Cantering to confidence: BUCS friendly match review.

With Varsity just around the corner, the teams have been training hard to ensure the best possible chance for a win this season against rivals, Leicester University Equestrian club. Everyone knows the only way to secure a win is practice, practice, practice and De Montfort Equestrian team have embedded this motto into their training by holding a practice BUCS friendly match to get everyone in full competitive mode. This day incorporated some of DMU Equestrian's team riders as well as new intermediates who are hoping to secure a place on the team and Varsity squad next year and used the day as chance to build some confidence and have a go at a BUCS style competition in full show gear.

The successful riders of the day:
Emily Milner (6th), Charlotte Scott (4th), Lorna Stahly (5th)
Gabbi Berrill (3rd), Becky Shraga (1st) and Lizzie Mole (2nd)

The competition on 26th February, included six rider's from De Montfort, with three of the B team riders taking part to get some extra competition style practice before the up and coming Varsity match. The day included running through the BUCS dressage test on one horse and then completing a show jumping round of 80cm on another. The dressage consists of a preliminary style test with circles, change of rein, canter work, trot work and is marked for accuracy of each movement out of ten. As well as accuracy scores, the riders gain collective set marks that look at position, use of aids, impulsion, balance and harmony with the horse themselves. The day was judged by Verity Saul, proprietor and qualified List 6 Dressage Judge who has competed in all disciplines including representing the Northern Region at the BD Senior Home International. Keen to challenge the riders, Verity made sure her marks were a true reflection of the tests and show jumping rounds produced and put everyone at DMU through their paces to ensure the best results. The scores across the board were all extremely pleasing with some well executed tests ridden by all, including some brand new intermediates who haven't rode the full dressage test in months but produced some brilliant flatwork. The horses used included Breeze, a lovely bay gelding who has previously been competed in BUCS matches. Willow, a striking black mare who was ridden by Becky Shraga who also currently competes her in the Preliminary classes for British Dressage. The final horse used on the day was Charm, a sweet tempered, coloured gelding who is great for the more capable and also newer riders, he takes part in all disciplines at Witham Villa.

The show jumping round consisted of a simple six fence course designed to give the team riders a chance to show off all their hard work training, and the intermediates competing a chance to have a go at jumping a full course. The course consisted of a double, spreads and cross poles giving a variety of fences for the riders to tackle as every fence is scored out of ten as well as collective marks similar to dressage that are awarded. The results at the end of the show jumping were brilliant, with lots of clear rounds and high style marks awarded as everyone finished on a high completing both section of the BUCS competition. The horses competed were; Harrison, a favourite amongst the DMU rider's and a excellent jumping pony, Caesar a bay gelding who has been used for all BUCS competitions and Preston, a super pony who is used for all disciplines at Witham Villa.

All the riders who took part did extremely well and found it a real booster for their confidence and a nice relaxed chance to have a go at competing in a friendly environment. B team rider's Becky Shraga, Lizzie Mole and Gabbi Berrill took 1st, 2nd and 3rd placings with an excellent display of strong team riding from all. Charlotte Scott, Lorna Stahly and Emily Milner walked away with 4th, 5th and 6th individual rosettes and personalised certificates as a record of their completion of the day. Judge, Verity Saul was extremely pleased with the efforts from all the riders and the improvement in everyones confidence prior to the 2014 Varsity.

Lizzie Mole, B team rider was really pleased she joined in on the day gaining the top dressage score riding Breeze:

"The friendly competition at Witham Villa was a great day for everybody who came and rode. The atmosphere was relaxed and everyone achieved a rosette placing which was really rewarding and helped improve everyones confidence. It was a great opportunity to be judged by Verity as a top dressage rider in a friendly and familiar environment. I was really happy to have come second and be able to compete on some fantastic horses. Thank you to Gabbi and Becky for running and organising such a fun day!"

Lorna Stahly, a rider who hasn't competed at university before found the day has really motivated her to get back into the saddle:

"It was such a good day! Everything ran very smoothly and because there was no pressure it just added so much more fun to the situation. It was nice to get all dressed up in show gear and see how BUCS competitions really run, almost like a little dress rehearsal! It boosted everyone's confidence and love for riding."

The next few weeks will see the team actively training for Varsity with some more Equi-pilates sessions to work on balance, co-ordination and fitness, as well as some intense flatwork and jumping lessons before the big day. Congratulations to all the girls for their hard work and commitment this year with some brilliant results and buckets of confidence as a consequence of all their dedication to the club and the sport.

Tweet us @DMUEquestrian and keep up to date with the latest horsey happenings!

Getting ready for Varsity 2014 with Equipilates

DMU Equestrian have recently been training hard in order to prepare for this year's Varsity against Leicester University, with two teams being entered with eight of the best rider's from each university competing in the battle of the best!

In order to make sure they are all fighting fit, DMU Equestrian have taken an alternative approach to their training by improving things from the ground with Equipilates sessions. The sessions are Pilates but structured specifically to help horse riders improve position, postural awareness, balance and co-ordination whilst performing any riding discipline as a holistic exercise regime. The sessions are ran by Sara Smith, De Montfort University's very own physiotherapist who works at the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Centre Gym right on campus. As a rider herself, Sara specialises in working with riders to improve their position to help benefit their riding and give positive results from both physical and breathing exercises.

Equipilates is designed to improve the rider's awareness of their own body and the effect movement from the rider has upon the horse and the way they move underneath. Spinal alignment and leg position are significant elements to consider whilst riding and Equipilates exercises help to create a greater awareness of the signals riders give out to their horse from tensing up to body alignment. The Equipilates sessions are designed to create a greater feel for weight distribution and gives riders a chance to assess the loading of their weight and create a more balanced position from the ground, which can be reciprocated whilst riding. Small distributions or an uneven balance of weight can alter the movement of the horse and therefore create a less aligned and even movement from horse to rider and vice versa.

In the recent session provided by Sara, the DMU Equestrian students worked on becoming more aware of their body and the weight and balance that they distribute and trying to centralise this to create a more even centre of gravity. Other exercises involved stretching the various muscles riders use to allow them to become more supple and flexible, involving using various equipment to relive tension from areas such as the quads, lower back and hamstrings.

The session was a huge success with the team feeling a lot more conscious of how groundwork and exercises really can improve your riding! This training is all part of developing the fitness for Varsity amongst the DMU Equestrian team whilst giving a positive experience and something new for the club to take part in. Lizzie Mole, a first year student who rides for DMU B team found the session has really helped her to understand more about her posture and balance which she hopes to en corporate into her riding sessions;

"I loved doing the Equipilates session and I have felt it has benefitted my riding massively. We worked on breathing as well as tensing and relaxing muscles which especially useful for a rider who is on an excitable horse, or even feeling nervous before a competition. We were also taught stretches to strengthen leg muscles and help build on our flexibility. It was a really informative and good session, well worth the early start."

A huge thank you to Sara Smith for running the session, check out her Facebook page and if you would like anymore information on Equipilates or DMU Equestrian please don't hesitate to contact us.

SarahSmithPhysiotherapy
DMU Equestrian Society

DMU continue charity work with local RDA Arden group

Arden RDA the local Leicestershire volunteer group

The RDA (Riding for the Disabled Association) are a charity with a difference. They provide positive care and therapy for people living with disability all over the UK with horses and ponies. With over 500 groups, working for over 40 years, with 18,000 volunteers the RDA are a charity that offer an opportunity for alternative 'Hippotherapy' for people living with both physical and mental disabilities. The RDA focus on giving exceptional care and engagement from instructors and volunteers in a safe and comfortable environment for all age groups whilst making it as accessible as possible.

The focus of the RDA is to make sure that the rider's gain a pleasure from working with the animals in order to potentially gain confidence, freedom of movement, enhanced physiotherapy, reach individual goals or build relationships. It has been noted by medical professionals that there are significant therapeutic benefits from the therapy provided for rider's with disabilities. The movement of the horse is transmitted through the rider's body to make them more supple and to strengthen core stability, improving balance, posture and co-ordination.

The girls at DMU Equestrian are now proudly part of the local RDA Arden Group which runs weekly sessions that the team at De Montfort are actively participating in to help local people to achieve their own goals through riding care and therapy. The volunteer scheme runs alongside the DSU volunteer awards system that allows students to log their hours for volunteering allowing them to receive an official certification from the university at the end of the year for all their hard work.

This is not the first affiliation the girls have participated in to do with the RDA, as the naked charity calendar produced by the society gives proceeds to local RDA group, Kimberley House that ride at Witham Villa, De Montfort's nominated training yard. The opportunity to volunteer is open to all society members as no prior experience is required as all training is given through the staff working at RDA to ensure safe and correct practice is executed by all volunteers to clients taking part.

Lybbi Hatton, a member of the society took part in the first training session with the Arden RDA group and was able to see firsthand the benefits riding can have for the disabled as well as other rider's. As a rider who is working on her confidence, Lybbi found the experience a positive reinforcement for achieving her own personal equestrian goals;

"As a person who has gained a lot from the positive benefits of horse riding and seeing the huge impact it can have on someone's well being. The RDA is a fantastic group that creates a safe and encouraging environment for children and adults with disability to learn to work with horses. I throughly enjoyed helping and seeing the faces of the children as they were riding, and how proud they clearly felt was a real pleasure to watch."

De Montfort Equestrian Club will now be making a regular appearance at the Arden RDA yard and hope to work up lots of volunteer hours for the DSU University scheme.

For information on how to get involved please contact us via;

Twitter @DMUEquestrian

Facebook 'DMU Equestrian Society'

DMU Equestrian at the local Arden RDA volunteer scheme

BUCS Banishing Britain?

This week has seen the controversial decision made to not send a British team to the World University Equestrian Championships ran by BUCS. This decision reflects the lack of support and funding given to university equine sports teams over other sports played within the BUCS university leagues. As a competing university, the topic has lead to many discussions between DMU Equestrian rider's as to the negative impact this has on not only university competitors, but Britain as a leading country in equestrian sport currently in the world.

BUCS, The British University and
Colleges Sport.

The World University Championships are ran in the same format of BUCS (British University and Colleges Sport) format league competitions across the UK. Britain has decided to not send a team this year on the basis that the style of competition does not help to positively develop the most elite young rider's who train for Team GB. The event was to occur in March in Abu Dhabi, where rider's are given an unknown horse supplied by the venue, with 10 minutes to warm up before doing a dressage test and show jumping round, the same display as in the BUCS league matches. The final round consists of a Prix St George standard dressage test and a 1.30m show jumping round.

Previous British winners in the BUCS world title includes top event rider, William Fox- Pitt who won the show jumping phase in the world championships. His reaction to the news Britain was not sending a team was that it was a "huge shame" as a rider who fully supports the university BUCS competitions and the positive development of young British rider's.

Team GB have had huge success
since the 2012 London Olympics

BUCS have stated that the competitions do not help improve the Olympic rider's in training and the competition does not fit in with their young rider development programme, hence the decision to abstain from sending a team. The lack of funding for university sport is reflected in this decision as sending a team would be costly, but Britain have already proved they are more than capable of bringing home the gold with a successful previous record at the BUCS worlds with at least one medal every event since 1997.

The format of the BUCS competitions is a controversial one, but it allows rider's to compete who may not necessarily be able to finance their own horse and encourages them to adapt to any situation by riding a variety of different horses. This is a huge shame pulling Britain out especially due to the recent success by Charlotte Dujardin and her world record at Olympia in December 2013 and Scott Brash becoming world number one for show jumping.

Jenny Walker, Chairperson for De Montfort Equestrian Society had this to say about the drastic decision not to send a team;

"It's a huge shame that we won't have a BUCS team to represent our country in the World Equestrian Championships this year. It's especially disappointing considering how much Britain is succeeding in all aspects of Equestrian disciplines, including lots of medals at the 2012 Olympics and recent world records set by Charlotte Dujardin. I have seen some of the BUCS young rider talent in our region alone and the standard is very high, which is know is reflected in BUCS leagues across the country. This is a huge step backwards in the world of student equestrian sport and hopefully we will gain a well deserved place at next year's championships and BUCS will alter their decision not to send a team."

The impact of this decision by BUCS is one that will have a knock on effect on the number of rider's who choose to participate in university equine activity due to the lack of support and closure of opportunities such as the world championships for them to take part in.

Let us know what you think via Twitter @DMUEquestrian or Facebook 'DMU Equestrian Society'

Remember to keep voting in the ESMA Awards 2014 for DMU Equestrian, Section 14: 'BEST BLOG' and help counteract this negative impact on university equine sport and get behind the fight for British success!

http://www.equestriansocialmediaawards.com/finalists-esma

VOTING NOW OPEN! 

Is 2014 the year for university equestrian sport?

The start of 2014 has started in success for DMU Equestrian as they have been nominated into the top 10 finals for the global Equestrian Social Media Awards. This is an outstanding achievement for the society who are delighted to be a part of these prestigious awards and are voting and promoting, hoping to secure a win for their club.

The hard work that has been inputted by all the members of the society, competitive teams and committee is what has driven DMU Equestrian to the forefront of sport at De Montfort, and being a part of these awards is only helping to raise the profile of university equestrian sport even more. The positive impact of these awards has only motivated the team behind DMU Equestrian Society to get involved in more activities outside of their home yard including some volunteering for the local RDA Arden group. This is continuing the hard work the girls have done with their naked charity calendar raising an amazing amount of money with a complete sell out this year! Alongside their charitable work, the girls have are preparing to start building upon their training sessions by trying out some fitness but equestrian style, with brand new Equi-Pilates classes. These classes are designed to work specifically on pilates that benefits the core strength and muscles worked hardest within horse rider's and aimed to benefit balance, strength and muscle ratio. The society are helping to support local Equi- Pilates instructor and sports massage therapist, Sara Smith on her fight to get equestrian's fitter and fighting ready for those competitive seasons to begin.

What's next for DMU Equestrian?

Becky Shraga B Team Captain

B Team Captain, Becky Shraga tells us all about the next stage of the journey for DMU Equestrian and gives us an exclusive insight into why De Montfort Equestrian team is the club to join, and the pony place to be. 

What has been your favourite moment so far since the start of the 2013/2014 academic year?

Being made B team captain and leading a very strong team into our first competition on home turf, where everyone member of the team’s dressage and jumping results had improved dramatically from the start of the year at try outs. This made me feel very proud of my team and showed how hard work and commitment can really pay off.

What is the best thing about being on committee?

Working in a close-knit team, who also happen to by my best friends is the most rewarding part of being on committee. I loved planning and executing the fresher’s fair. All our hard work over the summer thoroughly paid off, signing up more members than the last two previous years, which for a developing club like ours, is a huge achievement we were all extremely proud of.

Describe your DMU Equestrian experience in three words.

Fun, Exciting, Love

What other experiences can DMU Equestrian offer members besides riding on a competitive team?

British Dressage, Riding schools competitions, Gymkhana, handy pony days, RDA training, socials and much more…

What new things are you planning to try out for 2014 as a club?

RDA training, friendly competitions between B and C team, British dressage, local show jumping…

How has DMU Equestrian made your university experience the best it can possibly be?

I’ve made friends that I will keep for life, increased my competitive streak, worked as a captain with my best friends, competed in British Dressage and formed a strong bond with one the horses who I plan to compete with on a regular basis.

What personal goals has DMU Equestrian helped you to achieve or overcome?

I will now happily will sit on any horse and take what it gives me, can now jump a 95cm show jumping course after breaking my back 5 years ago.

What has been your most memorable night out with the club?

Going on a joint social with hockey, dressed in my DMU riding colours and jodhpurs allowed us to bond with the other teams and have a really fun night out. 

REMEMBER TO TWEET US @DMUEquestrian 

AND VOTE FOR US IN THE 2014 ESMA AWARDS SECTION 14 DMU EQUESTRIAN FOR 'BEST BLOG'

http://www.equestriansocialmediaawards.com/finalists-esma

DMU Equestrian 'BEST BLOG' FINALISTS! VOTE NOW!

DMU Equestrian's social media success #esma14

The Equestrian Social Media Awards #esma14

The close of 2013 marked the end of a very successful year at DMU Equestrian, with the naked calendar being a sell out, and two unforgettable home competitions for the BUCS league teams who compete for De Montfort. The club are hoping to continue this success and the positive development of Equestrian sport at university into 2014 and beyond, as a developing sport that has significantly raised it's profile at DMU and is proving to be at the forefront of sport at De Montfort.

The opening of the Equestrian Social Media awards for 2014 in December ignited a new challenge for the society at DMU as the nomination for 'Best Blog' allowed them the opportunity to showcase their developments in helping get more young people involved in equine activities at university level. The awards showcase how different types of social media are helping to raise the profile of equestrian sport and activities across the globe. The awards positively unite the equestrian world and DMU Equestrian are extremely lucky to be a part of the nominations this year, showing off their very own methods of getting equestrian sport out there and more and more people wanting to know more!

These prestigious awards have 17 categories including; best use of twitter, best blog, best use of Facebook, best use of media by a professional horse person etc. The public nominate entries into the awards and then the top 10 from each section are entered into the finals on January 20th 2014 in which two winners are decided, one by public vote and one by a specially selected equine panel of professional judges. Nominees are subject to strict engagement criteria such as how quickly they respond to comments, post original content and demonstrate good online etiquette. Top celebrities such as; world number one show jumper Ben Maher, Katie Price and Clare Balding are all entrants in the awards alongside amateur writers and equestrians. In the equestrian world it is a highly regarded award with some top magazine and television names entering such as; Horse and Hound, Horse and Country TV and British Eventing. This is matched by the just as expert panel of judges which comprises of top photographers, professional riders, magazine publishers, bloggers etc.

The support from everyone who has voted in the awards has highlighted just how far the society has come and how much impact it has had on people at the university and young people involved in the sport. The influence it has had over Equestrian sport at De Montfort University has been amazing, with a high readership level and active circulation around the university. The activity of this blog has raised, beyond belief the profile of equestrian sport at university and has acted as a catalyst for the engagement of young, educated people to get into something amazing. It gives the ins and outs, the ups and downs and the true dedication and motivation that people riding in university sport have and the level of success it can give to the individual and as a club at De Montfort. It was started out as a means of developing the training and activity of BUCS league teams at the university and has grown into something much more than that, with an outstanding level of support from students and staff at the university. It signifies the true impact that a small community can have on improving equestrian sport and how every single rider is valuable within the community on a social level as well as a riding one. It as enhanced the social media awareness of equestrian sport at university by positively reinforcing the benefits of riding and giving students something extra to work for. DMU Equestrian blog is a bout more than just horses, it is about creating and educating the university community about a sport that is now at the forefront of British sporting disciplines.

Thank you to everyone who has voted and supported us. We are ever anticipating the announcement of the finalists for 2014 on January 20th!

#esma14
DMU Equestrian for 'Best Blog'

Looking back, but moving forward: 2013 review

What a year it has been in the equestrian world. With lots of firsts, triumphs, thrills and spills across British equestrian sport and disciplines with Team GB leading the forefront of the equine success story. This success has meant British equestrian sport is now not just internationally recognised, but internationally honoured and respected with leading competitors in dressage, show jumping, eventing and Paralympic events. This drive to get equestrian sport out there is something that has been reflected in the student population of De Montfort University, who have been determined to push equestrian sport at university to the front of sporting disciplines. The committee for DMU Equestrian have worked hard this year to set in stone the importance and value of this amazing sport and have had the best success ever so far this year. With a record number of sign ups at the freshers fair kicking things off, the number of rider's who signed to tryout was also the best that DMU has ever seen with lots of positive engagement from the students and other sports teams at the university.

Some of the DMU team rider's at the christmas gymkhana games

The club have worked on developing the number of rider's who come to Witham Villa by holding events for beginners such as the very successful horse care day, that allowed beginner rider's to take part and learn basic horse care skills. Dressage demonstration from Verity Saul, the yard owner and dressage rider at Witham Villa was something that inspired all of our team rider's to get back into the saddle and take the reins to do their very best in the dressage discipline. The fun gymkhana day at the end of term was an alternative way for the team rider's to let off some steam after a successful season competing so far this year. The commitment to training for the competitive teams has been improved by the generous funding from Fidelity Group who have sponsored the BUCS teams in their fight to push for bigger, better results. Alongside this, the society have created their most successful naked charity calendar to date, with a record number of sales and the most exciting and adventurous photos ever seen. The club hosted a 'Night at the Races' charity launch night for the calendar at Bowstring bar in Leicester with horse and dog races, student drinks with donations to charity and calendar sales. The night was a huge success with a great turnout from other societies, sports teams and students who all dressed to impress in order to help support the RDA, a fantastic local group Kimberley House who support and improve the lives of people living with disability through horse riding care and therapy.

The 2013/2014 Committee at the Naked Calendar Launch

The support has been continued through the award winning student media, 'The Demon', with the radio and newspaper offering their full support to the equestrian's with regular features to allow them to promote their sport and keep the student population up to date on their activities. The integration of the sport into different areas of the university has been key to the success they have achieved so far this year, as well as the development and support of their home yard and the trainers and staff working with them. With two home competitions under their belt and lots of positive individual results, the team is positively engaging with the desire to achieve the best results possible to make equestrian sport at DMU better than ever. With 2014 just around the corner, DMU Equestrian have already got their competition preparations in place for next year with some equi-pilates classes set for January to get the team fighting fit for the next set of fixtures. The development of their BUCS rider's will be focussed on in preparations for this year's Varsity match against Leicester university as DMU fight to get the best team ready to go and compete in the biggest event of the year and get the best results possible.

It's safe to say that Equestrian is not just a developing sport at DMU, but the fastest expanding sport in Britain with more and more people getting involved in all things horse in sport. This success can be measured by the amazing triumph of none other, than the leading lady herself, Charlotte Dujardin. The double Olympic champion and her prolific partner, Valegro gained the biggest success of their career at the 2013 Olympia dressage freestyle championships. The 28 year old achieved a record breaking 93.975% in her last ever performance of the dressage test that grasped her gold in 2012. Dujardin is a reflection of the true hard work and dedication that the sport requires, her near perfect score at yesterday's Olympia freestyle signifies a key moment in equestrian history for Britain, and a well earned achievement for both horse and rider. As Olympia continues, Team GB look for more success stories with the puissance and show jumping just around the corner. Who will win the Christmas Cracker? I know DMU Equestrian will be watching to make sure they find out first.

World number 1, Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro @Olympia

Acknowledgements 

A final massive thank you to Witham Villa and all of the staff and horses who have supported us and are helping every single rider reach their own individual goals and achieve their equestrian dreams. To our sponsors, Fidelity Group for helpign us to achieve this by sponsoring our BUCS team rider's allowing them to work towards a positive future. A final thank you to everyone who has supported us with our riding, competitions, photography, charity work and society, we are ever anticipating the start of 2014!

Keep up to date with us via Twitter @DMUEquestrian and let us know all your horsey happenings over the Christmas period!