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Eastern Dressage Liaison Group

Dedicated to uniting riders, trainers and judges in dressage

News....

From the Jan 12 Newsletter

Last Elizabeth Saunders Trophy

From the Sep 11 Newsletter

2011 Elizabeth Saunders Trophy

From the Jan 11 Newsletter

2010 Elizabeth Saunders Trophy

From the Sep 10 Newsletter

From the Jan 10 Newsletter

From the Sep 09 Newsletter

From the Jan 09 Newsletter

News and information about the Sarah Hayler Memorial Fund - here

Other items of interest - here

Dates for your diary are summarised in the Events Diary

Reports from past events - here

From the January 2012 Newsletter.......

Inger Bryant, Editor writes.....

At the last EDLG committee we had a good discussion about where we are going and our role to improve dressage in our region. British Dressage has now taken over many of the areas we used to cover and the programme is getting slightly crowded. Some subscribers to EDLG had come forward with good ideas, which we will follow up.

The David Hunt lecture/demo EDLG organised at Keysoe had a very large audience, despite a BD lecture/demo the night before.  David was inspiring, talking about the fundamentals of training, his role as overseeing the judging at major international championships and his thoughts on what is important in dressage as a sport. Ace Dressage, based at Keysoe, provided some of the excellent guinea pigs.

Jane Peberdy was the speaker at our Christmas Bash, also held at Keysoe. The subject of Freestyle to Music created a lot of interest in the small but enthusiastic audience. Sally Hardwick and her daughter Alex rode four different horses from Novice to Prix St George and explained how they tried to match music to the personalities of their horses and how to make the most of their good points. Sammy Page also showed, with her horse Rinaldo, how to earn marks with a difficult programme, but with which the horse coped well.  As usual the Christmas lunch afterwards was excellent and well attended. At the lunch Simon Bates was presented with the Elisabeth Saunders Memorial Trophy in recognition of the positive and helpful attitude The College at Keysoe has always had towards EDLG.

Sarah Hayler Memorial Fund

A further grant of £250 has been given to Alex Sutton from the above fund.  Since the last grant Alex, a Grade II Para rider, has achieved very good results.  He has competed as a Junior International and been selected for a place on the start level of the World Class Development Squad.  We wish him all the best for the future, now riding Lambrusco III leased from the Para Dressage Training Trust.  Any donation to the Sarah Hayler Memorial Fund will be gratefully received.

Future Events - All Welcome to all events (except judge training, which is for judges only)

The DVD evening at Milton will be about our very successful European Championship, when Britain won its first dressage gold Medal.  Paul Hayler will give an informative insight into the event. As there will be light refreshments Carolyn needs to know how many are coming, so tickets in advance only before 25^th January.

As all judges know, the most unexpected things can happen when judging at competitions. Malcolm Brown will talk about how to handle the situations and how to be prepared. Time is allowed for discussions and questions. It will be held at the home of Barbara Angel so expect cakes!!

The Riders Forum with Paul Hayler will have the same format as last year, as it was very popular. The first Forum is at Jubilee Farm and Paul will be working his young horses and then using more established horses to show the progression to Advanced Medium. The second Forum, training from Prix St George to Grand Prix will take place at Norton Heath the evening before the BD camp, that is held there, starts.

IT IS NOW TIME TO RENEW YOUR SUBSCRIPTION

Please!!

Elizabeth Saunders Trophy.......

The last Elizabeth Saunders Memorial Trophy for services to EDLG has been awarded to The College Equestrian Centre. It was presented to Simon Bates by our chair, Inger Bryant at the Christmas Lunch.

The College Equestrian Centre are a regular host of EDLG events and have always been very accommodating with everything that we want.  There is always a positive answer when we ask for something special. "Yes, we can do that" is lovely to hear and makes it easy for the organiser.

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From the September 2011 Newsletter.......

Inger Bryant, Editor writes.....

Since the last Newsletter we have had a mixture of success with the events we have been arranging.  The "Four in a Car" training and follow up with DVD training for judges was not very popular and had to be cancelled.  The expense to put it on is quite considerable and the cost has to be born by the participants which, in these economically difficult times,  is proving too much for most.  The cost of travelling is also putting a further financial burden on the judges.  BD has now however put up the mileage that can be claimed by judges for judging to 45p per mile and that should help a little.

The Christmas Bash (Thursday 1st December) this year promises to be a really festive event.  In the morning, from 10am to 12.30pm, there will be a lecture/demo with Jane Peberdy titled "Freestyle to Music Simplified".  As well as unravelling how the freestyle to music is judged, Jane will also explain how to create good choreography and interpret the music.  The Christmas Lunch which follows this demo will have a starter, full Christmas dinner as well as pudding and cheese, coffee and a chocolate. Very good value at £16.  Latest date for applications for lunch tickets is 25th November.

2011 Elizabeth Saunders Trophy.......

The Elizabeth Saunders Memorial Trophy for services to EDLG has been awarded to Lesley Burling. It was presented by our treasurer Carolyn Davis to Lesley at a recent judge training session.

Lesley was a member of the EDLG committee for many years. When the suggestion came up that we ought to have a web site, the then very IT illiterate committee gratefully accepted Lesley’s offer to look into it. Lesley set up the website, put interesting articles on it, and managed it, all at her own expense, until just over a year ago.

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From the January 2011 Newsletter.......

Inger Bryant, Editor writes.....

First apologies for not having put on many events over the winter. As it happens it was lucky because the weather has been less than kind. But that was not the main reason. We have had some lengthy consideration about our insurance for putting on events and hope that all will be in place for the 12^th April, when the always popular Jane Peberdy will again do a lecture/demonstration at Keysoe.

Renewal of the subscription for the Newsletter for 2011 is now due, if you want to continue to have the Newsletter sent to you by post or e-mail.  It is still only £5. Download an application form from our Subscribe and Support page

Malcolm Brown has, since the founding of EDLG, been one of its most appreciated supporters. He was this year presented with the Elizabeth Saunders Memorial Trophy for all his work. He also was the master judge at a DVD evening at Easton College, Norwich in November last year. In spite of the snow it was well attended.

Our last lecture/demonstration in the Autumn was taken by Judy Bradwell. Though the subject was how the seat influences the horse, probably the audience got more of an insight in how to train the young horse! It was often referred to how important it was to have a good, balanced seat for the young horse to learn correctly.

Two Training Grants of £250 each from the Sarah Hayler Memorial Fund have been awarded this year. It was decided that the two para riders, who had applied, were the most deserving of the grants. Alex Sutton, 17 years old, has ridden with the RDA since he was 9. He is now on the BEF foundation squad and hope to be selected to the World Class Start Squad.

Mari Durwood-Akhurst, 16 years old, is a very promising young rider, who has achieved good results at National Championships and Junior International level. Mari is at present on the Pre Start level of the World Class Programme. Both these riders have all the extra expenses of travelling to training and maintaining their commitments to Para dressage.

Future Events - All Welcome to all events.

The lecture/demonstration on test riding with Jane Peberdy on the 12^th April at Keysoe will show tests  from preliminary to medium level with four different riders improving their tests. The cafeteria will open at 6pm.

EDLG will again offer judge training with “Four in a car”. This has been very successful in the past to help judges. Kim Ratcliffe will be the master judge and it will be held at Bluegate Hall Farm, Essex.  This will be  for Prelim/Novice. A DVD afternoon will follow a few weeks later with discussions, open to all, at the home of Barbara Angel.

The Riders Forum will be held at Paul Hayler’s Jubilee Farm. He will be working his young horses and then using more established horses to show the progression all the way to Grand Prix. As it is a large subject Paul will use two evenings to allow time for questions and discussions about training.

David Hunt is coming to Keysoe to give a lecture/demo in the Autumn on the 21^st October.

(For more information and booking forms for these events please see the Event Diary page)

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2010 Elizabeth Saunders Trophy.......

Each year EDLG presents a trophy in memory of Elizabeth Saunders to somebody who has been very helpful and supportive to the work we are doing.  This year it was decided that the trophy should go to Malcolm Brown.  He can here been seen receiving it from Barbara Angel.

Malcolm, a List 1 judge and trainer, has been supporting EDLG since its formation and was on the original committee for the first couple of years. He has been very much involved with the judge training programme since then.  He has had good, new ideas and has always been willing to practically implement them.  Some have now been adopted by BD.  He continues to give his time freely to EDLG

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From the September 2010 Newsletter.......

Inger Bryant, Editor writes.....

With this Newsletter comes some more dates for the Autumn, but also the news that this year we will not organise a Christmas Bash. It will be the first time since we started and it feels a little sad, but we have not been able to arrange anybody to do the lecture/demo, who would attract a large enough audience. If you can suggest somebody we could ask for next year, please let us know.

Sarah Hayler Memorial Fund

Training Grants are now available from the Sarah Hayler Memorial Fund. The fund was set up in memory of Sarah Hayler. Her interest and knowledge of training was deep and her understanding of the importance of correct training for success was developed during her marriage to Paul. Her contribution to the development of EDLG, as well as being it’s first treasurer, was considerable. It therefore seemed appropriate to create a fund in her memory to help trainers and riders with their training. So far 6 riders have received contributions from the fund. Anybody, including para riders, can apply and application forms can be downloaded here or from any committee member. The applications will then be considered by the committee.

HOW THE SEAT INFLUENCES THE HORSE.

A lecture/demo in the evening on 21st October with Judy Bradwell, International Trainer and List 2a Judge.

Judy has produced horses successfully for Showing including Hacks and Working Hunters, Eventers, Dressage, Show Jumping and Combined Training. During Judy’s Eventing career, she has won on over 50 different horses, with the exception of her Burghley 3-day Event winner Don Camillo, they were found and produced by Judy. The Burghley Young Event Horse Final also often featured 4 and 5 year old horses produced by Judy. Judy still owns Event horses competing at the highest level, trains many International riders and officiates at FEI Three Day events.

Future Events - All Welcome to all events.

Malcolm Brown, List 1 judge and trainer will be talking about ”What the Dressage Judge is looking for”, using DVD’s to demonstrate, at Easton College EC near Norwich, on 25th November. It will be very useful for riders and trainers, as well as judges, to get a clear picture of what the judge wants to see for the higher marks and pitfalls to avoid.

As both the Lecture/Demo and DVD evening start at 7 pm some might come straight from work, so we have organised that the cafeteria at The College EC, Keysoe will be open from 6 pm. At Easton College EC the Café will serve hot food until 6.30 pm and after that hot drinks and sandwiches will be available until 7 pm. Cold drinks and snacks will be available from the vending machine.

From the beginning of next year we are planning many more events. Jane Peberdy will be back at Keysoe to do a workshop, training riders to improve their tests.  ‘Judges Point of View’ - Open discussion of a class at a competition with a master judge. This is likely to be organised at Bluegate Hall Farm, Essex in April. It is an old concept, when four will sit with the master judge in a car and in confidence can talk about any judging/training problems. This will be followed up a few weeks later with a discussion evening at the home of Barbara Angel, who lives near Bluegate Hall Farm. Paul Hayler will again take two Riders Forums. They are always very popular, but have historically been held during the coldest time of the year. As last winter was particularly bad, it has been decided to move them to late spring instead, now to be held at Paul’s home, Jubilee Farm near Chelmsford.

(For more dates and information about these events when available please see the Event Diary page)

All photos on left from the 2010 Pony European Championships

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From the January 2010 Newsletter.......

Inger Bryant, Editor writes.....

Big news, or some of you might think at last, we are getting a new website.  We are very grateful to Lesley Burling who has kept it going over all these years as well as bearing the cost of it.  After it had crashed and all information gone it has become difficult to get it to work.  Our new treasurer, Carolyn Davis, is taking over the responsibility for the Website with the very professional help of Philippa Cole.  Philippa has set up websites before and is now busy getting the new look as well as gathering information to get it up to date. Note that the new address for it is .org.uk instead of .co.uk otherwise the same.  It will be launched at the beginning of January.  (Note from webmaster - you'll have gathered by finding this page that the site is now live!!!)

The Christmas Bash with John Lassetter at The College, Keysoe was a big success.  A large audience enjoyed his wit and great knowledge.  As a student of the Spanish Riding School, he brought to fore the classical training methods and went seamlessly from training the young horse to the advanced in a logical way.  He had brought six horses and riders for demonstration.  It was noticeable how calm and relaxed all the horses remained though taken through some quite difficult exercises.  John Lassetter finished up with a hilarious demonstration of dressage using the panto horse Curly.

Following the lecture/demo the staff at The College served up an excellent traditional Christmas lunch.  Everybody had a good chance to catch up with the latest gossip as well as enjoying the meal.

For most newsletter subscribers it is now time to renew their subscription.  It is still only £5 for a year. A subscription form is available to download here.

Sarah Hayler Memorial Fund.
This fund is used to help trainers and riders, including para riders, in the Eastern Region to improve in dressage. Any contributions will be gratefully received.  Cheques should be made payable to EDLG marked Memorial Fund.  Application forms for assistance from this fund can be obtained from our website here or from any Committee member.  One grant has been awarded in 2009.

Future Events - All Welcome to all events.
(For dates and more information about these events please see the Event Diary page)

Also for your diary are two more Riders Forums with Paul Hayler at Runningwell E. C., a very popular series.  Due to the uncertainty of the weather and the possibility of cancellation at this time of the year, please contact Runningwell on 01268 711221 or Paul to check if the event is still on.

The RIDERS FORUMS are free for subscribers to the Newsletters, otherwise £5, which will be treated as a year’s subscription to the Newsletter (Subscriptions due 1st January 2010). Please pay at the door.

The Workshops with Jill Day will be useful to get more familiar with the Dressage movements at more advanced levels and how to prepare the horses.

On the Open Day Paul Hayler will train, instruct and explain his training with a variety of horses of different standards and ages.

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From the September 2009 Newsletter.......

Inger Bryant, Editor wrote.....

We have some fantastic news for our annual Christmas Bash.  John Lassetter has agreed to do the lecture/demo in the morning of Friday 4th December 2009 and it will be followed by the traditional Christmas lunch at The College Equestrian Centre, Keysoe, Beds.  John Lassetter will make it light hearted as nobody else can, imitating and making fun of dressage – often a hilarious performance.  As he is a well known international, classical dressage trainer he will also have a serious side to the lecture/demo showing training at all levels.  He will bring two of his own horses as well as using guinea pigs. 

Last Spring we had two Workshops, both were taken by Jill Day, who has such a depth of knowledge about training horses especially for dressage.  By tackling the problem of preparing for and executing pirouettes, she needed to explain and demonstrate the full range of training, as the canter pirouette is one of the most difficult movements to perform correctly.  By using a good variety of horses Jill got the opportunity to explain many practical ways of improving the horses.  The large audiences showed that there is a lot of interest in this sort of Workshop.  We were especially pleased that so many turned up at Hallingbury Hall on a Bank Holiday afternoon as it was a gamble to put it on at such a time.  It would be good if EDLG could have some feedback from you for when and where it is most suitable to have these Workshops.

Sarah Hayler Memorial Fund.
This fund is used to help trainers and riders including, para riders, in the Eastern Region to improve in dressage.  Any contributions will be gratefully received.  Cheques should be made payable to EDLG and marked Memorial Fund.  Application forms for assistance from this fund can be obtained from our website or from any Committee member.  The latest rider to receive a grant for training from the Memorial fund was Kirsty Youngson.

Future Events - All Welcome to all events.

A Workshop has been organised for the evening of Thursday 15th October at The College EC, Keysoe.  Jane Peberdy, List 1 judge, will take this workshop.  She has become very popular because of her ability to clearly explain what is wanted and make even difficult subjects easy to understand.  Her sympathetic ways with the guinea pigs, and useful exercises to improve them, is a pleasure to watch.  The subject will be ‘The preparation for and execution of flying changes’.  EDLG has had similar subjects before but some are still confused about when it is the best time in the training to start with changes and how to go about it, the aids etc.  Please note that this Workshop will be in the evening. As some might come straight from work the cafeteria will be open from 6pm.

Paul Hayler will hold an Open Day on his premises on Friday 6th November 2009 starting at 10 am. He will show training of different standards in the morning and follow on with discussions over lunch in the pub across the road.

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From the January 2009 Newsletter.....

Inger Bryant, Editor wrote.....

We were very sorry that our annual Christmas Bash had to be cancelled.  As a policy we do not cancel any of our events except in extreme circumstances.  Tanya Larrigan told us only a week before the event that her father was ill and that she would be unable to come.  There was no time to organise anything else and luckily we managed to stop all but two people coming on the day.

We have had two Workshops since the last Newsletter. The first with Paul Hayler at Brook Farm on Flying Changes and the second with Jane Peberdy at The College E.C., Keysoe on ‘Contact, Throughness and Engagement Explained’.  Both were very well attended and the clarity of the answers and explanations to the questions from the audience were much appreciated.

Elizabeth Saunders is still very much missed by her friends and within the EDLG committee, where she did so much work.  In her memory the EDLG ELIZABETH SAUNDERS MEMORIAL TROPHY was set up to be presented to somebody, who has contributed a lot to EDLG.  For the year of 2008, the trophy was presented by Elizabeth’s husband Charles to Ruth Dowie on behalf of the Runningwell Equestrian Centre at the Riders Forum on 19th Jan.  They have given their facilities free for Paul Hayler to hold all the Forums and Paul also does not charge a fee.  That is how we are able to offer these Forums free to subscribers of our Newsletter.

The last two Forums were as usual held at Runningwell Equestrian Centre, Essex. Unfortunately the attendance was low for the first because of the closure of M25. Paul managed to get there even if it was late and tackled the subject of ‘throughness’.  The second Forum was well attended and Paul was mainly concentrating on the rider’s position and influence on the horse.

Future Events - All Welcome to all events.

Two more Workshops have been planned before the summer break. They will both be taken by Jill Day, who needs no introduction, as she is a well known instructor and previously Director of Training for British Dressage.  Jill will take you through the process of preparing for and how to execute the walk and canter pirouettes. They are the two most difficult movements to ride with consistency and for the rider to get the right feel.  They are also the two movements, which have the most discrepancies in marks from a jury of judges. So it should be useful for judges to really get to know about pirouettes as well as having a chance to see many of them.

Another date for your diary is Saturday 7th March 2009, 10 am – 2 pm. Michel Assouline (International Trainer and Para Equestrian Squad Coach) and Mary Anne Horne (List 1 and International Para Equestrian Judge) are holding a clinic and demonstration at Michel’s, Brickhouse Farm, Colne Engaine, Essex CO6 2HJ. They will be talking about test riding, how to improve the paces and how to put together a Freestyle test and to fit music to it. The cost for the day is £10 including hot drinks and sandwiches. To have a 45 min. lesson on the clinic costs £75.

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*** OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST ***

The BD Eastern Region has a series of events and demos planned for 2012 - for more information look on the Eastern Region area of the BD website.

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