Avon Riding Club

20/07/2024

We have a fun, exciting addition to our in-house dressage competition day on Friday 30/08! We are adding a Mini Shetland (Un-Mounted) Fun Dressage class at 8:45am. Perfect for beginners and children, as a first experience of dressage! No riding experience needed, and open to clients who have not yet received a ridden assessment.

This is a fun opportunity to do a dressage test, but un-mounted, leading a shetland pony with you through each dressage movement. Our Shetland ponies are tiny, and perfect confidence givers for children or those nervous around horses. You will receive a score sheet and rosette at the end of the class 🥇

This will be a fun, friendly and encouraging competition - you can have a caller read out your dressage test, and help if you need it. Competition or riding clothes not required - just sensible shoes. Dressage test sheets will be provided for you.

💫 Friday 30th August, 8:45am 💫
💫 Open to Pre-assesed - Group 2 💫
Book via your "What's On" calendar on EC Pro: https://theavoncentre.ecpro.co.uk/book/calendar

The Avon Centre

19/07/2024

Summer Holiday Pony Days are BACK!

We are running horse and pony activity days every Tuesday and Wednesday commencing on the 23rd of July!

The day will include activities such as equine management, horse husbandry and ridden trek around our 100 acres, with a 10:00am start and a 16:00pm finish. Make sure to bring a packed lunch and wear suitable clothes for riding. Boots and long trousers are essential!

Tuesdays are open to anyone aged between 7 and 13, including those who have not yet received a ridden assessment. Wednesdays are available to pre-existing riders aged between 8 and 15, and can canter off the lead rein.

• Sign up to EC Pro - https://avon-riding-centre.ecpro.co.uk/login

• Bookings calendar - https://avon-riding-centre.ecpro.co.uk/book/calendar

We look forward to welcoming both new and familiar faces during the up and coming summer holidays. Be sure to keep a close eye on our social media pages and EC Pro calendar over the forthcoming weeks!

Be sure to check out what Avon Riding Club has to offer! ➡️ https://www.theavoncentre.org.uk/copy-of-hippotherapy

18/07/2024

New Rider Assessments

Finally, we are opening our doors again to new riders! We have plenty of assessments ready to book via EC Pro.

If you are interested in joining our summer holiday activities, be sure to sign up!

• Sign up to EC Pro - https://avon-riding-centre.ecpro.co.uk/login

• Bookings calendar - https://avon-riding-centre.ecpro.co.uk/book/calendar

We look forward to welcoming both new and familiar faces during the up and coming summer holidays. Be sure to keep a close eye on our social media pages and EC Pro calendar over the forthcoming weeks!

Be sure to check out what Avon Riding Club has to offer!
https://www.theavoncentre.org.uk/copy-of-hippotherapy

17/07/2024

ARC horses (Bertie, Dezy, Gracie, Jim & Robbie) representing Avon RDA Group at the Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) national championships this weekend.

We are so lucky to have such an amazing group of horses, staff, RDA coaches, volunteers and riders who ensure we can attend such great events. Thank you to everyone who helped and to P & S Rawlings Horse Transport for taking our horses there and back.

For the full list of results, check out The Avon Centre social media pages.

10/07/2024

Want to try something new?

Learn how to ride safely on the road directly from BHS Ride Safe Coach Jo Rawlins. Often hacking includes riding on the roads and it is crucial to know how to keep yourself and others safe.

In this one off session you will get an insight into what are the risks and how to successfully mitigate them to stay safe when riding on the roads. Also great training for those interested in taking BHS exams in the future.

The 1 hour session is available to riders from groups 2 – 4 on your EC Pro What’s On Calendar.

Tuesday the 30th of July at 17:30 PM.
£30 per rider.

10/07/2024

❗️ Deadline for next batch of clothing orders ❗️

Please note that if you wish your clothing order to go in our upcoming bulk order to the suppliers, we must receive your order by 11pm TOMORROW Thursday 11th July.

You are welcome to place orders anytime after this of course, but you will be waiting for the next bulk order to be collated.

• 11pm Thursday 11th July! •

❤️ Team ARC Clothing ❤️

In the next couple of weeks we will be placing our next bulk order for Team ARC and Avon RDA clothing! If you’ve been thinking of ordering some, now is the time to do it so it gets included in this latest bulk order.

Plenty of variety, from tiny child’s sizes up to a range of adult sizes, & personalisation options available on both hoodies and waterproof coats!

All profits go straight back into supporting the Centre’s charitable aims 😊

Please note
- if you want Avon Riding Club it’s the BURGUNDY items
- if you want Avon RDA group it’s the NAVY items

Order through our online shop here: https://www.theavoncentre.org.uk/shop-1

The Avon Centre

09/07/2024

Summer holidays activities at the Avon Centre:

1) Pony Days Beginners: every Tuesday between 10am and 4pm, suitable for children between 7 and 13. Includes 1h ride, equine management, horse husbandry and games. Cost: £65

2) Pony Stars Shetland Striders (Stable Management): These are progressive horse care and stable management (un-mounted) sessions, aimed at 5-10 year olds run every Friday. Cost: £28

Participants will follow the BHS Pony Stars curriculum, working towards proficiency badges, and a special Pony Stars rosette awarded at completion of the course!
Some of the topics included in the curriculum are: Breeds of horses and ponies, colours and markings, safe handling, animal welfare, body language and communication, riding equipment, rules of the countryside, grooming and tacking up, maintaining a tidy stable yard, feeding and nutrition.

3) Assessment lessons for experienced riders. After the assessment you will be able to join our lessons and hacks.

4) Shetland Saturdays: 45min un-mounted sessions with our herd of Shetland ponies. Minimum age is 4. Cost: £15

All booking are available through our online booking system ECPro: https://avon-riding-centre.ecpro.co.uk/

09/07/2024

Happy Tuesday everyone, we hope everyone has a great week!

Mary & Hercules feeling very pleased with themselves after their lesson this evening 😀💙

01/07/2024

A huge thank you and well done to all who came to our Unaffiliated Show Jumping competition (and Sunshine Tour qualifier) yesterday!

🏆 RESULTS 🏆

40/45cm OPEN
1st 🥇 - Freya Daniels & Casper
2nd 🥈- Ria Jones & Ruby Dazzle

50/55cm OPEN
1st 🥇 - Lexie Davies & Hywi The Black Shadow
2nd 🥈- Freya Daniels & Casper
3rd 🥉- Eva O'loughlin & Casper
4th - Alexis Lane & Casper

60/65cm OPEN
1st 🥇 - Lexie Davies & Hywi The Black Shadow
2nd 🥈- Ria Jones & Trevor
3rd 🥉- Jessica Waters & Iceford Little Miss
4th - Lucy Johnson & Knightsbridge Tyson
5th – Emma Merrett & Waffle
6th – Louise Keane & Abercippyn John

70/75cm OPEN
1st 🥇 - Jessica Waters & Iceford Little Miss
2nd 🥈- Zoe Furlong & Rambo
3rd 🥉- Lucy Johnson & Knightsbridge Tyson
4th – Mia Williams & Lucream Goldrush
5th – Ria Jones & Trevor
6th – Emma Merrett & Waffle

80/85cm OPEN
1st 🥇 – Zoe Furlong & Rambo
2nd 🥈- Lucy Johnson & Knightsbridge Tyson

90/95cm OPEN
1st 🥇 – Bella Howe & Marley
2nd 🥈 – Maddie Fleming & Joey

100/105cm OPEN
1st 🥇 – Bella Howe & Marley
2nd 🥈 – Maddie Fleming & Joey

Official results are now published on My Riding Life, follow the link below.
https://www.myridinglife.com/RemoteLocationEventResultsandtimes.aspx?locationid=1618&type=results

Our next show jumping competition (the last of our Sunshine Tour Qualifiers) will be on Sunday the 28th of July, enter via My Riding Life here:
https://www.myridinglife.com/RemoteLocationEventList.aspx?LocationID=1618&from=rl

☀️ SUNSHINE TOUR QUALIFICATION ☀️
If you have placed 1st-3rd in your class, you may submit a qualification result for the 2024 Sunshine Tour at Hickstead.
• You will need to download a copy of todays results from MyRidingLife and upload it to the Sunshine Tour website when you record your qualification
• Before recording results you will need to register your horse or pony with the Sunshine tour
All info on registering/recording a qualification can be found on the Sunshine Tour website here: https://www.sunshinetour.co.uk

A huge well done again to all competitors and hope to see many of you at the next one.

The Avon Centre

01/07/2024

A fantastic opportunity!

This Sunday join us for the test riding clinic with Mojca- List 4 BD judge and GP rider. 30min and 45min slots available to ride your test and get coaching on how to improve your marks.

Feel free to choose which test you would like to ride (including the new BD tests) as long as it is in the short arena.

Fun and relaxed way to improve your test riding skills and get more points when competing. A nice way to introduce young horses to white boards and new horse-rider combinations to competing away from home. Have a go at dressage without the stress of competition. Warm up in the outside arena and clinic will be held in the indoor school. Suitable for all levels.

Link to enter:

https://avon-riding-centre.ecpro.co.uk/events/upcoming

Entries will close on Thursday evening at 8pm.

26/06/2024

We are so lucky to have such a mixed group of incredible riding school and RDA horses and ponies, both past and present. With each one being special to so many people, it is important to remember the following…

Copied from another post.

They are never just Riding School Ponies:

One day you may move onto bigger, fancier horses, but never forget the school horse who made you, as without them, you wouldn’t be able to ride anything at all.

The patient soul that tolerated your bouncing while you figured out how to sit the trot.

The kind mare that didn’t walk off when you fumbled with the bridle and figured out how to pop that bit in her mouth.

The sweet gelding that picked up the correct canter lead even though your body was telling him to do the exact opposite.

The saintly angel that never spooked, which was a dam good thing because your balance was precarious at best.

Too often we forget where we came from. We move on to the next chapter in our lives and say, “Oh my gosh, I’m learning so much! I’m going so far! I could never do this kind of thing on that old school horse!”

But infact you could, you were just not ready to do all these things back then.

But that school horse gave you the confidence to move forward. That school horse took care of you in all respects and allowed you to take the time you needed to find your way. You couldn’t have become the rider you are today without that riding school horse, always remember to love them unconditionally for our riding school horses are what help start your dream, make dreams come true and get you ready for those bigger dreams.

If like us, you love our riding school horses as much as we do, we'd love to hear which one you will always remember the most and why.

23/06/2024

Here are our coaches for the next One Day Camp on 22/9!

One Day Camp includes:
- Two semi-private 45min lessons in the discipline of your choice
- 30min private biomechanics lesson on the horse simulator
- Catering
- Permanent stabling with shavings, but please provide your own hay/haulage
- Equine Physiotherapist available for sessions (additional charge)
- Lots of fun, meeting new people, learning new skills and having a fabulous day out with your horse!

There will be 2 options:
8 spaces for dressage lesson + pole lesson
8 spaces for dressage lesson + show jumping lesson

Bookings will open on 25/6 at 1pm via our online shop: https://www.theavoncentre.org.uk/shop-1

More info and T&CS: https://www.theavoncentre.org.uk/events

Please note our previous camp sold out in a few hours and all bookings will be made on the first come first serve basis.

Berchner-Nolan
Elizabeth Allen .allen_dressage
Sarah Spencer-Williams

23/06/2024

One more week until our next Unaffiliated Show Jumping Competition on 30/6. Entries will close on Friday before the show at noon.

Link to enter: https://www.myridinglife.com/eventdetails.aspx?id=435821

All welcome!

17/06/2024

Bertie appreciation post!

Irish Cob Cross
15.2hh
17 years old

Bertie is a long standing member of team Avon, having been with us for over a decade! Like a fine wine, Bertie has just continued to get better and better with age, and is one of our most popular and versatile members of the herd. He will very happily take a novice rider round their first dressage test off lead rein, whilst also enjoying lateral work and cross country jumping with our staff and advanced riders.

Fun fact: since we started pinning Bertie’s door back, to prevent him kicking it to demand food - he has started “singing” for his breakfast instead!

Share the love for Bertie! 🖤

16/06/2024

A huge thank you and well done to all who came to our Unaffiliated Combined Training competition today! The sun finally shone again, and everyone did superbly 👏🏻

🏆 RESULTS 🏆

Prelim & 60/65cm
1st 🥇 - Naomi Reynolds & Lemmy
2nd 🥈- Louise Keane & Abercippyn John
3rd 🥉- Molly Bryant & Happertons Elmo

Prelim & 70/75cm
1st 🥇- Brad Sanders & Bouncer
2nd 🥈- Isabella Yeo & Tiny Dancer
3rd 🥉- Faith Muxworthy & Royal Arrival

Novice & 80/85cm
1st 🥇 - Ffion Priddle & Mali

Keep an eye out for our next Combined Training competition (date TBC).

We also have our next Unaffiliated Showjumping Competition (and Sunshine Tour Qualifier) on Sunday 30th June; with classes from Clear Round 30cm, up to 1m/1.05m.
Enter here: https://www.myridinglife.com/eventdetails.aspx?id=435821

We are really proud of the welcoming, encouraging environment at our events and competitions, and have received feedback that people and horses of ALL abilities and confidence levels enjoy coming to compete with us! ☺️

Thank you to our fab team of Event Staff & Volunteers who enable these events to run so smoothly 🌟

The Avon Centre

14/06/2024

❤️ Team ARC Clothing ❤️

In the next couple of weeks we will be placing our next bulk order for Team ARC and Avon RDA clothing! If you’ve been thinking of ordering some, now is the time to do it so it gets included in this latest bulk order.

Plenty of variety, from tiny child’s sizes up to a range of adult sizes, & personalisation options available on both hoodies and waterproof coats!

All profits go straight back into supporting the Centre’s charitable aims 😊

Please note
- if you want Avon Riding Club it’s the BURGUNDY items
- if you want Avon RDA group it’s the NAVY items

Order through our online shop here: https://www.theavoncentre.org.uk/shop-1

The Avon Centre

08/06/2024

A chance to get out the arena for our Saturday advanced RDA lesson, and enjoy this beautiful weather with a hack round the fields! The horses were superbly behaved, and everyone had an absolute blast 😁🐎

07/06/2024

We still have some availability for our facility hire this Sunday and Monday.

More about our facilities: https://www.theavoncentre.org.uk/hire

To check availability and bookings: https://avon-riding-centre.ecpro.co.uk/
(Please create the account and rider's profile to access the bookings)

Please note one has to book 48h in advance.

05/06/2024

Due to cancelations, we have TWO private lessons available tomorrow at 14:15 and 15:15 with Anneli.

These are available to existing riders and can be viewed to book on your EC Pro What's On Calendar.

There are also three spaces in both the Group 3 lesson at 13:00 and the Group 4 lesson at 16:15.

For assistance with booking, please contact [email protected]

04/06/2024

A fabulous opportunity to get some valuable feedback from a dressage judge without the stress of a competition!

Would you like to improve your dressage test riding skills?

Join our test riding clinic with Mojca Usnik, List 4 BD judge and GP rider.

30min slots available on Sunday 7th of July from 10am to 1pm. Feel free to warm up in the outdoor arena prior your slot. Any short arena dressage tests available including the new ones- just specify when booking please.

Cost: £35
Booking: https://avon-riding-centre.ecpro.co.uk/events/upcoming

31/05/2024

So that’s a wrap on May Half Term! ☀️🐴 🫶🏻

We have had an incredibly busy week, and it has been wonderful to see so many new and familiar faces enjoying the sun and all the activities we have had on offer!

🐎 22 Pony Day Participants across 2 days
💫 13 Private Lessons
🌳 7 Hacks in the beautiful sunshine
📖 3 Stable Management Taster Sessions, from Pony Stars Shetland Striders up to BHS Challenge Awards
📈 3 Group Assessment Slots for new riders
🏆 1 RDA Regional Showjumping & Endurance Qualifier
😁 too many smiles to count….

Plus all our usual regular ARC group lessons too! What a busy, fun week it has been 😀

Looking forward to the Summer Holidays, where we will have all these activities plus more, every week for 6 weeks!

Thank you everyone for being part of 💫😊

30/05/2024

Fabulous hack over to Blaise Castle Estate this afternoon! All horses and riders had an absolute blast 😁

We run hacks throughout the week during the school holidays, catering for all abilities from Group 1+ Walk Trot Hacks, right up to our Group 4 Hacks at Blaise! Starting this summer holidays we will also be introducing beginner lead rein hacks too 😀

26/05/2024

A huge thank you and well done to all who came to our Unaffiliated Show Jumping competition (and Sunshine Tour qualifier) today!

🏆 RESULTS 🏆

50/55cm OPEN
1st 🥇 - Arabella Farmer & Brookhall Isabelle
2nd 🥈- Isabella Yeo & Miss Mo

60/65cm OPEN
1st 🥇- Arabella Farmer & Brookhall Isabelle

70/75cm OPEN
1st 🥇 - Alissa Farmer & Staroak Miss Ellie
2nd 🥈- Freddie Lines & Springtime Louie
3rd 🥉- Brad Sanders & Bouncer
4th - Anya Griffthis & Iceford Little Miss
5th - Lu Stephens & Thomas O Malley
6th - Martha Gilronan & Baloo

80/85cm OPEN
1st 🥇 - Mia Williams & Lucreamgoldrush
2nd 🥈- Lu Stephens & Thomas O Malley
3rd 🥉- Isabella Yeo & Tiny Dancer
4th - Freddie Lines & Springtime Louie
5th - Isla Mcdowall & Chacco Zip
6th - Alissia Farmer & Staroak Miss Ellie

90/95cm OPEN
1st 🥇 - Isla Mcdowall & Chacco Zip
2nd 🥈 - Mia Williams & Lucreamgoldrush
3rd 🥉 - Catriona Kitson & Laguna

Official results are now published on My Riding Life, follow the link below.
https://www.myridinglife.com/eventdetails.aspx?id=435820&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0_pu72SiuQ_iFQAYOkMykMoNpAwr-nisqUow_YU1TFexJB5A5J6_ORGMM_aem_AYZDUvDn1t4quTHthsMZmDeG4DZwJ0yy6xrWt6lT9j88WFM-2GSrsWwpy81JzovhuqricpJvdWCnv1lYkHRe4YSc

Our next show jumping competition (also a Sunshine Tour Qualifier) will be on Sunday 30th of June, enter via MyRidingLife here:
https://www.myridinglife.com/RemoteLocationEventList.aspx?LocationID=1618&from=rl

☀️ SUNSHINE TOUR QUALIFICATION ☀️

If you have placed 1st-3rd in your class, you may submit a qualification result for the 2024 Sunshine Tour at Hickstead.
• You will need to download a copy of todays results from MyRidingLife and upload it to the Sunshine Tour website when you record your qualification
• Before recording results you will need to register your horse or pony with the Sunshine tour
All info on registering/recording a qualification can be found on the Sunshine Tour website here: https://www.sunshinetour.co.uk

A huge well done again to all competitors and hope to see many of you at the next one.

The Avon Centre

24/05/2024

Times are now live for Sunday's Show Jumping! Please follow the link below.

https://www.myridinglife.com/RemoteLocationEventResultsandtimes.aspx?locationid=1618&type=times

23/05/2024

We are so proud of our horses and riders! Thank you everyone who put their all into helping us prepare for yesterday.

Team Avon!

21/05/2024

Due to currently having an extremely low number of entries, we may be forced to cancel Sundays event. Please ensure you have entered before the closing time on Friday at 2PM!

20/05/2024

Dezy enjoying the sunshine this afternoon 🌞

Fully kitted out in his fly mask and fly rug that were kindly gifted to us from Pinkers Country Store last year. We have got plenty of use out of them and they are still going strong!

Thank you so much again Pinkers, for supporting the centre and our horses. We were able to allocate a mask and rug to each of our horses and still have some left over as spare. We love them!

For anyone interested, we still have some Pinkers discount cards available to our clients only! To get yours, please speak to James upon arrival.

The Avon Centre
Avon RDA Group

17/05/2024

Bertie, Hercules, Cricket, Bruce, Mickey and Nell had great fun checking out the revamped cross country course today! Working livery Elmo and his owner also approve 😄

We are so lucky to have such great school horses and ponies, along with amazing facilities on site 🌟