Hunter Valley Dressage Association Inc.

COLLECTIONS NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER 2017

INSIDE THIS ISSUE President’s Report………….....1

Member Profiles……………..2,3

Committee/Info………………...4

Polo in the Vines….…..............4

Sponsors…………………….....5

UPCOMING COMPETITIONS

25 March 2018

13 May 2018

22 July 2018

23 September 2018

4 November 2018

Please submit your photos or stories to the Newsletter Editor

President’s Report

Again we were blessed with the weather! With the heat building in the two weeks leading up to our first competition for the year I became quite familiar with the DNSW Hot Weather Policy and the Bureau of Meteorology weather forecasts which varied considerably over time. With the coastal weather much kinder than the temperatures ‘up The Valley’ we were able to proceed as planned, which is always a great relief to the organisers who have been involved with engaging judges, and planning a complex draw in the couple of months leading up to the final date. Plenty of water, and ice, on hand, but no call for planned heat-stress management on the day! Thanks to our Gear Stewards, First Aid Officer and judges for actively monitoring horses through their warm-ups and afterwards.

Well done to all those who managed to continue their training preparations despite the restrictions imposed by the December-January Heat wave! You ‘turned out’ your horses, and yourselves, beautifully to make an impressive start to the 2018 competitions. HVDA is excited to follow the progress of Senior riders heading off to compete at the highest levels at Boneo Park in Victoria, and in Para- Dressage competition, and of Young riders preparing for Pony Club, Young Riders and Inter-schools competitions.

Thanks to all those who stayed for the Presentation of HVDA 2017 Point-score Champion Awards and Performance medallions. Your support and recognition of others’ achievements is always appreciated by the recipients, who have worked very hard, consistently, over the course of the year, to earn those rewards. Photographer Jody Millward took some beautiful photos of those winners, which have been posted on our club website and Facebook page. Don’t forget to contact Jody before a competition if you would like her to take photos of your horse; she has much experience in equestrian photography to take photos you can treasure.

The new committee members have brought to the club a focus on innovation for Junior/Youth riders. With an expanded committee, we should have the numbers/support to develop this focus throughout the year.

Looking forward to what 2018 can bring!

Regards,

Margaret Warwick PRESIDENT Hunter Valley Dressage Association

Club member DEAN RYAN and Let’s Imagine at Boneo Park in the Grade IV Para Team test, top 6 finish. Dean also placed 3rd in the Individual Test. Congratulations Dean! Photo Credit: Stephen Mowbray Photography

Hunter Valley Dressage Association Inc.

COLLECTIONS NEWSLETTER JANUARY 2018

Club member SHAUN FRANCE placing 6th in the Inter II with Rubenesque at Boneo Park. (Pictured with Chris Chugg & Gary Lung). Congratulations Shaun! Member contributions to the HVDA Newsletter welcome! Send info to the HVDA Newsletter Editor

member PROFILE

Name: Kayla Russell Age: 27 Family: Husband and the fur babies (2 staffys and 4 horses)

Occupation: Accountant

Favourite Discipline: Dressage Horses: Winston (Smoothie Mate), Stitch (A Stitch in Time), Sammy (Caliver Samurai) and Vovo (Versonne) How long have you been Riding: Around 17 years

What made you start riding: Just always had a love for horses. The parents took some convincing at first though, but there was no going back after I started, I was hooked.

How often do you ride? Try to ride 3-4 afternoons a week (work and other commitments permitting) plus competition on the weekend.

What does your usual riding routine involve? I don’t usually ride longer than 30 mins, usually a good warm up followed by maybe some pole work,

occasionally the odd jump and the usual suppling exercises then a decent stretch to cool off.

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Kayla Russell and A Stitch in Time. Photo Credit: Wytchstyck Photos

Best Horse (ever) and why: Winston has been with me since a 3yr old thoroughbred off the track and whilst we have had our fair share of dramas over the years (him as a young a horse and me as a teenager) he is always so forgiving and taught me so much taking on a variety of disciplines usually whatever I ask of him from eventing and show jumping to sporting and dressage he has done a bit of everything over the years and always done so with very little fuss. Greatest Achievement/Proudest Moment: I was pretty proud of my Stitch winning pony of the year at HVDA in 2017 and also attending our first state event at SIEC in 2017. Horse related goals for 2018, and into the future: For 2018 looking forward to getting my 2 young horses to their first competitions and hopefully in the future an FEI start may be on the cards. Do you work on your own fitness and do you keep fit any other way? Yes, doing Lyra (aerial hoop) and pole dancing. Other Hobbies/Interests: Dancing and also love a good book Favourite Food/Restaurant: Anything chocolate Favourite Movie: Beauty and The Beast Favourite Saying/Quote: “Be the change that you wish to see in the world” Most admired person/people: Anyone who inspires me in life or riding Something most people don’t know about you: I teach lyra (aerial hoop) at my dance studio

member PROFILE

Emma Bishop and CP Figaro

Name: Emma Bishop Age: 34

Family: Married to Gordon Bishop

Favourite Discipline: Eventing and Dressage. Horses: 12 horses in work at the moment, including breakers, clients horses and my own comp horses which are CP Issey Miyake and CP Ping. How long have you been riding? Been riding since I was about 5 years old. What made you start riding? Started riding because my mum "Winks" rode in eventing and dressage and my dad "Cam" did all the stock work at home on horses so most of day involved horses. What does your usual riding routine involve?

My normal routine is start at 7am (if hot a little earlier), help, do or organise feed up depending on what help I have that day. Trying not to get distracted with farm life, start riding. Teach working pupil or an outside lesson, I try to get comp and clients horses done before lunch. Unfortunately this doesn't happen very often. After lunch I do young horses and breakers until it gets dark. Somewhere in there evening feed up gets done. Best horse and why? Best horse ever is my current Eventer CP Issey Miyake because she is really reliable in all three phases and that's pretty rare. Greatest achievement/proudest moment: Greatest achievement was probably winning the Wallaby Hill CCI 3* at the end of last year and also getting my little TB eventer to Grand Prix dressage level. Horse related goals for 2017, and into the future: Goals for this year is to compete at Adelaide 4* and finish in the top five. Future goal is to get on the Olympic eventing team and to compete in all the 4* competitions around the world. Do you work on your own fitness and do you keep fit in any other way? I'm very bad at fitness! If we have some time off Gordon and I will hike in Tassie or the Australian alps for a week or so. Sometimes I feel a bit fitter after this but the feeling usually only lasts for a few days. Other hobbies/interests: My only other hobbies besides from hiking would be sleeping on the couch after dinner and mowing the lawn. I'm sure this novelty will wear off one day though. Favourite food/restaurant: I like all food that I don't have to cook! Favourite saying/quote: My favourite saying is "No pain no gain" Most admired person/people: Most admired person is Michael Jung. And Gordon! Something most people don't know about you: I don't think there is much that people don't know about me. I'm pretty boring.

Emma Bishop and CP Figaro

Pointscore 2017 Presentation Photos

Now up on our Website

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Polo in the Vines Saturday, 7 April 2018

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All photos will go in the next issue of the HVDA Newsletter. Alternatively,

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COMP RESULTS

21 January

ENTER NEXT COMP 25 March 2018

Online Entry Paper Form

ONLINE MEMBERSHIP

COMMITTEE 2018 HONORARY PATRON Lois Howe PRESIDENT Margaret Warwick VICE PRESIDENT Joyce Laidler TREASURER / PUBLIC OFFICER / GROUNDS COMMITTEE Chris Sullivan SECRETARY Ruth Byrne NEWSLETTER EDITOR Tammy Hodges EVENT SECRETARY Joyce Laidler & Suzanne Laidler PENCILLER COORDINATOR Di Stanley CHIEF STEWARD/GEAR STEWARD Tracy Dreelin JUDGES SECRETARY Karen Graham JUNIOR/YOUTH COORDINATORS Karen Graham, Jade Adzievski, Emily Callinan and Krystal Taylor MINUTES SECRETARY Suzanne Laidler MEMBERSHIP Joyce Laidler PRIZES & TROPHIES / PUBLICITY / POINTSCORE Kerry Sullivan SAFETY OFFICER Belinda Wall SPONSORSHIP Kerry Sullivan, Tammy Hodges, Tracy Dreelin WEBSITE COORDINATORS Tammy Hodges, Joyce Laidler, Suzanne Laidler

GENERAL COMMITTEE Annie Nightingale, Tony Taylor, Megan Taylor, Krystal Taylor, Jade Adzievski, Emily Callinan

Polo in the Vines takes place within the spectacular and private Dark Horse Vineyard in the Hunter Valley, set against the Autumn colours of grapevines bordering the field. The event carries a strong focus on the culinary experience, forged by a celebrity chef and fused with matching wines presented by a sommelier. The VIP experience comprises of a bespoke sit-down format, entertaining limited guests in an intimate environment, and offering the opportunity to meet the winemakers behind the premium Dark Horse label. TICKET INFORMATION

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Thank you to our

SPONSORS

Hunter Valley

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