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. Alternatively, you can download a full list here Scroll down the page to see more information on dressage, jumping, social and Area events.
1 January 2024 – time to renew your membership if you want to train and compete with the Club at member rates. (Form available on the Member’s Page or go to EntryMaster)
4 February 2024 Club Dressage at Forest Gate Farm.
3 March 2024 Club Dressage at Forest Gate Farm
March Area Winter Intermediate Dressage
April Club Dressage at Forest Gate Farm.
May Combined Training, Church Farm, Little Leigh (dressage only option available)
May Area Horse Trials
31 – 2 June 2024 Camp at Somerford Park Farm
June Club Dressage at Forest Gate Farm
June Area SJ & Style Jumping
July Club Dressage at Forest Gate Farm
July Area Dressage & Riding Test.
August Horse Trials Championships at Swalcliffe, Nr Banbury
August Area Dressage to Music
August Club Dressage at Forest Gate Farm
September BRC National Championships at Lincoln
September ODE at Smallwood EC
8 October Club Dressage at Forest Gate Farm
14 October Area Arena Eventing
5 November Area Novice Winter Dressage
11 November Area 70/80/90/100/110 Show Jumping, Kelsall EC
12 November Club Dressage at Forest Gate Farm
17 November AGM at Crowton Village Hall. 40th Anniversary celebration
10 December – Club Dressage at Forest Gate Farm Entries open
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.
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 Steph Woodland. 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. The ODE is on 10th September 2023.
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. See the calendar above for the dates.
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. For those competing at Area level for DFRC this style of whip is already compulsory. Riders should note that from 01.01.2022 this style of whip is to become mandatory at Club level competition & training also; this will include the ODE. ”
Training (Members only)
Aug 12th Pole work with Bianca (at her yard)
Aug 19th Grid work with Bianca (at her yard)
Contact Jenny Hoban in the first instance. Course jumping at Kelsall TBC jennyhoban@live.com
Aug 31st XC at Smallwood with Bianca (Evening) Prep for the ODE
Contact Judith Childs in the first instance jm_childs@hotmail.com
One Day Event
ODE 2023 September 10th. CLICK HERE for results
Combined Training
21st May 2023 Combined Training results CLICK HERE Dressage results CLICK HERE
Church Farm, Leigh Lane, Little Leigh, CW8 4RR
Clear Round Show Jumping
10th April 2023 (Easter Monday)
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. 2023 Camp was fantastic. Roll on 2024! Thanks to Megan at MV Photography for taking some great pics of our members
DFRC AGM & Prize giving
17th Nov 2023 at Crowton Village Hall. A celebration of the Club’s 40th Anniversary. Thank you all who came and made it an enjoyable evening. Congratulations to all the trophy winners!
2023 AGM & Prize giving CLICK HERE to see the list of the trophy winners for the 2022/2023 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
CLICK HERE for Area 20 Qualifier details and British Riding Club Championship dates & venues
The Area Competitions take place at venues such as Somerford Park 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 hats will require a pink tag (hats can be tagged at the Area event) and from 2024 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. Competitor Dress – competitors are now allowed to wear jodphurs/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. |