as far back as I can remember I had always wanted a pony. Now I am finally living my dream 🥰Hay or haylage Haylage - smells yummy and my girls love itBiggest achievement for 2021?Breeding my beautiful foal “Be Kind Adora” (Dora for short)What do you look forward to the most for 2022?Riding again 😁I now nominate Ruth Demagalski to write Chapter 7 of Confessions of a Committee Member. ... See MoreSee Less

1 day ago ·

Confessions of a Committee Member:Chapter 4 - All things dressage personThank you Angela Lumsdon for the nomination! I’m JaniceI’m not sure when I joined the Club but I can’t remember not being in it although my daughter was probably in the Juniors before me.I own Goldie, a dressage pony, who I brought over from Holland about 10 years ago. He’s now 20 and currently resting his knackered suspensory ligaments (again 🙈)I’m a Chartered Accountant, hence my obsession with spreadsheets and I’ve volunteered for the NSPCC for many years going into primary schools and delivering workshops on abuse to the pre teens. What do you actually do?I organise and run the dressage competitions, specific dressage training clinics and manage the teams (and ridiculous amount of paperwork) for the dressage qualifiers/champs. What do you love most about the club?There is something for everyone, young and older, diva or cuddler - and if there isn’t then someone on the committee will organise something.What do you hate the most?The PeacockThe most difficult decision you’ve had to make?Always… whether to run or cancel an event.The easiest decisionIs it too early for a G & T?What’s your first memory of riding?Trying to get David, the sage of the riding school, to trot but doing the rising walk instead.Hay or haylage?Haylage..but not this winter for GBiggest achievement for 2021Hacking without waiting for a spook… because I was riding the lovely Cola! What do you look forward to the most for 2022?My ranch holiday in Mexico (postponed 3 times so far)I now nominate Debbie Robinson to write Chapter 5 of Confessions of a Committee Member. ... See MoreSee Less

2 days ago ·

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