THE EXMOOR GOLDEN HORSESHOE NEWS PAGE

Latest News:

Sunday 13th July: You may remember that, as part of her Premier Award prize in 2007, Helen McFarland received an invitation to ride in the 2008 Tevis Cup in California. Sadly, we have heard this weekend from Helen (who is currently over in America preparing for the ride) that the event has had to be cancelled due to the massive forest fires in the area. What a great shame for Helen and her husband David - however, we hear that she did manage to ride the final 31 miles of the route, so that was a small compensation!

Tuesday 24th June: More excellent sponsorship news, this time from Sir Stephen Waley-Cohen whose home was the halfway venue this year. Sir Stephen rode the Golden Horseshoe class (160km over 2 days) but using two horses each day and riding it as a sponsored ride in aid of the Honeymead Arts Trust. The amazing news from Sir Stephen is that he has so far raised almost £40,000 - fantastic!!

Saturday 21st June: The latest excellent news from the Moorland Mousie Trust is that so far this year more than £1500 has been raised in sponsorship from the sponsored ride which took place on the Sunday morning before this year's Golden Horseshoe Ride - congratulations to all concerned!

Thursday 4th June: Horseshoe 2008 already seems something of a distant, very happy, memory and as you will have seen from the Home page, Barbara is already hard at work on next year's route and her organising committee will be meeting next week to discuss this year's event. In the meantime, Beth Horstmann of Court Farm Arabians has sent us this picture of Charismatiq, the foal who was named by John Brooker in the "Name the Foal" competition. Charismatiq is now four weeks old and it is interesting to see how he has grown and changed since we saw him in the parade of Beth's Arabians in the display arena at Golden Horseshoe. We shall look forward to seeing him again as a yearling next year!

Wednesday 21st May: It is always good to have feedback from riders after an event and, having been watching the EGB Forum after the completion of this year's ride, I was interested to see Candy Cameron's posting. Candy has been coming to Horseshoe for many years now and was disappointed this year to be vetted out at the Finish - here are her comments:

"Please can I add my thanks to Barbara and her team for a wonderful event. Below a resumee of how it was for me.
  Well what can I say about the Horseshoe 2008? This year it was absolutely fabulous!
The route was super, the weather first class and the terrain in perfect condition for cantering for miles over the moors instead of tramping through bogs! Had this year been the trial FEI ride then I am sure we would still have an FEI ride on Exmoor.
I didn't get the best of starts, having been fallen on by a horse the week before going down South and damaged all the ligaments in my right leg. I then got kicked by Farouk, the horse the American lady was riding, the day before the ride and had to go off to A & E in Minehead with a suspected fracture. Luckily it wasn't broken, just a big hole and a haematoma and the ground jury were kind enough to let me take some co-codamol to keep the pain levels down.
My horse, Louis, (Loustic des Tunes, a grandson of Persik and saughter of former French national champion) was an absolute star. He loved Exmoor and the heat of the first day. Training up in the Highlands left him with no problems when it came to the hills and he eaisly came in on gold time at the end of the first day. However, on the way down the very steep grassy slope to last year's venue he did have a serious trip which I suspect was his undoing at the end of Day 2.
Louis came out the following day in really good form, despite this being the first time he had tackled more than 50 miles, and I had to ride with bridge reins for quite a bit of the first half. After halfway and the recheck he set out alone and was brilliant, going all the way home alone. I always feel that you will not override a horse if you are alone as you can listen to it a lot better than in company. He was so brave that he had me really choked with pride for him as I got to the finish. Sadly, though he had no pulse penalties and a gold speed, he trotted up lame in his left fore from what seemed to be a slight strain in his shoulder (presumably from yesterday's slip). I was obviously disappointed but more so for him as he had done so well. For myself I had the wonderful experience of riding the full 100 miles in what I would consider the best Horseshoe that I have taken part in over the past 20 years. Yes - my first Horseshoe was in 1988 with Trooper when he was one of only 7 to complete in blistering heat but in those days there would have been around 60 starters!
Numbers of entries had increased this year from last year so I can only hope that Horseshoe is on its way back up. My suggestion to help entries would be to do away with th 50 and 75 mile classes and make the Horseshoe an elevator ride where you could retire at any time from 50 miles on after successfully passing the vet. You would the get 50 and 75 mile completion awards (just like in the old days). After all, a rosette doesn't cost much and these good performances need a reward even if they don't achieve the subline levels of a gold at 100 miles.
Louis is fine now and will have a few weeks off - I would like a go at the Red Dragon with him now as at, my advancing years, I can pick and choose the rides I really enjoy doing and they are not the fast flat ones!
Candy "

Saturday 17th May: I have now added a lot more of Ian Wigley's wonderful photographs to the Photo Gallery page. Do have a look, as they are really excellent. However, please also remember that they should NOT be copied as this would infringe the copyright laws. If you wish to have copies of these photos, please contact Ian direct on 01643 841183.

Have just realised that I didn't mention that the Court Farm Name the Foal competition was won by John Brooker, who suggested the name of Charismatiq - Beth Horstmann was delighted with the many suggestions made and had found it quite difficult to make a choice. No doubt John will be delighted with the very nice Court Farm Arabians jacket he receives as a prize from the Stud.

8.10pm:  Just returned from the Prize Giving, where it was lovely to see so many people.  Barbara Wigley said a few words to open the awards ceremony and wished especially to thank the landowners on this year’s route, as they had been exceptionally helpful in moving stock, opening gates and permitting access on private land.  She also thanked all the helpers and officials who had worked so hard to make the event such a success.  She particularly wished to mention Peter Jeffery of Jeffery Communications, who had been so productive in getting a great deal of publicity and press coverage for this year’s event.  The BBC  Countryfile’s Adam Henson paid tribute to Nic Wigley and Nikki Routledge who had helped him to compete in the Exmoor Experience and said that he has “huge respect and admiration for the sport…” and for those involved with it. Thanks were expressed to Lucie Allison for loaning her horse, Summerfold Windsor, for Adam to ride in the event.  Horse and Hound’s Lucy Higginson who kindly presented the awards also remarked on the respect our endurance discipline deserves.  Our American visitor, Jackie Hathhorn, who won an entry to this year’s event by dint of being the Premier Award winner at the most recent Tevis Cup, said she had had a fantastic time and was hugely grateful for all the help she had received from everyone at Golden Horseshoe.  Jackie’s mount, Farouk de Lozelle, was loaned to her by Chris and John Yeoman with whom Jackie stayed for her period in the UK and, although he failed the final vetting, Jackie was nonetheless delighted with her participation on Exmoor “It’s not about getting a prize or a medal” she said – “the camaraderie has been worth every minute” – she had no mixed emotions and had enjoyed a “wonderful two days on Exmoor”.  Sir Stephen Waley-Cohen also had a few words to say, as he collected his “Gold” award, having competed in the top class using two horses each day and he was raising sponsorship for the Honeymead Arts Trust, which is a local charity involved in classical music and the theatre – he had been delighted to host the halfway venue at his home and had enjoyed the ride enormously – he said his horses were “fresh as a daisy” and he  thought that he himself “had trotted up quite well”!!

The results are now all posted on the Results Page and, with 4 Golds in the Golden Horseshoe Class  (plus Sir Stephen’s hors concours gold) and 4 Silvers, there is no doubt that this has been a year to remember!

6pm and with just 45 minutes left before the Prize Giving, all the awards have been decided (congratulations to Margaret Barron who had the doubtful honour of that responsibility and has done a great job, assisted by Rosemary Henderson).  The results will be on the Results Page once they have been announced at the Prize Giving.  Once again it has been an amazing event – congratulations to Barbara Wigley and her organising team for putting on such a fantastic occasion – I am quite sure that this year will go down in Horseshoe history as one of the most successful!

4.30pm and we are now very busy collating the results, but the fabulous news is that in the Golden Horseshoe class of the 13 starters we have 5 who have finished with Gold Awards and 4 with Silver (the remaining 4 were eliminated either at halfway or at the finish.

2pm 13th May:  When I got back to the venue Sally Hall with Barn Owl had arrived back, the first of the horses out on the moor today and some 10 minutes or so later Katherine Letherby arrived, having completed the Exmoor Experience.  Horse and Hound’s Lucy Higginson has been out for a ride across part of the route.   She was accompanied by Jo Trego and Nic Wigley and appeared to have enjoyed her ride.  Watch out for a report in Horse and Hound shortly!

10.45am 13th May:  An update from the venue now that things are really warming up on Day Two – Most of Class 1 are now in at the Honeymead halfway hold and we await news of the vetting there.  No. 25 Linda Sherwood decided to withdraw Bedros this morning and so did not set out.  No. 53, Jessica Sedwell’s Sawsan Bint Siwah failed the morning trot-up as, sadly, did Summerfold Windsor the mount of Adam Henson.  However, Adam and the television crew are having such a great time and have got themselves so involved that they have decided to go out on course and will possibly be helping to crew Nikki Routledge who is riding Angela Osborne’s Wickham’s Just Distinct in the Golden Horseshoe class.  Nikki was instrumental in getting Adam fit to compete at Horseshoe this year, so it would be good if he can put his fitness to good use in helping Nikki get round today!

At 11.45am we heard that Candy Cameron, David Yeoman and Jackie Hathhorn have passed the vet inspection at halfway and have started on the final leg of their route with Judy Baynes also following on behind. 

At 12.05 we heard that No. 3 Joy Savage’s Rowberton Raindance has been spun lame at the halfway vetting – bad luck Joy!

By 12.10 all the horses had arrived at halfway (Alison House and Aberllwyd Briar Rose were the last to arrive) and we now hear that Heather Whiteley’s More Confusion and Pam Jordan’s Oriole the Gold have also been eliminated by the vets there.

In case you are wondering why I can only do a couple of updates to the website during the course of the day, perhaps I should explain that I have to go and use the computer at Ride Organiser Barbara Wigley’s home, as there is no network coverage at the venue.  This involves a 20-minute drive there and 20-minutes back again, during which time I miss all the fun at the venue!!  I think maybe I shall have to treat myself to an expensive bit of kit from Vodafone to give me better coverage if I am to do this again next year! I am afraid this will be my last posting today until after the Prize Giving this evening, when I shall come back on-line to give you the results.  I've just added another 5 of Ian Wigley's superb photos to the top of the Photo Gallery page. (Liz Hinings signing off at 1pm)

8.30am May 13th: Yesterday was a long day and I apologise for not managing to get more information to you during the day.  However, although you will already have been able to see the results for Day One on the Results Page, you might like to know the following titbits: Numbers 45 and 55 (Natasha Bailey and Jenny Pierson) were the first riders in the Exmoor Experience class to return to the venue at 13.54hrs.  No 56 (Hilary Barnard) arrived 3 minutes later. At 1400 hrs Candy Cameron riding in the Golden Horseshoe class had passed the final CP just 8.5km from the Finish and she was followed by David Yeoman and Jackie Hathhorn, our American visitor. By 1500 hrs ALL the Class 3 Exmoor Experience riders had arrived safely back at the venue and Candy Cameron, no. 2 in the Golden Horseshoe class had finished her 80km at a speed of 12.90kph (Gold Award speed). How strange it was that numbers 16 and 11 should return to the venue at exactly 16.11hrs!!  Both combinations passed the vet at Silver standard. We had 14 horse and rider combinations ready to present for the trot-up this morning for the Golden Horseshoe class and they all passed and have been out on course for an hour now, together with the 6 riders in the Exmoor Eighty class (80km in one day). It is much cooler this morning, which will be helpful to the horses but, after the glorious hot sunshine of the past two days is a bit of a shock to the system - maybe it will warm up later! Ian Wigley has taken some fabulous photos out on the route and I am going to put some of them up onto the Photo Gallery page shortly - so keep checking!

Good news for the BBC – Countryfile’s Adam Henson made it round the 40km Exmoor Experience route on Day One and passed the vetting.  He finished at a Silver Award speed of 10.70 but unfortunately picked up 1 Heart Rate penalty, so drops to a Bronze for the start of Day Two. The picture on the left shows Adam and his 'minder' Nic Wigley negotiating a river crossing.

8.15pm May 12th: Have just posted today's results on the Results Page and am now off to have some supper - I will put up more pictures and information tomorrow morning! In the meantime, I can tell you that it has been a great day again with lots of happy riders and we are looking forward to tomorrow!

12 noon May 12th: Well, so far, with all the horses in Classes 1 and 2 through halfway there has only been one elimination - sadly Helen McFarland's J St Jake was declared lame by the vets and will go no further today. Helen, of course, was last year's Premier Award winner, so this is a great shame. First into halfway at 10.20am was Candy Cameron, who presented quickly with pulses of 64 and 56, she was followed four minutes later by David Yeoman and our American visitor, Jackie Hathhorn, then Anthony Sargent, Joy Savage, Gill Talbot, Carolyn Pacey and Sir Stephen Waley-Cohen all in a group together. The last of Class 1, Rachel Fothergill with her Appaloosa Royal Wonda, arrived at halfway 52 minutes after the leaders, just as Candy was re-starting! Susan Cox has retired Trioletta in the Exmoor Stag (Class 2) after 'tying up' on course and the mare has been treated by the vets. Anthony Sargent gave us all a bit of a laugh at halfway, when he dropped his trousers to put a dressing on his inner knee - sadly I couldn't get my camera out quickly enough to take a photo!! Linda Kidd's Ocherk was asked back for a re-check by the vets 10 minutes before her departure time - but all was well and she set off on the second half of the route looking fit and well. Sally Hall and Barn Owl were first into halfway for Class 2, a good 27 minutes ahead of Julie Dunn and Oban Dancer. (The photo on the right shows Sally leaving the venue after vetting successfully and having her compulsory 50-minute hold). In Class 3, the Exmoor Experience, Claire Dovey and Bing were non-starters and the latest news that I have of Countryfile's Adam Henson and Windsor is that they went through CP1 at 1203 and, since the camera crew is at CP2, they are probably expected there fairly imminently! I have added a few of my own photos to the Photo Gallery page taken at the Honeymead halfway venue - unfortunately I can't work out how to put the captions on at the moment, so that will have to wait for another day!

8.30am May 12th: Some pictures from yesterday's Pleasure Ride, taken by Ian Wigley, are now displayed on the Photo Gallery. I don't know how he found time to take photos as well as all the other jobs he was doing!!

The good news from the venue this morning is that all the horses that passed the preliminary vetting yesterday have now started out on Day One of the event. Hopefully I shall be able to post more news after the horses have reached halfway ...... watch this space!

5pm May 11th: Well, what a fantastic day it has been - wall-to-wall sunshine all day with a nice refreshing breeze and everything has been running very smoothly. The results for the Pleasure Riders are now available to be seen on the Results Page and, with the exception of one lady who had a fall before starting the ride and had to be taken off by the Air Ambulance, all the riders came home safely and all seemed to have had a great time. Ian Miller, who was RUNNING the 15-mile route in aid of the Air Ambulance, came home looking slightly less cool than when he started out, having completed the course in an excellent time of 2hrs and 25minutes - well done Ian!!

The new venue has oodles of space and the vetting area, close to the marquee, was looking good as the preliminary inspections started promptly at 2pm. There are a couple of withdrawals to bring to your attention: No. 15 Gillian Mann with WFA Zaleem and No. 35 Vicky Clink with Druimghigha Shanti and also, sadly, two horses failed the preliminary vetting due to lameness - Pauline Higgs' GFA Mydass and Maurice Whiteley's African Star, with whom Maurice had competed earlier in the Pleasure Ride. No. 52 Laura Brown from Portland has a change of horse - she is now riding Sue Lees' Melinwynt Indiana. Sir Stephen Waley-Cohen's two horses have both passed the vetting - Sir Stephen is riding hors concours in the main class, using two horses on each day and has experienced endurance rider, Jackie Moon as part of his crew. It is good to see Donna Taylor back riding here again after suffering a broken knee last year - she will be hoping for an uneventful ride this time! Adam Henson's mount for the event, Summerfold Windsor, has safely passed the vetting and, as Adam said as he left the arena "That's a pass - we're through! Over the first hurdle!" Adam will be accompanied in the Exmoor Experience by Nic Wigley (seen in the picture with him, being interviewed by Philip Ghazala, the event's commentator).

There has been plenty going on all day for the many spectators to see - the displays started with a parade of the Black Arabians from Court Farm Stud in Exford, then Kirsty Wiscombe's stallion Yawl Hillbilly ridden by Dace Sainsbury gave a display showing his versatility; there was a ridden parade of the big Arabians from Broford Arabian Stud, accompanied by their little Shetland companion ! Finally Julie Dare's Exmoor Dog Agility Group gave a demonstration and then allowed onlookers to have a go themselves......!

I nearly forgot to give you the results of the Quiz held yesterday evening in the Exford Social Club - it was another close-fought battle with the 'Celtic Fringe' winning by one and a half points from, in joint second place, the 'Smelly Trail Riders' and a local team 'Goodness Knows' - the Trail Riders would have won hands-down if only their equine knowledge had been a bit better, but they gave the results checkers a laugh with their efforts on that section! A total of ten teams took part - the winning score being 49 and the winners of the wooden spoon achieving 25!

10.30am May 11th: Another fine day and by 10.15 all the Pleasure Riders had set out on the 10 and 15-mile routes in glorious sunshine. These two classes are sponsoring the Moorland Mousie Trust and the Dorset & Somerset Air Ambulance respectively. Over the past three years the sponsored rides have raised just over £2,500 for the Moorland Mousie Trust. Taking part in aid of the Devon & Somerset Air Ambulance is Ian Miller - on "Shanks' Pony" !! - Ian who has run the London Marathon and has also competed at Golden Horseshoe in the past (on Streamcross Dakota, I think) had already overtaken two of the Pleasure Riders before he had even left the venue!! There are at least fifteen Exmoor ponies on the ride this morning, and the picture below shows just a few of them as they set off from the venue in high spirits.

There is a full programme of events this morning while the Pleasure Riders are away from the venue - a parade of Black Arabians from Court Farm Stud, a ridden display by Kirsty Wiscombe's endurance stallion Yawl Hillbilly and a ridden parade from Broford Arabian Stud, finishing with a Dog Agility Demonstration and an opportunity for dog owners to have a go at agility themselves. Then at 2pm the vetting starts for the Golden Horseshoe, Exmoor Stag and Exmoor Experience classes - I will hope to give you another update after the briefing this evening.

6pm May 10th: (Liz Hinings reporting) It has been a glorious day of sunshine down here in Exford, which has made the setting up of the venue all the easier. A good number of riders have already declared, collected their number bibs and goodie bags and are probably now having a get-together with their crews! So far there have been no changes of class from the main classes, so far as I am aware and only a couple of withdrawals - more details of these tomorrow when declarations close and the preliminary vetting gets under way.

Meanwhile, probably the youngest official ever has made her debut at Golden Horseshoe - Timekeeper Mike Cooper and his wife Valerie (both veterans at Golden Horseshoe), have brought along their 12-week old Sheltie puppy Willow for her first taste of Exmoor! Pebble, Liz Hinings' dog had a quick swim late this afternoon down at Dunster after spending most of the day exploring the venue and lying in the shade!

Next stop the Exmoor Social Club for the Quiz evening and then fingers crossed for another lovely day tomorrow for the Pleasure Riders to enjoy and for the start of the main event!

12 noon May 10th: Preparations up at the venue are nearing completion, the Trail Riders are out marking the course, trade stands are putting the finishing touches to their sections and ...... the sun is shining!!!

June Adams and Phil Henderson have been busy filling up the goodie bags for competitors and Sally Grant and Rosemary Henderson have been setting up their 'office'. Meanwhile, out in the sunshine Duncan and Janie Stafford, (nominated as Health and Safety Stewards but in actual fact they are always to be found helping from start to finish with whatever needs doing) are setting up the venue, while Ian Wigley has been busy with the PA system and other technical jobs together with various other helpers. Now all we need is some competitors ..... the office opens at 1 o'clock!

Barbara has been out checking a bit of the route she was worried about and has come back into the marquee with some specially-made signs for Ian Miller, who is going to RUN the 15 mile pleasure ride route in aid of the Air Ambulance (but Ian won't have to run through the ford!!), and also for Jo Trego, who is going to accompany Lucy Higginson riding part of the route on Tuesday.

Don't forget that there is a competition to Name the new Court Farm Foal - the name must begin with a "C", its sire is AH Saluq and dam is Minstrella - the new colt has a white star on his forehead, two white socks and some white hairs in his tail - £1 entry fee per name and all proceeds to Golden Horseshoe - the winner will be announced at the Prize Giving on Tuesday at 7pm.

May 7th: How do you get a quart into a pint pot?! The Horseshoe (Ian Wigley's creation) gets shipped from storage to the new venue....

..... on Ian's 40 year-old buggy from The Old Forge at Luckwell Bridge, into the trailer....

.... and up to the venue ready for the weekend (picture to follow, I hope!!)

May 5th: As promised, here are a couple of photos of Minstrella's new baby - and what a cutie he is!

May 2nd: Congratulations to the Horstmann family on the arrival of their foal for the Golden Horseshoe 'Name the foal' competition!! A very timely arrival at 1.00am today means that we shall shortly have a photo to help you all with finding a name for 'our' foal! A full brother to ride organiser Barbara Wigley's Astreled (Freddie!), the new black colt has white socks and a white star - mum is Minstrella and dad is AH Saluq ..... get your thinking caps on!!

May 1st: With just ten days to go before the start of this year's Golden Horseshoe event, Press Officer, Peter Jeffery of Jeffery Communications, reports that the Golden Horseshoe Ride has attracted its highest entry ever!

Nearly 200 horses are entered for the six classes of the Golden Horseshoe Ride over Exmoor, which starts on May 11, including 19 in the gruelling two-day, 100-mile ride which has given its name to the three-day meeting.  "This is the highest number ever," said organiser Barbara Wigley, and I am expecting still more entries in the two sponsored pleasure rides that start the meeting."

The Exmoor Experience, 25 miles on each of two days and designed to whet the appetites of endurance enthusiasts and encourage them to consider the 100-mile class in following years, will have a staggering 51 starters.

"The Golden Horseshoe class will have some of our very best riders and horses. I really think that this class, and the whole meeting, is getting a new lease of life," said Mrs Wigley. "There are entries from all over the country, and even one rider from America. It does show that endurance as a sport is gaining in popularity and being taken far more seriously."

A list of entrants may be viewed here.

April 27th: Countryfile’s Adam Henson did a 25-mile training ride on Exmoor yesterday and this will be shown on BBC One at 11.00am on Sunday 4th May, together with other relevant footage.  However, things don’t always go according to plan in endurance …… as you will see….

April 25th: American endurance rider Jackie Hathhorn is to compete in this year's 100-mile Golden Horseshoe Ride (May 11-13) on Exmoor.  Jackie, from Kansas City, Missouri, will be riding Farouk de Lozelle (a Selle Francais) borrowed from Chris and John Yeoman of Shepton Mallet. She earned her Exmoor ride after completing the famous 24-hour, 100-mile Tevis Cup race through the Sierra Nevada mountains in California. "I am very excited about riding in the Golden Horseshoe and can imagine no better way to experience the beautiful countryside of Exmoor than on horseback," she says. Jackie, who says that only about half the Tevis Cup riders ever complete, did not start riding until she was 30. She began competitive trail riding and quickly earned a national championship with the North American Trail Ride Conference, and then a second with another horse in 2006, after which she took up endurance riding.

April 23rd: Lucy Higginson, Editor of Horse & Hound, is expected to ride part of the Golden Horseshoe route on Tuesday 13th May, before presenting the prizes at the Awards Ceremony in the evening - she will be accompanied on the route by four times Horseshoe Gold Award winner Jo Trego, who is making a welcome come-back to Endurance.

April 22nd: The Exford Youth Hostel is having problems with their telephone line - if you have difficulty in contacting them on the advertised number, please try 08707705828 or email exford@yha.org.uk

April 21st: The next film insert into the Countryfile programme about the Golden
Horseshoe Ride is planned for May 4. This will show the final build up
towards reporter Adam Henson riding in the Exmoor Experience class.

April 15th: Press Officer, Peter Jeffery of Jeffery Communications reports:  EXMOOR EXPERIENCE CLASS MAY HELP SECURE GOLDEN HORSESHOE'S FUTURE - Television coverage prompts widespread interest.

The Exmoor Experience class, reintroduced into the Golden Horseshoe Ride programme last year, could have a long-term effect on the 100-mile Golden Horseshoe Ride over Exmoor, one of the most demanding on the endurance calendar.

The class, 50 miles (80k) over two days, 25 miles on each day, was reintroduced last year to encourage riders who may not have previously tried two consecutive days over the particularly demanding Exmoor terrain. (The picture shows the last field into halfway at Honeymead, in front of the main house.)

"The number of horses and riders qualified to take on our 100 mile ride is never going to be really high," said organiser Barbara Wigley, "but we believe that the Experience class will encourage more people and give them an idea of how fit their horses must be to take on Exmoor.  Entries this year are really encouraging, and I am sure there are more to come.  The Golden Horseshoe Ride is the high point of endurance riding in this country and it has a great reputation abroad. We are trying to do everything we can to make sure it continues going from strength to strength."

Mrs Wigley reports that interest this year is high, and she expects overall entries possibly to exceed those for 2007. The coverage by BBC Television's Countryfile programme has helped, she says, and people from all over the country have been asking for information.

The programme's reporter, Adam Henson, has been followed by cameras as he learns to deal with the demands of endurance riding and strives to improve his own fitness.  "Not only have we had more calls from endurance riders, but also from people who want to take up the sport and come to Exmoor to compete," said Mrs Wigley.

The Ride, which will start from a new venue in Exford, Somerset, on May 11, will be over a new route. This will take in  open moorland, steep climbs and descents, river crossings, and deep wooded combes and will include Winsford Hill, Withypool Common, Horsen Hill, Pickedstones, parts of the Tarka Trail, Cheriton Ridge, part of the Doone Valley, Robbers Bridge (shown in the picture left), Porlock Common and Wilmersham Common.

The halfway halt will be at Honeymead, on land owned by Sir Stephen Waley-Cohen. Sir Stephen has been given special dispensation by the sport's governing body, Endurance GB, to ride the 100-mile route in aid of one of his favourite local charities - the Honeymead Arts Trust.

A pleasure and sponsored ride is included on Sunday, May 11. This is in two sections, one of 10 miles in aid of the Moorland Mousie Trust and the other of  16 miles where proceeds will be donated to the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance. "I think it is safe to say that this will attract the maximum 120 entries we are allowed," said Mrs Wigley.  On the same day, there will be a series of displays which will include a parade of black Arabian horses from Court Farm, Exford, a ridden display by Kirsty Wiscombe on her stallion, Yawl Hillbilly, and a ridden parade of Arabians from Broford Stud, which is based just outside Winsford . The programme ends with a dog agility display organised by Julie Dare from Wheddon Cross.

On Monday, May 12, the first horse in the Golden Horseshoe Ride 100-mile class will start at 7.30am, immediately followed by the Exmoor Stag class (50 miles on day one and 25 on day 2). The Exmoor Experience class will send the first horse away at 10.30am.

The first horse away on Tuesday May 13, will be for the 100-mile class at 7.30am, followed by the starters in the one day, 50-mile Exmoor Eighty class. The Exmoor Experience will start its final day at 10.30am.  The route to the new venue, the area used for the well known Exford Show, will be signposted from Exford Village centre.

Press Officer, Peter Jeffery, (Equestrian PR and Media Consultant) may be contacted on (01643) 831011 for further information on press coverage.

April 10th: Good news about the venue for the Quiz on the Saturday evening of Golden Horseshoe - we shall be warm and dry in the comfort of the Exford Social Club, courtesy of Ian Rigby, who is running the Horseshoe bar this year. Some of you may remember shivering in the marquee one year, while we struggled to hear the question master with the rain hammering on the marquee roof (see picture!) - so get your teams together and come and join us in the Social Club, which is just next door to the school in Exford at the entrance to the Auction Field car park.

March 29th: There was no sitting about eating Easter eggs for Barbara and her family last week - walking the route into and out of halfway at Honeymead was the order of the day! After leaving halfway the route will take a similar path to that in 2004/5 and 2006 - Simonsbath, Lime Coombe and Dure Down.

.......... it's looking good!

March 24th: Hope you managed to catch the next part of Adam Henson's preparation for Horseshoe when he did Margaret Swords' training ride on the Quantocks with Nic Wigley and Zara. If you missed it, you can catch up with it for the next 6 days here.

March 17th: The Brooke Hospital will be having a stall at Exford on the Sunday of Golden Horseshoe when they raise funds for this wonderful charity (www.thebrooke.org). Donations of unwanted tack or riding gear are welcomed and these can subsequently be sold on, either at the Exeter Horse and Tack Auction, or throughout the summer when the charity has stalls at local shows. If you have something to offer, please contact Leone Martin on 01643 831480 or email brian@riscombe.co.uk to arrange collection whilst you are at Exford. Last year Leone managed to raise over £1000 from all the generous donations!

March 12th: Entries now being posted onto the List of Entrants page.

March 10th: For those of you who may have missed the Countryfile programme yesterday, here is a link to the programme. The piece about Horseshoe starts 28 minutes into the programme.

March 7th: Peter Jeffery, Press Officer, reports today that the BBC Programme Countryfile now intends to screen the second 'instalment' of reporter Adam Henson's progress towards competing in the two-day Exmoor Experience this Sunday, 9th March, at 11am on BBC1. This programme will concentrate on Adam's work to get fit and to improve his riding. On March 23rd they plan to screen Adam's first attempt in an endurance event, when he rode 15 miles at the Quantocks Training Ride on 1st March.

March 2nd. Countryfile's Adam Henson was on course at the Quantocks Ride on Saturday, March 1st, getting in some practice for the Exmoor Experience.

You can catch up with his training schedule on Sunday, March 16th at 11.00am. The footage from the Quantocks ride is due to be screened two weeks later on March 30th.

Adam and Nic Wigley enjoying the sunshine and excellent going.

February 21st: Most of the route has now been walked or ridden, and there are one or two little glitches to be ironed out - see photo. The weather has been beautiful - perfect for riding - so we have put in a request for more of the same in May! Trade stands are selling well, and we hope to have a wide variety for you to browse. Also, six Check Points have been sponsored so far this year. If you want to have your horse's name & photo on one hurry, as we have only one (possibly two) left.

Oh dear, there seems to be a tree right across the ford!

5th February: Exciting news .... We have just heard that the Sunday morning BBC television programme Countryfile will probably be bringing cameras along to the event. Their reporter Adam Henson (without any arm twisting at all) has accepted our invitation to compete. Read more about it here.

24th January: Hot off the press this evening - first photos of parts of the new route, which Ride Organiser Barbara Wigley and her husband Ian managed to walk in the sunshine today!! Don't forget, entries open on 1st February ... these pictures should whet your appetites!

A view along the Barle Valley - not too muddy despite all the torrential rain!

---- and a view over Winsford Hill, coming up from the River Barle (pictures by Ian Wigley)

22nd January: Peter Jeffery, Press Officer, has issued the following press release:

Exmoor gears up for 2008 Golden Horseshoe Ride

Sponsored class will aid Air Ambulance and Moorland Mousie Trust.

Entries will open shortly for one of the UK's toughest endurance events, the 100-mile Golden Horseshoe Ride over the demanding Exmoor terrain. There will also be three other rides over the three days starting May 11, plus a popular sponsored ride in aid of local charities.

Classes this year will be:-

• The Golden Horseshoe - 160K (100 miles) over two days, 50 miles on each day
• The Exmoor Stag - 120K (75 miles) over two days, 50 miles on day one and 25 miles on day two
• The Exmoor Experience - 80K (50 miles) over two days, 25 miles on each day
• The Exmoor 80 - 80K (50 miles) in one day.

Base this year has been moved, although it is still within Exford, Somerset. Everything - start and finish, pre- and post-ride vetting, administration, trade stands and parking - will be on two fields to the South of the village which are used for the popular Exford Show.  Organiser Barbara Wigley said: "Although the Golden Horseshoe has remained more or less the same since 1974, when it was just 75 miles, we do like to make it as fresh as possible. This year we are moving west to take in some new country which hasn't been used on the Ride for some years. But it is still challenging."  The new route includes open moorland, steep climbs and descents, river crossings, and deep wooded combes and will take in Winsford Hill, Withypool Common, Horsen Hill, Pickedstones, parts of the Tarka Trail, Cheriton Ridge, part of the Doone Valley, Robbers Bridge, Porlock Common and Wilmersham Common.  The halfway halt will be at Honeymead, on land owned by Sir Stephen Waley-Cohen. Sir Stephen and his brother, Robert, have been given special dispensation by the sport's governing body, Endurance GB, to ride the 100-mile route in aid of one of their favourite local charities.  "Classes over the lesser distances will follow some of the 100-mile route," said Mrs Wigley. "But we can assure riders that the challenge in all four classes is not diminished in any way - it will still be a feather in the cap of anyone who achieves Gold, Silver or Bronze."  The sponsored ride will offer two routes, 10 miles in aid of the Moorland Mousie Trust and 16 miles, where proceeds will be donated to the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance.

Organisers of the prestigious Golden Horseshoe Ride are offering companies an opportunity to promote their businesses and products at what is seen as Europe's toughest endurance ride. The Golden Horseshoe Ride gives competitors the chance to win Gold, Silver or Bronze awards over distances ranging from 50 to 100 miles over Exmoor's demanding and hilly terrain. "This year we have created a package of opportunities where company logos can be seen by riders, supporters and the public as well photographic and print media from all over the country," said Mrs Barbara Wigley. Company names can be included on rosette tails and the programme covers  and even on the maps given to riders and sold to the public. Company banners can also be strategically sited at the base and at various points on the route. "I am also prepared to consider product stalls or marquees around the start and finish area, or whatever ideas a company might have," said Mrs Wigley, who can be contacted on 01643 841183, mobile 07866 955876. "Endurance is a fast growing sport which is attracting more and more media coverage. Last year we had extensive coverage in equestrian publications and newspapers all over the country."

10th January - Barbara's computer now all OK again, so e-mail contact details back to normal as follows: ian.wigley@btinternet.com

7th January 2008 - Important notice reference contact with Barbara Wigley, who is currently having difficulty with her computer: until further notice please contact Barbara by phone on 01643 841183 or by email to Nic Wigley - nic.wigley@engineeringresolutions.co.uk

15th December 2007 - GHR 2008  Latest News

NEW VENUE

We are still at Exford, but due to extreme problems with parking in 2007’s particularly bad weather, we have reluctantly decided to move the venue further outside the village.

We are grateful to Fred and Vivienne Westcott for their hospitality in 2007, allowing us to use their field with those wonderful views from the start and finish. However, our venue in 2008 at the Exford Show Field on the B3223 will also give us far-reaching views along Winsford Hill, across to Withypool Hill, and up to Dunkery Hill. Our thanks go to Dennis and Jeannette Branton for hosting the Golden Horseshoe in 2008.

Parking for all vehicles will be at the venue (extreme weather conditions will catered for by using hard standing a short distance away), and there is plenty of room for the activities that we had in 2007 – ie Trade stands, parade of black Arabians, Dog Agility, and more……

Please book your accommodation and stabling from the GHR list. We have been able to add extra stabling this year and there is plenty within hacking distance of the new venue.

NEW HALF WAY

2008 sees Half Way at Honeymead - just outside Simonsbath - by kind permission of Sir Stephen Waley-Cohen.

As in 2005, Sir Stephen and his brother Robert intend to ride the 100 mile course (HC) in order to raise sponsorship for a local charity.

NEW ROUTE

We have an outline route which takes in Winsford Hill, Withypool Common, Horsen Hill, parts of the Tarka Trail, Cheriton Ridge, Doone Valley, Robbers Bridge, Porlock Common, and Wilmersham Common, and we are now looking at each section in detail to get the best route possible.

NEW FORMAT for Exmoor Eighty.

With the help of feedback from competitors in this class in 2007, we have decided to bring this class into line with the other ‘Horseshoe’ classes, and it will therefore be scored on a ‘Gold, Silver, Bronze’ system.

NEW SPONSORED PLEASURE RIDES

The sponsored/pleasure ride on Sunday 11th May offers two options:

1) A 10 mile route with sponsorship going to the Moorland Mousie Trust – the charity which helps to promote and conserve the Exmoor Pony

2) A 16 mile route with sponsorship going to the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance – a service close to the hearts of all of us who ride on Exmoor.

************************************************

3rd December 2007 - the Raffle in aid of Golden Horseshoe 2008 was drawn at the National Awards Dinner which took place on Saturday 1st December. The top three prizes went to EGB members in the South and South-West: Jo Chisholm from the South West was the happy winner of a week's holiday in Ian and Cath Wilson's gite in SW France, while the Chalet Holiday on Dunster Beach went to Judy Phillips from the Mid-South, with 4 Nights' B&B in an Exmoor Cottage going to Sally Grant from Wessex! People have been most generous in buying raffle tickets and the Organising Committee would, once again, like to thank everyone for their support!