Summer Pony Camps 2022

We will be holding Summer Pony Camps for children aged six years upward at our riding school in July and August 2022.

Our morning camps will suit riders at offlead to advanced level with some also catering to intro riders. Our afternoon camps cater for beginner and intro riders.

While beginners will need to be accompanied by a parent or a guardian aged 16 or over for their first day of camp, this can be avoided by booking into an intro session before camp - we will run additional intro sessions throughout the first week in July and August. (a parent or guardian is needed for the intro session).

Intro sessions are also ideal for anyone wishing to try riding to see if they like it before committing to camps or adding themselves to the waiting list for our new riding lesson terms in September.

During pony camps children will enjoy a riding session, stable management session and a games and activities session each day with a camp show on the Friday (which parents are welcome to watch). The aim of pony camps is to teach children to ride and care for ponies correctly while having fun.

You can find all information on Summer pony camps at this link - http://dunbyrneequestrian.ie/pony-camp

Pre-booking is essential and all bookings are taken by email. A 30 non refundable deposit is needed to secure pony camp spaces.

Dunbyrne Dressage Dynamos!

This Spring has seen a hive of activity at Dunbyrne Equestrian livery yard and Dunbyrne Riding Club.

Our liveries and riding club members have been busy taking part in Dressage Ireland and AIRC competitions across all levels.

We love seeing our riders progressing through the levels from their first tests to riding at National Championships. We would like to share a celebrate some of our dressage milestones this year.

Myriam & Beau - from showjumpers to dressage super stars.

Myriam and Beau joined our yard as showjumpers. This is hard to believe now that they are known as our resident dressage unicorns! Myriams transition to dressage is a lovely example of how an ex racehorse can go on to thrive in a new role. From starting dressage last year at riding club this pair have gone from strength to strength through dedication and training. They were second in the Dressage Ireland National Winter finals and have just had a great weekend where they won their Dressage Ireland novice class and just found out that they have won the West Leinster Riding Club regions spring dressage league!

Georgia and Sapphire

Georgia and Sapphire attempted their first dressage test last year for an online competition. Sapphire had never done a test in her life and the goal was to stay in the arena! There were emotions and hard work to finish the test which scored sub 60% but which started them on their way.

Through sheer hard work, practice and systematic training Georgia has trained her pony to be a national champion. At the National Winter finals Georgia and Sapphire won their prelim trailblazer championship and took second in the novice. This is a huge achievement in just a year with much more to come. Most recently Georgia’s sister Grace rode in her first ever show at Dressage Ireland winning her intro class on an incredible 79% talent must run in the family!

Blanaid & Flame

Recently taken to the Dressage sphere Blanaid and Flame had enjoyed competing but struggles with moments of tension and a lack of accuracy affecting scores. Before their last show they under went a series of training sessions with one of our onsite coaches which included coaching on and offsite and competition warm up. They managed a much higher personal best score of over 71% and took third place their highest placing to date.

Lorna & Sammy

It’s hard to believe that Sammy was once a tearaway cob bought from a dealer and unsuitable for several roles! Over the years he has proven himself as a true all rounder. Sammy recently won the elementary and medium leagues at Leinster Dressage and placed in the medium championships at the Dressage Ireland WInter Finals. Yet another example of how horses can successfully change career.

We believe in a basic and consistent routine that horses thrive on.

We believe in systematic training using the FEI scales of training.

We are Dunbyrne Equestrian.

Would you like to join us? We have livery available. http://dunbyrneequestrian.ie/livery

Dunbyrne Riding Club success At AIRC Autumn Leagues

The West Leinster region of riding clubs awarded prizes last week to combinations placed in the Autumn showjumping and dressage leagues.

We would like to say a huge congratulations to Dunbyrne Riding C|ub member Lynn Cadogan. Lynn and her black gelding Shooting Star Joe won the primary showjumping and dressage leagues. This was an incredible achievement especially given it was the first league Lynn has ever done.

Lynn a absolutely defines everything we aim to train at Dunbyrne - constant learning and development, hard work, dedication and a healthy attitude to competition.

Suzanne Conroy also did well in the riding club dressage league. Suzanne and her mare Tilly only joined Dunbyrne riding club this year and have come on so much in terms of confidence and ability. They took second place in the primary dressage league.

Anna Marie Curry and her mare Ely Pixie placed third in the intermediate league. This is always such a big and competitive class but their consistent performances earned them a podium finish.

In the showjumping Ciara Geraghty took third place in the sportsmans with her mare Flo. This was a brilliant result in what was their first ever league together. This is a new partnership and Ciara and Flo are proving to be a wonderful match.

Congratulations also to Myriam Bunter one of our liveries who placed second in the advanced intermediate dressage league with Star of Rubykan (aka Beau). Myriam joined us initially as a showjumper / eventer but she has absolutely caught the dressage bug since joining Dunbyrne and we are delighted to see her progressing in both riding club and Dressage Ireland.

Dunbyrne Riding Club is based at Dunbyrne Equestrian in Co. Kildare. We welcome like minded new members who like to enjoy their horses. To enquire, email dunbyrnestud@gmail.com

XC Success for Keelin

We had another successful and busy weekend here at #teamdunbyrnestud

Laura headed off on Saturday to SJI in Coilog with Lady for some showjumping. laura and her mare Lady are true all rounders competing at dressage, eventing and showjumping.

Lorna and Emma headed to Marlton for Dressage Ireland. Emma gained her final qualifying score for the National Championships. Lorna and Oisin did their first elementary together and earned a qualifying score in the novice. Both riders are looking forwards to the National championships now at Barnadown at the end of September.

Keelin and lass headed to Punchestown for the Pony Club Novice Tetrathlon,. She and lass put in an amazing round XC finishing clear around a challenging track. Even better - her running and swimming phases were good enough for second place overall. Keelin has put huge work into preparing for this competiton and is looking forward to the next one in two weeks time.

We are delighted to see our liveries setting and achieving goals. We have livery available, please email us to arrange a yard visit

Dunbyrne Dressage Divas

Our liveries had another busy weekend working between the dressage boards.

Myriam and Beau headed to Coilog to take part in the Killcarrick riding club show. They took part in the novice class and earned 3rd place - we think they may have caught the dressage bug now.

Laura and Lady headed to Redhills for the Dressage Ireland show and had brilliant results taking first and second in the prelim classes. This has also qualified them for the national championships!

Emma and Lorna also headed to Dressage Ireland. Lorna and Sammy won their novice classes with Emma and Ruben taking fourth place in the novice class.

Sive travelled to Ballindennisk for her pony club event taking fifth place with Ollie and achieving her goal of qualifying for the Irish Pony Club national championships.

We have full livery available. Our yard is home to several BHS qualified coaches who work with clients to achieve their goals in all disciplines. Email dunbyrnestud@gmail.com to arrange a yard visit.

Full Livery Available

We have space available from next week at our courtyard stables.

Full livery includes:

• One of our huge well ventilated courtyard stables with automatic water and a full deep shavings bed with thick banks.

• Daily mucking out and fresh shavings twice a week

• Top quality feed and haylage fed to your horse twice daily with no extra charges for adding supplements of your choice to the PM feed.

• Daily individual turnout into individual paddocks. Turnout is daily even in Winter and we maintain our paddocks to ensure horses have a few hours out with their head down eating grass and getting a good dose of doctor green rather than just standing in mud.

• Access to all facilities including the 50 * 70m all weather arenas, the 4.5 furlong sand gallops and the wooded hacking trails. We have off road hacking onsite and on road hacking just outside the gates. We haver a number of cross country fences in the woods and have just built our new water fence.

• Horse box parking

• Covered washbay

• Access to secure tack room (with hot water on tap no extra charge) and heated rug room

• Access to our onsite BHS qualified instructors at competitive rates for training in dressage, showjumping or eventing.

• Access to the yard when you need it - we have no set opening or closing hours because we live onsite and can accommodate the needs of our liveries. This is perfect for competition where liveries may need to leave early or come back late.

• Exercising available with our team at very reasonable rates to ensure peace of mind for liveries when they cannot make it to the yard due to holidays or work commitments

• Professionally qualified groom onsite for clipping at competitive rates.

August Adventures for #teamdunbyrnestud

Its hard to believe its already August - Summer has been flying! Our #teamdunbyrnestud members have been making the most of it.

Sive has started her eventing campaign with Ollie (Political Diamond). These are a new partnership and they have become a wonderful team. They have been competing on the pony club eventing circuit where they achieved their first championship MER this weekend at Kilguilkey!

Lorna and Lynn travelled to Mullingar on Sunday for the AIRC dressage championships. Lynn was competing with Shooting Star Joe in the primary championships - at her third ever dressage competition. Lynn has put huge efforts in this year to train show jumper Joe to also enjoy the dressage ring. Her efforts paid off and she scored an incredible 73+% in one of her tests! Lynn finished third overall and hasn’t stopped smiling since!

Lorna and DBS Second Chance (Sammy) took on their first ever advanced open championship. Trained by our BHSI Ross O Hare they were thrilled to get a personal best score at this level and take home third place overall.

We love seeing riders set and achieve goals. If you have your own horse and would enjoy some training here or at your own venue, pop us an email!

Out and about with #teamdunbyrnestud

Our #teamdunbyrnestud members have had a busy few weeks enjoying various activities

Four riders took on the eventing championships at Killossery at the end of June. Huge congratulations to Sophie O Grady and Frisco Lad (aka Leo) who took second place in their class finishing on their dressage score!

Last weekend Roisin, Eileen, Laura and Caoimhe headed to Coilog for SJi and had some lovely clear rounds between them.

Sive had Ollie at pony club camp in Coilog last week and they placed second in their showjumping class!

We had squad training in Coilog last week also where six riders worked on their course jumping technique.

Lorna and Sammy headed to Dressage Ireland and earned two qualifying scores for the championships

Its lovely seeing everyone out and about enjoying their animals and the good weather. Hopefully lots of summer adventures to come.

Laura leads the way to Killossery championships

This weekend the 13th June saw another group from #teamdunbyrnestud head to Killossery Lodge for the last qualifier for their eventing championships next weekend.

Keelin, Laura, Georgia and Caoimhe all competed in the 70 and 85cm classes.

Keelin was delighted with her showjumping which was calm and controlled. Georgia was thrilled to get a fantastic dressage score and a clear round showjumping. Caoimhe was delighted with her ponies attitude to the cross country fences.

Laura Kavanagh had a fantastic day on her first outing eventing. She started off with a 31 in her dressage and then delivered a clear round show jumping and cross country. This resulted in second place overall in the 85cm class and qualification for the championships next weekend.

We wish our qualified riders the very best of luck next weekend!

Sophie O Grady

Roisin Daly

Eileen Nawara

Laura Kavanagh

COVID- 19 Riding School Update

COVID-19 Update.

Riding School:

• Please note that we do not allow any drop in visitors to our yard. Access is restricted to liveries and riding school clients who are attending a pre booked lesson.

• Our governing bodies have given the go ahead for under 18 group lessons from 26th April.

• We will be giving preference for group classes to our existing client base and will be in touch with all existing clients later on this week regarding lessons – please bear with us and thank you for your patience.

• We will initially be offering lessons for off-lead and above level as for safety reasons our team cannot provide hands on assistance to beginners. New aged 6-18 riders who are at off-lead to novice or advanced level who wish to be added to our waiting list should email dunbyrnestud@gmail.com .

• We have an existing waiting list for beginners. We will be in touch with riders on our waiting list when we have a suitable class available in the future. To be added to the beginner waiting list for aged 6-18 please email us.

• Please note that we do not offer private lessons for adult beginners.

Camps:

• We do not know yet if we will have Summer pony camps available. This will depend on government restrictions.

• If permitted we will aim to run half day camps for children aged six upwards Tuesday – Fri during the school holidays.

• Preference will be given to existing clients and to those already on our waiting list.

• To be added to the waiting list please email us. Please note that beginner riders will need to be accompanied by a parent or a guardian over the age of 16 years old for their riding sessions.

🦄Thank you very much to our clients who have supported us throughout the last four months and for your lovely messages. 🦄

Prices

Aged 6-18

• 1 hour group lesson : €27.00 per hour.

• Block of 6 group lessons €140.

• Block of 10 group lessons €225

Adults

• 1 hour group lesson €30

• 30 Minute private lesson (only available during off peak times) : €30.00

• 50 Minute private lesson (only available during off peak times) : €50.00

  Peak times - weekends and 3pm onwards Tuesday to Friday. off peak 12-3 Tuesday to Friday

Looking for Livery? Ten reasons to join #teamdunbyrnestud

Are you looking for livery? Here are ten reasons to join #teamdunbyrnestud on livery today :

1. We offer huge courtyard stables with deep warm shavings beds providing the ultimate comfort for your horse

2. We supply top quality haylage and feed twice a day as part of our full stabled livery package

3. Horses are turned out daily in individual paddocks with secure fencing. Horses are still relaxed as they can see other horses beside them and this turnout is much safer than group turnout especially when horses and ponies are wearing a full set of shoes.

4. Our yard owners live onsite so our opening hours are flexible. We never restrict our liveries with set hours so if you need to head off early morning somewhere or are running late from work there is no need to worry.

5. We have a huge livery arena (this is dedicated to liveries and is entirely separate from the onsite riding school). The size of our arena allows liveries to ride when our coaches are running lessons so there is no need to plan your riding around someone else’s lessons or arena bookings.

6. BHS and HSI qualified coaches onsite providing training at competitive rates

7. We are less than thirty minutes from JAG / Redhills / Greenogue / Emerald and just ten minutes from Coilog so Leinster competition venues are close by.

8. We have a heated rug room with storage for liveries. This is ideal on cold or damp days as you can hang up your rug while you ride so its nice and warm when it goes back on your horse.

9. We have a 4.5 furlong all weather sand gallops which is exclusively for our liveries to use. This leads on to our onsite wooded hacking trails and is ideal for hacking, fittening work, eventing preparation or even just a break from the arena.

10. We are lucky to have a lovely bunch of existing clients who are positive and enthusiastic. We enjoy taking part as a group in competing on and offsite and in social activities. Our liveries take part in a wealth of disciplines from eventing to dressage.

To arrange a yard visit and enquire about joining our team - please email dunbyrnestud@gmail.com

Dunbyrne Livery Equitation Jumping Results

Last week we ran our first in house online competition at our family run livery yard in Co. Kildare. Our liveries train with our onsite BHS and HSI qualified coaches and have been doing fantastic work in their lessons so we wanted to give them a chance to showcase their riding.

Our liveries videoed themselves riding a course of 11 jumping obstacles and submitted their entries. This competition was kindly judged by Christa Dillon, owner of equestrian blog Blackhill eventing and one of the hosts of Buck off banter podcast. Christa’s feedback on our riders was fantastic - “These are not average riders and this is not an average standard. They are all jumping so well, giving the horse every chance, riding under control, using the arena and correcting issues quickly. This shows an advanced thought process behind the riding and shows great maturity in the younger riders”

We as coaches were very proud of our riders - we believe in coaching using the FEI systems for flatwork and show jumping and are delighted to see our #teamdunbyrnestud members progressing.

We divided our riders into three categories and the results are below- We have lots of Easter eggs and Horselyx for our humans and horses to enjoy as prizes

Adults

1st Roisin Daly and Thunder

2nd Sophie OGrady and Leo

3rd Arianne Dunne and Roxy

Aged 14 - 18 years

1st Eileen Nawara and Peanut

2nd Caoimhe Sullivan and Judy

3rd Kayla brown and Betty

4th Ellie Moore and Tilly

5th Georgia Cadogan and Sapphire

!3 and Under

Smoothest Round - Isabelle Smyth & Cooper

Most Stylish Position - Emili Smyth and Cooper

Most Determined - Sophia Manning and Jumanji

Best Jumping Position - Sive Murphy and Domino

Thanks very much to Christa for giving up her time to judge this for us. Thank you to all of our liveries for taking part.

We have livery available in our courtyard stables. if you would like to become part of #teamdunbyrnestud please email dunbyrnestud@gmail.com to arrange a yard visit. Horses are fed haylage and feed twice a day, mucked out daily, turned out daily and have fresh bedding twice a week. Lessons are available at competitive rates with our onsite BHSI and HSI coaches. We have a huge livery arena completely separate to the onsite riding school, a gorgeous all weather 4.5 furlong gallops and onsite hacking. We are 10 minutes drive from Coilog and within 30 minutes of competition venues JAG / Greenogue / Redhills. We are a family run yard and live onsite so there are no strict opening hours and no time pressure on our clients.

Full Livery Available

We have full livery available in our courtyard stables.

Our liveries are housed in our beautiful courtyard where horses enjoy spacious stables with deep, warm shavings beds and great ventilation.

Horses are fed top quality haylage and feed twice a day.

Horses are mucked out daily and fresh bedding is provided twice a week.

Liveries have access to all facilities including our 50*70m outdoor livery arena, our 4.5 furlong sand gallops and our wooded hacking trail.

Our yard is family run and the owners live onsite so there is always someone here with your horse and this arrangement allows us to be completely flexible on opening hours.

We have BHS and HSI qualified coaches onsite who can give qualified advise and support and coaching at competitive rates.

We are located just ten minutes from Coilog and within a half hours drive of competition venues such as Greenogue, Redhills and JAG.

As a yard we believe in good old fashioned horse care - horses thrive on routine and our professional team provide this daily. We believe in stables where horses have a view of what’s going on and are not bored, where stable beds are deep and warm and stables have good ventilation. We believe in good quality feeding and in providing qualified advice. We believe in putting the horse first in everything we do. We embrace the training scale and love seeing our clients learn and progress.

To arrange to view the yard please whats app 0858059529 or email dunbyrnestud@gmail.com

BHS Ridden Exams - What does it take to pass?

In May this year our two British Horse Society Accredited Coaches, Ross and Lorna attended the two day BHS Conference in Cavan. One of the many talks presented was by Alex Copeland and Tim Downes and centred around how candidates are assessed for ridden examinations and what is required to pass.

The pair explained that the pass criteria varies through the exam structure.

• At Stage 1 level, all marks (100%) are available for the riding and 70% is required for a pass to be achieved.

• At Stage 2 level, 80% of the marks are available for the riding and 20% for the oral section. 70% overall is required to pass

• At Stage 3 level 70% of the marks are available for riding and 30% for the oral section. 70% overall is required to pass.

• At Stage 4 level, 60% of marks are available for the riding section and 40% for the oral section. 70% overall is required to pass. This means that a candidate cannot pass on their riding alone - they must be able to evaluate and talk.

• At Stage 5 50% of marks are available for riding and 50% for the oral section. This underlines that the qualification is not just about being able to ride - candidates must be able to evaluate an animals way of going, to explain what they are feeling and have done and to understand how to progress

Alex and Tim also explained that assessors will assess whether a candidate is lacking in skills or if they have skills which are developed in the wrong way. It is more of a concern to see incorrect training and habits (for example a rider thinking they should pull the head in and giving incorrect aids) than to see embryonic skills needing development.

The differences between Stage 1 and Stage 2 riding exams were clarified by the team:

• The team clarified that at Stage one candidates are required to walk and trot without stirrups where as at Stage two they must also canter.

• In stage one the light seat is introduced where as in Stage 2 candidates must jump

• In Stage 2 assessors must gauge how well balanced is the rider and are they effective enough to ride a horse forward to a fence. Sabrina Jones explained that the new skills record which must be signed off by a professional accredited coach before a candidate can attempt their Stage 2 exam has meant that far less candidates are being stopped before the jumping phase.

The team explained that at all levels people make mistakes but assessors are not looking to fail anyone on a small mistake. In fact the team will question to identify if the candidate understands the background of why something should be done a certain way - for example where a candidate has their stirrup twisted the wrong way the assessor will question to ascertain if the candidate understands the correct way and why.

The exam structures are designed to future proof riders because following process and technique means riders will go on to ride at a higher level.

Information provided around Stage 3 and 4 riding exams gave the following insights:

• At Stage 4 level it was clarified that the assessors will have sat up on the horses that candidates will ride beforehand and that at this level candidates may ride horses “long and low”. in fact at Stage 3 and 4 assessors don’t want to see people candidates riding immediately in a dressage test outline and do not wish to see riders riding movements without understanding why a movement is or is not beneficial to the horse.

• At stage 3 and 4 level the candidates need to be able to influence the horse so balance is key as is a basic understanding that the horse out of balance users their head and neck to balance. Riders with bad balance pulling a horse on the bit is an issue as the horse cannot work correctly. Assessors see too many riders riding backwards thinking they must ride a horse in a frame - they want to see that the rider is balanced and can ride forward into an outline.

• At Stage 4 the horse should lift frame and go into the elementary balance with the withers up.

• A lot of riders at Stage 3 and 4 level say ‘I am going to use transitions to improve the horse’ but it is important to remember that only good transitions improve the horse, bad ones don’t!

• Riders at Stage 3 and 4 level should read the horse they are riding and should be surprised and comment if a thoroughbred is lazy rather than or a cob is sharp off the aids. Candidates should understand the makeup of the horse, what it typically goes like and should comment if it is not true to type. As Tim said ‘if a 30 year old Land Rover drives like a Ferrari - you would be surprised and would comment on it’

• At Stage 3 and 4 correct candidates are starting to influence the horse. At Stage 3 the odd support aid in the rein is understood. At Stage 3 the intention should be to ride forward with independent aids - at Stage 4 candidates should be doing this. The biggest issue seen by assessors is candidates intentionally riding the horse backwards. Intention is key - the rider must show that they intend to ride a horse forwards into the contact in balance even if they have not yet achieved it.

• At Stage 3 a candidate can be unsuccessful in their flatwork exam but if they are workmanlike and sufficiently balanced they can go on to pass their jumping exam as they have been seen jumping at Stage 2 and have been signed off for Stage 3 jumping.

• At Stage 4 under the new format there will be a specific dressage assessment -candidates will ride one horse that is at elementary level, one that is not yet there yet and one that they ride over trot and canter poles. In showjumping candidates will ride three horses - one to do with riding over a course, one to ride related distances and one to show how they develop flatwork into jumping using poles.

• At Stage 4 the rider needs to be training the horse and candidates need to take responsibility for the how the horse is going when solving problems. When discussing fixing issues self reflection is important and candidates need to say not just what they will do to the horse but also what they will change in their riding

• A sign off for Stage 4 wont be mandatory until next year.

• At Stage 5 there wont be a sign off book instead candidates will complete a training and cpd log which they will bring with them and discuss.

At Dunbyrne Equestrian we have our own onsite BHS Assessor and BHSI Ross O’Hare. If you are working towards your BHS riding exams and need some training, sign off for exams or a mock assessment please get in touch - dunbyrnestud@gmail.com

Dunbyrne Summer Camp 2019

Summer Pony Camp 2019!

Welcome to Summer 2019. Many of you have been very proactive and have contacted us to enquire about Pony Camps. Thank you for your patience while we created our Summer time table. This blog post aims to tell you everything you need to know about summer pony camps at Dunbyrne Equestrian. 

Dates:

We aim to run camps on the dates listed below subject to a minimum number of bookings per camp. Camps run from Tuesdays through to Fridays from 10am to 4pm. 

• Tuesday 2nd July - All levels, beginners welcome

• Tuesday 9th July - All levels, beginners welcome

• Tuesday 16th July - All levels, beginners welcome

• Tuesday 23rd July - All levels, beginners welcome

• Tuesday 30th July - Advanced camp, approval required pre booking.

• Tuesday 6th August - All levels, beginners welcome

• Tuesday 13th August - All levels, beginners welcome

• Tuesday 20th August - All levels, beginners welcome

Times:

Pony camp runs from 10am to 4pm. On the first day campers should arrive by 9.45am for registration. Campers should aim to be on time each day. Campers must be collected before 4.15pm each day. 

What to wear:

We can and will provide a hat of approved standard and a back protector free of charge for use during riding lessons. We have a limited number available. We also have riding boots in a limited number of sizes that can be borrowed. We ask that you wear boots with a heel, a long sleeved top (without a hood) and jodphurs / breeches / thick tracksuit bottoms. Long hair must be tied up at all times and jewellery aside from small stud earrings may not be worn

What to Bring:

Campers should bring a change of clothes, waterproofs and a packed lunch. 

What happens at pony camp?

Tuesday to Thursday - campers will ride under instruction from BHS instructors, take stable management lessons where they will learn how to look after their pony and will enjoy games and activities. Riding lessons will comprise of flat work and jumping and where appropriate, cross country and hacking . 

On the Friday we will have a show where campers will get their ponies ready before show casing their skills over a course of fences / obstacles in the afternoon followed by a prize giving. We would encourage parents and guardians to come and watch the show if possible as the children really enjoy it. 

Costs:

Pony camp costs €130 per child per week for one child or €120 per child per week for two or more children from the same family or for agency bookings. We believe that our prices are fair and competitive given the quality of instruction provided. All of our instructors are 18 and over and BHS (British Horse Society) qualified with first aid training, Safeguarding and Garda Vetting. Please do not ask for discounts as refusal may offend.

Levels:

We welcome all levels for pony camp aside from our advanced camp which takes place the week of July 30th. Advanced camp is restricted to our more advanced riders. If you are a regular client and unsure if advanced camp will suit you please ask your instructor for advice.

Where we have a mixture of levels in pony camp we will cater to those levels and will split classes where we have quantities to do so. While we welcome advanced riders our ponies are riding school ponies and therefore any jumping will take place over an appropriate height. 

Booking:

To book a place on Pony Camp please email us - dunbyrnestud@gmail.com. the team are unable to take booking in the riding school - please email to book so that we can ensure that we have everything in order and your child can enjoy camp.

Children must be aged six years or over to attend camp.

When booking, please advise us of the following information

• Campers name

• campers age / height / weight,

• Name and number of emergency contact / next of kin

• campers level of riding experience,

• Which camp you would like to do.

• Any allergies or illnesses.

  A €30 non refundable booking deposit per child will be required in advance to secure your booking. Places are limited so please book soon as only bookings with a deposit paid will be confirmed. You can pay your deposit by bank transfer (putting your name as reference, by paypal or by cash / cheque. Cash / cheque payments will only be accepted by the riding school when in an envelope labelled with your name, childs name and the camp that you are paying a deposit for.

  Your balance will be due before camp commences. This can be paid on the first day of camp at 9.45am by cash or cheque or you can pay us in advance by bank transfer or paypal.

Everything you need to know about our forthcoming riding club dressage show

We are delighted that our club, Dunbyrne Riding Club will hold a leg of the Kavanaghs of Newbridge dressage league on Sunday the 14th of April.

Entries:

You need to be a registered riding member of a riding club in order to enter. Entries must be made online by visiting www.itsplainsailing.com/club/drc1

Entries close on Tuesday the 9th April. €20 entry for graded classes, €12 to compete in the Sportsmans class, the walk and trot class or to compete H/C in a class

Classes & Tests:

We will be running the following classes:

• Primary (AIRC Intro A 2011)

• Advanced Primary (DI P5 2012)

• Sportsman (DI P5 2012)

• Intermediate (AIRC 15 2013)

• Advanced Intermediate (AIRC 26 2010)

• Open (DI E46 2013)

• Advanced Open (DI M62 2015)

• Walk / Trot test (DI Intro B 2017)

All tests can be downloaded for free.

Dressage Ireland tests are prefixed DI and are available here:

https://www.dressageireland.ie/members/dressage-ireland-tests/

Association of Irish Riding Club tests, prefixed AIRC are available here:

https://www.airc.ie/downloads/

Photographer:

We are delighted to say that Brian from Saggitarian Photography will be here taking photos on the day - smile for the camera

Tea / Coffee:

We will have tea / coffee onsite and home baked treats the proceeds for the sale will go to charity

Safety:

Safety officer on the day: Rory O’Hare

First Aid Responders: Lorna & Ross O’Hare

Where to find us:

Our eircode is W91 YT62

Preparation and Training:

if you would like to ride through your test and get some practice onsite before the show our onsite BHSI Ross O’hare is available for dressage test training, please email us at dunbyrnestud@gmail.com to arrange a private or group session for you or your club

Joining a riding club:

Dunbyrne Riding Club is open for new members, to enquire or join please email dunbyrne@airc.ie

BHS Success for Leonie and Rebecca

This week we received some wonderful news. Two of our full time students, Leonie Moore and Rebecca Hoary absolutely excelled themselves in their most recent BHS (British Horse Society) exams. Both students attend Dunbyrne Equestrian as full time working students under the CDETB training course. Both are now the proud owners of their full BHS Stage 2 Care, Lunge and Ride.

When we work with full time students we get to know them and we aim to help them to develop, to learn and to think about where they would like to go on their equestrian careers. We are lucky enough to have three full time students - Rebecca, Leonie and Finnish student Miia Pekkala working with is and we are delighted with the efforts they put in to being their best.

Rebecca is a passionate and determined young student with great plans and goals for the future and we are really delighted to be part of the team who help her on her way. Leonie has worked incredibly hard to develop her show jumping at Dunbyrne and we are so proud of the professional and confident approach she brought to her exams.

These students continue to work their way along the BHS pathways with our onsite BHSI Ross O’hare supported by our BHSAIs through Stage three care and riding and through their teaching exams. We love that we are involved in building the instructors of the future who will in turn inspire others to ride and to teach.

We are passionate about BHS training, if you are too, please get in touch if you would like our help to get where you want to go.

March of many Disciplines

After the success of our show last week, this weekend proved also to be busy for our riders. Best of all the were able to enjoy it without wind and rain!

Laura Kavanagh and Aoife Harrington travelled to Annaharvey to take part in the hunter trials with their ponies Bobby and Milkway. They had great fun enjoying their ponies in the sun and Aoife now has the cross country bug and is looking forward to more.

Emma, Rebecca and Lorna travelled to Killossery to take part in Dressage Ireland. Emma and Ruben and Rebecca and Honey took part in the preliminary class. Emma and Ruben are working hard on developing as a team together with some great marks showing potential. It is hard to believe that Rebecca, a full time BHS student with Dunbyrne, and her horse Honey have competed in just three dressage shows ever! Their partnership shone through this weekend as they earned impressive scores of 67% and 69% taking home fifth and second place.

Lorna and Sammy (DBS Second Chance) competed in the elementary classes. They had a great day taking home first and third place in their classes.

We are always delighted to see our riders out enjoying their sport and look forward to see what the next few weeks bring.

No Fair Weather Riders at Dunbyrne's St. Patricks Weekend Show

At Dunbyrne Equestrian we are a family run riding school and livery yard based at the foot of the hill of Allen. We held our St Patricks weekend show on Saturday the 16th March and were delighted with the high level of turnout in spite of very wet weather.

Our riding school clients enjoyed the show on board our Dunbyrne Equestrian horses and ponies while our livery clients joined in on their own mounts. Eight show jumping classes took place allowing riders to showcase their skills over fences. This event was an ideal opportunity for our AIRE approved riding school clients to show what they had learned from onsite BHS qualified instructors Tara Hyland and Kia Anglin. Over sixty riders took part many of whom looked very festive in St. Patrick’s day themed dress.

The assisted cross poles class allowed younger and less experienced riders their first taste of competition assisted by experienced leaders. The cross poles class gave riders a chance to have a solo run over fences while the 40-50cm class challenged riders with a course of twelve fences including a double, a turnback and a dogs leg. Riders stepped up to the mark with many impressive clear rounds in each class and a lucky dip decided who took home the coveted Dunbyrne trophies.

The sixty centimetre class was the first to include timing against the clock for the second half of the track to determine results. It proved to be very exciting as riders fought to beat the fastest time cheered on by spectators. Just three riders managed a double clear with impressive times. Top of the class was local rider Jessica McBride. Jessica has ridden in Dunbyrne riding school for many years and she and DBS Magic really were magic as they stopped the clock at 48.99 seconds to win the class. Second and third place went to fellow riding school riders Sophia Manning who competed with DBS Merrylegs and Ellie Moore who competed with DBS Rolo.

The seventy, eighty and ninety centimetre classes allowed the more experienced riders and the DBS Tailblazers to showcase their skills. Tailblazers is a weekly coaching academy run at Dunbyrne by BHS & HSI coach Lorna O’Hare to teach competition skills to under eighteens with their own horse or pony. In the seventy centimetre class riding school member Thomas Cruise really was top gun as he took on the course and rode a double clear at his first show on board Jumanji. This class was won by DBS Tailblazer Sive Murphy and her pony Cooper (Whats It All About). Sive gave a display of jumping against the clock with some very tight turns to cross the finish in 38.64 seconds. The eighty centimetre class was very kindly sponsored by John Davitt director of local construction business Davtech (www.davtech.ie) . It was only fitting that John’s daughters did him proud in this class. Niamh Davitt and Clonmore Bailey stopped the clock at 34.08 delivering the fastest clear round of the day! Second place went to her sister Sinead Davitt on board Killelton Starlight.

An eighty centimetre pairs relay class in which riders competed against the clock jumping six fences each provided great entertainment for spectators. Just two pairs completed the track with clear rounds. The fastest of these proved to be Sive Murphy and Caoimhe Sullivan who flew around on board their ponies Cooper and Judy to win the class less than a second ahead of Caitlin Harrington and Tabitha Walsh in second place. The final class of the day was the ninety centimetre class which was sponsored by Horseware and well supported. The course took it’s toll and just two of the nine riders who competed managed to complete it without any faults. Sinead Davitt had a foot perfect round in a very good time of 36.83 to claim first place with her mare Killelton Starlight. Zara Logan was delighted to finish with a clear round and take second place in this class at her first show on board her pony Prince.

Dunbyrne Equestrian would like to thank all who attended and supported this show, Michelle Davitt for managing entries, Helena Coffey for giving up a day to scribe, John Davitt (Davtech) and Horseware for sponsorship, Ross O’Hare for course building and judging and yard manager Kia Anglin and her team for running such an enjoyable day.