August 2004. Issue 2

Contents

Schooling Field Now Open

I'm delighted to announce that the grass has grown beautifully on the big schooling field and it's now ready for use with both the water complex and schooling ditch fully open (see Jump of the Month).

That makes another 30 jumps in the field all related either to water or ditches and adds up to about 45 in the schooling field to go with the 25 out on the rest of the course.

Now that the water is fully open, the ditch complex open and over 70 fences available to jump, the course is well worth my opening year schooling rate of £15 (£10 for under 14s).

David Evans (the course designer) came down the other day in between work at Gatcombe and Blenheim and came up with the idea for another schooling complex in the field with an offset double and skinnies all around it. Work is started and it should be open in the next few weeks.

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Group lessons available - call now

Finding an instructor and enough friends to keep the costs down can be difficult so I'm arranging an instructor to teach on Tuesday evening on August 31st and morning of Saturday Sept 4th.

I'll sort riders into groups of similar abilities from first-timers to Pre-Novice so whether you come on your own or with friends you'll still get the most out of your lesson.

Lessons will be about an hour and half to 2 hours long and taught by Michelle Matthews who has competed eventing to Intermediate level for 15 years, teaches freelance at all levels and is a top level pony club examiner.

Lessons will cost £20 which includes hire of the cross country course. If you book more than one place, I'll give you £1 discount for each extra place.

Call me, Walter, before August 27th on 01823 681450 to book.

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Jump of the month

Well, Jump of the Month seemed like a good idea at the time but building the darned things got in the way of writing about them.

So this month I've got two to write about. And they happen to be the two biggest complexes of the course which I hope riders of horses at all levels, from young beginners to British Eventing Novice level will find useful.

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Schooling ditch complex

A line of 9 ditches in an S shaped curve with 4 hanging logs set back at the corners. Two of the ditches have palisades in them and another 2 are made into trakehners.

The hanging logs are arranged so that you can jump the ditch as a coffin-type jump or on its own. By arranging them in an S shape, I've made it easy for riders to keep circling into the complex to jump another ditch.

Each side of the ditch has to be supported by timber to prevent the sides collapsing under the weight of the horses jumping. The timber is supported on posts that I dug in 2 feet deep. They were then "tied-back" with galvanised steel bars to telegraph poles which were driven 3 feet into the ground to prevent the timber being pushed inwards.

The ditches are surrounded by an all weather landing and takeoff made of 6-8" of stone on top of a membrane which stops mud mixing with the stone over the years and turning it mushy.

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The Water Complex

With no suitable natural water on site, there was no choice but to dig a pond in the best possible site. We chose the spot based on the facts that it was in a nice open area; in the schooling field; and in plain sight of where spectators would be watching the competition. Once we'd dug the hole, we laid 2 inches of sand to protect the very tough butyl liner from any stones under it. Then we spread a carpet on top just to make sure.

Then the liner was laid out. It's rather like a giant bicycle inner tube. Very heavy - about 3/4 ton.

Then we spread another carpet on top and another 2 inches of sand (yellow this time as red sand would stain the water) to stop any stones being pushed down into it by the horses. Finally we spread about 8 inches of stone and some more sand on top on top to make a surface for the horses to run over.

The timber banks were erected and stabilised with steel bars holding them back to telegraph poles driven 3-4 feet into the ground and then the space filled with large stone. This was then covered with smaller stone and finally by the fine stone you can see now.

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Many thanks to LEADER+

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Mini-bits:

• Publicise your events-just email me a schedule and I'll put it up on the website for free.
• BRITISH EVENTING - Intro and Pre-novice June 12 2005