I write this with the forecast for summer finally improving and a feeling of optimism for the upcoming showing and eventing season.

With these two types of event to the forefront, I was delighted to have been in attendance at our Stewards and Showing Masterclass evening, held at the Black Isle Showground and with two very experienced and highly qualified local judges, Marion Maclennan and Karen Mowat.

Marion began with the Stewards training, firstly using the attendees as “ponies” and latterly with real ponies, explaining what the judge is looking for from her steward when she (or he) has her eye on the horses in front of her.  Everyone learned something new and hopefully have gone away with some insight as to what organisers are expecting when they ask for help at their local shows.

Karen started her Showing Masterclass with ridden horses and proceeded on to the in-hand ones, explaining what the judge is expecting from the handlers of the horses.  She spent quality time talking through how to present the horse, how to run it up and how to show the horses at their best by doing a quality show which doesn’t take up too much time.  Crucial on wet days, hot days and busy days!

Many thanks to Lee Macdonald who took on the organising of this popular and successful event, as she had attended the BHS event in Stirling and been inspired to help others to learn what she had.  Also, many thanks to Yvonne Maclean who provided teas, coffees and biscuits for anyone who needed refreshing.

Our Area Champs were held at Auchlishie on 1^st & 2^nd June and featured many of our members across the classes, ranging from 60cm show jumping, Intro dressage to 70cm eventing and up to 100cm eventing.  There was much success and the full results are featured on the website under the Results tab.

The Club would like to say a huge thank you to Becky Milns who took on the not insubstantial job of taking entries and collating them into a format that was sent to Area 22 organisers.  There were teams and individuals and this takes time to organise so that everyone has a fair chance of feeling included if they wanted to.  The club offered expenses for stabling which eased some of the burden on competitors as they already pay for their entries and the fuel to travel to Auchlishie but also many of them took time out to get specialist training for dressage and cross country.  Becky and Maggie travelled with the teams in order to help with settling the horses and riders in plus, of course, helping to settle agitated parents in!  There was great camaraderie between everyone and the support was fabulous.  Below are some of the comments which we received and show that this club is great for encouraging new and more experienced riders to join in the fun.

Lee Macdonald :  “The support I got after my disappointment of falling off.  Dressage writing as I learned loads”

Minette Maclennan : “The feeling of Cohra starting to flow in the XC and Lee’s joy when I brought her horse home safely, clear.  I was 8^th overall in my section and 6^th in the team.  I also loved meeting new folks”

Amanda Harper : “Nice to be part of a team and supporting one another”

Antonia Gordon : “The girls loved being part of a team and the support of everyone.  Savannah’s highlight was her scores in the Style Jumping which were mostly 8’s”

Lindsay Ferguson : “Everyone’s encouragement for my first ever ODE on Sunday through all the phases, especially the XC.  Specially to Ginny (Fraser) and Antonia who helped me learn my test in 12 hours!”

Kaitlyn Sutton : “Really liked the team encouragement after every round, especially in the show jumping”

Jess Whitby : “Sophie loved it, super friendly and supportive and even though the first day didn’t go to plan she completed the ODE without elimination”

Natalie Harper : “Enjoyed the whole weekend with everyone and completing my first ODE was the best feeling:

Sasha Pocock : “Myself and the super cob had the best time with the best people.  And if there was a class for disco dancing dressage, we’d have nailed it!!”

In the ongoing running of the club, it is important to integrate as much as possible with other organisations and Maggie (Chair) & Sheila Stewart are both on the committee of the Black Isle Farmers and as such we help to run the showing jumping classes on the Wednesday evening and the native ponies classes on the Thursday morning.  For Maggie, this past weekend involved five hours spent at the showground, helping in the general tidy up before the show, which is held on the 31^st July and 1^st August this year.  We have access to this facility and  we appreciate how special it as a show ground to run many of our events but we have to be aware of the fact that we are not the only club who have the use of it and we are careful to tidy up after each event and to help when we can in keeping the field in good condition generally.