Bath Riding Club Quadrille team once again made the journey to Aintree, Liverpool with high hopes of qualifying for a second year running for the International horse show at Olympia in December.
The British Riding Clubs Quadrille selection took place on 8th October in Aintree. Teams from riding clubs all around the country enter the competition with the hope of qualifying and representing their club at the prestigious international horse show, Olympia.
Quadrille is a display of horsemanship, set to music with a team of four riders wearing costume. The display need not necessarily be based on the movements of dressage.
With the success of the team last year finishing 2nd at Olympia the team were keen to qualify for the Quadrille finals again. One of the hardest things when planning a quadrille performance is to come up with a theme that will have effective costumes, good music and is able to tell a story. With this in mind Bath decided to follow the theme of the 'Lion King' and name themselves 'The Pride of Bath'. A theme which couldn't have been better planned (unknown to the team at the time of decision back in March) due to the re-release of the Lion King into cinemas on the very same night!
The lead up to the competition wasn't without its worries as one of the riders due to ride in the team was due to give birth 4 weeks prior to the competition, just enough time to make a recovery and hop back on for a couple of practices before the event! Unfortunately the baby had other ideas and decided to be 2 weeks late and even refused to make an appearance after 4 attempts of induction! Therefore it was touch and go as to whether she would be able to ride and her sister very kindly stepped in for the final rehearsals leading up to the competition. Amazingly for the sake of the team she travelled to Aintree with a 13 day old baby and rode through the rehearsals on the Friday afternoon, when much to the teams delight she decided she would be able to ride in the competition. The team rode a very good test with striking costumes and dramatic music which was enough for them to be selected to compete at Olympia.
The team consisted of Kim Walker riding Max, Georgina Bryce riding Otto, Chantelle Bucknell riding Disney and Sarah Ebbs riding If. I would like to take this opportunity to welcome the newest mascot at 13 days old-Harry James Bucknell.
The Bath Quadrille team would not be successful without the constant support from family and friends who have made every effort to help raise money and to those who also made the long journey to Liverpool to groom for the riders. They would like to thank them for their continued support.
On top of the success of the Quadrille team, two of its members-Kim Walker and Georgina Bryce also managed to secure the Pairs Dressage to music National Championship title for a second year running with Kim also successful in both her Novice and Elementary test.
Quadrille takes a lot of time, dedication and cost. Bath Quadrille team are actively looking for sponsorship to contribute towards the financial costs and would love to hear from any businesses/people who would be keen to get involved.
Bath Riding Club now commence their autumn season with a whole host of dates booked in with something to interest everyone. The late autumn hunter trial on 23rd October held at Bushey Norwood sees competitors taking part in classes from 1'9 up to 3ft over a wide range of well built Willis Brothers cross country fences.
The AGM, Social Evening and Race Night is taking place on Friday 28th October at Combe Down Rugby Club and welcomes all to attend. It's a chance to find out about training, competitions, teams, quadrille and dismounted workshops, combined with the fun and excitement of the racenight. This is closely followed by an Equine Table Top Sale which is being held at The Conygre Hall, Timsbury on Monday 7th November from 6pm to 9pm. The Bath Riding Club competition year is concluded with a showjumping competition held on 13th November at West Wilts Equestrian Centre and a dressage competition on 11th December at Stonar School, both of which are open to all.
