Cross-country courses open for schooling
Each of the green horses on the map below marks a venue that offers cross-country schooling. There are over 100 venues with more being added all the time. Zoom in to your area of the UK to find your local courses, then click on a horse icon to read that course’s details.
[Original article below – dated 5 April 2007]
TWESELDOWN
Where: Church Crookham, Hampshire
Cost: £25 per horse
Availability: all year round, weather permitting
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Level: 2ft 6in to BE intermediate
Help: Tweseldown does not organise clinics, but the likes of Mark Corbett, Anna Hilton, Yogi Breisner, Lucy Thompson and Gill Watson regularly bring pupils here
Look out for: Pippa Funnell, Tina Cook, Sacha Pemble, Dan Jocelyn, Laura Collett and Nick Gauntlett
Contact: www.tweseldown.co.uk; (tel: 01252 850628)
Also in the south-east
- Lodge Farm, Matfield, Kent www.lodgefarmcrosscountry.com (tel: 01892 722273)
- Coombelands Equestrian, Pulborough, West Sussex www.coombelands-equestrian.co.uk (tel: 01798 872796)
- Chilham Park, Canterbury, Kent www.chilhampark.com (tel: 01227 730811)
BADGERSTOWN
Where: Foxhill, Swindon, Wiltshire
Cost: £20 per horse
Availability: all year round, weather permitting
Level: 3ft 3in to BE advanced
Help: clinics with trainers such as Jane Holderness-Roddam and Dag Albert
Look out for: Andrew Nicholson, Andrew and Bettina Hoy, Lucinda Green, Rodney Powell and Karen Reuter Niklasson
Contact: (tel: 07743 897516)
Also in the south central
- Hoplands Equestrian Centre, Kings Somborne, Hampshire www.horsefair.co.uk/hoplands.asp (tel: 01794 388838)
- Boomerang Stables, Crooked Soley, Berkshire (tel: 07711 499596)
- Downlands Equestrian, Warminster, Wiltshire www.downlands-equestrian.co.uk (tel: 01985 840453)
PONTISPOOL
Where: Norton Fitzwarren, Taunton, Somerset
Cost: adults £20, 11-17-year-olds £15, 10-year-olds and under £10 per horse for one to three horses, discounts available for more horses, see website
Availability: February to November, weather permitting
Level: 1ft 6in to BE intermediate
Help: regular clinics with trainers such as Lucinda Green, Caroline Creighton, Joanna Day, Nick Gauntlett, Chris Johnson and Andrew Lovell
Look out for: Harry Meade, Lucy Wiegersma and Mary King
Contact: www.pontispool.com; (tel: 01823 461196)
Also in the south-west
- Stockland Lovell, Coultings, Bridgwater, Somerset www.stocklandlovell.com (tel: 01278 652224)
- Rosamund Green Farm, Shepton Mallet, Somerset www.rosamundgreenfarm.co.uk (tel: 01749 343384)
GREAT WITCHINGHAM
Where: Blackwater Farm, Sparham, Norfolk
Cost: £12 adult, £8 for riders of Pony Club age, £6 for Pony Club group
Availability: all year round
Level: 2ft 3in to BE intermediate
Help: Jackie Lawson is based nearby and regularly teaches at Blackwater, as do plenty of BE-accredited trainers, including Ruth McMullen. There are also clinics, including one last year specifically for the site’s first pre-novice three-day event.
Look out for: Piggy French
Contact: www.blackwaterfarm.co.uk; (tel: 01362 688227)
Also in the east
- Ely Eventing Centre, Little Downham, Cambridgeshire www.elyeventing.co.uk (tel: 01353 698952)
- Poplar Park Equestrian Centre, Woodbridge, Suffolk www.poplarparkevent.com (tel: 01394 411023)
- Berwick Farm, Stanford Rivers, Essex (tel: 01708 688232)
ASTON-LE-WALLS
Where: Washbrook Farm, Daventry, Northants
Cost: £25 per horse, special rates for groups over 12 and Pony Club groups
Availability: all year round, weather permitting
Level: intro to BE advanced
Help: Ann and Nigel Taylor are available for lessons. Regular clinics with the Taylors and other trainers
Look out for: Oliver Townend, Piggy French, J-P Sheffield, William Fox-Pitt and Kitty Boggis
Contact: www.aston-le-wallshorsetrials.co.uk; (tel: 01327 262256)
Also in central England
- Milton Keynes, Hanslope, Bucks www.mkec.co.uk (tel: 01908 511329)
- The College Equestrian Centre, Keysoe, Bedfordshire www.thecollegeec.com (tel: 01234 708400)
HILLTOP
Where: Ledbury, Herefordshire
Cost: £14 per horse, £9 per for horse for Pony Club rallies and £12 for riding club rallies (groups of 6+)
Availability: March to October, ground permitting
Level: jumps from 1ft 6in to 3ft 6in, BE novice level
Help: a list of local instructors who will teach here is on the website, Lucinda Green and William Miflin hold regular clinics
Look out for: Louise Skelton, Matt and Marie Ryan
Contact: www.hilltopxcledbury.co.uk ; tel: (01531 632291)
Also in the west
- Hillocks Farm Equestrian Centre, Cleobury Mortimer, Worcestershire www.hillocksfarm.org.uk (tel: 01299 270710)
- Golden Valley, Ewyas Harold, Herefordshire www.homefarmdulas.co.uk (tel: 01981 241108)
- Lincomb, Stourport-on-Severn, Worcestershire www.crosscountrycourse.co.uk (tel: 07811 382533)
SOMERFORD PARK
Where: Congleton, Cheshire
Cost: midweek £18 or weekend £20 per horse for one or two horses; midweek £15 or weekend £18 per horse for three or more
Availability: all year round, ground permitting,
Level: trotting pole height up to BE intermediate
Help: Rachel Baylis, Andrew Heffernan, Laura Fortune and Ian Olding are all based on site and there are regular clinics, too
Look out for: Jeanette Brakewell, Brook Staples, Stefanie Thompson, Nigel Taylor,
John Marsden, Hannah Bate, Neil Fox and Ruth Edge
Contact: www.somerfordpark.co.uk; (tel: 01260 299888)
Also in central/northern England
- Smallwood Livery Centre, Sandbach, Cheshire www.smallwoodliverycentre.co.uk (tel: 01477 500605)
- Kelsall Hill Equestrian Centre, Taporley, Cheshire www.kelsallhill.co.uk (tel: 07989 351177)
- The Grange, Grange-de-Lings, Lincoln www.hoods-xc.com( tel: 01522 750602)
WATERFORD FARM
Where: Langley Park, Co Durham
Cost: £15 per horse
Availability: all year round
Level: BE intro to advanced
Help: Jamie Atkinson is based at Waterford and is available for lessons. Ian Stark also takes clinics
Look out for: Amy Young, Caroline Powell, Lucy Holliday, Nicola Wilson (née Tweddle) and Julie Lawson
Contact: www.horseselect.co.uk/prods/service/serv9/prod9.htm; (tel: 07711 451173 or tel: 01913 735318)
Also in the north
- Helen Bell Equestrian, Newsham, Thirsk www.helenbellequestrian.co.uk (tel: 01845 587207)
- High Plains, Riding Mill, Northumberland www.high-plains.co.uk (tel: 01434 682 980)
- Meldon Park, Malpas, Northumberland (tel: 01670 772433)
STRATHEARN EVENTING
Where: Hilton House, Methven, Perth
Cost: £23 per horse
Availability: March to October, weather permitting
Level: 2ft 3in to BE novice
Help: BHSAI Sarah Houlden (née England), who is doing the EFI level two coaching course, is based at Strathearn and available for lessons. Regular clinics with Sarah and other trainers such as Ian Stark and Yogi Breisner
Look out for: Caroline Powell, Sarra Mayberry, and David Gatherer
Contact: www.strathearneventing.co.uk; (tel: 01738 840 263)
Also in Scotland
- Braeside Cross-Country, Cupar, Fife www.braesidecrosscountry.co.uk (tel: 01337 840351)
- Houston, Renfrewshire (tel: 01475 540687)
- Gleneagles, Perthshire www.gleneagles.com (tel: 01764 694351)
This information was first published in Horse & Hound (29 March, ’07)
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