What’s on at Delamere Forest Riding Club?
Here you’ll find our calendar of events for the year and a overview of what we get up to.
Calendar of Events
Click on each month to see what’s going on and where. Scroll down the page to see more information on dressage, jumping, social and Area Qualifier events. If you have any questions please contact a committee member, using details on the About Us page.
1 January 2025 – time to renew your membership via Sport80 if you want to train and compete with the Club at member rates. (Help day form available on the Member’s Page)
16 February Club Dressage at Forest Gate Farm.
9 February Area 20 Dressage to Music and Intro Dressage Qualifier. Reaseheath. Contact Elaine Reading to compete. Entries close early/mid January
2 March Area 20 Intermediate Dressage Qualifier. Higher Farm.
9 March Club Dressage at Forest Gate Farm. From this month on, the second Prelim test will be a BE90 test, due to the limited numbers of BD prelim tests now available (3).
22 March Area 20 Winter Novice Dressage Qualifier. Northop. Contact Elaine Reading to compete
5-6 April BRC Winter SJ Championships. Arena UK
13 April Club Dressage at Forest Gate Farm. (First of the summer season dressage) CANCELLED
21 April Clear round show jumping at Forest Gate Farm (Easter Monday)
25 – 27 April BRC DTM, Intro, Novice & Intermediate Winter Dressage Championships. Arena UK.
18 May Combined Training
30 May – 1st June Camp at Somerford Park Farm
30th May-1st June BRC Arena Eventing Championships. Aston Le Walls
7 June Area 20 Summer SJ Qualifier. Reaseheath EC
8 June Club Dressage at Forest Gate Farm. CANCELLED due to low entries
22 June Area 20 Summer Dressage & Riding Test Qualifier.
6 July Area 20 Horse Trials Qualifier at Kelsall Hill EC
6 July Club dressage CANCELLED
2-3 August BRC Horse Trials Championships at Swalcliffe, Nr Banbury
3 August Club Dressage at Forest Gate Farm CANCELLED
30-31 August BRC Summer Dressage, Riding Test & SJ Championships. Lincoln Showground
7 September ODE at Smallwood EC. Entries will open in July!
21 September Area 20 Arena Eventing Qualifier at Radfords EC, Llanymynch
27 – 28 September BRC Combined Championships, Aston Le Walls
12 October Club Dressage at Forest Gate Farm.
2 November Club Dressage at Forest Gate Farm
November AGM & Prize Giving at Crowton Village Hall.
7 December – Club Dressage at Forest Gate Farm. Christmas Fancy Dress
What do we get up to?
Our monthly dressage competitions are held at Forest Gate Farm, Forest Lane, Norley WA6 6NP. During the winter months tests are inside and the working in is outside; vice versa in the summer. Please enter the venue via the Forest Lane entrance, and NOT from the main Delamere Road. Normal start times are 13:30 for the Winter competitions and 14:00 in Summer, unless otherwise stated at the time of entries opening.
We award points to our members throughout the season and then a trophy to our overall winners at the AGM. We have additional rules for the club dressage which can be seen here.
As Arena Walks are becoming more popular, here are the rules for them. Arena Walks are held before the Intro class, and riders should request this when making their entry. They are strictly ridden and in walk. No leading of horses is permitted. Riders will be allowed to enter in groups of 3 by the steward, and should ride round twice on the right rein only and then exit.
As a member you can enter the dressage competitions via Entrymaster or contact Judith Childs. See below for the tests.
As per the guidelines issued by BRC, DFRC expect any horse or pony attending our events to be vaccinated against Equine Influenza and for the vaccination record to be correct and up to date. (This will be checked in advance. Please be prepared to send your passport, microchip and vaccination details). No vaccination may be within 6 days of the event. Please note that DFRC do not currently require a 6-month booster, however some of the venues we hire may do so.
Training
DFRC runs numerous jumping events throughout the club year, both inside and outside and mostly on a surface. We pride ourselves in running an annual ODE at Smallwood each year which attracts around 120 entries and is open to both members and non members, please see keep checking this page for full information. ODE 7th September 2025.
We also hold a Combined Training competition every year which is a friendly event and a great course to jump, all the details will be updated here, looking likely for May/June. CT May 18th 2025 (weather dependant as jumping on grass)
As per the guidelines issued by BRC, DFRC expect any horse or pony attending our events to be vaccinated against Equine Influenza and for the vaccination record to be correct and up to date. (This will be checked in advance. Please be prepared to send your passport, microchip and vaccination details). No vaccination may be within 6 days of the event. Please note that DFRC do not currently require a 6-month booster, however some of the venues we hire may do so.
Whip rules changes from 01.01.2022
A section from the DFRC Club rules on the Membership page: “BRC states that one whip is permitted for show jumping / cross country, and must be between 45cm and 75cm and must not be weighted or with a hard point at the end. The end of the whip must be padded. The ‘pad’ must be smooth with no protrusion or raised surface (which includes embroidery) and be made of a shock absorbing material throughout its circumference. This style of whip is mandatory at Area and Club level competition & training also; including our the ODE. ”
Clear round show jumping
Easter Monday. April 21st at Forest Gate Farm. Thank you to all who attended!
Combined Training
May 18th. Church Farm, Little Leigh. CLICK HERE for results
One Day Event
Sept 7th. Smallwood Equestrian Centre. Entries open July!
DFRC Summer Camp
Cathy London organises the annual Club camp at Somerford Park Farm. There’s a mix of lessons to suit all abilities, both horse and riders, in flatwork, show-jumping and cross country. Arrival is on Friday evening to settle the horses in to the stables, and for the riders to enjoy a meal and time to socialise before the hard work begins! There are two lesson per day, Saturday and Sunday, and breakfast, lunch and dinner are all catered for from Friday night to Sunday lunchtime. 2024 Camp was fantastic. Roll on 2025! Thanks to Megan at MV Photography for taking some great pics of our members yet again. Dates for 2025 30th May – 1st June
DFRC AGM & Prize giving
22nd Nov 2024 at Crowton Village Hall. Thank you to all who came, we hope you had a good evening!
2024 AGM & Prize giving CLICK HERE to see the list of the trophy winners for the 2023/2024 season
As DFRC is part of Area 20, members are able to take part in numerous Area competitions. Currently these include
- Showjumping & Style Jumping
- Dressage & Riding Test
- Dressage to Music
- Arena Eventing
- Horse Trials
- Combined Training
Check on the monthly planner above for Area 20 Qualifier details and British Riding Club Championship dates & venues
The Area Competitions take place at venues such as Somerford Park Farm, Reaseheath College, Higher Farm, Kelsall Hill Equestrian Centre and Radfords Equestrian at Llanymynch, and at various times during the year, for example there is a both a winter and a summer dressage event. We try to add the dates of these competitions to our calendar of events on the What’s On page. We have various members of the committee who agree to take on the Team Manager / Chef d’Equipe role for these competitions and they will email all club members prior to the event to give them an opportunity to enter and provide all the information you need. ANY member of the Club who wishes to have a go is encouraged to sign up. The more members, the better the team atmosphere! Teams that do well at an Area competition can go on to compete at National Championships at various venues around the country. These are great events, hosting Riding Clubs from all over the U.K.
The small print! Area competitions involve a pre-entry fee (paid to BRC) and an event entry fee. DFRC pays the pre-entry fee for any member taking part, leaving the member to pay the event entry fee. This is not something usually offered by Clubs, but it is our way of thanking members for representing their Club. All Area competitions need helpers to run. If you compete at an Area competition, then you will be asked to provide a help day at a different Area competition. (These are different to the Club help days all members need to do) Help days at Area are a good opportunity to meet other like-minded people from other local Clubs, and to see how an event works from the inside. When you enter an Area competition, check with the Team Manager when and where the National Championship is; if the team does well, or if you do well as an individual, then that’s your next stop and you don’t want to miss the opportunity!
Please also make yourself aware of rules regarding hats, body protectors and flu vaccinations (links on the DFRC homepage). For 2023 onwards hats will require a pink tag (hats can be tagged at the Area event) and from 2024 onwards body protectors will need to have the 2018 BLUE label.
| BRC Updates Reminder Hat Guidelines From 1st January 2023, we will no longer be accepting the following 2 hat standards. 1. PAS O15 1998 2. SNELL 2001 The PAS 015 2011 and SNELL 2016 will continue to be accepted. Body Protector Guidelines – BRC will continue to accept the BETA Level 3 Purple Label 2009 standard until 1 Jan 2024, then it will no longer be accepted, replaced by the 2018 BLUE label. Competitor Dress – competitors are now allowed to wear jodhpurs/breeches in white, cream, beige, navy or black. Whip Rule – Please familiarise yourself with the appropriate ways in which to handle and use your whip during competition. This information can be found on page 35 of our BRC Handbook. Flu vacs – changes from 1st January 2024 CLICK HERE This applies to new vaccinations or restarts only |
