Worcester & District Riding Club heads for golden jubilee in good form

Competing

Winners of the Mercian League for three years in a row, runners up in 2007 and 2005 national equitation jumping champions, the membership competes successfully at every level. In 2006 the equitation jumping team qualified again for the championships, as did the open dressage team and an individual show-jumper at open level. Charlotte Harris also represented the club at the horse trials championships, coming second. In 2007 Liz Warner qualified for the intermediate show jumping and a dressage team of Ruth Bennet, Karen Nicholls, Carole Burford and Liz qualified for the dressage. Sue Frank was then 6th in the dressage to music championships.

BHS Affiliation

The club was affiliated to the BHS in 1961, having been started a few years earlier by a group of friends in the Broadheath area of Worcester. Early members still fondly remembered include Jean Stevens, who was tragically later killed in a pony and trap accident, Diane Fraser, Jeff Smith, Barbara Shapcott, John and Jill Blackband and Sheila Ganderton.

The Early Days

Most activities took place around Broadheath and members’ shows were held at Tomkins Farm, Martley, by kind permission of the Ganderton family.

In the early days one of the teachers at schooling sessions was the late Miss Disney, who at the time ran Fairfield Riding School, which had only the second indoor school in the country. Marge Disney was highly regarded in the horse world and went on to run the stables at Hagley Hall.

As the club prospered and grew, events were held at a number of Worcestershire venues, including High Park in Droitwich, owned by Mr Henry Pittaway at the time, attracting good entries from all over the region.

Upton!

The horse which won the open hunter trial shield the first year it was presented was named Upton, and owned by Jo Daniell. She saw him in a field and borrowed the £320 needed to make him hers.

The partnership was to do well all round, winning the four-year-old novice and hunter classes at the Three Counties Show the following year, as well as being reserve champion for three years.

He was a Grade A show jumper and intermediate eventer by the age of six and his sale to Paddy McMahon enabled the newly-married Jo, now Challen, to buy the bungalow she still lives in at Upton on Severn.

Paddy didn’t get on with Upton and Jo was at a sale trying to buy him back when she was outbid by Harvey Smith. Ridden by Robert Smith he won the George V Cup and, re-named Sanyo Video with Harvey in the saddle, he won the Hickstead Derby in 1981 as a 17-year-old.

The 80's

Worcester & District Riding Club continued to go from strength to strength and its 25th anniversary in 1986 was celebrated with silver-banded rosettes. The 144 members that year keenly supported even the members’ only shows, where entries could top 25 in the showing sections.

In the 1980s other riding clubs were formed around Worcestershire, diluting the membership as those from Malvern, Kidderminster, Ludlow, Tewkesbury, Alcester, Bromyard and Birmingham now had their own branches.

However, in the late 80s and 90s the club was still attracting a healthy mix of abilities and managed to achieve 3rd, 2nd and 4th team places in successive years at the Riding Club Open Horse Trials Championships. Shirley Heath was an individual winner and Sue Frank placed second in the 80s.

In those days it was exceptional to qualify, as the only area competitions were dressage, show-jumping and one-day-eventing and there were no novice sections. With no affiliated riders, it was a feather in the cap of the Worcestershire club to be placed at championship level – let alone three years in a row.

Into the Millennium

In the mid-90s the club was again in the ribbons, Izzy Manning achieving second and third individual placings at the horse trials championships.

As the club moves towards its golden jubilee, with open shows held for many years at Park Hall Farm, Hanbury, due to the generosity of the Heath family, it continues to achieve by encouraging all abilities and providing a mix of training, competitions and social events.

In 2007 it joined MIDARCs which means our shows can also host MIDARC qualifiers.