RIP Evelyn Radnai, Event to Event Photography

It is with deep sadness that we learned our great friend photographer Evelyn Radnai lost her battle with cancer on 17th January in West Suffolk Hospital.

A team of her friends supported her final days as she had no family in the UK. Liz Harcombe was close to Evelyn for many years. "She loved sharing in our sport and meeting all the people involved. I have benefitted from her calm life wisdom many times. She was such a talent behind the lens after an incredible and intrepid life which she left with her inimitable no fuss approach."

Whatever the weather, Evelyn would be there at driving events, indoors and out. She was a professional perfectionist with a unique eye for capturing the best shots. She made her equine subjects look magical, as though they might leap out of the photo at any moment. She was generous and dedicated, knew exactly where she wanted to take the best photographs from - and was always right. Her remarkable photos were always in demand for Carriage Driving magazine and were invaluable in promoting the sport in the press and online. She was a firm friend to many in the driving world and has left countless golden memories of horses and friends in her brilliant beautiful photographs. FP

AGM Saturday, 21st October at Ashfields at 6.30pm

 Can we take this opportunity to thank you for your support this year, we hope you have had an enjoyable season.

This is just a reminder that our AGM is this coming Saturday, 21st October at Ashfields at 6.30pm, as usual we will discuss any issues that you may have and any thoughts or input you may have regarding next season, you can bring these up at the AOB section of the meeting or feel free to email them to us as soon as possible to enable us to investigate a response.

We are pleased to announce that we already have our dates for 2024 and will be releasing them at the meeting.

We also take this opportunity to say that as always we are always grateful of any help for next season whether as part of the organising committee or a supporter during the events, again, please email us for further details or simply let us know during the meeting, even a little help eases the pressure and allows the events to run smoothly.

Whilst we are mentioning committee we are pleased to inform you that due to changes in circumstances the vast majority of the 2023 committee have agreed to stand for a further year in office.  

Best Regards

East Anglian Carriage Driving Group Committee

Club committe - important news

 

Dear Club Members,

I am writing to inform you that I, as Chairman and, the undersigned members of the Committee of the East Anglian Carriage Driving Group hereby tender our resignations from our respective positions. After careful consideration and discussions among ourselves, we have reached this decision due to personal commitments and shifting priorities within our lives and as such we are unable to continue fulfilling our responsibilities to the best of our abilities.

We understand the possible challenges that lie ahead for the club following our resignations, and we have the utmost confidence in the resilience of the membership to overcome these hurdles, we strongly encourage you to come together, support the club, and actively participate in its activities and decision-making processes.

In compliance with the club's bylaws, our resignations will take effect from October 21^st, 2023, at the AGM to be held at Ashfields, until that time we will continue to support the clubs events calendar for the remainder of the 2023 season, we are also committed to ensuring a smooth transition and will provide necessary assistance to the interim committee or individuals stepping up to fill the vacant positions.

We leave with the hope that the East Anglian Carriage Driving Group will continue to flourish and are inviting any members that are interested in taking up these positions to contact us as soon as possible to discuss options for the future.

Best regards,

Malcolm Brown – Chairman

Georgette Hogben – Secretary

Lyn Spurgeon – Treasurer

Lyn Price – Safety Officer

Heather Brown – Committee Member

Richard Spurgeon – Committee Member

Eacdg AGM 19 Feb 2023

 

The EACDG AGM is on Sunday, 19 February, at 4pm - the perfect time for tea and cake.

Please come along to meet us, find out our plans for the 2023 season and recent news about our sport.

***News: more opportunities for small ponies!

If you are a member or want to become a member; if you want to volunteer as a helper, judge or writer for dressage, obstacle or cones arena steward, score collector, or anything else (a great way to learn about our sport) - or if you are new to driving and want to find out more, do come along. Everyone is welcome!

Free!

Ashfields Country kitchen, CM6 1JU

EACDG AGM 2021

 

Dear Member/Supporter.

Our AGM for 2021 will be held at Ashfields Carriage and Polo Centre, Great Canfield, Essex CM61JU. On Friday 26th November, 6.30 for 7.00pm start.

We will start at 7.00pm sharp, There will be food supplied once finished (please let us know if you require a veggie option)

If you have any questions to put to the committee can you please email them to us to enable us ample time to prepare a response for you? this will also allow the meeting to run smoothly.

Two committee members are standing down this year, one of whom is Lorna, our wonderful secretary, while we have plans in place to distribute and manage the secretarial work for next year we are interested in speaking to anyone who may wish to join the committee for 2022 or people who are willing to help support the committee throughout the year, even if not at every event. Ideally we would also love one or two members who are interested in either training as a club TD or an assistant course designer, both would be most welcome. EACDG is privileged to be able to offer first class training in both of these areas of our sport. Whatever you can offer at whatever level, from occasional helper to committee member please reply to this email and one of our committee will contact you and discuss the possible options.

In order for us to gauge the amount of food to supply can you please reply to this email with your intentions to attend or not?

We look forward to catching up again soon.

September Event 2021 @ Ashfields

 

For the upcoming event planned for the weekend of 4th 5th September we will as usual be running a whatsapp page to keep you up to date with the times etc. To join please click on this link https://chat.whatsapp.com/GINYb1s6AADDVnWPfTHJhB

We will not start posting times etc on the whatsapp page until Thursday as this will allow you all to join, if we post before this and you haven't joined you will not get to see what we have posted.

Your drivers numbers will be sent soon, please print these off and bring them with you.

Your other paperwork (times, cones and obstacle drawings etc) we will issue to you on Friday or Saturday as we were before Covid.

We will also put any relevant information on the noticeboard.

Unfortunately this event will be run a little different, this has been brought about by several reasons, we cannot gain access to Ashfields until Friday afternoon to start setting up (normally done a week in advance) and we are struggling with help to set up, also we have had numerous requests from drivers to share grooms, carriages etc, we have also had requests from drivers for late start times and then we have had a little difficulty getting judges and stewards, this obviously puts extreme pressure on us to try and accommodate everything and as such we ask that you bear with us to allow this to happen.

We aim to run dressage and cones on Saturday as normal, we ask that once you have finished your dressage you proceed immediately to cones to allow us to keep to our schedule. Marathon will be on Sunday and will be section B only, three obstacles driven twice with a distance of approximately 5400m.

There is a Coaching Club event running on Thursday and Friday, this means that anyone turning up on Friday will not be alone in the horsebox field, Zoe has asked us to inform you that for those of you who have booked stables these will not be available until 4.00pm, again, please bear with us.

Please remember to bring a little gift to donate to our stewards, a little thought that goes a long way.

We look forward to welcoming you to our last event of the season.

September 4/5th Event

 

Hi Everybody,

Entries for our last event on the 4/5th September close on Wednesday 25th August so please get your entries in ASAP. We are low on entries at the moment but we intend to run, this may cause us to change to either a one day event or a two day shorter format with dressage and cones and just section B marathon, then we can hopefully accommodate everyone.

Get Your Entries In Now

July 25th One day event 2021

 

It is with great regret that we have to inform you that due to insufficient entries we have had to make the decision to cancel the one day event due to be held at Ashfields on 25th July 2021, unfortunately we only had 30% of the minimum amount of entries required to break even.

Our last event of this season will be our Club Championship to be held on September 4th - 5th at Ashfields, Entries will close on Wednesday 25th August. If you intend to enter, please do so early so we have an idea of numbers and can book our stewards, paramedics, officials, toilets etc.

Hopefully we will see you soon. 

 

Terry Chambers – Ashfields Carriage and Polo

 

It is with great sadness we share the news that Terry Chambers has passed away after a hard -fought battle against COVID-19. Terry passed away on the 12^th of January 2021 leaving a huge hole in the hearts of his family and the driving world.

Terry had the vision to create the best driving facilities in the country where many of you have enjoyed the ambiance and friendships that Ashfields created.

In 2003 he saw an opportunity and bought Ashfields with the vision to turn it into the state-of-the-art equestrian centre that you see today. With Wilf and Zoe, and their passion for the sport of Carriage driving trials, he took the opportunity to create a mecca for Carriage driving, and grew the centres facilities which so many drivers have been able enjoy over the years. It takes an extraordinary visionary to, not only be able to see potential in a property but to be able to have the patience and ability to build and maintain such a vision, and for it to be available to such a cross section of people to enjoy – as an example, one morning Terry opened his curtain to be faced with 300 plus caravans and over 1000 excited dogs all getting ready for a weekend of dog agility, (as quite a few of might know his passion for dogs was not as deep as his passion for his horses)! 

One of Terry’s main passions was coaching, which he has enjoyed for many years. Initially competing at country shows, in the latter years of his coaching career his main passion was taking his Road Coach out with his friends for a Sunday drive visiting a number of hostelries on the way. Before leaving the stables, Lou would programme the Team Horses ‘Sat Nav’ to bring them all safely home.

Terry was a Coaching club member and relished his Coaching club drives. The Magazine meet and Royal Windsor were big days and annually booked into his diary in addition to the glorious meets at Ashfields which he so generously hosted.

The Social side of driving was hugely important to him and he was always on the terrace catching up with old friends and holding court. He was proud of the centre and loved to see everyone enjoying the superb facilities. One of the things that would make him chuckle was when people would stop to ask ‘the gardener’ for directions or if he could ‘turn off the mower’ or ‘move that old tractor’ so they could get past. Little did they know that under that unmistakable straw hat sat the man himself, Terry, their event host!!

Terry was a great family man and is already a huge loss to his family, Dulcie, Ben, Ruby and Lisa, as well as his 13 grandchildren along with all of the Ashfields family.

  

 

 

Thetford Forest Driving Camp

Just a reminder that the bookings are still open until 6th July for the driving camp at Thetford Forest.

With the Governments restrictions being lifted on 4th July regarding camp sites we can confirm that subject to sufficient numbers booking this event will go ahead.

Please see the schedule for this event and book online on our Events page

Further training event at Ashfields 4th July 2020

Hi All,
We have great news, due to the unprecedented success of the training this weekend held at Ashfields and coupled with the excellent way that all of the trainees complied with government guidelines and the terms and conditions we set to assist with the Covid-19 pandemic, we have taken the decision to run another training day in two weeks time, if numbers allow we will extend the training to run over two days.

If the Government keeps its plans to allow caravan sites to open on 4th July then you will be allowed to stay over at Ashfields if booking two days training.

Please see the schedule outlining the day and the booking protocol, we will only accept definite bookings and these must be by email to either this email address or to Lorna at sec@eacdg.co.uk

Best regards
Malcolm Brown

Possible training days 2020

We hope you are all well and coping with lock-down, we have been working hard into looking to put on 2 training days on the 20^th and 21^st  June at Ashfields, please note this is purely provisional at the moment and dependent on no further increase in lock-down or the government changing the guidelines.

On Saturday 20^th June the trainers will be Sara Howe and Anna Grayston who have both passed the covid-19 safety course on line, as Wilf and Minta are based at Ashfields they will be available both days.

There will be dressage arenas set up and a cones course, there will also be obstacles to drive.
If you wish to enter, please e-mail Lorna sec@eacdg.co.uk and say which trainer and which day you would like to come and how many 45 min lessons you would like so we can get an idea of numbers, please ensure you leave a contact number and details as we will use this to confirm whether or not this will run.

Here is a list of rules you will need to follow to comply with our risk assessment and safety guidelines

1. Only bring 1 backstepper with you if you are driving a pair or single, two backsteppers if you are driving a team, please travel to site in the same vehicle.
2. No sharing of carriages or backsteppers
3. The club house will be closed so please bring your own food and drinks.
4. There will be a toilet open but please use your own lorry one if you can, If you must use the facilities at Ashfields please sanitize your hands before and after use.
5. Please bring your own hand sanitizer.
6. Remember to park away from others and socially distance as per government guidelines.
7. Please respect the facilities at Ashfields, it is the homes and livelihoods of our major supporters.
8. Please accept that if these rules are broken you will be asked to leave the venue with no refund.

A few days before the training we will make a final assessment based on numbers and the current situation, we will then open up the on line entry system for 48 hours for you to do an on line entry, you will be sent an e-mail or telephoned to tell you when this is, if we do not receive your payment before the closure of bookings we will not process your booking, there will be no exceptions.

Keep safe and well.

--

Best Regards
East Anglian Carriage Driving Group Committee.

2020 Events and Covid-19

The Committee here at EACDG have been constantly reviewing the current Covid 19 outbreak and the possible effects to our Organisers, Judges, Stewards, Ground crew, Drivers, and obviously the general public, we can assure you that safety is our utmost concern and with this in mind, coupled with both Government guidelines and BC recommendations we have taken the decision to cancel our March training day along with our one day event.

The April two day training and April two day event with NNQ will be postponed until later in the season as long as the current situation dictates.

All other events will remain on the calendar but will be reviewed regularly.

Obviously we will keep you informed as and when anything changes.

We wish you all well in these troubled times.

Best regards

Malcolm Brown EACDG Chairman

March and other event details

Welcome to the new season, we hope you've had a good winter and all is well?

We write you this email just to bring you up to date with a few notifications.

1. Our March training day and one day event still is very weather dependant, the ground is very wet but is starting to dry up nicely, we are hoping for no more rain and looking forward to the first events. We will inform you of any decisions to cancel as soon as we are aware.
2. As the March event is still under observation we are extending the closing date for entries until 21st March, get you entries in now.
3. The training day is nearly fully booked, we only have two morning slots available, one for Minta and one for Sara, please book now if you want training.
4. Due to increases and changes in our online booking system we have had to introduce a small admin charge of £2.50 for cancellations, please note this will not be charged if we cancel an event.
5. Training event in April is also filling up quickly and we currently only have a small number of slots available, please book early.
6. We will be asking for support soon for some work parties, these will be at Ashfields and will be mainly based on tidying up and possibly painting obstacles, we will send out dates as soon as we know.
7. Some of you may be aware that we have recently introduced a new East Anglian Carriage Driving Group Facebook page, this will be used to keep you informed of any club related issues only, we are still operating the old group page as normal but found that due to the amount of posts regarding other posts of driving related interest the club related information just disappeared down the list only to be seen if you trolled through everything. If you use facebook then please add us to your favourites.
8. Please note that no trade related posts are allowed on the facebook page and persistent offenders will be removed from the site. Trade related posts will be allowed if the trader is a sponsor of the club, please feel free to contact us regarding possible sponsorship packages.

We hope you have a great season, have fun and we look forward to seeing you all soon.  

--

Best Regards
East Anglian Carriage Driving Group Committee.

EACDG 2020 Information

We hope you have had a wonderful winter and didn't get too wet or windswept.

We take this opportunity to bring you up to date on the fast approaching 2020 season:  

1. The memberships are now open along with schedule of events for this year, there are plenty or training events and plenty of one day events as requested. Please get your memberships and entries in early.
2. We have introduced a new class, it's called Club Class, it will be run at all one day events throughout the year, it is aimed at newcomers or seasoned drivers who find themselves driving small ponies or new ponies, carriages can be two wheelers, and the three phases will be dressage, cones (10 pairs) and obstacles (two obstacles driven twice with no distance between), full rules available by request and on the website soon. This will be a perfect opportunity for those who have been driving indoors and feel their ponies are too small for the bigger marathon stages of a standard outdoor event.
3. There is a new dressage test for Novices. It's called BC Novice test 2020, full details available on the BC website www.britishcarriagedriving.co.uk  Please take note that all novices will be using the new test this season.
4. We have added a camping/driving event in the heart of Thetford Forest, places are numbered and details are on the club website, first come first served, No exceptions.
5. We are currently putting together a stewards training day on March 7th at Ashfields, this will be fully funded, please email info@eacdg.co.uk for more details.

Please note that we try to keep you up to date at all opportunities, we use emails for those registered with us, we have the club website www.eacdg.co.uk and the club facebook page.

We hope you have a great 2020 season and look forward to seeing you all soon.

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.