March 2024

Staff - we are delighted to announce that Mia completed her Level 2 Equine Groom Apprenticeship in March. Mia is staying on at Witham Villa to continue with her training towards BHS Stage 2 Teach and Stage 3 exams.

BHS Annual Inspection - we had our annual unannounced inspection in March and we are pleased to report that we passed with flying colours retaining our Highly Commended status.

Repairs and Renewals - we are continually vigilant to ensure any repairs are dealt with speedily. This month we welcomed Rachel to do tack repairs including horse rugs so that all can go away clean and fully repaired ready for next year.

Easter Holiday Special Events - we put on various special events which were fully booked and enjoyed by all. Thank you to the staff for their wonderful artistic skills, ensuring there were some lovely Easter decorations - eggs, bunnies galore!

Unaffiliated Dressage - we had a wonderful entry for our March show, so lovely to see all your lovely horses and ponies. Points are accumulating towards the Spring Championships Series which concludes in June.

Pole Clinic - we continue to run our monthly pole clinic here, great gymnastic exercise for the horses and fun for the riders - booking via My Riding Life.

Kate Cowell Clinic - It was great to welcome Kate to Witham Villa to hold a dressage clinic here. Kate was previously an BD International Youth Team Rider and has competed at Senior Level though to Grand Prix. She is an encouraging coach with a wealth of experience to pass on to her clients. Her next clinic here is on Monday 29th April, booking via My Riding Life.

DMU B Team Competition - De Montfort University train here for the BUCS competitions and had some good individual placings in their B Team competition this month. Teams of 4 riders compete against one another in a dressage test and then a showjumping round. Each horse competes in either the dressage or jumping and is ridden by 4 riders - one from each team.

Training - Verity and India both attended the BD Principles of Dressage Convention, ensuring up to date CPD. This weekend showcased the new BD tests that will be used from July 2024

Affiliated Dressage - we have three horses qualified for the National Winter Championships - Eddie (Escade) for the Inter 1 Silver, Ivan (Ivan The Terrible) Elementary Gold and Izzy (Issey Magic) for the Medium Gold.

February 2024

BHS Riding Schools Competition- Regional Final - we held a regional qualifier here at Witham Villa during the half term holiday. We were delighted that so many people took part - some competing for their first time and also some that have done the competition in previous years. Congratulations to everyone who took part and we have the following riders going through to the National Final to be held at Pickering Grange Leicestershire on Wednesday 3rd April:-

12 & Under Complete - Beau and Niall

13-17 Complete - Olivia and Nichola

18 & Over Complete - Eden and Rowan

17 & Under Prelim dressage - Sophia Pratt

18 & Over Prelim dressage - Rowan and Sarah

Good luck in the final everyone and have a wonderful day.

BHS Stage Training - a new course for the care section of Stage 1 and Stage 2 started this month, running at 4pm for Stage 1 and 5pm for Stage 2 on Monday evenings and run by Louise Mellor

Horses - in February we had our annual Local Authority vet’s inspection for the horses and are very pleased that they all passed and looked very smart, shiny, fit and well. We have a continual programme for each of our horses to be seen by vet, physio, massage, chiropractor, osteopath, dentist, farrier, whatever is needed to keep each individual horse fit and well.

We also make sure that we keep ourselves well looked after with trips to physio, massage, osteo, etc and keep as fit and as supple as we can to help our horses when we ride them.

British Dressage - We were pleased with the regional results for our horses - India and Izzy got 69.46% for a 9th place in the Medium Gold competition at Onley. India and Ivan got 69% for 8th place in Elementary Gold. Verity and Gaya were 7th in the Medium Silver Freestyle. Fingers crossed for some wild cards to the National Winter Championships!

India and Eddie attended an Under 21 International Training Camp at the Unicorn Centre, which included Test Riding the Young Rider Test (PSG), training with Peter Storr, Rider strength and conditioning, psychology, nutrition and Horse vet check, tack check and physio check. and a lecture on international horse travel.

India and Eddie continue to train with Gareth Hughes and also with Peter Storr.

Verity and Gaya benefit from training with Kate Cowell and Gareth Hughes.

International Horse Transport - to travel horses abroad post Brexit requires a lot of planning and ensuring everything is compliant with European law. To this end Verity and Chris undertook a mammoth trip across to Southern Ireland to get the horsebox checked and certificated as suitable for use in Europe. This entailed leaving the yard at 7.45pm on Saturday evening and driving up to Holyhead, catching the 2.40am ferry across to Dublin, driving to Coopers where the lorry was checked by the vet, then driving back to the port to get the 2.30pm ferry back to Holyhead and then driving back home, arriving back at 10.20pm! Very pleased to say that the lorry is now fully certificated and compliant!

Dressage Camp - very sadly Verity had to cancel the day camp for February due to completely losing her voice! India very kindly stepped in and was able to give a lesson to each of the riders, which they all enjoyed. The next camp is on Monday 22nd April, bookable via My Riding Life.

Staff - congratulations to Olivia who passed her NVQ 2 this month, achieving the Level 2 Modern Apprenticeship. This involves a lot of dedication and hard work, so very well done.

February was also the month for our Staff Appraisals - a great opportunity to sit down and reflect on the achievements of the past 12 months and to set goals for the next year.

Future Events - look out for Pole clinic on 11th March and we are delighted to be hosting a Kate Cowell dressage clinic on 25th March - booking for both via My Riding Life

January 2024

BHS Training - Continuing Professional Development - Verity completed a BHS online Guide To Jump Coaching training session with Part 1 looking at what is required for the BHS Stage 2 Teach Jump lesson and Part 2 looking at Stage 3/4 Jump lesson.

Kate Deacon represented Witham Villa at the online BHS Biosecurity course, ensuring we are always fully up to date and compliant and that we do everything we can to ensure our horse’s welfare is the top priority.

Bridle Fitting - we welcomed Olivia Turner back to come and do some bridle fitting for us. Along with the importance of correct saddle fit it is also vitally important that the bridle should fit correctly and be suited to each individual horse, along with the correct bit.

Vet/Osteopath/Massage/chiropractor/Farrier - we believe in working with other professionals to ensure our horses are kept in great condition. We use Chine House Vets, Kate Deacon does massage, Tony Nevin osteopath, Thomasina Spilman and Anna Tyler McTimony chiropractors. The horses loved their treatments. Guy Sheffield and Ollie Ainsworth look after their feet.

Unaffiliated Dressage - It was lovely to welcome competitors back for the first show of the Spring Series Championship series. Entries are via My Riding Life and we run monthly Monday shows.

Dressage Day Camp - Verity ran the first camp of 2024 and an enjoyable day was had by all. These are generally held monthly, on a Monday and are bookable via My Riding Life. They are suitable not only for riders on their own horses but also for Witham Villa Clients on one of the school horses/ponies.

Training - Verity took Gaya for a lesson with Kate Cowell, India took Eddie for a lesson with Gareth Hughes ensuring we continue to progress horses and riders.

Things Don’t Always Go To Plan! - India and Serina went off to Arena Uk with Ivan for a pre-regionals run and the horsebox broke down as they were just setting off to come back home! Fortunately we have roadside assistance on the lorry and as it could not be fixed that evening another lorry was sent out to take Ivan, Serina and India back home - a very long day by the time they all arrived safely back. Our horsebox was recovered the following day and delivered to Equine Movers Ltd who worked their magic so it was soon repaired and back with us ready for another outing.

British Dressage - Regionals - we were delighted that India and Eddie (Escade) took the win in the NAF Superflex Inter 1 Silver with a convincing 71.863% to become Regional Champion and qualify for the Winter National Championships which take place in April.

British Dressage North and East Region Ball - Verity and Chris, Serina and Paul and India all enjoyed the ball and congratulations go to India for being presented with the Esberger Bronze for the second consecutive year - awarded to Under 25 rider having notable International success in the year

December 2023

Happy New Year - As I am reflecting on our December news, I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year. It is a good time to set new goals - from small goals to medium to long term and even those dream goals. Do let us know of any particular goals you have with your riding or horse care and we will do our best to help you achieve them.

We enjoyed Christmas celebrations, with the Witham Villa Staff and liveries Christmas party at the beginning of the month getting us into the spirit.

Christmas holiday activities - we ran the 12 days of Christmas Clear Round Jumping, with artistically decorated jumps - well done Kate and team for all your efforts, the jumps looked wonderful and I think were enjoyed by all.

Jingle Bell games and Junior Experiences were just some of the other activities.

We had a day dedicated to our Witham Villa Junior Trainees, run by India and including team building, games both with the ponies and without , lunch and a muddy finish in the fields. Thank you India for putting on such a good day.

Unaffiliated Dressage - We ran our Championship show, kindly judged by Sandra Smith and culminating the Autumn Series that was generously sponsored by Rowleys Accountants - www.rowleys.biz Thank you.

There were champions in each class, winning an engraved trophy, congratulations to each of our winners:-

Intro - Open - Duncan Hill riding Shannon

Intro - Veteran Rider - Vivian Smith riding Jimbo Boy

Prelim Short - Open - Alex Montgomery riding Jeanie

Prelim Short - Veteran Rider - Stella Gittings riding Basil

Prelim Short - Veteran Horse - Joanne Scholes riding Bodey

Prelim Long - Open - Sally Lane riding Mocklers John

Prelim Long - Veteran Horse - Tammie Huntley riding Jordan Well Darcey

Novice Open - Allison North riding Fernie

Novice - Veteran Rider - Stephanie Allen riding One Out of The Blue

Novice - Veteran Horse - Stephanie Allen riding One Out of The Blue

Elementary - Open/Veteran Rider - Sara Helmer riding Castleview Dun

Elementary Veteran Horse - Stephanie Allen riding One Out of The Blue

Our Spring Series starts with our first show of 2024 on 8th January

British Dressage - India took Eddie (Escade) out to Newbold Verdon to compete in his first ever Inter 1 class and we are delighted to report that they won on 71.92%, qualifying for the Regionals in one outing. We wish them luck.

Atlantic Harmony - India and Verity took Eddie to Pickering Grange on a very cold December evening to put on a dressage demo at Atlantic Harmony’s first public event. Verity was on the mike and India rode Eddie demonstrating work at PSG/Young Rider and then showing the training to Grand Prix with some one time changes and work towards the piaffe/passage. Eddie was very well behaved and thoroughly enjoyed the whooping and cheering from the audience - a bit different to the normal competition outings. Atlantic Harmony are a local horse riding clothing business. atlanticharmonyequestrian.co.uk

BHS Exams - we hosted a Stage 1 Ride and Care exam for the BHS.

Cross Training - India took Ziggy over to Aylesford for some cross country jump training. She was accompanied by Serina who took Murphy. Both horses and riders had a very enjoyable trip out.

London International Horse Show - Verity enjoyed a day trip out with friends down to London to watch the Dressage World Cup Grand Prix Freestyle, with Great Britain taking first, second and third.

Witham Villa Staff - We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our staff for their dedication and hard work and for covering the holidays over Christmas

Horses - Wilma - one of our lovely clients persuaded us to sell Wilma to her as her first horse. Wilma will continue here on working livery initially. We wish Lucie every success with her and know that Wilma will have the best of forever homes with her.

Louis - we are very sad to announce that Louis was put to sleep in December as despite veterinary treatment we were unable to get him sound and pain free. He was a truly beautiful horse and will be forever missed. RIP handsome boy.

November 2023

Christmas holidays - our programme of special activities is now available to book via ECPro

University Competition - De Montfort University train here at Witham Villa and after selection trials they now have an A and B Team. The A team had their home competition here in November comprising a dressage test followed by a showjumping round on a different horse. The teams are made up of four riders per team for each university competing. Each horse is ridden around the same course by one member of each team and points are awarded on the best round per horse and accumulate for the team result. Horses that take part are Orla, Mac, Buddy and Roxy, Murphy, Jeanie, Shannon, Victor, Deacon

Staff - Friday 24th November was staff pizza day as part of the Good Employment week. Thank you to Ruth in the cafe for putting on a great spread that was thoroughly enjoyed by all.

British Dressage - we now have several horses qualified for the Winter Regionals:- India has Ivan (Ivan The Terrible) qualified for both the Elementary Gold and Medium Gold and Izzy (Issey Magic) qualified for the Medium Gold, Verity has Gaya qualified for the Medium Silver Freestyle.

Training - Verity took Gaya for a lesson with Gareth Hughes which was very beneficial and also a clinic with Kate Cowell. India continues to train with Gareth.

World Class Programme - India attended the Equine Sport Science Day held at Hartpury College with lectures on biomechanics, fitness, training, use of different surfaces, use of water treadmills and other topics.

Dressage Camp and Clinic - Verity held the final camp of 2023 in November, dates for next year are now available on My Riding Life and are generally the third Monday of each month.

British Dressage Convention - held at Addington this celebrated 25 years of British Dressage. India was delighted to be invited to attend as a demo rider for a session that was run by Gareth Hughes. We were very proud of them as they performed beautifully in front of a very large audience demonstrating work on half passes, canter pirouettes, 4 time, 3 time and 2 time tempi changes. and finishing by showing work developing the one time changes required for Grand Prix.

October

Unaffiliated dressage - This month’s dressage competition was kindly judged by India Durman-Mills. We love welcoming competitors to Witham Villa and always aim to run a friendly and supportive event. Alongside people competing on their own horses we also some of our regular clients competing on the Witham Villa horses. Entries are made via My Riding Life and a caller can be booked if required so no need to stress!

We have just two competitions left before the Autumn Series Championship trophies are awarded at the December show. We award trophies for open riders and horses and also veteran riders and veteran horses in each class.

If you ride with us and would like to compete please speak to your instructor.

Dressage Day Camp and Clinic - Verity had a busy day welcoming regular clients and some new faces to this month’s event. An enjoyable day with a great group of horses and riders all here to progress and have fun doing so. There is one more day planned for this year - Monday November 20th and then dates will be released for next year. Bookable via My Riding Life.

British Dressage - India took Ziggy (Danzmayr) out for his first affiliated show at Prelim level and we were delighted that he was third in the first test with 65.86% and then improved to 71.25% in his second test and came 2nd. Ziggy is five now and was bred here out of Verity’s PSG/Inter 1 mare, Abi (Debutante)

Pole Clinic - we continue to run our Monday pole clinics with Alison West. Always an enjoyable session and very good for developing gymnastic ability in the horses. Details and bookable via My Riding Life.

Half Term Activities - we enjoyed a spooky Halloween week. A big thank you to Kate Deacon who created fabulous decorations for the Halloween Clear Round Show jumping and the Handy Pony. And a big thank you to all of you who came and took part and we loved the Halloween costumes!

It was also good to welcome some of our adult riders for a half day Stable Management session - learning more about how to care for the horses.

BHS Stage 2 Teach Exam - Witham Villa hosted this teaching exam in October and we are delighted to report that the Witham Villa staff who took the exam were all successful, so congratulations to Laura Adderley, Kate Deacon and Jessie Potter and thank you to Nicola Monks for doing a great job with the training.

First Aid and Safeguarding - this month saw many of our instructors updating in both First Aid and Safeguarding. We are pleased to say that they all successfully updated their qualifications.

International Dressage - India and Eddie (Escade) attended a two day camp at the Unicorn Centre in Stow on the Wold. This included ridden sessions with Peter Storr - list 1 judge and Team Trainer; Vet, Physio and Saddler sessions, Rider Strength and Fitness etc, Another excellent training camp organised by British Dressage and lovely to meet up again with the other youth riders and their supporters. #BDYOUTH

India also trains regularly with Gareth Hughes.

Horses - Splash (Brickyard Splash) - A truly wonderful pony who took part in both flat and jump lessons here at Witham Villa and had been India’s first serious dressage competition pony. After enjoying a restful summer, unfortunately health problems meant we were unable to keep him sound and happy any more and in consultation with our vets it was decided the correct thing to do was to put him to sleep. Always the hardest decision, but the health and happiness of all of our horses is always our top priority. RIP wonderful boy.

August and September

August

Horses - Millie went off to our vets - Chine House Veterinary Hospital to have an operation following an injury. The operation went very well and we are hopeful of a full recovery for her. She now has a rehab programme and will return to lessons when she is fully fit again.

Izzy (Issey Magic) went back out competing after her time off and achieved 66% and 67% winning both of her Elementary classes with India riding.

Unaffiliated Dressage - our shows are held generally on the first Monday of the month running from Intro through to Medium. There is also a Pick Your Own class, so you can come and run through a test of your choice which can be invaluable if you have a championship coming up and want to practice a particular test. We run an open section, veteran rider and veteran horse section in each class towards our championship. After the successful Spring Series we are now in our Autumn Series with our final show in December when presentations will be made. Booking is via My Riding Life. The Autumn Series is kindly sponsored by Rowleys Accountants - www.rowleys.biz

HGV - Verity was delighted to pass her test in August, now holding the HGV Cat C license

Exams, we would like to congratulate India Durman-Mills for passing the British Dressage UKCC level 2 coaching award making her a British Dressage Recognised Coach in addition to her previous qualifications.

Summer Programme this ran throughout the school holidays and it was lovely to see the participants learning and having fun

Dressage Day Camp - with Verity Saul BD Accredited Coach - again well supported and lovely to see the horses and riders developing their skills in a relaxed and friendly supportive atmosphere. The next camp is on Monday 16th October, bookable via My Riding LIfe

Pole Clinic - Alison West continues to come up with different exercises to help horse and rider improve their agility and have fun at the same time. These clinics are bookable via My Riding Life

September

International Dressage - Eddie (Escade) is now back in work following his holidays after this year’s successful season. India and Eddie finished in 23rd place in the World Young Rider Rankings - a creditable performance in their first season at this level. They will now concentrate on training and working towards Grand Prix work strengthening their performance ready for the 2024 season. India trains with Gareth Hughes and Peter Storr alongside Verity

First Aid - September saw many of the staff here updating their First Aid qualifications to ensure that we are all all up to date and qualified to offer First Aid assistance if required

BHS - The East Midlands region organised a CPD day which was hosted here at Witham Villa. The theme of the day was “Futureproof Your Coaching” - run by Jo Winfield FBHS. Our staff and horses did the demos and did us proud, thank you everyone. Verity, India and Megan all attended the course as CPD.

BHS Stage 1 course - Louise Mellor runs this course for the stable management section of the exam, which started this month. Bookable via ECPro

July 2023

International Dressage - wow, what a start to the month - India and Eddie (Escade) were selected for the Young Rider Team to represent Great Britain at the European Championships to be held in Pilisjaszfalu, Hungary.

This resulted in India, Verity and Serina leaving Witham Villa in the early hours of Wednesday 5th July for a journey in the horse box that took us through 6 countries and over 1500 miles, arriving at the showground on Saturday 8th July. Eddie travelled so well, with overnight stops in Begium and Germany.

Once at the showground he settled into the stable well, alongside the other three British horses. With plenty of Union Jack bunting and a great poster with each of the horses and riders against the GB flag you could tell the Brits had arrived. The humans set up their own camp with the horseboxes forming a quadrangle for the marquee. Our Chef d’Equipe, Tom even mowed the grass!

The Official Opening Ceremony was held with a great party atmosphere,

All of the horses passed the trot up in style and we were then onto the Team Test Competition which fantastically resulted in a Team Bronze for Great Britain - congratulations to Lily Laughton, India Durman-Mills, Jessie McConkey and Annabella Pidgley. This was the first Young Rider team medal since 2005.

In the Individual Competition India and Escade finished in 18th place out of the 54 riders, resulting in them qualifying for the Freestyle class on the final day. They came 15th in the freestyle with beautiful music produced for them by Julie Geraghty of Equivisions. Lily finished in 19th place in the individual.

Fellow Brits, Annabella Pidgley finished as European Champion in both the Individual and Freestyle competitions posting personal best scores. Jessie McConkey finished in 13th place in the Individual and 9th in the Freestyle.

Once the competition was finished it was time for the long journey back home, but with such great memories and achievements. This is India’s first year at Young Rider level and we are thrilled with the start they have made and are looking forward to seeing their progress from here on. They are currently ranked number 23 in the Young Rider World Rankings

British Dressage Sports Science Day - Verity and India attended this day as part of continued professional development, with India riding Izzy in one of the practical demonstrations. A really interesting and inspirational day. Looking at The Power of Positive Thinking, Women in sport, Horse Biomechanics and more.

The Summer Holiday programme is in full swing with special events available to book on ECPRo

Dressage Training Serina and Verity have continued training with Kate Cowell and enjoying the progress being made by Bertie and Gaya respectively.

Transport - Verity began training for her HGV license and Certificate of Professional Competence, passing all of the theory tests in July ready to start the practical lorry training in August

Dressage Day Camp and Clinic - Verity’s monthly camp and clinic was well attended with an enjoyable and informative day had by all. This camp is available to book either on your own horse or a Witham Villa horse, via My Riding LIfe

Staff and Liveries Summer Party - we were lucky with the weather and had a fun pizza and wine evening. Great to have a chance to chat and catch up without any horses to interrupt!

May and June 2023

May saw the coronation of King Charles !!!.

We had some changes with the horses - Vegas was sold to one of our lovely clients who had fallen in love with her. She has now left the yard here for her new home and has settled in well and is having a great time with her new owner.

A new pony, “Pixie” was purchased for the school and after initial settling in and assessment she is now a popular pony in the lessons.

Our wonderful Ceasar is now retired and we are so happy that he has now moved to one of our friends where he has been reunited with former Witham horse Ben. They were so happy to see each other and are now just enoying the best time. So well deserved for them both.

A new Irish horse, “Callen” was purchased and is now settling in and being assessed before he will become available for lessons.

June

We held a BHS Stage 2 exam day and are delighted to report that Laura Adderley and Jessie Potter now has their Stage 2 Complete. Mia Osborne and Olivia Howe were both successful in the Care and Lunge Sections and will go on to take the riding section when we run our next exam here. Well done all.

Unaffiliated Dressage - June also saw the Championship decided for the Unaffilated Dressage Spring Series. Congratulations to the prize winners as follows:-

Intro - Open Section:- Chrissie Hale riding Goodbye Girl

Intro - Veteran Rider - Jackie Johnson riding Tommy

Prelim - Short Arena - Open Section - Deboran Cooper riding Cindy

Prelim - Short Arena - Veteran Rider - Stella Gittings riding Basil

Prelim - Short Arena - Veteran Horse - Joanne Scholes riding Bodey

Prelim - Long Arena - Open Section - Rebecca Wood riding On the Buzz

Prelim - Long Arena - Veteran Rider - Christine Hudson riding Darcy

Novice - Open Section - Alison North riding Fernie

Novice - Veteran Rider - Sara Helmer riding Castleview Dun

Elementary - Open Section - Rachel Greenhalgh riding Bruce Almighty

Elementary - Veteran Rider - Sara Helmer riding Castleview Dun

Elementary - Veteran Horse - Stephanie Allen riding Out of the Blue

Thank you to our judge on the day, Sandra Smith who presented the trophies to the winners.

The Autumn series of Witham Villa Unaffiliated Dressage commences with our show on Monday 3rd July and we are delighted to announce that Rowleys Accountants - www.rowleys.biz will be providing some sponsorship for this series, with trophy presentations scheduled for the December show.

Entries are made through My Riding Life and we look forward to welcoming all competitors.

International Dressage - India and Eddie (Escade) were selected to compete for Great Britain at Wellington CDI and produced a super performance in the Team Test for a score of 70.147% and 4th place.

March and April 2023

Pony Club - congratulations to the junior and senior teams representing Witham Villa who progressed from the Regional Finals through to the National Championship, finishing in 9th place. Great to have a top 10 finish out of all of the Pony Club Centres, well done everyone and thank you to our Pony Club Coordinator, Hannah Heaslip for support of the teams.

British Horse Society - National Finals of the Riding Schools Competition - wow, what a day - we came home with lots of silverware! But even better a day of such great team spirit between all of our competitors and parents/supporters. A big thank you to Louise Mellor and Verity Saul for all their help on the day.

Connie - winner of the Senior Novice Equitation

Amber - winner of the Junior Equitation

Rowan - Runner up Junior Equitation

Stella - Runner up Senior Equitation

Kay - 10th Senior Equitation

Lily - 10th Dressage and Jumping

Easter Holidays - we enjoyed seeing everyone who took part in the various events over the school holiday period. Our schedule is out now for the May Bank Holiday Half Term - check it out on ECPro

Demo - Verity, India and Serina hosted “An Insight Into Dressage” evening, riding Izzy (Issey Magic), Gaya and Eddie (Escade) showing how we progress the horses through the levels up to PSG/Inter 1. Thank you to everyone who attended and made it a lovely fun evening. We will be putting on another demo later in the year.

BHS Exams - we hosted a BHS Stage 1 care lunge and ride exam. We currently have a Stage 1 and Stage 2 course running ready for our next exams.

Unaffiliated Dressage - we run a competition each month bookable via My Riding Life with classes from Intro through to Elementary and also a Pick Your Own class which is perfect if you have a specific test that you want to run through, (including Eventing tests)

Pole Clinic - these are organised and run by Alison West and continue to be well supported - Enter via My Riding LIfe

Continual Professional Development - all of our staff maintain CPD. Verity completed the BHS Safeguarding Officer Course ensuring the highest standards of care for young people and vulnerable adults.

British Dressage Young Horse Forum - India was fortunate to be asked to be a demo rider for this forum and rode horses belonging to Tim and Antonia Brown. Verity attended the Forum, which again counts as CPD for British Dressage.

British Dressage Principles of Judging Seminar - At this event India again rode for Tim and Antonia showing horses at Elementary level, and then rode Eddie (Escade) for the PSG section. Verity again used this very informative Seminar for CPD.

Dressage Camp - Verity is running one day camp a month, bookable via My Riding Life, followed on by a late afternoon/early evening clinic. It has been lovely to see and work with the lovely horses and riders who have attended these.

British Dressage Competitions - Now that the International season is upon us, India and Eddie have been out at several shows - Addington CDI, Addington Premier League and were delighted to be selected for the Young Rider Nations Cup Team at Le Mans in France, where the team finished in First Place. India and Eddie were then 2nd in the Individual Test and 4th in the freestyle.

British Dressage Winter Championships - We were delighted that India and Eddie (Escade) WON the PSG Silver Championship. Eddie looked very smart and proud of himself in his blue rug, sash and rosette for the prize giving!

Dogs - We have a new puppy! Ebby (Ebony) is a little mini-me to Mia - another black labrador. Mia adores her as we all do, including our kitten Remi!

January and February 2023

Another year! We welcome in 2023 and have set plenty of goals to achieve.

BHS - Exams - in January we held Silver Challenge Award Ride Safe training and assessment. This award needs to be achieved by anyone wanting to take the BHS Stage 1 and 2 exams .

We also hosted a BHS Stage 2 Care and Lunge exam. Congratulations to our two staff members, Jessie Potter and Sarah-Jayne King who both passed.

A Stage 1 care and lunge training course started in January and runs for 12 weeks, instructor Louise Mellor

A BHS Stage 2 course started in February and runs for 18 weeks, instructor Louise Mellor

Inspections - In January we had our annual Vets inspection. This is a requirement under our Local Authority License. We are very proud to hold the 5 star approval rate.

We also had our Pony Club inspection and were very pleased to welcome our inspector - Amelia Payne who was previously Pony Club coordinator here.

These inspections ensure that Witham Villa remains up to date with all regulations and continues to develop and improve.

BHS Riding Schools Competition - Regional Final - This was held during the February half term and it was lovely to see so many of our clients getting the chance to take part and compete either in the complete section covering dressage, show jumping and stable management or in the dressage only sections. Congratulations to all who took part. Good luck to all of the riders who qualified for the National Final, which will be held at Onley Grounds Equestrian Centre on Wednesday 5th April.

Half Term - We held Games sessions, Clear round show jumping and Junior Experiences - good fun all round. Our Easter holiday program will be available to book soon on ECPro.

British Dressage - it is good to have the horses back out competing in what is now the Summer season, although the weather does not feel anything like that at present!

India and Eddie (Escade) went out at Young Rider level (PSG) to the Vale View High Profile show, gaining 70.29% and 3rd place in the Young Rider Team Test.

We are delighted to announce that they are on the long list for the Young Rider Europeans GB Team. They attended a training camp at the Unicorn Centre, with riding training from Peter Storr, and rider strength sessions, nutrition, psychology, planning etc all in preparation for the season ahead.

They needed a new Freestyle plan and music for PSG/Young rider which we are particularly grateful to Julie Geraghty for the new music which took a lot of work to find music that would suit and we hope the judges will love!

Verity and Gaya finished in 7th place at Onley in the Elementary Gold Freestyle Regional Finals. They are now planning to go out at Medium level.

India and Eddie were runners up in the PSG Silver Regional Final, less than a mark behind the winners.

Serina is going out successfully riding Steph Allen’s Bertie (Bolt Out of the Blue) at Elementary level with the aim of moving up to Medium later in the season.

Dressage Training - Verity held a clinic in February for BD Youth riders and also Senior riders and is running a day camp followed by a clinic on Monday March20th - bookable on My Riding Life.

HGV - congratulations to India for passing her HGV test so she can now drive a horsebox.

Horses - very sadly we had to say goodbye to Daisy as she had developed multiple health problems and working with our vets the kindest but hardest decision had to be taken for her welfare. She was an adorable pony who came to Witham Villa as the kindest 4 year old and provided so much enjoyment to so many children. She was loved by us all.

November and December 2022

Firstly may we wish a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone. We are looking forward to going into 2023 and hope to be able to help all of our clients and staff achieve their Equestrian goals. As we go into the new year it is a great time to reflect on the past year and to plan ahead.

If you have any particular training or events that you would like to see here at Witham Villa please do let us know and we can see if we can assist.

Monday Unaffiliated Dressage - in 2023 our unaffiliated dressage competitions will be held on Mondays rather than Thursday. We will be running a Spring series (Jan-June) and an Autumn Series (July-December) with some additional sections next year and we are also planning on two championship shows. Watch out for details to be released soon.

Pole clinics will also run on Mondays. Thursdays will then be left for normal lessons

Dressage Camp/Clinics - Verity will be running one day camp each month on a Monday, followed on by a dressage clinic going into the evening when both Verity and India will be available for lessons.

2023 Schedule - our calendar of events for next year is currently in the process of being finalised and will be out in January. It will be available to view on our website and will also be advertised on our Facebook page.

Suggestions box - thank you to those of you that have put forward suggestions/comments. We do respond to these with written replies onto the original cards. Some of the suggestions are already in our plans but we have to budget to implement them. Some would be too expensive to implement, much as we would like to, as it would mean a big rise in lesson prices to have the money to afford them. We continually look to improve and develop our services and welcome your feedback.

Witham Villa Junior Trainees - all of our trainees are now working towards the Witham Villa Rainbow Stable Management Awards. Congratulations to the following:- Red award:- Millie, Summer, Gabriella, Rosie, Austin, Isla, Sienna, Lilly, Teeya, Hope, Polly. Red award and Orange award:- Ezabell, Shelby, Albany, Libby, Isabella, Leanna. Red, Orange and Yellow award:- Olivia, Ella, Olivia IM, Amber, Sophie, Lexie. Abigail.

Witham Villa provided the Junior Trainees with a Christmas Party day. Festive food, games and good fun. Thank you Kelly for organising.

Christmas Holiday Programme - we hold various special events - all on our website and available to book via ECPro.

BHS Exams - A Stage 2 Teach exam was held here in November and a stage 1 assessment was held in December. All candidates passed the stage 1 and we send our congratulations to the two Witham Villa apprentices who were both successful - well done Olivia and MIa.

British Dressage Convention - Verity and India attended on the Saturday and benefitted from the training sessions run by Gareth Hughes and Michael Eilberg. We were delighted that India was awarded a trophy to recognise her achievement in being part of the Junior Team winning Bronze at this year’s European Championships having come up through the British Dressage National Academy.

British Dressage - it was lovely to get Eddie (Escade) back out competing again. He had a break after the Europeans and then had a tricky tooth extraction which took a longer recovery than expected, but we are delighted that he is now fully recovered.

India and Eddie have now qualified for the Regionals at PSG Silver with a fantastic 77% in their latest test. They have also made their debut at Young Rider level, stepping up from Junior and achieved first place in both the Individual and Team test with plus 70% scores. at the Arena UK High Profile Show. Their goal is for International competition again in 2023.

Young Horses - it was lovely to welcome Ginty (Integra) - Shannon’s foal - back to Witham Villa. She is now three years old and has been away at Richard Walker’s yard where she was started under saddle earlier this year and then turned away in the field to mature. She has settled back in really well and we are looking forward to seeing her progress.

Ziggy (Danzmayr) - Abi’s foal - is now four and has made steady progress this year with plenty of breaks as he grows. We are pleased to report that he now loads well in the lorry and has been on his first trips out. He took a long time to develop his confidence and we did bring in Gavin to help us on the final push. Thank you Gavin for your help.

Looking forward to 2023, we wish everyone a very Happy New Year.

September and October

Staff achievements - we were delighted that two of our apprentices, Jessie Potter and Sarah Jayne King both successfully completed their Level 2 Equine Apprenticeship. A lot of hard work goes into achieving this so congratulations to them both. They are staying on at Witham Villa as part of our team and will work on towards their next BHS Stage exams.

Congratulations also go to Louise Mellor who was successful in achieving the BHS Level 4 Senior Ride for Training Dressage.

British Horse Society Approved Riding School Inspection - this very thorough inspection was carried out and we were very pleased to be awarded the highest rating of Highly Commended again.

Suggestions Box - we now have a box for suggestions located in the viewing gallery. Thank you to everyone who has made comments through this scheme. We have put notes onto each of the cards to show our response.

Witham Villa Junior Trainee Scheme - We continue to invest in the scheme and are pleased that Rachael Greenhalgh has joined us here on Sundays as the WVJT Co-ordinator on the day. She will work alongside Kelly.

Safeguarding - Due to safeguarding issues that were raised and brought forward to us, we have put notices in the viewing gallery to stop videos and photos being taken of lessons. This is because pictures of some children have then appeared in the background when posted onto social media. We apologise for any inconvenience caused but trust everyone will understand the reasoning behind this.

Competitions - Eddie (Escade) had a break following on from the Junior Europeans and we are pleased that he is now back in training with India towards making their Young Rider debut. The Young Rider test is PSG level so a step up from Advanced Medium used in the Junior tests. They attended a training camp recently and we are pleased with their progress.

Verity has started to compete on her new horse, Gaya. Gaya is a KWPN 16.1hh chestnut mare imported from the Netherlands 2 years ago. They have been working together for 4 months now and are pleased to have qualified for the British Dressage Winter Regionals at Elementary Gold Freestyle. The plan is to step up to Medium level next.

August 2022

Horses - In August our lovely Breeze left Witham Villa for his semi-retirement home. He has been a truly wonderful horse to have in the riding school having helped so many people to learn to ride as well as being ridden by the more advanced riders and taking part in the BHS Riding Schools Championships as well as Unaffiliated and Affiliated dressage competitions and University competitions and Pony Club. He was also used by the Riding for the Disabled group who meet here on a Thursday afternoon. We are pleased to report that he is very happy in his new home with Michelle, who had previously enjoyed a lot of time with him here at Witham Villa.

Eddie has had time off this month as he had to have a tooth out which proved a little more complicated than we had hoped. Pleased to report he has healed well and we are looking to be able to bring him back into work shortly. The plan for India and Eddie is then to make the step up from Juniors to Young Riders and to continue to compete Internationally.

BHS - we held a Stage 2 Care and Lunge exam which ran very smoothly. We currently have a BHS Stage 2 Care course running on a Monday evening at 5pm

British Dressage - we are sad to confirm that the August bank holiday show was the final affiliated dressage show that will be run here at Witham Villa. We have enjoyed being a BD venue for many years now and seeing our competitors and horses on their training and competing journeys. Recently we have seen entries dwindling and this is what led to the decision that running Affiliated was no longer viable.

Unaffiliated Dressage - we will continue to run our Thursday competitions and the plan is to move these to a Monday from next year which will leave the Thursdays free from disruption for our normal lessons. Pole clinics and other such special events will also move to a Monday from 2023.

Witham Villa Junior Trainee scheme - We held a meeting for trainees and their parents/guardians to introduce Kelly as the new WVJT Coordinator and to explain the stable management awards system that the WVJTs will be training to achieve. Thank you to all who came and for the feedback, it is much appreciated as we all look forward to future developments which can only come about with everyone’s input.

Riding Lessons - as we move into the Autumn, please let us know if you ride with us but do not have a regular lesson space and would like one. If you could email us at withamvillarc@gmail.com with your requirements we can then see if there is a suitable lesson that you could attend regularly and we can then allocate that to you which will give you instant booking availability instead of having to wait to see if a space comes up.

Suggestions - we have reintroduced the “Suggestions box” which is located in the viewing gallery and welcome your input so together we can continue to make improvements to the Equestrian Centre. Alternatively feel free to email us at withamvillarc@gmail.com.

July 2022

Heatwave! The first time we have had to move lessons due to the heat, but very pleased that we were able to keep all of the horses cool and healthy. The welfare of our horses and riders is always our top priority.

British Dressage Show - sadly the July show had to be cancelled due to so few entries because of the weather forecast and indeed the heat on the day. Looking forward to our August Bank Holiday show on Monday 29th August and hoping for plenty of entries for that

Staff - We welcomed a new apprentice, Olivia, who joined us in July. We wish her the best of luck as she starts her training towards her level two apprenticeship and BHS exams.

Horses - two new ponies have come to us on loan - Perry and Star. They are both children’s ponies that have been outgrown. They are currently being assessed by our staff and will now be added to our riding school license as they have passed their vet check. So, something to look forward to riding for our younger riders.

FEI Junior European Championships - Huge congratulations to India and Eddie (Escade) - Junior Team Bronze medalists! The championships were held at Hartpury University in Gloucestershire - what a wonderful experience. There was a team stable yard with Union Jacks and flags and a rider camp with all the horse boxes linked up with bunting and tented areas with tables and chairs. An amazing atmosphere with a fantastic team spirit and great support from the British Dressage team. Serina Gonchakov and Verity Saul also stayed with India to help.

To have come away with a medal was superb. This is India’s final year in Juniors (Advanced Medium) and the pair will now be moving on to PSG (Prix St Georges). They have finished as 20th in the world on the FEI world ranking statistics.

We are thrilled to have a horse that has been produced here at Witham Villa competing at this level and a rider that has ridden here from a child and continues to train here with Verity alongside outside training with Gareth Hughes now.

June 2022

SEIB/Horse and Hound Awards - in June we were delighted to be short listed for the SEIB/Horse and Hound Large Riding School of the Year Award. At this stage we had to make a short video of the yard and activities - (a big thank you to Duncan who very kindly helped us with this), send in a staff photo and copy of our logo. We felt very honoured to have progressed to this stage and although we have not now been named as finalists we are very proud of our achievements. Thank you to all of our Witham Villa Team of both staff and horses and of course all of our wonderful clients who make it all worthwhile.

BHS Exams- in June we hosted a Stage 2 Teaching exam which progressed very smoothly for all concerned.

BHS Exams - The next Stage 1 exam being held here is on Monday 22nd August.

BHS Stage 1 - a new course has started running on Monday evenings at 4pm. Sessions are available on a weekly basis and can be booked via ECpro.

BHS Stage 2 - The Stage 2 training runs at 5pm on a Monday evening, again bookable weekly via ECpro.

BHS Ride Safe - Silver Challenge Award - this is required for BHS Stage 1. Our next course with assessment is on

Cost is £50 per person.

Pony Club - we are delighted to welcome Hannah Robinson as the new Witham Villa Pony Club Co-ordinator. Pony club stable management training towards badges and Pony Club Tests continues on a Monday evening as before, sessions booked via ECpro

Summer Holiday Programme - we have a programme of events being held during the summer holidays. The programme is currently on our Facebook page and bookable via our online booking system - ECPro

Dressage Day Camp - Verity held another dressage day camp in June, this time with the theme of connection. Dates for the rest of 2022 will be released shortly.

International Competition - India and Eddie (Escade) were selected to represent Great Britain in the FEI Junior Team and Individual Test. They had an excellent show finishing in first place in the Team Test on 71+% and second in the Individual Test with 72+%

Junior European Championships to be held at Hartpury in the last week of July - We are delighted to announce that India and Eddie have been selected fto be part of the four person team, representing Great Britain. This has been a dream goal that we have been working very hard for and thanks go to everyone who is part of Team Eddie.

May 2022

Horses - We have been searching for horses and ponies to join the team here at Witham Villa and are delighted to welcome Orla - 16.1hh Irish piebald mare, Buddy - 15 hh grey Connemara and Vegas - 13.2hh shewbald mare.

When we get new horses they are initially ridden by the staff, then if we feel they are suitable and are happy here, they get vet checked and added on to our riding school licence and start working in the school.

Monty has now been retired from the school and has a new home with Serina. He was born and bred at Witham and Serina has ridden him ever since he was first broken in so they have a fantastic bond. We are delighted to here that he has settled into his new home and is enjoying his new routine.

Ginty (Shannon’s foal) is now 3 years old and has been away to be started under saddle. She has made good progress and is now turned back out at grass with some other youngsters. She will then be brought back up in the Autumn and re-started.

British Dressage - we have held two competitions this month and always love to see horse and rider combinations progressing up the levels. We also hold a monthly unaffiliated competition on a Thursday - all entries via Horsemonkey. Horsemonkey now have their app up and running again so hopefully it will be nice and easy to get your entries in again now.

Dressage Day Camp - Verity held another day camp in May, working to improve suppleness and connection. We had a lovely group of horses and riders taking part and look forward to the next day camp on Monday June 20th. Booking for this is via ECpro via the Witham Villa website link and there is the option of attending on your own horse, or you can ride a Witham Villa horse.

Pole Clinic - Ali set up another pattern of poles to encourage athleticism and suppleness in the horses as well as being really good fun to ride. These are held monthly and booked via ECPro (link via the Witham Villa website)

BHS Exams - Congratulations to Aliina Atkinson who passed the BHS Stage 3 Teach exam. Sadly Aliina has made the decision to stop teaching here at Witham Villa. We would like to wish her well in all of her future endeavours and thank her for the lessons she has taught here and in particular her work with the Witham Villa Pony Club.

The sessions Aliina taught here will be covered by another instructor temporarily until a permanent appointment is made.

International Dressage - We are delighted that India and Eddie (Escade) are now ranked number 24 in the FEI World Junior rankings, the second highest UK combination.

Somerford Premier League - A very good performance from India and Eddie achieving plus 70% to gain personal bests in both the Junior Individual and in the Junior Team Test.

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April 2022

Easter Holidays

April saw a busy holiday schedule over Easter with Pony Club activities, Clear round show jumping, junior dressage and junior experience sessions as well as our ever popular pole clinics.

A highlight over the Easter holidays was the final of the BHS Riding Schools Competition held at Onley Grounds Equestrian Centre. We were delighted to have so many of our riders through to the final and congratulations to all who qualified. Particular congrats to the following prize winners:-

18 & Over dressage

1st place Connie riding Mac

7th place Kay riding Basil

17 & Under dressage

3rd place Bea riding Basil

7th place Rowan riding Louis

18& Over Dressage, Show Jumping and Stable Management Quiz

1st Connie riding Mac

12 & Under Dressage, Show Jumping and Stable Management Quiz

7th Place Nichola riding Poppy

Witham Villa Horses

In April we waved Primrose off as she has gone to be in semi-retirement with some friends of Witham Villa. She has settled in beautifully and is enjoying lots of attention.

Shannon’s foal, Ginty (Integra) is off being started under saddle now. She will then be turned back out to grass within a little herd of young horses before coming back in to re-start in the Autumn.

British Dressage

It was lovely to have a visit from Jo Byrne the North and East Region RDO who came to present Witham Villa with a Region Achievement award for supporting members in challenging times in 2020 and 2021. She also presented India with the Sheepgate Equestrian Youth Trophy.

In April India and Eddie (Escade) finished in 2nd place on 68% just 1 mark behind the winner in the PSG Area Festival Championship.

Verity and Izzy qualified for the Winter Championships at Elementary and Medium Freestlye, but sadly didn’t get to compete as Izzy just wasn’t on form, resulting in us coming home - disappointing, but that is just how it goes sometimes with horses!

At the end of the month, India was selected to represent Great Britain in the Junior Nations Cup, held in Le Mans in France. This was the first time we had taken a horse abroad to compete and quite a challenge to get all of the required paperwork in order post Brexit! However despite the long journey there and back it was a wonderful week with the Junior Team on the podium in 3rd place. India and Eddie then had two more podium places, finishing 3rd in the Junior Individual and 3rd in the Junior Freestyle on 75%. It was great to have Serina come with us as International Groom, I became International Trainer and International lorry driver!

General

It’s great to have the cafe open now and for people to be able to safely socialise again.

We continue to strive to make Witham Villa a friendly environment in which to learn and develop and always welcome your feedback and any ideas that you have for future development. If you want to contact us then please do email on withamvillarc@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you.

March 2022

March has seen plenty going on here at Witham Villa.

We held a BHS Stage 2 exam, hosted a De Montfort University B Team competition, British Dressage Affiliated Show, Unaffiliated Dressage Show, Pole clinics as well as all of our normal riding lessons and Pony Club Training.

We have been very pleased to have the riders from Kimberly House RDA group back and able to continue with both their riding lessons and also to re-start the stable management training sessions.

We have re-opened the cafe, which has been refurbished. We are building back up to full opening hours as we get the shifts all covered. We still have some shifts that need to be covered if anyone is interested in some part time work.

We continued with staff Continued Professional Development, attending an online Safeguarding training session keeping everyone updated with best practice.

On the horses front Warrior went back home after his winter here on loan to us. He settled in well here and became a firm favourite for many of our riders. I’m pleased to say he was equally happy to get back to his owners. We have another horse, Betty who has come to us on loan. She is currently being ridden by our staff and being assessed for work in the school. She is a beautiful mare and we hope she will enjoy her time here.

Very sadly we said our goodbyes to Holly B (Madame Briot) this month. She came to us on loan many years ago and was wonderful in the school, enjoyed by so many of our riders. She was rfully etired last year aged 30 and enjoyed a happy retirement out in the field with a companion. RIP and thank you Holly B.

Verity held her first Dressage Camp of 2022 attended by a group of riders and their horses all keen to develop their skills and improve their horses way of going - a really enjoyable day. Next camp dates are Monday 23rd May and Monday 20th June. Both of these dates are now available to book on ECPro.

India and Eddie (Escade) attended an International Training Session with test riding and training with Peter Storr, which was very beneficial. They competed at Keysoe International CDI for Great Britain in the Junior Team Test, Junior Individual and Freestyle, finishing 6th, 5th and 3rd respectively all scores 68%+ and 72% in the freestyle. We are delighted that the combination have been selected onto the Long List for the Junior European Championships to be held in July. They have also been selected as part of the GB Junior Team to compete in the Nations Cup in Le Mans, France at the end of April.

We have had to make an increase to our lesson prices from April in line with rising costs and to enable us to continue to maintain standards. We have kept it to a minimum and hope everyone will understand the need for the increase.

Easter holiday activities are available to book now via ECpro.

February 2022

Although a short month, plenty happened in February! Unfortunately we had to contend with some severe weather which resulted in us having to cancel some lessons and actually close completely for one day. These decisions are not taken lightly but the health and safety of our clients and horses is paramount.

During the half term holiday we ran Pony Club E, D and D+ Tests and we are delighted to report a 100% pass rate for the 17 children that took these tests. Congratulations everyone.

We also ran a Regional Qualifier for the British Horse Society Riding Schools Competition and it was lovely to see so many children, teens and adults taking part in the dressage, show jumping and stable management quiz. Congratulations to all who took part and in particular those riders that qualified for the National Final. This will be taking place at Onley Grounds Equestrian Centre on April 13th.

A Ride Safe training and test session was held with a 100% pass rate, well done everyone. This is needed for anyone taking their BHS Stage 1 and 2 exams.

We continue to run a British Dressage show once a month and also an Unaffiliated Dressage Show. Then a bi-monthly pole clinic.

This month saw the removal of the muck heap over 2 Saturdays, it’s amazing how much muck our horses generate! If ever anyone wants some for their garden, please do ask.

The cafe refurbishment started and we are aiming to reopen in March. We will be interviewing for cafe staff so please do get in touch if you are interested in working in the cafe. Applications to withamvillarc@yahoo.co.uk.

Verity and Izzy competed in the British Dressage Regionals at Vale View finishing in 2nd place in the Elementary Freestyle Gold section and in 3rd place in the Medium Silver section. Hoping for wild cards to the Championships.

India and Eddie attended the Sport England funded National Academy camp and benefitted from ridden training sessions with Spencer Wilton, test riding, talks on nutrition, professional development, rider physio, equine dentistry, social media and PR, athlete lifestyle and coaching observation. A fantastic few days, thank you to British Dressage for organising these wonderful opportunities. #learnwithBDYouth

Verity will be running a dressage day camp on Monday 28th March. To book on, entries are via ECpro. For anyone not already on the ECpro system, you just need to go onto the Witham Villa website, scroll down and follow the link. Please note there is a discount code for riders on their own horse.