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AGM

Wednesday 11th November 2009 The Devon Tors, Yelverton 7.30pm.

This year our guest speaker was Maureen Rolls, founder of SWEP. Maureen explained the reason why SWEP was formed many years ago and how the charity has evolved since. Maureen told us about some of the ponies which have been rescued recently, how the volunteers are organised and their plans for the future. She answered questions from the group and invited us to visit the SWEP yard.

This presentation was followed by the formal AGM. We agreed the minutes of the 2008 AGM as being correct. After the annual reports from the Chairman, Treasurer, Team and Membership secretary, Pauline Bloomfield was re-elected as Chairman and Cynthia Cane was re-elected as Treasurer. The remaining committee were also re-elected. We were given the dates of some future events and qualifying competitions, watch the web site for more information.

The Devon Tors provided a tasty, hot buffet. After this was the presentation of the awards.

A raffle was held and £57 was donated to SWEP. Maureen Rolls thanked us on behalf of the charity.

We were represented by two teams at the Fun show jumping competition at Cholwell on 31/10/09. The West Devon Pumpkins finished in 4^th place with Charlotte Clark winning individual 1^st on Rum and Sam Underwood individual 2^nd on Little Miss Awesome. Other team members were Frankie Foster on Beau and Yeb De Jong on AJ who joined us for the day to complete the team and was individual 4th. The West Devon Witches were unfortunately eliminated, Sam Underwood on Billy Whiz, Sally Roberts on Calluna, Alex Ashton on Talisker and Tabby Brightman on Twiggy.

The Treasure Hunt was held on Saturday 29th August. It started and finished at the Devon Tors at Yelverton. Each car full of people was given a list of clues to answer while following the set route via Buckland Abbey, Milton Coombe, Lovaton, Burrator and Yelverton. There was much fun; some people tried to follow other cars which led to cars stopping at odd places in order to put other competitors off the correct route! Everyone agreed they'd had a good time. Winners were Derek and Sally. Thanks to Pauline for organising the evening.

Our summer show was held at Medlands on Sunday 19th July. Although there had been heavy rain prior to the show, the ground was very good. We had sunshine and showers throughout the day. The only real problem was the wind which picked up at times and caused the planks to dislodge! Entries were good and the dressage was full, many thanks to Alex Ashton for judging. Once again the showing was popular, we are grateful to Monica Mitchell, our showing judge. The Dog show made nearly £100 thanks to Jim Dawe who organised and judged for us. Results will follow in due course. Results.

This qualifying competition was held at St Leonards near Launceston on Sunday 12th July. The Style Jumping was held first and West Devon riders were well rewarded for their early morning start. Lucy Scott was 3rd in the Junior section riding Mericka, Sally Roberts on Buster was 1st in the Senior and Cynthia Cane 2nd on The Bossman.
The Junior team finished in 4th place - Lucy Scott and Mericka who also had individual 2nd, Charlotte Clarke and Rum, Frankie Foster and Beau, Zoe Gooding and Freddie. The Senior competition was very popular with sixteen teams taking part. All of our riders did well but unfortunately we were just outside the ribbons. Cynthia Cane and The Bossman, Sally Roberts and Buster, Sally Gooding and Radeem, Kelly Cordon and Mr Dexterity.

The first four weeks of evening jumping went well with a very good turnout. Many people were able to hack to Shaugh Prior. There was plenty of room to park and to warm up. The last two evenings were less busy but just as enjoyable. Thank you to all those who helped with changing the course and picking up poles. Special thanks once again to Helen and Roy Radmore for the use of their field and for enabling us to leave the fences set up between sessions. Results here.

This event was held at Winkleigh on 21/06/09. We were represented by two senior novice teams of three and two novice juniors riding as individuals. The show jumping was very tricky and the cross country was tough and well up to maximum size. Although we were not placed it was a good day and everyone seemed to have enjoyed it. Lucy Luscombe was our only Open entry riding Perfect Scoundrel. Lucy was selected to make up a South West Open team and compete both as a team and as an individual at the Championships.

Our two dressage teams did very well in the Area 19 qualifying competition. One team was placed 4^th and the other was placed 8^th. Sandra Jones was individual 1^st riding Andy’s Mary Two, Cynthia Cane was individual 2^nd on Hugo Boss. Sandra was also individual 4^th on Mr Dexterity. The team placed 4^th was Sandra Jones, Cynthia Cane, Alex Ashton and Kate Parker. The team in 8^th place was Sandra and Kate on their second horses, Sarah Chalmers and Suzi Maxfield. Well done to all. Many thanks to Pauline Bloomfield who was our organiser and representative on the day

We entered three teams of four for this event but unfortunately at the last minute 50% of our riders had to pull out for various reasons. We had lame horses, injured riders, dodgey lorries - it was all very bad luck. We re-arranged into two teams of three. Those who went to the competition did very well with several double clears. Cathy Harris, Zoe Gooding and Sally Gooding's team were finally placed 4th which is particularly impressive for a team of just three starters. Zoe and Sally both had an individual 4th place, Cathy double clear. Frankie Foster, Pauline Bloomfield and Alex Ashton's team were not placed, however Frankie jumped double clear. Well done everyone.

The Spring Show was a great success. It was a beautiful sunny day and the ground was firm but not too hard. We were very pleased with the turnout from the members. Once again the dressage proved popular along with the clear round ring. Many thanks to all who helped with the show especially to Sandra Jones who judged for us. The standard of jumping was very good and even our spooky fillers and water trays failed to cause any problems. Results here.

We met at Plasterdown and started off across the moor in fine sunshine. We rode up over Pew Tor and Cox Tor then down towards Horndon. The ground was perfect and we had several good long gallops. Pauline and Jill had ridden the route previously and knew exactly where to lead us so that we were able to tackle some interesting water crossings and natural step type jumps. Sian and Diana met us at various check points and also took our rugs, head collars etc to the lunch point. The ride back was just as good via a different route. The scenery was beautiful and the rain held off until we were safely back at the lorry park. After 5 hours in the saddle there were well deserved rosettes for all.

Getting the best out of your horse and seeing things from the horse's perspective.

Anna gave a talk about her three trips to Harry Whitney's Ranch in Arizona, America. Anna has spent weeks learning from this incredible horseman who is one of the best in the world. Harry's talent lies in his ability to see things from the horse's point of view. This talk applied to all riding disciplines and abilities and will gave us an insight into the principles behind Harry and Anna's teaching.

Unfortunately our teams were not placed, however the standard was very high and our riders did well. After a rough and wet night, it was beautiful and even sunny at times down at Duchy. The event was well organised and both rings ran to time. Results from Area 19 web site.

The Fun Team Show Jumping usually held at Cholwell was held at Duchy College in the outdoor school. Luckily the weather was fine and the day was most enjoyable. I do not have full results at present however West Devon Teams were placed 10^th and 11^th out of 18 teams. William Scott did particularly well to win individual 1^st in his section riding Topaz. Shady Lady was 3^rd and Buster had a 5^th. It was good to see so many members turn up to support the teams.