CANNOCK CHASE RIDE SEPTEMBER 2011

By Diane Hudson

This was to be my first attempt at this ride - we arrived at the venue just after 9am (having left home at 6.30) to find a lovely sheltered grassy site surrounded by woodland. Having checked in & collected our number, cleared the vet, etc we set off at 10am - just as the sun was coming out & it was starting to warm up.

We set off, back though the venue, crossed over the access road & followed a track into the wood. One track led to another, through coniferous woodland, clearings & a ford - passed David, the photographer & one competitor whose horse was staging a temporary objection to getting his feet wet. Occasionally we crossed a minor road, at one stage I had to wait for a couple of cars to pass - where else can you ride for 3hr & count the cars you have seen on one hand? The tracks undulated through the forest, some were stoney & called for walk, others sandy & we could ‘push on’. Raynet volunteers were regular sights - its always reassuring to see a friendly face! Crewing points were frequent for those who wanted them.

We encountered ramblers, families & dog walkers, together with cyclists at regular intervals, young army cadets practising ‘den building’ & the ‘art of marching’ & a group of school children complete with rucksacks, practising their map reading skills. We slowed & exchanged cheery greetings - always aware that we were sharing their environment.
Midway the woodland was exchanged for large areas of open heathland - my pony wanted to take a detour off the track at one point, for reasons unknown (I blame a scary birch tree trunk) but decided it was easier to stay on the track (fortunate really, not too sure that I could have stuck on for much longer!)

At one point we emerged to find ourselves riding passed a war cemetery - it seemed disrespectful to ‘rush’ past - then back to woodland & yellow markers for the first time - we had been joined by the 16km loop. Finally we emerged to grassy areas - a chance to let off some steam secure in the knowledge that no one was ahead, all too soon we rounded a corner to find the venue. Time to walk, cool down, have a well earned drink or two, & something to eat. 30 min later we cleared the vet - a Grade 2 to end our first, novice, season.

Last but by no means least I,on behalf of all the entiries would like to thank Robinsons Country Leisure for their continued support of this ride(especially the lovely rosettes!!) I know how difficult it is for sponsors and so it is very important for us to let them know how much we appreciate their support,so THANK YOU ROBINSONS!!!! 

 

CANNOCK CHASE RIDE MARCH 2011
By Sue Higgins

As one of the early rides in the endurance calendar, the organisers of Cannock Chase, Di Latham & Helen Watts must have again wondered what the weather would be like as many riders recall the year it snowed so much it was a white out!! Thankfully this year, the weather was kind to us and although not that warm, it stayed dry and was ‘perfect riding weather’.
This ride runs mostly along forestry tracks, it is undulating with lots of twists and turns, so is quite a technical course which needs a horse to be listening to it’s rider. The venue is the perfect setting and once again I noticed that many stayed long after they had finished the ride to socialise. Me included! In fact we were some of the last to leave.
I had entered the 64km ride with my mare Aberllwyds Another Rose, this was to be our last training ride before we compete in the FEI 1* at Kings Forest in two weeks time where we would be up for selection for part of the World Class Start Squad to compete in an FEI 2* ride in Belgium at the end of April. I was quite nervous about this ride as having come this far and trained all winter for our ultimate goal, I knew that if anything went wrong during this ride it could really mess things up and all my preparation could be in vain. I was riding with my friend Annie with her horse Alfie who was in exactly the same situation.
After initial vetting we went out together with a plan to ride at around 14kmph. The first loop was a little too exiting with horses coming up behind and our two both being competitive, meant we had trouble keeping at a steady pace. However after a while we didn’t see too many other horses and we managed to keep to our plan and did the ride at just under 14kmph.

As usual the ride seemed to run like clockwork with the organisers and helpers all seeming very calm on the day. This was no doubt as a result of all the hard work put in beforehand. The route rode extremely well and the marking was excellent, however Annie & I did manage to miss one right turn on both loops! We couldn’t understand how we could miss it a second time, especially when we were looking out for it.
Once again the ride rosettes were sponsored by Robinsons, and very nice they were too. It seems like just a few years ago that I visited Robinsons to purchase everything I would need in terms of grooming equipment, headcollars, buckets etc., for my first pony Bracken. That was 37 years ago when Robinsons were situated next door to Wigan Railway Station in a large timber shed! They’ve come a long way since then! Also NOM Dairy of Shrophshire gave out yoghurt drinks to all riders and crew. So thank you to them, they were delicious.