Charity Xmas Drive and World Cup Driving

It's back, and with a difference.
EACDG Xmas charity drive, Sunday 29th December 2019 at Ashfields Carriage Driving Centre CM6 1JU. Leaving Ashfields at 11.00am.

Long and short route available, Stew/ casserole with bread included, £15.00 minimum donation per turnout.

Also, we will be running mini World Cup driving in the indoor school for those who want some additional fun, there will be two obstacles with cones between, for you to come and drive for just £5.00 for two runs, body protectors and hard hats compulsory.

Please note, if you are not an EACDG member you will need to provide adequate insurance, also the organisers retain the right to refuse World Cup Driving to drivers or vehicles who are not deemed suitable on the day.

To book, or for further details please email info@eacdg.co.uk

AGM 2019 - please let Zoe know you are coming

Just a reminder that the 2019 AGM will be held at Ashfields Carriage Driving Centre this Sunday 10th November, 6.30 for 7.00pm start.

For those of you who are attending can you please drop Zoe Morgan a text on 07770944868 with numbers to enable her to ensure there is adequate food on the night.

We look forward to seeing you there.

East Anglian Carriagedriving Group AGM 2019

We, on the committee hope you have had an enjoyable season.

As the winter draws in and the mud starts to gather in our gateways we would like to bring to your attention the details for this years AGM, It will be held on Sunday 10th November, 6.30 for a 7.00pm start at Ashfields.

We will carry out the presentations for this years points league winners, also we have various topics to discuss regarding 2020 along with the dates for next season.

If you have any topics you would like to discuss at the meeting please reply in writing to this email with the details, we will contact you and we can then add it to the agenda.

Please note that there will be no non agenda discussions from the floor without prior notification, this is to allow the committee adequate time to form a genuine response.

Voting will only be accepted from 2019 club members.

There will be food supplied after the meeting.

Please note that all 2019 committee members will be resigning, most are willing to re-stand, some are moving on to pastures green, this presents a perfect opportunity for change and with this in mind we would like invite you to consider putting your name forward to assist in any way with a committee position, we offer any training that you feel you may need but most of all we are looking to get some assistance over the weekends during the 2020 events. If you feel you would like to get involved then please reply accordingly to this email and we will contact you. We have already had some interest and that is excellent news but don't forget that many hands make light work and also ensures the future of the club along with smooth running of future events.

If you need any further information please get in touch, if not then we look forward to catching up at the AGM.   

Club championships to be 2 day Sept 21, 22

Hi All,

Due to the results of the recent emails sent out regarding the Club Championships three day format and lack of entries, the committee have made the decision the reintroduce the event as a two day format.

The dressage and cones section will be on Saturday 21st September and marathon on Sunday 22nd.

This event will only go ahead if sufficient entries are received on or by the cut off day of Friday 6th September.

Please get your entries in now.

https://www.ihdt.co.uk/payg/ienter.php?evid=2489&ac=50

Club Championships 20-22 Sept 2019

We would like to draw your attention to our last event of 2019, the Club Championships to be held at Ashfields on 20th-22nd September.

Currently we have a little over two weeks until the close of entries, disappointingly we have only two entries.

With this in mind we would like your input, can you please reply to this email with your answer to the following?

1... Leave as a three day event, I'm putting my entry in soon.

2... Reduce the event to a two day event as i cannot commit to three days and I will put in an entry.

3... Not worried as I will not be attending.

4... Cancel the event and save the Club funds and organisers time.

Obviously we would like to run the event, it was voted for at the AGM, we willingly work hard to organise these events but  they cost lots in time and monies, but we ask you, the membership and supporters for your input in this matter.    

Training Camp and One Day Event 26-28 July 2019

Hi All we hope you are well and enjoying the season.

Please can we jog your memory that our final training camp for the 2019 season is fast approaching, it will be held on Fri-Sat 26-27 July and the entries close this Thursday 11th July so please get your entries in now, don't forget it is the last training session this year.

Also, Immediately after this on Sunday 28th July is our last one day event for the season, the closing date for this is Friday 12th July, this will run as our normal one day short format of dressage and cones in the morning with a section B marathon of approximately 5.7km and 3 hazards driven twice.

Following that, our final event of the year will be our 2019 Club Championships, this will be on Friday to Sunday 20th to 22nd  September 2019, it will be run over three days, dressage on Friday, Marathon on Saturday and Cones on Sunday. We are also planning something extra for a bit of fun after cones on Sunday, watch this space.

As usual you can enter online http://www.eacdg.co.uk/events.html

Ashfields one day event Saturday 8th June

Ashfields one day event Saturday 8th June 

 

We saw 26 entries although for various reasons 7 entries were withdrawn, the rain and wind made the dressage and cones interesting with the cone numbers being blown round the course like low flying saucers.

Highest dressage score of the day was achieved by Novice Pony Sarah Wallis with a score of 42.27,  with Prenovice Pony Esther Rawlinson, Novice Horse Debbie Tatton, Open Pony Linda Hamblen and Open Horse Alfie Budd all taking first place in their respective classes.

 

The cones course and marathon was designed by Scott Brown, our Course Designer for the event, the cones course proved challenging with cones 13/14 and 15 requiring a good extended trot to achieve the time, also the angle of cone 20 needed an accurate driven line from 19, good mixture of time faults and balls down with only 5 drivers achieving a double clear. 

 

YES, the rain stopped leaving the ground soft for the marathon ,although the course seemed to drive extremely well, the distance was 5.65 kilometres including 3 obstacles which were driven twice causing great competition as the drivers tried to improve their own times from their first time round. 

Obstacle 1 and 4, the mound, made a great start with multiple route options including flowing circles for speed, with an option of a right hand turn up a tight slope after D to E creating a shorter distance, 

Obstacle 2 and 5, the totem pole, proving great fun ,although those squares certainly seem to jump in front of you extremely quick,

Obstacle 3 and 6, the waterhole, with the additional rain was reasonably deep, the conditions causing some carriages to slide on the muddy bends to the delight of the spectators, with numerous soaked competitors certainly needing a change of clothing by the end of the day.

Congratulations to Open Horse Phillipa Howe whom achieved the fastest time in obstacles 2 to 6 making Phillipa the overall marathon winner with a final score of 74.09, please refer to the results page on the club website for the complete event.

As usual the club is extremely grateful for all the individuals who give their time to make our events possible, Huge thank you to all involved for their ongoing support, a special thank you to Wilf and Zoe for hosting the club at Ashfields in such fantastic facilities, remember our next one day event is 28th July, it would be great to see you there in any capacity.

Ashfields training day Friday 7th June

With your continued support we were able to provide another great opportunity for trainers Anna Grayston, Minta Winn and Sarah Howe to share their wealth of experience, producing a full day of training sessions for all levels of carriage drivers.

 

Unfortunately waterproofs were the fashion of the day with the relentless rain, although certainly it didn't dampen spirits with some drivers incorporating dressage followed by obstacle practice.

 

If you’re interested in training remember on the 26th July we have a 2 day option. Please refer to the events page. 

20th /21st April Spring Event and National Novice Qualifier, Ashfields

20^th/21^st  April Spring Event and National  Novice Qualifier was held at Ashfields enjoying the amazing Easter weekend sunshine,

  Thursday and Friday were training days with trainers Anna Grayston, Minta Winn, Sara Howe and Sonny Hillier, with 54 training sessions booked and some drivers using the opportunity of both days. More training days were requested last season so it’s been brilliant to see the uptake. If you’re interested in booking for the future please see additional dates on our events page.

  We had 55 entries for the 2 day event with 8 novice drivers entering for the National Qualifier, NQ Novice Horse Malcolm Brown scored 52.14 and NQ Novice Pony Christine McLeod scored 50.26 both achieving first place in their dressage class, Novice Pony Lucy Scott achieved the best dressage of the day with an amazing score of 30.52,

Fiona Powell’s cones course drove nicely seeing 17 drivers achieving a double clear. 

  Sunday brought the extreme warm weather forecast, so a decision was made to reduce section A of the marathon from 5 to 4 kilometres with no time change, enabling drivers a slower start reserving their energy for the obstacles.  Section B was 6.1 kilometres. The ground conditions were reasonably hard with the bridge obstacle displaying a slippery surface, studs certainly played a role.

 A handful of people worked unbelievably hard to complete the new EACDG  North American obstacle, which was introduced for the weekend.  General  comments indicated the obstacle drove smoothly although the squares seemed to come extremely fast, watch out for the arrival of the totem poles to complete the theme.

The horse teams gave the spectators a great competition with Wilf Bowman Ripley winning the dressage, followed my all teams going double clear in the cones, with Dan Naprous having the slight advantage in the marathon giving him overall first place. Please view full event outcome on our result page.

Congratulations to Sally Bullar and Malcolm Brown, both qualifying for the Nationals in their class. 

An enormous thank you to everybody who made the event possible, 

Please remember with kind permission of Louise the next 2 day event is at Blandings on May the 25th and 26th, be great to see you there whether you’re a spectator/volunteer/ driving, you’re all welcome to join us for another opportunity of a great weekend.

March Training and One Day Event

I hope you are all well and the winter months haven't been to hard on you, spring is here and with it comes the start of our 2019 season.

What a season it's going to be, lots of training as requested and a busy event calendar.

With this in in our thoughts can we take this opportunity to remind you that the 2019 memberships are now open, so please, if you haven't already, get your membership renewed.

Our first event is training on Saturday 30th march, this is proving very popular and we only have a very few spaces left. Also, immediately following this on Sunday 31st is our first one day event of the year, it's a short format, dressage and cones in the morning followed by a marathon of approximately 6km with just three hazards driven twice. Marathon dress for all phases. Both these events are held at the excellent facilities at Ashfields. Why not book both and stay over for the weekend, the clubhouse will be open for food and drink as usual.

Entries close this weekend so please don't delay and get those bookings in, to make it easy for you simply click Events at the top of the page

We look forward to seeing you all soon.

Passports and Vaccinations

With the recent equine flu outbreak and the onset of our 2019 season we have reviewed the safety precautions at EACDG events to minimise the risk of spread of this disease.

ALL horses/ponies attending EACDG events (training or competition) MUST be accompanied by their passports and be up to date with flu vaccination. Passports will be checked on arrival - please do not unload until your passports have been checked.
Passport details will be held on a secure database to enable EACDG to fast track your entry at future events.
If you do not have the passport with you or vaccination is not up to date, you will be asked to leave (no refund will be given). There will be no exceptions.

What are the vaccination requirements?
Horses must have completed their primary course (2 injections 21-92 days apart) before they may attend events.
A first booster must be given 150-215 days after the second injection. Subsequent boosters must be given at intervals of no more than one calendar year.
Horses may not attend events until 7 days after completion of the primary course or within 7 days of a booster.

Whilst we will not require horses to have a booster every 6 months, if it has been longer than 6 months since the last vaccination, we strongly recommend that you discuss a booster with your vet.

What are the signs of flu?
Signs include high temperature, cough, snotty nose, enlarged glands (under the lower jaw), swollen or sore eyes, depression, loss of appetite and swelling in the lower legs. If you see any of these signs, isolate the horse and call your vet immediately.
It is essential that any horses showing signs of possible equine flu, or horses that might have been in contact with possibly infected horses, do not travel to competitions or other events where there will be groups of horses. If your horse has been in contact with an infected horse please take immediate veterinary advice.

What else can I do to protect my horse/pony?
Flu virus is very contagious and is spread by air as well as on equipment and people. You can help to reduce the risk of spread by practising good biosecurity e.g. minimising contact between horses, not sharing equipment such as water buckets.

Where can I find more information?

Equiflunet: https://www.aht.org.uk/…/equifl…/equiflunet-for-horse-owners

We apologise for any inconvenience caused but feel strongly that we need to do all that is possible to stop this disease from spreading.
If you have any questions then please get in touch with any committee member.

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Best Regards
East Anglian Carriage Driving Group Committee

Training with Wilf Bowman Ripley

Hi All,

We are pleased to announce that after the success of the training sessions before Xmas, Wilf Bowman Ripley has released more dates for training, Indoors or Outdoors (subject to weather and ground conditions) at Ashfields.
Morning sessions flatwork, afternoon sessions hazards or cones. £40 for 1/2 hour session, £70 for full hour.
Saturday 19th Jan, Sunday 20th Jan.
Saturday 2nd Feb, Sunday 3rd Feb.
Saturday 16th Feb.
Saturday 2nd March, Sunday 3rd March.
Saturday 16th March, Sunday 17th March.
Please contact me on 07508724333 to book.

Best regards,

Malcolm Brown