Regional Dressage

The Regional Dressage Competition took place at Tweed-dale on 23rd May.  We had 18 riders taking part in the competition, from seven different RDA groups stretching from Drumnadrochit, across Highland, Grampian and Tayside Regions, to Dundee.  Many of the riders were taking part in the competition for the first time and those who qualify are eligible to go to the RDA National Championships in Gloucestershire in the summer.

Riders from the Gordon Group did very well with Charlotte McDonald, Pauline Larmour and Kristine Wrate winning classes and with Madeline Reid, Ruth Barclay and Hannah Gilchrist also highly placed.

The Tweed-dale ponies who took part also did their best and looked truly magnificent with gleaming coats and plaited manes - as you can see from these shots of them in action:

Gordon RDA Open Evening

The Open Evening on 28th April was a great success and was very well attended.

The Monday night riders put on a display of riding to 'Disney' music - a clever idea which was skillfully carried out and which was enjoyed by a large audience.   The evening continued with a display, also to music, by beautiful Icelandic horses and concluded with an act of Bernese Mountain Dogs and puppies. These gentle giants of the dog world were adorable and very popular with the audience.

A mountain of delicious home baking helped the evening on its way!  We all appreciate the hard work that went in to making the evening a success; look forward to the next Open Evening at Tweed-dale.

Horse News

In the spring we welcomed a new addition to our wee herd, Joyce Wells kindly agreed to let us have Toffee on trial to be ridden by younger riders.  The children, having spied him residing in the sand school have already fallen for this cute bundle of brown fluff.  LetŐs hope he settles down and proves to be a worthy successor to the ever reliable Whiskey who has done us sterling service and must be deserving of a happy retirement.

Other Spring news ĐKoko had a new saddle, making him and his riders more comfortable, and Whiskey got a very smart new tartan rug to keep him warm and dry.

Start date for new term is the 1st September.  We will be on holiday for the school break, October 13th - 27th.

SHANGHAI SUCCESS!

Gordon riders Kristen Wrate and Vicki Keenan have enjoyed spectacular success at the Special Olympics in Shanghai. As members of the British Equestrian Team, they came home with a haul of 5 medals between them, including a gold each.

Their achievement is even more impressive because they were riding unfamiliar horses, and had only a few minutes of practice time before competition started.

Vicki's medals were a gold in English Equitation A4 class, and bronzes in Dressage A6 and the Prix Caprilla.
Kristen won the Dressage A3 class, and picked up a bronze in Prix Caprilla.

Kristen brings her medals to the Monday evening session

We have a new jobs list for volunteers to get involved in running the RDA centre, so please could everyone - helpers, riders and carers - have a look at that at the start of the new term.