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Prince Philip Mounted Games

This is the main season for Mounted Games and therefore we will round up our activity over the last few months, as follows:

TRAINING:

We have continued the training started back in October and have been training weekly since February, usually on a Friday evening at Moreton Morrell.

Our junior squad has regularly had between 10 and 15 riders at the training sessions which has enabled us to provide some fun and competitive racing ! The senior squad has been smaller with between 5 - 7 riders which has give us more focus on the team and individual skill. The training has gone well and the improvement in the riders and the ponies over the last 6 months has been great to see !

We have very actively competed this year and that has given us great experience and a lot of fun. The following riders have represented the Warwickshire Hunt Pony Club:

SENIORS: Ingrid Straume-Brown, Megan Calvert, Emily Hoare, Phoebe Graham, Alice Smith, Lottie Capel, and Harriett Matthews.

JUNIORS: Katie Allen, Astrid Straume-Brown, Sophie Hopkins, Maisie Rollason, Isabella Hollman-West, William Fielding, Jessica Wild, Mary Meadows, Amy Newcombe, Isobel Yates and Megan Andrews.

FRIENDLY COMPETITIONS:

The season started at Warwick Racecourse on Sunday 9th March when we were invited to demonstrate a range of games in front of the main stand, as part of a ‘Countryside Day’. The senior and junior team enjoyed the experience, and for the record the juniors beat the seniors.

Our first friendly competition was held indoors at Solihull Riding Club on Sunday 16th March. The Senior team found themselves competing against some of the 2007 HOYS Prince Phillip Cup finalists and needless to say found it a valuable learning experience – as did the watching parents who were amazed at the speed and skill of the senior riders ! We sent two junior teams to the event and the ‘A’ team did particularly well against very strong opposition and got through to the Junior A final where they came 4th. The ‘B’ team – all of whom were competing for the first time – enjoyed the experience and came 3rd in the Junior B final.

Our first outdoor competition was attended by 21 teams at Stagsden near Bedford on Saturday 19th April. On a grey, drizzly day, the Senior team found they were able to be competitive against some very good teams and finished in a very creditable 14th position. The Junior team again did very well against good competition and finished a rather damp afternoon in 11th place.

The final friendly competition was held in bright, sunny and very warm weather at Shrewsbury on Sunday 11th May. Our 2 Junior teams competed against some new teams, mainly from the Welsh borders and enjoyed some very exciting racing. The A’ team had an excellent result finishing in 5th place, and the ‘B’ team did extremely well to complete the event in 8th position.

AREA COMPETITION:

The long-awaited Area Competition finally came around on Saturday 24th May at Ashby Magna. The event was held on a grey and windy day but thankfully it stayed dry and didn’t repeat the miserable conditions of 2007. The Senior team were first on and competed well against some good and much older and experienced teams. As always, there were not many points between teams and the final position of 8th reflected how close some of the racing had been.

The Junior A team and the B team took part in some very exciting racing and again demonstrated how much the teams have improved over the year. Again, there were just a few points between teams and the A team narrowly missed getting through to the Zone finals in 5th place and the B team finished in 10th place.

FINAL EVENTS:

There were two events remaining in the calendar to complete the season. First, we were invited to the Kenilworth show on Sunday 1st June to compete in the main arena for the Warwickshire Challenge Cup against the Atherstone and the North Warwickshire. The Warwickshire combined Senior / Junior team thoroughly enjoyed the experience of racing against mainly senior teams and took part in the closest and most exciting competition for several years. At the mid-point, all 3 teams were tied on points and the final placings went down to the last race. The end result was a first to the North Warwickshire on 19 points and the Warwickshire were joint second with the Atherstone on 17 points.

The final event on the calendar is on Sunday 8th June when we are sending two junior teams to compete in a friendly hosted by the Albrighton Woodland at Enville Hall near Stourbridge.

NEXT SEASON:

We hope the above gives you a flavour for how much fun the Mounted Games can be and how we get the chance to compete in some great competitions. As all the participants and parents will testify, the improvement in riding skills and confidence has been very obvious over the season and all the riders have done extremely well. Our Junior (under 11) squad has been particularly successful and we very much hope to continue with a similar size squad next year and new riders are very welcome. There is plenty of room in the Senior (Under 15) squad and we would be very keen to welcome more riders to this group next season to build on the excellent progress made this year and to make the training and competitions even more enjoyable. No previous experience is necessary – so come along and give it a go !

If you are interested in taking part or would like more information or to register for next season (training will start in September / October), please e-mail or call me on the numbers below, or talk to any of the team members.

In the meantime, congratulations to all the riders for a great season and many, many thanks to all the parents and helpers for supporting and getting riders and ponies to training and competitions !

STEPHEN BROWN

Tel: 07786 443943 / 01608 664773

E-mail: stephensmba@aol.com