8th December 2009: The Horseshoe Training Ride will be held on Saturday 27th February 2010 - the venue is Thornmead, outside Exford,
which will give riders an opportunity to see part of the 2010 Golden Horseshoe route. More details can be found on the Wessex EGB website Rides and Events page.
3rd December 2009: Whoops, big mistake with the raffle winners and we hope we haven't caused a family feud ... but the winner of the Holiday in Dorset was CARL Langley (not Beth) ... maybe you could go together??!!
30th November 2009: The Golden Horseshoe Raffle was drawn at the EGB Awards Dinner on Saturday 28th November. Prizewinners were as follows: Steve Bates (0951) won the Holiday in Tenerife; Mrs Cane (0824) from Minehead won the French Gite holiday; Beth Langley (421) won the Holiday in Dorset; Nicky Sherry (134) won the Dunster Beach Chalet holiday and Carole Davies (745) won the Exmoor B&B holiday. Congratulations to all the winners and many thanks to all who took part.
The Trail Run, which was introduced in 2009 preceding the Pleasure Ride on the Sunday morning, will become a sponsored event in 2010 in aid of Leukaemia Research - more details to follow.
A few details are emerging about the route for 2010 - halfway will be at Malmsmead and the route will be going through/past Simonsbath, Brendon Two Gates, Doone Valley, SW Coast Path, the Icecream Car Park (!), Hawkcombe, Horner Woods, Luckwell Bridge and Exford Village ............. sounds intriguing and there will be more details in due course!! Keep watching the website for further information.
14th July 2009: Absolutely FANTASTIC news from the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance - apparently our Pleasure Riders have raised an amazing £2017 by taking part ..... very many thanks to one and all .... and we look forward to seeing you all again next year!!
8th July 2009: Here is a lovely picture of some of the Moorland Mousies who took part in this year's Golden Horseshoe Pleasure Ride.
7th July 2009: A big thank you from The Moorland Mousie Trust!! Ride Organiser, Barbara Wigley, has just received this letter
The Moorland Mousie Trust
“To promote and conserve the
Exmoor pony” Patron: H.R.H. The Duchess Of Cornwall Exmoor Pony Centre, Ashwick, Dulverton, Somerset. TA22 9QE Tel: 01398 323093 www.moorlandmousietrust.org.uk
vsherwin@moorlandmousietrust.org.uk
Dear Barbara,
As usual, this is somewhat late getting to you, but we have just finished gathering in the last of our Golden Horseshoe Sponsored Ride money. Our total this year is once again just over £1800, which is a wonderful surprise. In the current economic climate, I had really prepared myself for a downturn in sponsorship. Add to this the fact that, for a variety of reasons we lost four riders in the last few days in the run up to the ride, and it really was a superb effort.
We are particularly grateful to those riders whom we don’t know. I am very aware that some have done it on more than one occasion, and often travelling a fair distance to be at the ride. For everyone based at The Exmoor Pony Centre, the sponsored ride has become one of the highlights of our calendar, and it is the main topic of conversation in the New Year, as staff and volunteers compete fiercely for the opportunity to take part on their favourite ponies.
Please pass on a huge thank you to your organisers for once again allowing us to benefit from The Golden Horseshoe event. As much as we love doing the ride, we also enjoy the opportunity to be at the event with our stand, and to meet your supporters. I’m very aware of all the hard work you all put in to make it such a success.
I hope that we can continue to be associated with The Golden Horseshoe, and I wish you continued success, which you all thoroughly deserve.
Very Best Wishes
Mrs Valerie Sherwin
Founder, The Moorland Mousie Trust.
21st May: The winner of the Name the Foal Competition was Simone Herbert from Tiverton - she chose the name Dionysis after the Greek God of Wine and Intoxication! This little foal was hand-reared by Beth Horstmann using a wine bottle, so the name is very appropriate. Well done Simone - who won a Court Farm Arabians sweatshirt.
Rider No. 57 in the Exmoor Experience class, Tracy French, is keen to see any photographs that may have been taken of her by 'unofficial' photographers during Golden Horseshoe. She is willing to pay for any pictures that may be available and should be grateful for contact via email through Liz Hinings - ehinings@lineone.net - thank you!
18th May: Some photos from Eric Jones have now also been added to the Photo Gallery - how fortunate we were that the actual days of the ride were clear and dry, there are some stunning shots from both Eric and Ian, which wouldn't have been possible had it been like it turned out on Wednesday!
16th May: More of Ian Wigley's photographs are gradually being added to the Photo Gallery, but there are so many of them to choose from that this may take some time and be spread over several days .... so keep checking!
14th May: 8.00pm - Some news of lost property at the Golden Horseshoe venue .... if you have mislaid a black saddle cover (Saddle Exchange) or a blue Regatta medium size fleece please contact Barbara Wigley on 01643 841183 or by email - ian.wigley@btinternet.com
You might like to check out the Rockley Farm website where there is a piece of video covering the experiences of three riders (Nic Barker, Sam Beckett and Andy Willis) on the Pleasure Ride with their barefoot horses.
Finally, for today at least, Barbara and the Organising Committee would like to get some feedback from riders, so if you are willing to take part in a survey, could you please email her - ian.wigley@btinternet.com - so that she can contact you when they are ready to distribute the survey.
8.30am - Press Officer, Peter Jeffery of Jeffery Communications, whose involvement in Golden Horseshoe has secured a huge increase in the amount of press coverage given to the event, has sent the following report:
Exmoor pony draws cheers at Golden Horseshoe Ride
Strong winds, sunshine and moderate temperatures gave almost perfect
conditions for this year's Golden Horseshoe Ride over Exmoor - and it
resulted in a record Gold tally of 20 over the four classes.
But in spite of some superb riding and on-course judgement, biggest cheer of
the final day went to the diminutive Kingsby Nutmeg, the first Exmoor pony
to take part in one of the competitive classes in the Ride. Owned and ridden by vet's receptionist Mary Hannah, from Brompton Regis, the pony finished the first day and 25 miles of the 50-mile Exmoor Experience class in Silver position and then completed the second day with a Bronze award, losing the one place on time only.
The 65 riders competing in the four classes - the 100-mile Golden Horseshoe,
the 75-mile Exmoor Stag, 50-mile Exmoor Experience and one-day, 50-mile
Exmoor 80 - netted a total of 20 Gold awards, 20 Silver and 10 Bronze.
Barbara Wigley, who heads the organising committee, said: "It really was one
of the best rides yet. Exmoor is very tough and can be hard on both horses
and riders, but each year we see an improvement and this time everyone was
impressed with the way the horses responded to the demands made on them and
their fitness and condition at the end."
In the 100-mile class, David Yeoman and Haszar were particularly impressive,
pressing ahead of the field for most of the day, closely followed by Lorna
Hogg on De Marco and Carol Jones with Ptolemaeus.
13th May: 8.30pm - You may remember my anecdote on Day One about Karen Jones and her home-made energy bar/tooth problem ..... courtesy of Linda Kidd I now have a picture to go with that!
What a difference a day makes!! When I went up to the venue at 9 o'clock this morning to help a little with clearing up, the mist was so thick that you couldn't see the Start/Finish from the marquee - a distance of about 200 yards for those of you who were not fortunate enough to be down here in Exford for Golden Horseshoe! Thank goodness we had such good luck with the weather over the period of the event - they do say that the sun shines on the righteous, so I guess Barbara must have been being very good!! There will be some more photos to add to the Photo Gallery page in due course, both from Ian Wigley and from Eric Jones - but it may take a few days before they are available.
12th May: 9.00pm - There was a good attendance at the Prize-Giving which was hardly surprising, considering the number of awards that were to be presented! Nicky Moffatt from Horse and Rider Magazine had kindly agreed to present the trophies and was welcomed to Golden Horseshoe by Ride Organiser, Barbara Wigley, and Commentator/Master of Ceremonies, Andy Wooff. It was also a privilege to be able to welcome the two daughters of the late Mr Charles Shippam, who some years ago had presented The Laybrook Challenge Trophy (to be awarded to the highest placed Arab) - Mr Shippam would have reached his century this year and it was fitting that his daughters were present to make the presentation to this year's winner, David Yeoman. Also present at the ceremony was Mrs Emma Roe from Withypool, to give the Exmoor Stag Award to Gillian Talbot and Ranazak - this award was given by Emma Roe, in memory of Cheryl Logan, to be awarded to the highest placed Pure Bred Arab in the Exmoor Stag class. The Special Awards have now been added to the Results Page, but you might like to know that our Scottish visitor, Lorna Hogg, spent quite a lot of time walking back and forth to the stage, as did David Yeoman from North Brewham in Somerset. Appreciation was expressed to all the sponsors, landowners, helpers and officials who had made the event possible and a bouquet of flowers was presented to Barbara Wigley in recognition of the tremendous amount of work that she has put into making this event such a success.
6.00pm - Results now posted on the Results Page and the Special Awards will be added after the Prize-Giving, which starts at 7.00pm. It has been a wonderful day with some excellent results all round - and the rain that was threatened didn't arrive! Congratulations to ALL the competitors and their horses and also congratulations and thanks to Barbara Wigley and her Organising Committee and to all the many helpers and sponsors who make this event possible.
12.30pm - Pauline Higgs has retired on course before reaching halfway - Mydass was striding out well in walk but, when asked to trot, she did not want to know - so he is being collected off the route. So far as the remained of Class 1 are concerned, all is going well - all 8 passed the halfway vetting and first back out onto the route was David Yeoman at 11.35am with Kirsty Wiscombe in hot pursuit less than a minute later. Carol Jones, Lorna Hogg, Mary Korn and Gail Andrews are all riding together and I have just seen them heading off towards the moor in Withypool. Sally Hill and Alison House are behind them. In the Exmoor Eighty class all horses passed the vetting at halfway and first back out on route was Sally Hall on Sire de Bozouls.
11.20am and I am now at halfway and waiting for the first horses to leave after vetting here (the horses have a 50-minute hold at halfway). Sadly, at the trot-up for the Exmoor Stag we lost Linda Kidd and Drastik with a K - eliminated lame - and I hear that Donna Taylor and Sky Indigo have retired on course at CP4 (which is the 3rd CP today, as they are riding the route in reverse!) Duncan Watkinson, the RAYNET official here is concerned about the whereabouts of Pauline Higgs and Mydass - she had been riding with a group who arrived at halfway some time ago, but there is no sign of her as yet. More news of her - and others - later!
8.15am and at the start of Day Two all 9 horses still in Class 1, the Golden Horseshoe, have trotted up sound and are now out on the course riding in the reverse direction and in reverse order from the finish yesterday. First to start this morning at 7.30 was Alison House with Aberllwyd Briar Rose, followed at one-minute intervals by Sally Hill and Maverick II, Pauline Higgs and Mydass, Mary Korn and Dinmor Dougall, Carol Jones and Ptolemaeus, Lorna Hogg and De Marco, Gail Andrews and Vlacq Gilfae, David Yeoman and Haszar and finally Kirsty Wiscombe and Connie (pictured left). Then the starters in the one-day Exmoor Eighty set off, again at the traditional one-minute intervals - Angela Osborne on Wickham's Just Distinct, Donna Taylor on Heather Giles' Sky Indigo, Sally Hall on Sire de Bozouls, Nikki Routledge and Ca Daisha, Rebecca Townsend (below right) on her 18 year-old Appaloosa X Zebedee and finally Sarah Bishop on the diminutive Scarlet. Mention must be made of the excellent job that commentator Andy Wooff (below) is doing at the venue. Having been cajoled to stand in at the last minute for regular commentator, Philip Ghazala, who was unable to attend, he has been remarkably adept at picking up the complicated procedures which are unique to the sport of endurance. What is more - it is his birthday today and he has opted to spend it with us - thank you Andy, we greatly appreciate your company and your commentary - and Happy Birthday!!
11th May: 7.00pm now and, having ducked out of the Briefing this evening, I asked Gill Talbot (who is in the cottage next door to me at Westerclose House) to let me know what had happened to Pam Jordan and Oriole The Gold, who were still out on course when I returned to my cottage earlier. Sadly, they were eliminated lame at the end of Day One - bad luck Pam!
5.00pm. At the end of Day One we have 6 horses on Gold speed in the Golden Horseshoe class, 1 on Silver, 2 on Bronze, 1 retired at halfway and 1 was eliminated on pulse at the final Day 1 vetting; in the Exmoor Stag we have 2 on Gold, 3 on Silver, 1 on Bronze, 1 Retired on Course after halfway, 1 eliminated lame at the end of Day 1 and one still out on course but still within the required time when I had to leave the venue. I am about to enter the speeds and final pulse rates on the Results Page so you will be able to see who is on what very shortly I hope! Technical Steward, Olive Linge, and Trophies/Awards Steward Margaret Barron are pictured below, beavering away getting the Day One results out and onto the Results Board.
12.55pm. All the horses due to start in Class 3, the Exmoor Experience, started at their allotted times this morning from 10.30am and are out on course enjoying the ride - some are expected back at the venue around 1.30pm. As for Classes 1 and 2 ..... first in at 10.38am to halfway at Higher Riscombe was David Yeoman with Haszar, closely followed by Kirsty Wiscombe with Connie. All but one horse was successful at the vetting here - sadly, Gillian Mann's WFA Zaleem has retired after apparently tying up. (Pictured left are Carol Jones, Gail Andrews and Lorna Hogg leaving halfway) Pam Jordan is some way behind the others in the Stag, having had a tack problem early on in the course, but she will be going out of halfway again within the next 10 minutes. Linda Kidd and Chris Smyth report that the course is riding very well, although the tracks into and out of halfway are a bit testing - having walked across about 3 fields there with Pebble this morning and nearly sprained my ankles several times, I can't help but agree!! Karen Jones, with Macadamia, has a different problem - she rather unwisely made herself some home-made energy bars and, whilst riding the first section of the route bit into one, then Macadamia was being a bit naughty so she crammed the whole bar into her mouth and chomped away ........ resulting in a broken tooth! She is now riding in disguise with a scarf over her lower face, like a bandit and, be warned, don't accept any freebie energy bars from Karen or her crew or you might end up with the same problem! In the Exmoor Stag, the three front runners currently are Ann Jobson and Samson, Ray Davison and Saintwestwell Silver Mask and Gill Talbot with Ranazak. (Pictured right is an 'interesting' wooden sculpture at the vetting entrance at halfway!)
8.30am - The day has dawned bright and VERY breezy with winds of 50mph predicted apparently! By 8am all the competitors in the Golden Horseshoe and the Exmoor Stag classes had started successfully. Lorna Hogg (no. 1) is pictured left and Pam Jordan (no. 24) on the right. Some were a little spooked by the flapping awning of Timekeeper Mike Cooper's caravan, but all got away without problems. The Exmoor Experience class does not start until 10.30am - so more news after then!
10th May: 4.30pm - the preliminary vetting for Classes 1, 2 and 3 has now been completed - and the good news is that ALL the horses presented for vetting have passed. Following yesterday's withdrawals by Helen McFarland, Carolyn Edwards and Jane Smith, there have been no further withdrawals so 11 will start in the prestigious Golden Horseshoe class, 9 in the Exmoor Stag and 45 in the Exmoor Experience. The 6 riders in the Exmoor 80 class will have their preliminary vetting at lunchtime tomorrow and news of how they get on will be published at the end of tomorrow's ride, whilst details of the halfway vetting and any other news from the course will appear here during the course of the day.
2pm - the vetting for the Competitive Classes has just started, after a morning packed with interest for the many spectators who have come to the Exford Showground today. We started with the Trail Run - 25 runners leaving the venue at 8.30am to complete the same course (25km) as the Sponsored Class riders - who are raising money for either the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance or the Moorland Mousie Trust. Once the runners were safely on their way, the Pleasure Riders started - there were over 100 entries for this class, and almost all started between 9 and 10am, which kept Timekeeper Mike Cooper and his able assistant, June Adams, on their toes! Martin Longhurst, who acted as Timekeeper for the Trail Runners reported at the end of the run, that the feedback from the runners was favourable and it may well become a feature at future Horseshoes. The results for both the Run and the Pleasure Ride may be found on the Results Page, where all the results will be posted in due course. First back from the Run was Andrew Mansfield (pictured below right) of the North Devon Road Runners, closely followed by fellow club member Tony Vesty and Ricky Lewis of Minehead Running Club in 3rd. The first lady runner came in next (in 4th place) -
this was Karen Bentham
from Yeovil (below left), and the next lady to finish (in 12th place) was Maggie Wilson from Minehead Running Club.
The Arena Displays started with Kirsty Wiscombe giving a demonstration of her lovely stallion Yawl Hillbilly's all-round capabilities - Kirsty is offering a 'covering' by the stallion as a prize to a winning mare in one of the competitive classes. Then we were treated to the sight of 8 or 9 Exmoor ponies being paraded in the arena all together, followed by a Dog Agility demonstration by the Exmoor Agility Group - after which spectators were invited to bring their own dogs into the arena to 'have a go'! - as you can imagine, this was quite entertaining! Meanwhile most of the Pleasure Riders had returned, all beaming happily - it had been a good ride.
More from Exford later, once the preliminary vetting has been completed...... Pictured right are Lucie Allison and Georgina (aged 9) - you may remember that last year Adam Henson of Countryfile rode Windsor in the Exmoor Experience, and Windsor is one of Lucie's horses. Far right is one of the trade stands - Silver & Sand - with some lovely attractive silver jewellery.
9th May: The Quiz Evening was a resounding success, with Nic Wigley (risen from her sick bed) to host the evening - her father, Ian, made a mercy dash down to The Crown in Exford to collect the Fish & Chips and Chicken & Chips suppers which were much appreciated. Deserving winners at the end of the evening were "The Magnificent Seven" the clue is in the title ..... teams were supposed to be of a maximum of 6, so no wonder they won!!! They shall be named and shamed - Sally Grant, who collected their prize of six (!) bottles of wine, her sister Jane and partner Trevor, Janet Turner and partner John, Linda and Derek Kidd. Seriously though .. congratulations! And many thanks to Barbara, Nic and Ian for providing us all with an entertaining and enjoyable evening.
Liz Hinings reporting at 5pm - I have come away from the venue now to book in at my very comfortable self-catering cottage, where I have been welcomed with a cream tea! With a Fish & Chips supper to come at the Quiz this evening, I can see this is going to be a difficult week to stick to the diet!! Sally and Rosemary have now finished setting up the office to their satisfaction and, with the sun shining and everyone eagerly anticipating tomorrow's Trail Run, Pleasure Ride, displays and the Preliminary Vetting for the competitive classes, this is a good place to be! Pebble is impatient for the action to get started!! Sadly, having turned up twice for the ferry over from Northern Ireland, Helen McFarland has been forced to withdraw, as the crossing has not been viable due to the weather!
12 noon - and it's all systems go at the Exford Showground - the Ride Office is all set up and we are looking forward to welcoming you all to this year's Golden Horseshoe - see you soon! Results will be posted during the course of the event - just click through to the Results Page.
7th May: BBC Somerset Radio will be talking to Nic Wigley and Nikki Routledge at 7.45am on Saturday 9th May - be sure to listen in!
2nd May: Peter Jeffery, PR for Golden Horseshoe, reports: "Father and daughter pair take on Exmoor's Golden Horseshoe
A father and daughter combination, a horse and rider who together rode 6,000 miles to Jordan and national endurance champion Sally Hall are all amongst the 181 entries over the three days of the Golden Horseshoe Ride.
Andrew Chisholm and 13-years-old Abby, from Lydford, Devon, will be starting in the Exmoor Experience class - there are 48 entries this year – which calls for 25-miles on each of two consecutive days. Both will be crewed on course by mother, Jo, herself an established endurance rider.
Andrew has been crewing for 25 years and started competing himself in 2006. Abby was the South West junior champion in 2007 and reserve last year. Her ride, Diana of Court, was bred at Court Farm in Exford, the village which has welcomed the Horseshoe on all but one year since 1974.
Carmarthenshire-based Harry Adshead, also starting in the Exmoor Experience class, rode from the Black Mountains in Wales to Jordan on his pure-bred Arabian, Sealeah Myranda. The ride covered 6,000 miles and took 17 months. The pair have been doing endurance rides, mostly at 25 miles, for three years.
Altogether, 181 horses and ponies will be competing over the three days, 12
of them in the gruelling 100-mile Golden Horseshoe itself. Ten have entered
for the Exmoor Stag, which covers 50 miles on the first day and 25 on the
second - the original distance for the Golden Horseshoe when it returned to
Exmoor in 1974. Another seven, including endurance champion Sally Hall, from Banwell, Somerset, have entered the Exmoor 80, an energy-sapping 50 miles in one day.
More than 100 riders are coming from all over the country to ride in the
14-mile sponsored and training ride, with proceeds going jointly to the
Moorland Mousie Trust and the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance.
"I think we are set for another wonderful three days," said Barbara Wigley,
who heads the organising committee. "We were worried that the financial
crisis and the cost of fuel might affect entries this year, but the
attraction of riding over Exmoor, one of the most challenging venues for
endurance riders, has obviously been irresistible!"
The three days open on Sunday, May 10, with a great family day out to the
venue, the Exford Show field to the south of Exford village. A programme of arena displays includes exhibitions by Exmoor ponies and dog agility.
Refreshments and trade stands will also be on the site.
Vetting for three of the classes will also be carried out on the same day."
1st May: Due to circumstances beyond our control it will not now be possible for the Court Farm Arabians to parade on Sunday morning. However, Beth Horstmann is able to offer a visit to Court Farm on Monday evening after the Briefing at around 6.30pm - we hope that many of you will take advantage of this kind offer. The foal of the 'Name the Foal' competition will be on show, together with Beth's other Black Arabians.
30th April: Please note there is a discrepancy between the Rider Information sheets sent out and the Provisional Timetable included with them - Close of Declarations for Classes 1, 2 and 3 will be 1.30pm on Sunday 10th May.
29th April: All the paperwork for Classes 1, 2, 3 and 4 went into the post to riders this evening and tomorrow morning the Pleasure Riders' details will be in the post to those who sent stamped addressed envelopes. Those Pleasure Riders who are intending to pick up their maps and information on the Sunday morning should remember to allow a little extra time, so that they are able to read through the notes before they start - Pleasure Riders MUST start between 9 and 10am and no-one will be able to start later than that!
27th April: Horse Hero, the really interesting website that covers many disciplines in the equine world, is coming down to Golden Horseshoe to film on Monday afternoon 11th May and Tuesday morning 12th May. They are hoping to capture the essence and atmosphere of the sport of Endurance Riding (and Golden Horseshoe in particular) and the video they shoot will, in due course, be available on this website. Do check out their website - EGB member Nikki Routledge features on the Celebrity Blogs and will always make you chuckle!
25th April: In my humble opinion I think you riders are going to be quite bowled over when you receive your ride details - the route maps for the CRs are the best I have ever seen (says Liz Hinings) and thanks are due to the Exmoor National Park Authority for their support in this and to Matt Sully in particular, who has spent many hours compiling and producing an extremely professional piece of work.
1st April: Having reported on 17th March that there is an addition to the Horseshoe merchandise - a green fleece with gold embroidery - I am now able to let you see a picture of it (although I have to apologise for the very average-looking model!) The fleece is exceptionally comfortable, has two slanted zipped pockets, a draw cord on the bottom hem, and is very soft and cosy - it will be on display wherever I happen to be helping out at rides both before, during and after Horseshoe and I am happy to take orders with payment (Liz Hinings).
25th March: Have you seen the Horse Hero website - check out the 'Celebrity Blogs' where you will find Nikki Routledge talking about her preparation for Golden Horseshoe and Endurance in general in a six-month series.
24th March: Each year Court Farm Arabian Stud runs a competition to name one of their new foals, with proceeds going to the Golden horseshoe Ride.
This year ‘our’ foal is a very precious filly who was rejected by her mother, and has been hand-reared by Beth Horstman and her family.
She is now six weeks old, and is known as ‘Little Tiny Baby One’ whilst awaiting her chosen name. She still has some problems to overcome – not least having to learn that she is a horse and not a human!
She will be in the Court Farm parade at the Horseshoe venue on Sunday 10th May. Her dam is now for sale (7 yo - is ready to break in as a riding horse).
Please enter the competition (suggest as many names as you wish - £1 per name). Entries can be posted or given in at the Horseshoe itself.
22nd March: While Jubilee Trail was revelling in sunshine, Barbara and Nic Wigley were checking out part of the Horseshoe route today: "Excellent views over the Bristol Channel!" says Barbara and provides a photo to substantiate this!
17th March: Now we are spoilt for choice - not only is a shower-proof jacket available, but also a fleece!! At a cost of £31.50p this comes with two zipped pockets and is available in sizes XS to 4XL (so there should be something for everyone there!) Whether you want a jacket or a fleece, please send your order to Barbara (details on Contacts page)with a cheque payable to Wessex Horseshoe for the full amount, detailing size required and indicating whether you wish to collect at Golden Horseshoe or have it posted to you in advance - in which case additional costs for postage will be incurred.
10th March:Smart Golden Horseshoe jackets are now available to order for collection at Horseshoe! May also be posted, but this will incur an additional cost for postage. The jackets are bottle green with the logo in gold. They are shower-proof, fleece-lined and have both a phone pocket and a large internal pocket. They cost £39.50 each and are available in sizes S/M/L and XL. They may be ordered by emailing or writing to Barbara Wigley (see the Contacts Page for details ) - a cheque for the full amount must be posted to her before they are produced.
9th March: Yesterday was the day of the Horseshoe Training Ride and Ride Organiser Barbara Wigley reports "
We had a very successful day yesterday - despite the weather! The day started off bright & sunny, & we thought we were in luck - No Way! The first few riders went off in a bit of sunshine, & then the weather deteriorated to cloudy & windy, then sleet, & then horizontal snow! I have to say that the riders who came & braved the elements & the car parking (in a tiny enclosure) were good natured to the end! So were the car-parking stewards who did a wonderful job moving vehicles around to get as many people in as possible. It was a bit like the 'how many students can you get into a mini?' thing. I think the final hiccup (for me at any rate) was when a herd of cattle which were being driven in off the moor because they had started to calve too early stampeded down the road to Parsonage Farm (the wrong way) in an absolute blizzard. I & several other people who were parked at CP2 got out to help, & to encourage the riders who were approaching to 'Hurry up' & get past the end of the lane, then wait, while the cattle were then driven back out & onto the route!!!!! - The man on the quad at the back had a newly born calf strapped to the shelf on it (the cause of the panic to bring them in quickly!) Anyway all ended well. The riders unfortunately had rather a lot of road work as the moor was too boggy for them to go where we had originally intended, but at least they got out & had a ride."
24th February: There has been some interest in a modified version of the Trail Run and it has been decided that, if there is sufficient interest, there will be an additional 'relay' class where 2 runners will each run half of the course. Anyone wishing to enter this special class should send entry forms and fees for each runner, and their 'partner' should be clearly indicated at the top of the entry form. We look forward to seeing you on Sunday 10th May!
5th February: Press Release issued today by Press Officer Peter Jeffery as follows -
Golden Horseshoe Ride attracts top riders
The target speed towards a Gold medal, the top award, at this year's Golden
Horseshoe ride over Exmoor, will be a minimum of 12 kph (7½ mph) But, even
then, the horse's heart rate at the veterinary inspection shortly after
crossing the finishing line must be no higher than 55.
"And that will mean that the horse has to be very fit and is why only the
very best endurance horses in the country can compete in either of the top
two competitive classes, the Golden Horseshoe and the Exmoor Stag," said
Barbara Wigley, who heads the organising committee of what is seen as one of
the toughest tests of horse and rider in Europe.
"The other two classes, the Exmoor Experience particularly, are there to
give very good riders and very good horses a taste of what riding over this
very demanding country is all about.
"Most enthusiasts see a Gold award from Exmoor as having reached the
pinnacle of the sport. Even a Silver or a Bronze award for slower speeds is
something to celebrate."
The start and finish for the rides will be the Exford Show site to the south
of Exford.
Horse and rider partnerships will be competing over.-
* 160kms (100 miles), 80 kms on each of two consecutive days, in the Golden
Horseshoe class
* 120kms (75 miles), 80kms on day one and 40kms on day two, in the Exmoor
Stag class
* 80kms (50 miles), 40kms on each of two consecutive days, in the Exmoor
Experience class
*80kms (50 miles) in one day for the Exmoor Eighty class.
This year's three-day event starts on Sunday, May 10, which is also launch
day for the Golden Horseshoe Run, when up to 100 runners will take on 14
miles of the 100-mile course. They will start 30 minutes before riders in a
15-mile sponsored ride in aid of the Moorland Mousie Trust and the Dorset
and Somerset Air Ambulance. On the same day there will be a full programme
of displays in the showground arena.
* The 100-mile course takes in the village of Winsford before turning south
to Marsh Bridge, and following the river Barle for a short while. It then
heads north through Withypool, past Larkbarrow and across Withycombe
Allotment to Oare village. It then crosses the A39 at County Gate and heads
towards Porlock before turning south again across Lucott Moor and Exford
Common to return to the venue. Halfway halt will be at Higher Riscombe
Farm. This route will form the basis for all shorter routes in other
classes.
4th February: In addition to the .pdf file of the 2009 route, for those of you who have the Memory Map program or a GPS device, there are alternative map files for download which are accessible here as follows:
The .gpx files can also be imported to Google Earth, Google Maps and other mapping software so are more universally friendly than the .mmo files which can just be used by Memory Maps users (but please don't contact either the Ride Organiser or Entries Secretary for further info on this technology!!)
The titles are self-explanatory and the PR route is the same as the Trail Run. However, the horses will cross the river at Nethercote, and the runners will not! The Memory Map and .gpx files will remain on the Schedule page of the website for the foreseeable future.
3rd February: A word of warning!! I have already received one entry which had insufficient postage on it - I have had to pay £1.06p for the privilege of driving 3 miles to my local sorting office to receive it!! If in doubt, please put on an extra stamp as it will save me having to drive extra miles and you being embarrassed when I ask you for the extra postage I have had to pay!! Also, PLEASE please please write clearly in block capitals the names of horses and breeding details .... or it will not all be detailed correctly on the website and the programme!!
31st January: Entries have now opened and will be listed on the List of Entrants page as they arrive - the first three to arrive are all for Class 3 The Exmoor Experience!
Tuesday 20th January: Barbara and Ian have been out and about checking parts of the proposed route for this year - the photograph below is part of the SW Coast Path taken slightly earlier, but the snowy picture of the river crossing at Westermill was taken today!!
Wednesday 31st December: Are you coming down to Exmoor for Golden Horseshoe in 2009 as a 'spectator' - would you like to lend a hand? Diana Honnor is compiling a list of helpers for 2009 and would love to hear from you! Please contact her direct by phone on
01398 351546 or by mail at Champles Farm, Stoodleigh, Tiverton. EX16 9QD or email her - dhonnor@waitrose.com
Tuesday 2nd December: We have just heard from the BBC that they are planning to show clips from this year's Golden Horseshoe in their Countryfile programme on Sunday January 4th - don't miss it!!
Monday 1st December: The Golden Horseshoe Raffle was drawn at the EGB Awards Dinner on Saturday evening - many thanks to all those of you who bought tickets and, of course, to the sponsors of the prizes! The winners were as follows: 1st prize (Gite holiday) Sue Thomson; 2nd prize (Dunster beach holiday) P Pearce; 3rd prize (B&B on Exmoor) Chris Scott; 4th prize (Verm-X voucher) Sue Garlick; 5th prize (Cream Tea for 2) Jane Sparrey; 6th prize (Verm-X voucher) Gilly Payton.
for those of you who were not fortunate enough to be down here in Exford for Golden Horseshoe! Thank goodness we had such good luck with the weather over the period of the event - they do say that the sun shines on the righteous, so I guess Barbara must have been being very good!! There will be some more photos to add to the Photo Gallery page in due course, both from Ian Wigley and from Eric Jones - but it may take a few days before they are available. 
which was hardly surprising, considering the number of awards that were to be presented! Nicky Moffatt from Horse and Rider Magazine had kindly agreed to present the trophies and was welcomed to Golden Horseshoe by Ride Organiser, Barbara Wigley, and Commentator/Master of Ceremonies, Andy Wooff. It was also a privilege to be able to welcome the two daughters of the late Mr Charles Shippam, who some years ago had presented The Laybrook Challenge Trophy (to be awarded to the highest placed Arab) - Mr Shippam would have reached his century this year and it was fitting that his daughters were present to make the presentation to this year's winner, David Yeoman. Also present at the ceremony was Mrs Emma Roe from Withypool, to give the Exmoor Stag Award to Gillian Talbot and Ranazak - this award was given by Emma Roe, in memory of Cheryl Logan, to be awarded to the highest placed Pure Bred Arab in the Exmoor Stag class. The Special Awards have now been added to the 
Kirsty Wiscombe and Connie (pictured left). Then the starters in the one-day Exmoor Eighty set off, again at the traditional one-minute intervals - Angela Osborne on Wickham's Just Distinct, Donna Taylor on Heather Giles' Sky Indigo, Sally Hall on Sire de Bozouls, Nikki Routledge and Ca Daisha, Rebecca Townsend
(below right) on her 18 year-old Appaloosa X Zebedee and finally Sarah Bishop on the diminutive Scarlet. Mention must be made of the excellent job that commentator Andy Wooff (below) is doing at the venue. Having been cajoled to stand in at the last minute for regular commentator, Philip Ghazala, who was unable to attend, he has been remarkably adept at picking up the complicated procedures which are unique to the sport of endurance. 
What is more - it is his birthday today and he has opted to spend it with us - thank you Andy, we greatly appreciate your company and your commentary - and Happy Birthday!! 
All but one horse was successful at the vetting here - sadly, Gillian Mann's WFA Zaleem has retired after apparently tying up. (Pictured left are Carol Jones, Gail Andrews and Lorna Hogg leaving halfway) Pam Jordan is some way behind the others in the Stag, having had a tack problem early on in the course, but she will be going out of halfway again within the next 10 minutes. Linda Kidd and Chris Smyth report that the course is riding very well, although the tracks into and out of halfway are a bit testing - having walked across about 3 fields there with Pebble this morning and nearly sprained my ankles several times, I can't help but agree!! Karen Jones, with Macadamia, has a different problem - she rather unwisely made herself some home-made energy bars and, whilst riding the first section of the route bit into one, then Macadamia was being a bit naughty so she crammed the whole bar into her mouth and chomped away ........ resulting in a broken tooth! She is now riding in disguise with a scarf over her lower face, like a bandit and, be warned, don't accept any freebie energy bars from Karen or her crew or you might end up with the same problem! 
In the Exmoor Stag, the three front runners currently are Ann Jobson and Samson, Ray Davison and Saintwestwell Silver Mask and Gill Talbot with Ranazak. (Pictured right is an 'interesting' wooden sculpture at the vetting entrance at halfway!) 
Lorna Hogg (no. 1) is pictured left and Pam Jordan (no. 24) on the right. Some were a little spooked by the flapping awning of Timekeeper Mike Cooper's caravan, but all got away without problems. 
The Exmoor Experience class does not start until 10.30am - so more news after then! 
to complete the same course (25km) as the Sponsored Class riders - who are raising money for either the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance or the Moorland Mousie Trust. Once the runners were safely on their way, the Pleasure Riders started - there were over 100 entries for this class, and almost all started between 9 and 10am, which kept Timekeeper Mike Cooper and his able assistant, June Adams, on their toes! Martin Longhurst, who acted as Timekeeper for the Trail Runners reported at the end of the run, that the feedback from the runners was favourable and it may well become a feature at future Horseshoes. The results for both the Run and the Pleasure Ride may be found on the 
of the North Devon Road Runners, closely followed by fellow club member Tony Vesty and Ricky Lewis of Minehead Running Club in 3rd. The first lady runner came in next (in 4th place) -
this was Karen Bentham 
The Arena Displays started with Kirsty Wiscombe giving a demonstration of her lovely stallion Yawl Hillbilly's all-round capabilities - Kirsty is offering a 'covering' by the stallion as a prize to a winning mare in one of the competitive classes. Then we were treated to the sight of 8 or 9 Exmoor ponies being paraded in the arena all together, followed by a Dog Agility demonstration by the Exmoor Agility Group - after which spectators were invited to bring their own dogs into the arena to 'have a go'! - as you can imagine, this was quite entertaining! Meanwhile most of the Pleasure Riders had returned, all beaming happily - it had been a good ride. 
(risen from her sick bed) to host the evening - her father, Ian, made a mercy dash down to The Crown in Exford to collect the Fish & Chips 
and Chicken & Chips suppers which were much appreciated. Deserving winners at the end of the evening were "The Magnificent Seven" the clue is in the title ..... teams were supposed to be of a maximum of 6, so no wonder they won!!! They shall be named and shamed - Sally Grant, 
who collected their prize of six (!) bottles of wine, her sister Jane and partner Trevor, Janet Turner and partner John, Linda and Derek Kidd. Seriously though .. congratulations! And many thanks to Barbara, Nic and Ian for providing us all with an entertaining and enjoyable evening. 
Sally and Rosemary have now finished setting up the office to their satisfaction and, with the sun shining and everyone eagerly anticipating tomorrow's Trail Run, Pleasure Ride, displays and the Preliminary Vetting for the competitive classes, this is a good place to be! Pebble is impatient for the action to get started!! Sadly, having turned up twice for the ferry over from Northern Ireland, Helen McFarland has been forced to withdraw, as the crossing has not been viable due to the weather!
The fleece is exceptionally comfortable, has two slanted zipped pockets, a draw cord on the bottom hem, and is very soft and cosy - it will be on display wherever I happen to be helping out at rides both before, during and after Horseshoe and I am happy to take orders with payment (Liz Hinings).
They are shower-proof, fleece-lined and have both a phone pocket and a large internal pocket. They cost £39.50 each and are available in sizes S/M/L and XL. They may be ordered by emailing or writing to Barbara Wigley (see the 
I & several other people who were parked at CP2 got out to help, & to encourage the riders who were approaching to 'Hurry up' & get past the end of the lane, then wait, while the cattle were then driven back out & onto the route!!!!! - The man on the quad at the back had a newly born calf strapped to the shelf on it (the cause of the panic to bring them in quickly!) Anyway all ended well. The riders unfortunately had rather a lot of road work as the moor was too boggy for them to go where we had originally intended, but at least they got out & had a ride."
