Area 1: Groton Pony Club xc course

[Lisa Cook]

Just thought I'd pass along the word for anyone in Area 1 who is familiar with the Groton Pony Club 3-phase...we have been working like fiends since our April 2-phase event to refresh and update our xc course. We hired an outside consultant to help with our cross country course design, jump design, and jump building, and everything is in place for a great schooling event this upcoming weekend, complete with some brand new jumps that we hope everyone will enjoy. :)

Our xc course remains in the infield of the racetack so it remains modest in length but we think (hope) it shows improvement, and we hope to make additional improvements to xc (thinking specifically of re-working the bank)this summer/fall, as funding allows.

Have fun everyone!

[cranky]

I'm planning to come to the event -- looking forward to it!

[Finn'sMom]

[QUOTE=Lisa Cook;4084200]We hired an outside consultant to help with our cross country course design, jump design, and jump building, and everything is in place for a great schooling event this upcoming weekend, complete with some brand new jumps that we hope everyone will enjoy. :)

I am really looking forward to Sunday's show, and checking out the new jumps on course. We always enjoy the GPC 3-phase - it is a great show, and the new jumps will only make it better! I hear the ditch is re-done - I hope Finn is ready for it! (we had a bit of trouble with UNH's ditch last weekend, so it is a great chance to have a go at another one!)

Hope to see a good turnout on Sunday for the new jumps' christening!

[joharavhf]

:winkgrin::winkgrin:

The outside consultant was the builder of the jumps @ Scarlet Hill, no??? Mere has been talking about re-doing it for the last few lessons I've had with her!

Looking forward to riding in the Almost Weenie division with my new guy!!! (That would mean the Green division!)

[Lisa Cook]

Yes, Meredith and Joe were the folks who helped us...they are amazing!! The ditch was redone last fall by Joe and looks terrific. Finn's mom - we will NOT fill it with bright shavings...it should be inviting! BN may actually have the fake ditch instead (mulch between two rails)...I'm not sure yet who will have the new ditch on their course.

I should have taken pictures of some of the new jumps....we completely re-did the line of logs in the middle of the field, adding a new BN pile o' logs and a new novice hanging log, both of which are actually at honest BN and N height. The flow of the course has been changed to allow for more room/less twists & turns between jumps on xc to hopefully allow for more of an xc feel to occasion, while remaining within the infield of the track.

And...my personal favorite...the old vertical zig-zag rail fence is now a solid rampy birch jump, made out of a huge birch tree that came down in Mason in the ice storm last winter. My sons & I, with some help, hauled it in pieces out of the woods in Mason, in the rain, uphill both ways ;) to get over to the fairgrounds to be used as jump building material.

There's even more changes & additions, but I can't give it ALL away before the event. :lol:

[Finn'sMom]

[QUOTE=Lisa Cook;4086783]Finn's mom - we will NOT fill it with bright shavings...it should be inviting!


THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!

"And...my personal favorite...the old vertical zig-zag rail fence is now a solid rampy birch jump, made out of a huge birch tree that came down in Mason in the ice storm last winter. My sons & I, with some help, hauled it in pieces out of the woods in Mason, in the rain, uphill both ways ;) to get over to the fairgrounds to be used as jump building material. "

That sounds great, as well! I guess we can thank that nasty ice storm for something!! (as well as all your efforts - you're the best!)

[joharavhf]

Awesome! Meredith's course is FANTASTIC, so I can't wait to see the GPC stuff....haven't been there since Dancer (Lisa, do you remember me & Dancer????) so it should be FUN!!!

[Lisa Cook]

I do remember you & Dancer...welcome back to the eventing scene. :)

Meredith's facility is truly amazing...we send a lucky group of pony clubbers over to ride with Meredith once per week. But I sadly need to reel in any comparisons between our modest, non-profit pony club on town-owned land xc course and Scarlet Hill's. We are improving....but I daresay we'll never quite match Scarlet Hill.

[joharavhf]

I do remember you & Dancer...welcome back to the eventing scene. :)

Meredith's facility is truly amazing...we send a lucky group of pony clubbers over to ride with Meredith once per week. But I sadly need to reel in any comparisons between our modest, non-profit pony club on town-owned land xc course and Scarlet Hill's. We are improving....but I daresay we'll never quite match Scarlet Hill.

Well I don't think most facilities can match that! Most of us just don't have the land!!! Can you imagine the stuff you could do with that kind of open space?!?!?!

Will I see you on Sunday? I have a cute little buckskin tank - he's a pony but ALL horse if you know what I mean ;)

[chism]

I was over there today, my daughter had a lesson with M. It looks FABULOUS! Great work, you guys. Can't wait to see the course on Sunday.

[Crazy_Eventer]

yay yay yay :D can't wait to get out there and see it

[cranky]

Meredith's facility is truly amazing...we send a lucky group of pony clubbers over to ride with Meredith once per week. But I sadly need to reel in any comparisons between our modest, non-profit pony club on town-owned land xc course and Scarlet Hill's. We are improving....but I daresay we'll never quite match Scarlet Hill.

It's perfect for me right now. I have a new horse (I've had her less than a month), I've only jumped her a few times so far, I haven't competed myself in over 20 years (I'm a re-rider). So GPC is the perfect venue for our first event. Yes, we're entering in the Super-Super Weenie division!

[Lincoln]

Can one school on the course at other times?

[joharavhf]

Can one school on the course at other times?

Isn't THAT the MILLION dollar question!!!! I have asked and received no authoritative answer. Maybe Lisa can clear it up for us?

It is town owned land. It used to be that you had to be a resident of Groton in order to use it (or at least that's what I was told). But the line gets blurry with horses doesn't it? What if your HORSE is a resident of Groton but you live elsewhere??? (There are many people I know that would fit that category!)

Way back in the day I did meet a GPC instructor at the fairgrounds to school in a lesson. No one ever showed up to yell at her and I can't imagine they would have if she was in the wrong. (This was Alison Eastman.)

[EventingDiva]

I've always known to be that you had to be a resident of Groton to use the schooling field-&& not the track! I am not sure about if your horse lives in Groton though and the rider doesn't...good question!

[sch1star]

The fences look WONDERFUL. I love love love the variety of small jumps you created so thank you for your hard work!

[cranky]

I can't wait to see it!

This is a great venue for us as we're only a couple of towns away. So much easier that King Oak last weekend which was a serious haul! It certainly will help us enjoy the day. It looks like a couple of more people from my barn are coming than had originally planned, so I'm excited.

[Lisa Cook]

I've always known to be that you had to be a resident of Groton to use the schooling field-&& not the track! I am not sure about if your horse lives in Groton though and the rider doesn't...good question!

The fairgrounds are for the use of Groton residents & the pony club. (The pony club has the use of the fairgrounds in exchange for maintaining the facility.)

Non-Groton residents can ride at the fairgrounds if they contact the Groton Parks & Recreation Department ahead of time.

The track itself is a whole different story, with the trotters maintaining it and use of the track for riding horses is prohibited.

If I could make a general PSA announcement: we've been working really hard to improve the fairgrounds. If you come over to ride and see work in progress, feel free to introduce yourselves...maybe even say a thank you to the parent volunteer that is out there working. We had one person out there yesterday spreading a large load of stone dust single-handedly in front of some jumps to improve the footing. A group of 6 people came out to ride. Not one rider said a word to her. Their instructor totally ignored her. She's out there doing hard labor to make this facility usable for their riding enjoyment, and was totally ignored. A word of appreciation goes a long way to help support the moral of our volunteers. :)

[joharavhf]

THANKS for the clarifying Lisa, and what a bunch of a-holes for not even saying HULLO and THANKS!!!!!!!

Can't wait for Sunday. Sounds like the stonedust was a good idea - it's been raining a lot this evening and forecasted for Friday and Sunday!

[Finn'sMom]

If I could make a general PSA announcement: we've been working really hard to improve the fairgrounds. If you come over to ride and see work in progress, feel free to introduce yourselves...maybe even say a thank you to the parent volunteer that is out there working. We had one person out there yesterday spreading a large load of stone dust single-handedly in front of some jumps to improve the footing. A group of 6 people came out to ride. Not one rider said a word to her. Their instructor totally ignored her. She's out there doing hard labor to make this facility usable for their riding enjoyment, and was totally ignored. A word of appreciation goes a long way to help support the moral of our volunteers. :)

Wow. That's sad, really.

[lucky dog farm]

Darn! I wish I had been more on top of this because I would have LOVED to have gone to it. This sounds like a perfect place to either get my greenie out or to take my old mare for a fun time. Is there another one anytime this year?

[Lisa Cook]

October 18th. :) Come on by! Entries and details will be posted on our website as we get closer to October. (I can't believe I'm discussing OCTOBER! Spring just got here! October seems really, really far away right now.)

http://groton.ponyclub.org/

[Loves to ride]

For everyone competing tomorrow at GPC, have a blast!

I drove by yesterday (Friday) and the fairgrounds look absolutely fantastic! Kudos to the GPC and all of its helpers....

I'm a Groton resident and if I could ever find time to ride my horse again, I'd be there myself. Hum, maybe in the fall?

Looking forward to hearing about everyone's experiences on Monday. I'm relegated to eventing vicariously through others until I can magically find more hours in the day... So, please do provide a recap! :)

Good luck!

[chism]

If I could make a general PSA announcement: we've been working really hard to improve the fairgrounds. If you come over to ride and see work in progress, feel free to introduce yourselves...maybe even say a thank you to the parent volunteer that is out there working. We had one person out there yesterday spreading a large load of stone dust single-handedly in front of some jumps to improve the footing. A group of 6 people came out to ride. Not one rider said a word to her. Their instructor totally ignored her. She's out there doing hard labor to make this facility usable for their riding enjoyment, and was totally ignored. A word of appreciation goes a long way to help support the moral of our volunteers. :)

How completely and utterly rude. :( I don't think many people understand the enormous amounts of volunteer hours that go into maintaining, much less improving a facility. Thanks to all of you at GPC, it's a little gem of a place to school CC. My girls and I really appreciate it.

[Lisa Cook]

I have some insider information for Finn's Mom: BN is jumping the fake ditch (mulch between rails). :)

[lucky dog farm]

Thank Lisa for the info. I think I will aim for that and to the snoots who can't be bothered to say hello and thank you to someone putting in all that effort, well, they should be ashamed of themselves. Some people just don't get it! Good luck ,tomorrow, to all you lucky contenders and I hope the weather holds for you.

[Finn'sMom]

I have some insider information for Finn's Mom: BN is jumping the fake ditch (mulch between rails). :)

Thanks, Lisa! I'll sleep better tonight! In fact I better start on that now!!

[Finn'sMom]

I'm just back from the show. It was a lot of fun, even with the rough weather this morning!

I loved the new course. Really great job with the new jumps, and it flows much better with the new starting area and finish area.

I had a tough time in stadium, nothing to do with the jumps, which were nothing but really nice! So there was no pressure going into XC, which was tons of fun. I even got past the ditch relatively easily.

Of course, my daughter Emily showed me up and made it look SO EASY by winning her BN division. She told me if I want I can ride her pony around an event sometime! LOL - the pony is 13-3 and I am 5'10. (she loved the new course, too!)

Thanks Lisa and all the great pony club parents and kids for all your hard work. Also, congrats to my barn-mate "Cranky" who did well in her very first outing with her lovely new mare!

[cranky]

I agree, I had a wonderful time at the GPC Schooling 3-Phase today, despite the rain. I felt like everything ran incredibly smoothly -- I especially appreciated being able to go straight from stadium to cross-country, I was so nervous, it really helped with my frame of mind.

And yes, as "Finn's Mom" mentioned, my mare Ruby & I did pretty well on our first event together and my first time ever taking her CC -- we got 3rd (Elementary Division)! Things were a little dicey during our dressage test, but she settled down and jumped everything perfectly! I couldn't be happier with her.

Thanks to all of the GPC volunteers who contributed to making this a great event for us.

[joharavhf]

Well Groton Pony Club has come a LONNNNNNGGGGG way since the last time I rode there 10 years ago. Everything was much improved - especially the cross country course, but the stadium jumps, too! :winkgrin:

I rode in the weenie, I mean Green division. 18". haha. I got the GIFT of a lifetime by getting a 23.5 in dressage. Yes, it was a nice steady test, but I can't believe we got a score that good :D Stadium was good - my pony took a MAJOR look at fence 2 (a white brush box) which I totally didn't help with, and a rail a fence 8 (totally my fault). Best of all - he ROCKED on xc!!!! I mean yes, we are talking about weenie sized fences, but he locked on and just went. I REALLY enjoyed it as my other horse (the dead one!) was VERY naughty on xc and I got dumped more times than I care to remember!

At the end of the day we won our division with a 27.5. I think the next rider was a 35, so I am VERY proud of my little guy.

Totally need to move up and challenge him more (and my brain). But what a way to make myself go up!

[Lisa Cook]

I'm so glad that you guys all had fun! As luck would have it, I was the scribe for all 3 of your dressage tests...you all did really well!

Sarah - your test rocked! What an adorable horse you have. I saw you out on xc while I was taking down the dressage rings and your horse definitely looks like he's going to be da bomb on xc as you move him up. :)

I love scribing - I always feel like I should be paying for the privilege because it is so educational. The best part is when we get to the walk/trot tests, which is when we get all the adorable munchkins on their adorable ponies and the kids all beam gap-toothed smiles and have ribbons in their hair. (and carry sparkly whips in colors of the rainbow that look like magic wands! :lol: ) We had a ring full of saintly ponies where I scribed...I wanted to bring them all home with me, even though my son is past the needing a saintly pony stage. In a few more years, I'LL be needing one of them for myself! ;)

[joharavhf]

THAT's Where you were, Lisa! I was looking for you ALL day and couldn't find you :winkgrin: Now I know why!

I wanted to add a HUGE thanks to all the volunteers at the show. It takes an IMMENSE amount of time to put something on like that, and I know you guys don't get paid! Thanks soooo much for doing this for us crazy people 3 times a year!!!!

[sch1star]

I'll add my thanks here too, for a great show with a lovely stadium course and a wonderful variety of baby xc fences, run by a very generous bunch of people. I thanked everyone I came across, including the kids!

You must have been pretty close to full - it was packed!

My poor project pony had a tough start to the day. I'd been on for 30 seconds and was heading to D warmup when a slamming porta-potty door a few feet from him gave him a decent sized scare. Not 30 seconds later a loose horse from xc bolted at him headon. LOL. This stuff is really, really good mileage for him, that's why he's there and doing the sticks on the ground division (well, mileage and I want him to go to a PC kid)! I hope he develops into the kind of kid's pony I saw today. There was a chestnut pony in my division with a young one aboard that was such a pleasure to watch I had a smile plastered on my face the whole time. What a nice pair.

After my pony put himself back together, he had a good day. I am so grateful for events like these that allow us the chance to give riders and horses alike a fun, positive introduction to the sport.

:winkgrin:

[Finn'sMom]

[QUOTE=Lisa Cook;4100250]I'm so glad that you guys all had fun! As luck would have it, I was the scribe for all 3 of your dressage tests...you all did really well!

Aha! I finally put together your name and your face! I'm a bit slow at that sometimes!

[cranky]

I'd been on for 30 seconds and was heading to D warmup when a slamming porta-potty door a few feet from him gave him a decent sized scare.

HAHAHA! I had one of those moments on my horse yesterday too! She really was very spooky yesterday. Although, once the jumping started, she settled down to the task very well. I suspect that jumping is her favorite job. I think the more mileage she can get at events like yesterday, the quieter she'll become. She just needs a little more mileage yet.

[joharavhf]

Photos are up! eqphoto.com They got some good xc ones of me....but my stadium ones were atrocious, haha. That's just NOT our phase, hehe. I was told today by my instructor that I forgot to ride the entire course so of course the darned pictures suck! :winkgrin: I'm glad she cleared things up for me! haha

Also, I got a chance to go back to the fairgrounds today with the instructor and ride some of the fences that were not on our course. All I have to say is WOW. ALL of the bigger fences rode GORGEOUSLY. We had a great schooling, and I am so thankful to the GPC and other members of the community who are continually improving the facility!!!!! You guys ROCK!