GROUND JURY

MRS STEVIE MARTIN (President)

I started Endurance riding in 1989 and very quickly became totally hooked.  The joy of riding a fit horse over testing terrain is something very special and is a memory to be treasured, especially in one’s old age when you no longer ride!Having helped at rides of all levels and all terrains I still regard the Golden Horseshoe ride as the ultimate challenge both mentally and physically for both horse and rider and will do all in my power to help it to continue.Stevie has fulfilled the role of President of the Golden Horseshoe Ground Jury since 2007 and, as well as having been Chairman of the Endurance GB Rides and Rules Committee, she has also been a Selector and is an FEI 4* Judge.

MR STEVEN BATES (Member of the Ground Jury)
(Photo courtesy of West End Photography)

A favourite TV programme of mine used to be “Country Boy” presented by Jack Hargreaves. One evening, a few years ago, an event being held in the New Forest was featured. That event I now know to be the Summer Solstice and it grabbed my attention and imagination. At the time I was a member of the British Horse Society and owned a dales type pony. The Society had a section that was to become known as the Endurance Riding Group (ERG) but ponies were not allowed to compete. A couple of years later in 1975 I owned my first horse, an anglo-arab (Paddys Blaze), and my introduction to endurance riding began. That was a 40 mile Golden Horseshoe Qualifier in the Chiltern Hills which I rode wearing a black show jacket, complete with shirt, tie and long boots (it was a BHS event). Despite a boiling hot day we qualified but a subsequent injury meant that I went to the “shoe” on a reconnaissance mission instead of riding. I ended up helping a lady who was competing and she achieved Gold status. Of course what I was doing is now called crewing but things were very formal then and you tended to wave to your rider instead of throwing water over them! Two years on and with a different horse (Heidi) I returned to Exmoor. This time a track suit top had replaced the black jacket but the long boots remained. We achieved Gold which was the pinnacle of my riding career – it has been all down hill since!In the mid 1980’s work took over and although remaining a member of ERG it wasn’t until 1993 that I returned to competition with Kassie. She has carried me far and wide giving me so much pleasure over the years. In 2006 it was decided to breed from Kassie - she has now had two foals with Sunni (now a 3yo) being awarded a 1st Premium at last years Futurity. Kassie has returned to work but at the age of 22 only NCR's and short CR's beckon. There is so much to do with bringing on two youngsters and occupying a more than full time job, that there is very little time to ride.I have served on various committees over the years and I am currently the Health & Safety Officer for the Heart of England Group. Ride organiser, transport manager and ride programme producer at The Young European Championships, and BERA newsletter editor have also featured amongst many roles undertaken. I have had lots of fun with lots of people in the sport.

MRS JACKIE RICHARDSON (Member of the Ground Jury)

I started Endurance many years ago, in the early 1980’s.  My first ride was a pleasure ride organised by Graham Rosamund and was all of 15 miles long – I thought that I was never going to finish that ride, it seemed such a long way, but I was hooked.  I went on to complete many more miles over the years but I’ve never forgotten that first ride.  I have ridden and been placed at several 100 miles rides and also achieved Gold at the Golden Horseshoe in 1989 (the 25th Anniversary of GH).  To my mind the Golden Horseshoe is “the” endurance event over very tough terrain and is what the sport is all about.  What wonderful memories of those times on Exmoor! I have been asked to ride on the teams being sent abroad but was unable to afford that luxury.  My only venture “abroad” was to Wicklow Hills in Ireland as part of the English team one year – what a wonderful experience and memories to treasure. 

I still do some endurance riding on a small scale but also like to put back something into the sport that has given me so much pleasure over the years.  I have been part of the Wessex committee and have organised local training rides as well as competitive rides.  I, or my family, are found to be helping at one ride or another in some capacity during the season.  I am joint organiser of the Lulworth Castle Ride again this year.

My little mare has produced a beautiful buckskin boy as our potential endurance horse for the future.  The picture shows him at 6 weeks old at the BEF Futurity at Oakhampton, 2009.  He is now a strapping 18 months old and is as big as his Mum – how time flies!

TECHNICAL STEWARD

MRS OLIVE LINGE

I fell into Endurance by accident as the result of a day out on Exmoor with my husband and six-month old son. In May 1975 we spent a lovely sunny day following riders in the Golden Horseshoe Ride, trying to catch up with the 'tail-end charlies'. I was hooked - this was something I could enjoy doing. In the autumn of that year I bought Myebon, a pure bred Arab gelding, with the intention of having a go at the GHR, which was the only endurance ride I knew of. This purchase turned out to be the best equestrian buy that I have ever made.Myebon and I did the qualifier and the ride in 1976, with very little knowledge and armed only with a small pamphlet issued by the BHS that had a 10-week training plan in the back. In that year we achieved a Silver Award, and, flushed with success, we returned in 1977 and this time gained the coveted Gold Award.In 1978 I joined the EHPS, as this gave me the opportunity of going to more rides without travelling too far from home. Over 9 seasons, Myebon and I competed all over the south west of England, occasionally venturing into south Wales. In the mid 1980s as my children were growing, it became more difficult to organise my competing with their social lives and when I retired Myebon in 1984, I rode less, but started organising more. In 1990 I became a member of the EHPS Wessex Committee and remained a member until EHPS was disbanded in 2001. During this time, I turned my hand to practically every job involved in the running of local (and some National) rides, from Ride Organiser to road-crossing steward. For 5 years I was chairman of the Wessex Group. In 1995 I was elected to the Council of EHPS. During the next 6 years I had responsibilities as Results Checker, compiler of the Ride Schedule and Trophy Secretary. Although now retired from the Management Committee of EGB, I am still available to help and officiate at EGB events.Over the last 30+ years, Endurance has given my family and me a great deal of pleasure. This is a sport in which every member of the family can take part. Though part of me would still like to compete regularly, the years are creeping on and it just isn't possible. However, I am more than happy to give back what I can to Endurance and really enjoy officiating at rides and getting out and about meeting the members, especially watching the progress of new members and novice horses.

VETERINARY TEAM

Jo Woodman MA VetMB MRCVS

Jo, our Chief Vet, qualified from Cambridge University in 1988, became involved in endurance riding one year later and has officiated at many rides at all levels since that time. She has been vetting at Golden Horseshoe since 1994, except for maternity breaks and, in 1997, was assistant team vet for the bronze medal winning young rider squad at the European Championships.Jo was team vet for the Intermediate squad for two years and has continued in that role with the Senior Development squad.Married to Malcolm, Jo has two children – Rachel and Adam - aged 14 and 11 respectively. Having ridden for most of her life, Jo has never yet competed at an endurance ride – but still has it on her list of things to do in the future!

Sarah Coombs BSc BVetMed MRCVS

Sarah started endurance vetting in New Zealand during 1987 and, since then, has been involved at national and international level, travelling as Team Vet with endurance teams on numerous trips abroad and has been involved as treatment vet and commission vet in, as she says, "lots of other nice places".  She has been an FEI vet since 1992.Married to another vet, Terry Girling, they live in Dorset with their son, Tim.  Sarah owes her interest in endurance riding to her involvement some years ago with Val Cooper and Witham Golden Colonel when she completed a 25-mile ride at Lulworth - she has never looked back!Sarah is currently in practice part-time, doing horses and acupuncture on other things and she admits she enjoys endurance when it doesn't rain and when there's plenty to eat!

Hugh Ll Salmon BVetMed DBR MRCVS

Born and bred in Pembrokeshire, West Wales Hugh was brought up within a farming family and dreamed of being a Vet from the age of 10.  He qualified in 1979 from the RVC London. After qualifying Hugh worked in Wales, Hereford, New Zealand and then eventually settled in Devon where he runs his practice ‘Wolfgar Veterinary Surgery’ in Exeter. 

David Buckley BVetMed Cert ESM MRCVS

David joined the Veterinary Panel at Golden Horseshoe four years ago, and has been vetting at Endurance Rides in Wessex and the South West for some time. He came to Devon as a child and fell in love with the area, coming back over 20 years ago to develop the Equine Hospital at Mullacott. He has been involved with developing AI in the breeding of horses, and is lucky to have been given a Hanoverian mare to breed from - which keeps him busy! He has been involved with various endurance rides over the years, notably Brendon Hills (where it always seems to be blowing a gale) and is looking forward to warm days and clear skies again for Horseshoe in May, following his introduction in the mud and rain of 2005 and 2007's downpours!

Kieran O’Brien MA MVB PhD MRCVS

Kieran qualified as a vet 30 years ago and, after a long sojourn as a veterinary lecturer at Bristol University, has worked for the last eleven years in an exclusively equine practice on the Devon/Cornwall border. A large part of his work is with endurance horses.He first vetted at an endurance ride in 1986 at Goodwood, and since then has vetted at a large number of rides in many countries. He was President of the Veterinary Commission at the 2006 World Equestrian Games. Since 1987 Kieran has missed vetting at only two Golden Horseshoes, most recently the 2006 event, when he was busy writing his book "Essential Horse Health". He has been Team Vet for the Irish endurance team and also for the British Young Rider team.He is married to Emma, a professional cook, and has two horse-mad young daughters.

In his spare time he breeds event horses and does his best to be a dutiful Pony Club Dad!

Paul Jarvis BVSc MRCVS

Coming from a farming background and then graduating from Bristol Vet School, Paul is currently working at Mullacott Equine Hospital in North Devon. Professional interests include Equine reproduction and Lameness investigation.He is married to Harriet, who is also a vet at Charter Veterinary Hospital Group and they currently live in Barnstaple. Having ridden from a young age, Paul is lucky enough to be able to Event his two horses in his spare time. As a keen sport lover, when not treating or riding horses, he is found on the football or rugby pitch. With clients based on Exmoor and having lived in Withypool, he enjoys being part of the Golden Horseshoe and the varying conditions the moor brings to the competition every year!

CHIEF FARRIER

Andrew Saunders Dip WCF

I am married to Tess with two sons, Cameron and Ruairi. I was born and bred on Exmoor in the true Exmoor parish. I moved away after school, but soon moved back to Exmoor to train as a blacksmith and farrier with E Kent & Son. I soon found that my real passion was for farriery rather than blacksmithing, and began an apprenticeship at Hereford School of Farriery.I became fully qualified in 1994, and have had my own business for nearly 10 years. Tess and I run the business together; Tess doing all the bookwork and me bending over!!I shoe a variety of styles for various riding techniques and uses including long distance horses, racing horses, hunters, polo ponies, show horses, eventers, dressage horses, and general hacks. I also enjoy surgical shoeing, and creating the right type of shoe or technique for the various problems I may encounter. I have also competed in farriery competitions at county shows, and have gained valuable experience, as well as winning a few prizes against some of Britain's best competition farriers.I do find time for my hobbies which are shooting in the winter months, and clay shooting during the spring and summer and, if I have time, a spot of sea fishing as well.

I started Endurance many years ago, in the early 1980’s. My first ride was a pleasure ride organised by Graham Rosamund and was all of 15 miles long – I thought that I was never going to finish that ride, it seemed such a long way, but I was hooked. I went on to complete many more miles over the years but I’ve never forgotten that first ride. I have ridden and been placed at several 100 miles rides and also achieved Gold at the Golden Horseshoe in 1989 (the 25th Anniversary of GH). To my mind the Golden Horseshoe is “the” endurance event over very tough terrain and is what the sport is all about. What wonderful memories of those times on Exmoor! I have been asked to ride on the teams being sent abroad but was unable to afford that luxury. My only venture “abroad” was to Wicklow Hills in Ireland as part of the English team one year – what a wonderful experience and memories to treasure.  still do some endurance riding on a small scale but also like to put back something into the sport that has given me so much pleasure over the years. I have been part of the Wessex committee and have organised local training rides as well as competitive rides. I, or my family, are found to be helping at one ride or another in some capacity during the season. I am joint organiser of the Lulworth Castle Ride again this year.My little mare has produced a beautiful buckskin boy as our potential endurance horse for the future. The picture shows him at 6 weeks old at the BEF Futurity at Okehampton, 2009. He is now a strapping 18 months old and is as big as his Mum – how time flies! ORGANISING COMMITTEE

Barbara Wigley - Chairman; Sally Grant - Treasurer; Nic Wigley - Marketing (and General Dogsbody!); Neil Arnold - TRF, Route etc; Nick & Jenny Batho; Diana Honnor - Helpers Co-ordinator.