Equestrian Activities at CF 2008

Message from the Lochac Equestrian Marshal

As this Canterbury Faire will be the first official equestrian event in New Zealand, I am aiming to start it small in more of a "proof of concept" way, rather than aiming at full-on equestrian activities.

We are only expecting one or two horses at this early stage, and a handful of capable riders. However, should anyone wish to bring a horse, take part in or help out with the Equestrian activities I would be delighted to hear from them.

All of the Equestrian activities have been timetabled for the Saturday, so that horse owners may bring their horses on Friday, or Saturday morning then take them home and enjoy the rest of the event without having to care for them throughout the entire time (although you're welcome to do that if you prefer).

I will be driving my horse truck down from Auckland (without my horse unfortunately) but it will be full of people's gear on the way down and back -- I may be able to assist with transport to site if required, but this would need to be arranged well in advance.

A far paddock on the lower level of the site, which we have not previously used (well past the Tui Lodge and fenced off from the rest of the site) has been ear-marked for horses to reside in. The intention is for people to camp in their usual spots, with possibly one or two tents situated in or near the horse paddock should anyone wish to stay near the horses whilst they are on site.

I will ask that each owner also brings some electric fencing or similar, to create a secondary enclosure within the paddock, as it is quite large and has some uneven and rabbit-hole pocked areas. This paddock will also be signposted as being no entry for people other than equestrians, with a warning that children especially are to keep out.

The activities I will be looking at running will be:

• Saracen's Head - weaving between poles striking at the "heads" on the poles.
• Rings – Targeting a dangling ring with a stick.
• Filling bucket – riding between two points collecting and carrying one tankard of water at a time.
• Obstacle course type things - such as getting on and off, picking something up off a barrel/hay bale, carrying an item from one place to another, moving between bales of hay, getting in and out of a "keyhole" (rope in shape of keyhole on ground) etc, and more activities along those lines.

I will also be putting together some A&S type classes on different topics, one of which will be the rules.

I will be down in Christchurch over the Christmas/New Year period and I am keen to see people and do authorisations in advance of the event. Anyone who wishes to do so should contact me ASAP to make arrangements.

I intend to set up a new Equestrian mailing list in the near future. Anyone interested in being signed up should contact me directly.

Regards
Isabell Winter – Lochac Equestrian Marshal
(Vanessa Marsh)

Basic training for horses

The main things to start with training is getting the horse used to you swinging your arms as if holding a weapon from side to side, moving from head to tail and back to centre then head to tail on the opposite side. If you do this with nothing in your hand and holding the reins in the off-side hand it is a good preparation for Saracen's head.

The next thing to start working on is getting the horse used being ridden by someone wearing a skirt or with a cover over it's back side. I made a riding skirt (9m hem) and ride my mare in this and she has no issues with the wind or anything now. If you have a quarter sheet this can be good also to get the horse used to having something over its bum while being ridden - if used to a cover shouldn't be an issue. Otherwise you can use a single sheet folded over to get the same effect.

The activities will be designed so that they can be done at walk trot or canter, this too will depend on horses and riders – primarily we need to ensure people and horses are safe.

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