2012 TEAM REPORTS Fitzwilliam Hunt PC Triathlon   Nine Essex Hunt North members had a great day at the Fitzwilliam Hunt Triathlon at Oundle School near Peterborough on Sunday 19th February with some excellent results.   Louisa Kenney, Ella Caton and Katie Kerr came 4th as a team in the Junior Girls section (under 15).  Oliver Stonham came 7th overall in the Mini Boys section and was 3rd in the running phase.  Emily Kerr, Ellie Anning, Charlotte Roberts and Emily Pohl came 3rd as a team in the Mini Girls section, with Charlotte Roberts coming 2nd in the swim section and 5th overall.  Emily Pohl came 6th overall and Emily Kerr achieved the best shoot of the day with 960 out of 1000!   Imogen Pohl competed in the Mini biathlon and came 1st in the girls running.    Well done to everyone!   2011 TEAM REPORTS ESSEX RIDER TEAM CHALLENGE - SUNDAY 4TH DECEMBER 2011 BROOK FARM TC. Report by Louisa Kenney. On the 4th December Daisy Dobbs, Grace Trembath, Evie Morris and I, travelled to Brook farm to compete in the Essex Rider Team Challenge.   Each team consisted of one horse and one pony with winnings of less than £50, and one horse and one pony with winnings of less than £300.  All the teams were also to be judged on their Tack and Turnout, so we'd all worked very hard to make sure our ponies/horses were well turned out.   Grace and I were competing in the under £50 horse/pony at 85 - 90cm, whilst Daisy and Evie were competing in the under £300 horse/pony at 90 - 95cm. Grace and I both entered the 85cm warm up class, and we both went clear.  Before we could compete in the main class of the day, we had to report to the Tack and Turnout arena for judging.  The first round was 85cm, and I was first to ride, Suzi and I got the team off to a good start with a clear. Grace and Frosty were next to ride for our team, they too jumped a lovely clear round.      The jumps were then raised to 90cm and Daisy and Matilda were the first of our team to jump the higher course, they executed a beautiful clear round but incurred 2 time penalties.  Evie and Tryzor were last to go for the team, they jumped a fast round, but unluckily had one fence down. At this point in the competition, we knew we were doing quite well, but we all still had a bigger course to face and team positions within the competition were by no means safe!   After lunch the course changed, but the jumps remained at 90cm for the under £50 horse/pony competitors of each team.  There were some sizeable jumps in the course, and we all knew we would have to ride positively to get round!  I was first to ride again, but unfortunately I had a stop at both the first and sixth fences, which resulted in elimination.  Grace however, did a fantastic round, with just one unfortunate pole down.  The jumps were then raised to 95cm and they looked huge!  Daisy was next to ride, and she completed a beautiful clear round.  Evie was last to ride for our team, and she too did a fantastic clear round right up to the very last fence, when she had a pole down - talk about unlucky!  Our team was now joint 8th, with two other teams, which meant we had to elect a team member to jump off for us.  After discussions with our Team Leader, we volunteered Daisy to jump off, and thankfully she accepted, because the jumps really did look massive! Daisy and Matilda jumped a perfect course, with some very impressive turns.  Unfortunately we just got pipped at the post by another team.   The final results, we came 9th overall and 5th overall in the Tack and Turnout - well done to the team!  Other Branch members competing on the day were Ella Caton, Alex Curran and Florence Collinson.  They were all representing Finchingfield Riding Club, and I am pleased to report that they finished the day with a very respectable 12 points.   Well done to you three!   Thank you to:  Mrs Trembath for being our team leader, making sure that we were all ready to walk courses and ride etc when required; Daisy for being our Senior team member, and always having a kind and encouraging word when needed; to our parents for watching, supporting, transporting us and our ponies and everything else they did!!  But an even bigger thank you goes to Tryzor, Matilda, Frosty and Suzi for trying their best, and for being very patient and well behaved, on what turned out to be a very long and chilly day.   Report by Louisa Kenney   Thank you Louisa for writing such a fantastic report and very well done to all our team.    PONY CLUB TEAM JUMPING EAGLESFIELD EQ CENTRE KENT SUNDAY 30TH OCTOBER 2011   We had only managed to get two teams together as unfortunately a lot of members where either competing elsewhere, on holiday or simply had other commitments.  Our mini team consisted of Sophie Curtis, Charlotte Roberts, Rachel Parris and Alice Caton. They all competed in the warm up speed class first, and all went clear with Alice Caton in first place on Rascal, closely followed by Sophie Curtis on Flash and Rachel Parris came 5th on Ginger so a good result to get 3 EHN members in the top six.   Next came the team class and all four members again went clear. Alice did the jump-off on Rascal and although had a fast time, unfortunately had 4 faults. Luckily though only two teams went clear, and due to the fast time that Rascal achieved, it meant that EHN mini team finished in 3rd place so a good result.   Next came the warm up class for the novice team and Fenna Good, Charlotte Pegrum and Annie Howland all took part. They all did fantastically well, and well done to Charlotte on Smartie who finished in 5th place.   The novice team then took part in the team event with Ella Caton being part of the team too. The team finished on zero faults, and so were through to the jump-off. Ella did the jump-off on Bobby and did a brilliantly fast time, but again unfortunately had the last fence down. Once again, only two teams went clear so the novice team also came 3rd.  Another excellent result for EHN.   Well done to all those who took part, and a big thank you to their families for all their support. All the club members had great team spirit, cheering each other on and having a great time. Thank you to Diane Pegrum for organising everyone.  Mini team l-r Charlotte Roberts, Rachel Parris, Alice Caton, Sophie Curtis Novice team l-r Charlotte Pegrum, Ella Caton, Fenna Good, Annie Howland Gosling Cup 2011   We sent two teams to this year’s competition:   A Team B Team Katie Pinkerton Albert Padfield Lydia Campbell Jack Cooke Megan Bristow Alex Curran Louisa Kenney Ella Caton   This year’s Gosling Cup was at Overbury Hall, in Layham, Suffolk and was hosted by Essex and Suffolk PC.  The venue was new and so very exciting as we didn’t know what to expect.  It didn’t disappoint and provided the perfect setting in glorious rolling Suffolk countryside (helped by perfect weather).      Our teams were immaculate for the tack and turnout, thanks to many hours of hard work from riders and families no doubt, and our B team were 5th overall so well done to them.  Their joint choice of lovely stylish blue gloves probably cost them a higher place however, because the rules said black or brown.  But we won’t mention that.   The A team all looked lovely and Katie scored a phenomenal 20 (100%) but sadly the team weren’t in the placings.      Katie scores full marks for T&T                            The A team being judged. The dressage came next and Albert deserves a special mention here because his judge not only got out of her car to remark on how wonderful they were but also fed George a treat!   Marvellous, Albert – well done!  Needless to say, they won the dressage in their arena.    Jack Cooke and JP Ben in the dressage               Lydia Campbell and her pony of just 3 weeks!         Albert wows the judge in the dressage   Next up the Team Ride.  Considering that Alex kindly stepped in at the last minute when Megan Harding Jones’ pony was lame, they looked very together and did a good job.  Similar with the A team because practices for this phase had not included the correct ponies for one reason or another but they pulled it off and all was well. The B team ride   With all that out the way, next for the exciting bit.  The XC course was very inviting and well built using the varying terrain to full advantage and achieved just the right balance of technicality with L fences at the trickier obstacles.  It was a joy to watch our lovely young B team storm round with one or two run-outs but on the whole confident and doing a great job.    The A team were impressive with Katie, Albert and Jack achieving clear rounds in good style.   Lydia’s pony was storming round clear until the water when they "wanged” round the corner on approach and Lydia was tipped out the side door!   She was back on via the wrong side in a most gymnastic fashion ... if you blinked you would have missed it ... and they completed the course with a score which was impressive given she has only had the pony 3 weeks!  Well done!     Louisa and Suzi at the corner                              Ella Caton clears the corner and goes on to clear the water too    Albert and Saint George                                   Lydia clears the corner                                   Jack and Ben flying round    Megan Bristow takes the direct route                 Alex Curran in fine style Back at the lorries, there was a frenzy of getting ready for the show jumping, including trying to find the farrier to put Megan’s pony’s shoe put back on, and we all headed down to the main arena to watch.  The show jumping was up to height and a downhill related distance to a bright yellow oxer took its toll throughout the competition, including some of ours; but we also had our fair share of clear rounds.    Megan's pony needed a trip to the farrier to be ready for the show jumping                                 Louisa and Suzi clear fence 1.   Alex Curran over fence 3                                   Ella Caton at fence 2   The traditional Gosling Cup line up of ponies for Prizegiving is always a fabulous finale and in the beautiful Suffolk setting and enjoying the summer evening sunshine, 2011 was no exception.   Without a doubt, the Essex and Suffolk had done a brilliant job in staging this competition and nobody appreciated their hard work quite as much as us ... the team who put it on last year!   At the final presentation, our B team were 5th in the tack and turnout (I’ve already said that) and Ella Caton was individual 5th in her arena.  Our A team were 4th overall with individual placings to all our team members:  Albert won his arena, Katie and Lydia were 5th in theirs and Jack was 6th in his.    The Gosling Cup was won by Puckeridge Western Branch.    Huge thanks to our helpers and supporters on the day...  to Georgie Mackley and Jane Jarvis for being Team Shepherds, to Caroline de Rienzo for dressing our teams, to Nicola for co-ordinating it all and finally, of course, to the riders and their families for all their hard work in training, preparing and getting there on the day and for staying focused and cheerful throughout the competition.    Well done you were a credit to Essex Hunt North.      AP.     PONY CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS Dressage Congratulations to our Intermediate dressage team at the pony club championships on Sunday 14th August coming 11th out of a very strong field of 21 teams from around the country.  You all rode fantastically well and made the branch very proud! : ) The team consisted of Albert Padfield - Saint George, Eleanor Hall - Smartie, Daisy Dobbs - Matilda, Julia Studholme - Silver Cruz.Well done to Albert and Saint George who were 3rd in their arena on 65.93% and Ellie Hall and Smartie who were 4th in their arena on 71.11% : )  Report from Ellie Hall:- Mum and I arrived at Draycott at 4pm on Saturday after a 3 1/2 hour journey. We intended to leave Smartie for an hour or so to settle in however Smartie had other ideas! We ended up with the stable manager coming over to see what the banging was - it was Smartie trying to buck his way out! At least he was keen... We decided that he had 'settled' enough so rode him that evening. Luckily we met up with Albert on George so we were able to work the horses together. With Smartie now suitably chilled we gave him his dinner and set off to find our own accommodation. After a lousy night (I'm not going to eat greasy fish and chips at 10pm ever again!) we got back to the show ground and got on with the normal morning routine as my test was not until 12 o'clock. We warmed Smartie up next to the arenas and despite him expressing an interest in polocross he behaved really well. My test ran very smoothly until the end...my stomach was still in knots and I think I was so relieved to reach the end that my mind went blank and I stopped at X rather than G! Despite this we scored 71.11% which meant that we were fourth in our arena. Only the first two from each arena go through to the ride off so I was extremely annoyed with myself for messing up right at the end however I was thrilled with how Smartie went during the test, especially as this was our first outing in a full size arena. As we were placed we had to stay at the show ground for the mounted prize giving at 5pm. It was a a lovely experience for me and Smartie as neither of us had competed at such a big event or been involved in a team competition. Many thanks to all involved :) Our Intermediate dressage team:  Albert Padfield, Julia Studholme, Katie Dartnell, Daisy Dobbs and Ellie Hall. Eventing We had two individuals qualify for the Intermediate Eventing Championships - Frankie Jarvis had one pole, clear XC just with a couple of time penalites - fantastic achievement as Yogi is still only 6!!!  Albert was 5th in his section - he stayed on his dressage score throughout. George gave Albert a lovely ride round the XC, as the commentator said he "flew the water". AREA SHOW JUMPING  Sunday 10th July 2011 Two novice teams, one intermediate and one open team travelled down to Poplar Park in Suffolk for Area Show Jumping.    The Novice A team did well but all had 4 faults either in first or second round.   Well done to our Novice B team coming 7th out of 35 teams! They went into the second round on 0 faults and finished on 8 faults after a very tough second round. 3 teams finished on 4 faults and 4 teams finished on 8 faults (our team being one of them) so they added up times of second round to decide placings. Emily Cooper did amazingly well being one of the only 12 competitors out of 144 in the novices to get a double clear and into the individual jump-off. She came 5th which is fantastic considering she is only 9 and her pony is 12.3hh!!!  (Thank you to Sharon Caton for her report) Area Novice B Team at Poplar Park:  Lani Hunter, Emily Cooper, Ella Caton and Alex Curran. Our intermediate team was Albert Padfield, Fraser Parris, Franki Jarvis & Lucy Brett. Although the team weren't placed, Albert was 5th individually with three clear rounds.   Our Open team was Theo Simpson, Daisy Dobbs, Poppy Miller and Millie McDougall. There were approx 10 teams of 4, plus 3 individuals.   In the first round, Millie and Daisy were clear, both rode excellently; Theo and Poppy 4 faults each so 4 faults were carried forward.  Three teams had 0 faults; 1 team had 2 faults; we were joint 5th after 1st round.   In the second round (much bigger track), Theo was clear, Poppy withdrew, feeling that the track in round 2 was maybe a little too much for Aladdin after so much time off;  Millie had 4 jumping and a few (8?) time faults; Daisy had 8 jumping and a few (6?) time faults  so we ended up with circa 30 faults and not placed - as we left, there was a first-place jump off between 3 teams with a total of 12, and the 4 individuals with double clears.  (Thank you to David Simpson for his report) AREA DRESSAGE AT GREAT WITCHINGHAM, NORFOLK SUNDAY 3RD JULY 2011   This years area dressage was hosted by the South Norfolk Pony Club at the lovely Blackwater Farm in Great Witchingham, Norfolk.  Three teams made up of 12 members in total travelled to the venue to compete and represent our branch and what a fantastic job they did.   Our Intermediate team of Ellie Hall, Julia Studholme, Daisy Dobbs and Stevie Pattle fought off some stiff competition to WIN THEIR SECTION and QUALIFY FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIPS ... with Ellie Hall and Julia Studholme both winning their arenas and Ellie winning her individual competition too!   The Novice competition was tough and everyone made a huge effort to memorise their tests and rode brilliantly.   Novice A team consisted of Sophie Bryan, Frankie Jarvis, Abby Hiam and Francesca Glynn Fox.   Novice B team consisted of Ward Ottley, Ines Harper, Louisa Kenney and Bunty Pipe.   Jason and Lita Ottley have earned their Barbecue Daddy and Hostess with the Mostess badges and Lotte Olsen the Super Duper Organiser badge!  Thank you so much to all riders, ponies, parents and supporters for a wonderful day!  I have the best job in the world already, but to work with you all and see you compete and do the branch proud makes it even better!   Well done everyone!  KATIE xxx AREA MOUNTED GAMES 2011 Our Junior Team were 2nd at the Area Mounted Games recently on a score of 44 - only just beaten by 1 point by the Essex and Suffolk Branch - the 3rd placed team finished on 27 so we really did do well!   This means that we have qualified for the Zone Finals on 2nd and 3rd July in Coventry.  We were also 3rd in the Tack and Turnout.  Our team were:  Jack Buchan, Sharon Drew, Izzi Ketteridge, Brooke Taverner, Joe Henry Martin.  Sharon Taverner, team trainer said thank you to all the parents who have helped and good luck at the Zones!!! PUCKERIDGE WESTERN TETRATHLON EHNPC SUCCESSES Some of our members attended the Puckeridge Western Tetrathlon which took place over last weekend. Members who attended were: Charlie Tolhurst in the tiddlers class, Harriet Tolhurst and Charlotte Roberts in the Tadpoles, Ella Caton in the Minimus and Louisa Kenney  and Florence Collinson in the Junior class. Florence's borther Conrad also competed in the Tadpole triathlon which ran alongside the tet.   Results as follows:  Charlie Tolhurst        didn't actually get placed as this class was extremely popular, but had fun all the same Harriet Tolhurst        3rd swimming and 8th overall Charlotte Roberts    1st swimming, 1st running 3rd shooting and 1st overall Ella Caton                6th swimming, 6th runnning, 6th shooting, clear x country and 5th overall Louisa Kenney        2nd swiming, 2nd running, 2nd sooting, clear x country and 2nd overall Florence Collinson    3rd swimming, clear x country and 3rd overall Conrad Collinson        4th shooting and 6th overall   Well done to everyone who took part, especially Charlotte Roberts who won her class very convincingly.  After the x country had finished Puckeridge Western held a hunter trail which Katie and Emily Kerr, and Alice Caton also took part in.  Results as follows: Charlie Tolhurst     Very Novice pairs - 1st                             1' novice - 2nd                             1'9" open - 2nd Harriet Tolhurst and Alice Caton 2' pairs - 1st Kate & Emily Kerr                                - 3rd Ella Caton        2'6" novice  -  2nd Katie Kerr                         -   6th Louisa Kenny and Florence Collinson Open Pairs - 1st  A good day had by all EHN members who were there, and as you can see by the photo they all went home with at least one rosette each! Unfortunately, Charlotte Roberts had gone home before the photo was taken.   Photo is of: Back row l-r    Ella Caton, Louisa Kenney, Florence Collinson, Katie Kerr Middle row l-r Alice Caton, Harriet Tolhurst, Emily Kerr Front row l-r    Charlie Tolhurst, Conrad Collinson   Mounted Games After indoor winter training at Ashfields, the gymkana squad has gone outdoors and to some competitions.  We have fantastic training from Sharon and Nina and all the members have been really enjoying themselves.  The first competition at OBH was a real learning curve for our junior and mini team, with the juniors coming 5th. The mini's is great fun for those new to the sport as Sharon and Nina can be in the ring with the children helping them as they need it.  Next the teams went to Romney March Pony Club. The seniors came 9th against some very fast and experienced teams. The Mini's came 8th and the juniors came a very close third - well done!  After this junior and mini teams went to Somerset over the Easter Weekend. The mini's came 6th but with no helpers this time, well done! The juniors were amazing and had a "Ride Off" for 2nd place, eventually coming third out of eleven teams!!  A fantastic result!  The teams are now working towards the Area competitons and good luck.  Thank you to Sharon and Nina for all your hard work and for keeping it fun!        Area Horse & Pony Care team competition - 11th April 2011   For the first time, we sent a team to the Area Horse & Pony Care team competition at South Cambridgeshire Equestrian Centre. Our junior team were Charlotte Pegrum, Katie Kerr and Katie Hogan and they had to answer questions and demonstrate their practical skills in bandaging, pasture, travelling, general knowledge, bits and bitting, rugs, grooming, feeding, saddlery and health! They came a very respectable 5th place with only two or three points (of a possible 315) seperating 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th place! (Winners were Suffolk Hunt). A great fun day was had by all and hopefully everyone learnt something too.    Thanks to Pauline Hogan for taking them and submitting this report and picture.  Our Area Horse and Pony Care Team:  Charlotte Pegrum, Katie Kerr and Katie Hogan with their lovely 5th place Area rosettes.     PUCKERIDGE TEAM SHOW JUMPING - TUESDAY 19TH APRIL 2011 We all had a fantastic time at the Puckeridge PC novice team jumping at the West Anglia College. The mini team first to go for Essex Hunt North jumping a first round of 2'. They all did brilliantly with 3 out of the 4 going clear which meant we went through to the next round with a zero score. The next round was 2' 3" and the first 3 went clear again which meant that Alice Caton could go for it on her sister's old pony Rascal. They did a super speedy round and also went clear. When the results were announced EHN were first which was fantastic and Alice Caton won the individual with the fastest clear by a whopping 5 seconds! The Mini Team - L - R Alice Caton, Tilly Hooper, Charlotte Roberts, Ollie Stonham The pressure was then on the next team and the heat of the day was also mounting! They started at 2'3" and again went into the next round on zero points. The jump off round at 2.6" was quite tricky, but Ward Ottley did a super fast clear round again on Chip, and the EHN team won yet again with Ward also winning the individual by a fantastic 4 seconds. 2'3-2'6 team L - R Ellie Anning, Charlotte Pegrum, Bunty Pipe, Ward Ottley   The pressure was really on the third and final team of the day by now with all of the others doing so well! All 4 team members jumped clear in the first round at 2' 6", but unfortunately things changed in the jump off round at 2'9"  which was again very tricky. Only Emily Cooper managed a very speedy clear round, and the team finished on 8 faults. Overall they finished 4th, but once again an EHN member won the individual with Emily Cooper doing a fabulous round on her pony Emmy. 2'6-2'9 team L - R Grace Trembath, Ella Caton, Louisa Kenney, Emily Cooper   The last class of the day was an individual round at 2'9"-3' and only 6 competitors had enough stamina left at the end of the day to compete with Grace Trembath and Ella Caton being two of them representing our club. This time the round was two phase, but only two of the six managed to go clear with four finishing on 4 faults, Grace and Ella being two of the four. They decided to jump-off the four, but as Grace had untacked her pony she declined and took 6th place which left three others. Two of them had 4 faults again, but Ella managed to go clear so finished up in third place.   Everyone had a fantastic day if somewhat hot, but we all enjoyed ourselves and brought home lots of trophies and rosettes. A special thank you to Di Pegrum for organising everyone and Nicola and all the Mums and Dads who cheered everyone along on the day. Newmarket & Thurlow Tetrathlon 10th April 2011 Ollie finished 3rd overall in the mini boys. Alice came 3rd overall in the mini girls and Charlotte won the mini girls. The 3 of them came 1st in the teams. Ella came 2nd overall in the minimus girls (winning the shooting with a fab score of 920!) and Louisa came 2nd overall in Junior girls which was fantastic considering she was in the 14 years and under section. A brilliant result for EHN! L-R  - Ollie Stonham, Alice Caton, Charlotte Roberts, Ella Caton & Louisa Kenney. AREA QUIZ FRIDAY 1ST APRIL Our quiz teams were certainly no April Fools when they contested the Area Quiz heats on Friday evening.  One team went off to Woodham Walter (Essex Farmers country) and the other headed up to Combolton, hosted by Cambridgeshire Hunt PC to answer questions both horse and general knowledge related.  Mainly horse to be honest.  Oh, and some cow and sheep. (!)  The Cambridge team were Franki Jarvis, Becky House, Sophie Bryan and Charlotte Pegrum and they did extremely well to answer some fairly obscure questions, it has to be said!  They came 3rd by a narrow margin, and Cambs Hunt won.  The other team who were Lucy Brett, Katie Hills, Katie Kerr and Louisa Kenney, also did well to come 4th in their heat which was won by East Essex (who won the final last year!)  All our team members have been attending weekly swatting up sessions, which is pretty useful for taking future tests as well.  Well done!  Here is a picture of our team in Cambridge: Old team news 2006-2010 now on the Archive Page.