LAST UPDATED:  31 January  22.30

If you would like to go on my circulation list for any bits of interesting information that come through to me about dressage, events etc, then please send me an e-mail to the address above, and I will add you to my news group. 

Please click on the quick links below to jump to the section you require:

 ****EASTERN DIARY****

Listed below are events taking place in the Eastern Region.  Please see in the 'who' column, which section to go to for further details.

STOP PRESS....STOP PRESS...STOP PRESS....STOP PRESS...... 

• 20/1/12 - DRESSAGE DIARY - this new website has just been launched and they are keen to get all clinic dates and Trainer profiles on there, so that it can be used by riders as a reference.  If you have any info you would like them to publicise, or want to see what clinics are coming up - go to: www.dressagediary.co.uk
  
• 5/1/12 - HAPPY OLYMPIC / PARALYMPIC YEAR!!!  Hope you all had a great Christmas and are raring to get going in 2012!  More dates have been added to the calendar - and please do check this page for latest information as there may be differences to the newsletter.  Looking forward to seeing you all out and about competing, training and sociualising soon!
  
• 19/12/11 - MERRY CHRISTMAS - and a Happy New Year to you all.  The end of year Newsletter is now available to download, so please click here for your copy and see you all in 2012!
  
• 15/11/11 - INTER COUNTY CHALLENGE - The date for the Inter County Challenge 2012 is 17 June.  To be held once more at Norton Heath, all our County Co-ordinators are now busy sorting out dates for team selection and test riding days - so watch out for information from your county coming out soon and come along and try out!
  .
• 31/10/11 - LYING IN DARK ROOM ... recovering from two GREAT camps!  Altogether over the last four days we have had 100 riders and horses at Keysoe, enjoying lessons, workshops on weight (of horses!), rider posture, horse psychology and in-hand work, first aid, digestive health in the horse, massage, warm up/cool down techniques, equine dentistry, sitting in with the judges, and a little bit of socialising too - phew!  Hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I did!
  .
• 20/10/11 - WELL DONE TO ALL OUR RIDERS - who performend brilliantly in Wales.  We had two teams in the top 10 and an individual champion!  Well done to Claire Ackerman, Novice Champ, and our Athens Team who were 2nd - write up and pics to follow soon!
  .
• 13/10/11 - GOOD LUCK this weekend to our teams, off to Wales for the Senior Home International, in a bid to retain our 2010 title! If you would like to keep up with what is going on over the three days of competition, then check out  the daily reports and photos of the action on www.dressagecentral.co.uk  - they will also be Twittering events as they happen.
  .
• 7/10/11 - CAMP NOW FULL - Many thanks to all of you who contacted me, the free spaces have now been filled for Autumn camp, and there is once again a waiting list running
  .
• 27/9/11 -STOP PRESS!!  SPACES FREE ON SENIOR AUTUMN CAMP - We have had a couple of places come up on our Autumn camp - happening on 29-30 October at Keysoe, Beds.  A packed two days is planned with lessons, workshops, test riding and socialising - it really is a weekend not to be missed!  So if you would like more details or a space on our camp, please contact me asap - first come, first served!  Katharine
  .
• 19/9/11 - A NATIONAL CHAMPION FROM OUR REGION!!!  - Massive congratulations to Darren Crowe who was crowned Medium Resricted Champion this weekend riding Deborah Gudgeon's Monteray MM - well done Darren!
  .
• 19/9/11 - WELL DONE AT THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS  to the following Eastern riders - Mette Assouline 8th and Belinda Skipper 9th (Inter II), Alex Hardwick 10th (PSG), Kate Rowlands 8th (Elem R), Sofie Butchard 4th (Prelim), Ashleigh Pittams 6th, Alice Wotton 8th, Sofie Butchart 10th (Novice R), Debbie Ridout 4th (Para Grade III), Ali Berman 4th, Fiona Bull 7th, Daniel Odell 8th (riding Pippa Childerhouse's Armour G) 8th, Claire Abel 11th (Novice O), Daniel Sherriff 9th (Grand Prix FS), Paul Hayler 4th, Alex Hardwick 11th (Adv Med O)
  .
• 2/9/11 - CONGRATULATIONS TO ELEANOR HALL - Eleanor, one of our BYRDS riders, and Smartie, were this week named in Horse & Hound as winners of the Dodson & Horrell Young Riders Bursary - so well done to them!
  .
• 21/8/11 - WELL DONE TO OUR PARA TEAM - Congratulations to our Para Team at their Home International this weekend at Vale View.  Despite only having a team of three, Debbie Ridout, Deborah Marks and Katie Hunter managed to finish a very close 7th overall - well done girls!
  .
• 19/8/11 - CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR REGIONAL WINNERS - Keysoe held a brilliant
  Regional Championship and it is great that lots of Eastern riders are now heading for the Nationals. Well done especially to our regional champions:  Sofie Butchart , Prelim Champ, Darren Crowe - Med Restricted winner, Paul Hayler Adv Med Open and Inter I Champ, Stacey Munson, PSG winner and Kate Rowland, Elem Restricted. Good Luck to all of our other Eastern riders off to Warwickshire in September , they include – Ali Berman, Adam Smyth,  Alex Hardwick, Keith Robertson, Claire Abel and Tracey Nelson . So they will all be making their way up to Stoneleigh in September for the Dressage Delux National Championships (held at Stoneleigh Park 15-18 September) so do go and support them!
  .
• 14/8/11 - CONGRATULATIONS ON UPGRADES - well done to the following judges who have successfully upgraded recently - Wendy Filtness (List 2), Lesley Burling (List 3a), Paul Hayler (List 1), Mark Ruddock (List 1), Kim Darlow (List 5)
  .
• 2/8/11 - TOP TIP FROM SPORTS PSYCHOLOGIST - If you are heading to the Summer Regionals in the next few weeks you should already be visualising your dressage test every day. Visualising your test is going to help you do two things. First, it’s going to help you memorise your test. Don’t just learn the movements. Learn what aids you are giving your horse, your body position etc. Secondly, when you visualise the perfect ride, you program your subconscious mind to ride correctly. That’s because when you do “perfect practice” in your mind’s eye, your muscles will work in the correct way - fab!  So look forward to seeing you all at the Nationals then!

  INTRODUCTION

 Rachel Hillier - Chairman chocs4@aol.com     

  Mr Hayler shows how it should be done!

 After lunch we had test riding, each rider having chosen which level they wanted to ride, and it was good to see some great scores.  Test sheets were collected after evening stables, and riders studied them ready to work on various points the next day in their training session.  We then had a really interesting talk from Michelle Tipper - who, as well as being a freelance International Groom, is also a trained Sports Psychologist.  Shelley started off by asking everyone about their preparation for tests, what things influence their performance and what they could and could not control.  She then gave examples of a couple of methods for getting into the zone.  One was by thinking of positive experiences and touching your knuckle at the same time, and therefore linking good times with this.  The idea being that if you worked on it, you should get to the stage where just touching your knuckle will put you into a positive state of mind.  Another was the circle of success where things go right inside it (a couple of people were heard to ask, did it have to be a circle, or could it be a rectangle ... roughly 20 x 60m?!)  Dinner followed, and then ... for a Saturday night at camp, a very quiet evening!  I think that we had worn everyone out during the day!

Sunday dawned sunny and warm, and riders were soon out in their lessons, working on movements from the tests, and looking for where they could pick up extra marks.  Jonathan Cantry came from NAF to do a workshop on supplements in the modern dressage horse, telling riders about different substances currently on the market, and what they can be used for.  In the afternoon, the test riding was a competition, and everyone looked very smart, plaited and in show gear.  Hayley Liddiard came up and sat with those not riding to discuss the tests and do some practice judging which proved very popular, giving everyone the chance to ask questions and see what the judge sees - it proved very enlightening for some, and c omments such as "um, I never realised they could tell I was doing that, ooh, and that from the judges box!!"  were overheard.

Hayley giving her judging Master Class!!

At the end of the day, everyone gathered in the bar for the results of the weekend.  The Piaffe Team won the stable prize for having the tidiest area over the two days, including neatly rolled lead ropes and swept area outside!  The winners of the respective sections in the test riding were Prelim: Sally "I don't really do dressage" Gladding, Nov: Claire "she's usually wild" Lambert, Elem: Sarah "I did everything Mark told me" Motion, Medium: Sam "it's all under control" Smyth and Adv Med: Jo "taken enough drugs that I can't feel my bad back now" Mason.  There was a presentation to Hilary Carr who is leaving the region and moving up Cheshire where she will be in the North West region - good luck Hilary, and look forward to seeing you at October camp.  And final prize went to the most entertaining combination, which had to be Jodie Smith and Caramel who got a big cheer in their test when they got right canter.... on the ninth try!  Thanks as always to the fab team at Norton Heath who make it such a pleasure to run camp here, for the great food and the 'nothing is too much trouble attitude', to Mark, Paul and Julie for all their teaching, and to Hayley for her judges input.  Also to Vicky and Rachel, both sidelined at the moment, but happy to come and write anyway.  And finally thanks to everyone who took the time to email, text or phone me afterwards to say how much they had enjoyed it - that makes it all worthwhile!

Jodie and Caramel heave a sigh of relief to have reached the end of the test!!!

 REGIONAL JUDGE TRAINING