by Lindores Cross Country | May 10, 2017 | Camps
Event: Wobbleberries Camp May 2017 – Day 2:
Author: Equiteam Instructor Liz Daniels UKCC Level 2
(Not sure where to start!!)
Last night we had a Lindores experience which we hadn’t previously encountered and it’s too good not to share!
Just before 11pm we got a phone call from a lovely camper to say that there was an issue with the spare toilet and it was inhabited by a calf who had escaped its pen, gone into the toilet and destroyed the contents in only a way a cow could! Luckily the calf is fine, needless to say the toilet is not and now getting a refurb!! Possibly the most unlikely event we could have predicted and another job for the Lindores team!
We arrived on day two and the campers are already smiling. Day two is usually my favourite day at camp as you see people achieve things they didn’t believe possible! To me it doesn’t matter if this is cantering in an open space for the first time, or jumping 1.15m, it’s all relative but there is nothing like seeing a genuine smile on someone’s face and it always makes me feel so lucky to have such an awesome job!
The morning lessons were grid work. For a couple of our riders this was the first time they had ever done grid work, but they fully embraced it! Grid work is so educational for both horses and riders and something we always do at camp. Alongside the grid work we looked at how to jump on an angle and the striding between fences – which everyone nailed!
Another awesome thing I see at camp is the development of horses and riders and I’m a great believer that horses go away and process things overnight and come back the next day with a completely different understanding.
This was certainly true for a number of the less experienced horses who had cantered down the poles yesterday unsure and struggling to consistently make the distances, where as today they were brimming with confidence, ears pricked, taking their riders through the poles and ready for the next challenge.
All of the horses and riders jumped brilliantly, with many more getting PB’s, everyone improving and growing with confidence. Such an awesome job, well done all!
A quick bite to eat at lunchtime (and no exercise session today the legs are just a touch stiff!) before heading up the hill for the cross country.
I always walk up to the top of the hill (instead of drive). This is for two reasons.. Firstly I can justify eating more of LouBirds amazing tiffin(!) and secondly because as you get to the top and look left the view is breathtaking. I never tire of seeing it and it’s always worth the climb.
Many of our horse and rider partnerships are new to cross country and they all did brilliantly. On the XC there are a huge range of fences from 40cm upwards and after a warm up I always try and send the riders out to string a few fences together. From an instructors point of view it’s a great course as you can link lots of fences together whilst still being able to see the riders!
Many campers jumped the ski jump for the first time as well as the new Danny MacAskill keyhole fence, which has become the ‘must jump’ fence for 2017! There were a couple of ‘digging deep’ moments, but some massive steps made!
A few of the riders were concerned that their horses were feeling tired before they went XC, although they definitely all perked up when they were up there and jumped fabulously. Many of our Wobbleberries are now realising their aim of a BE80 is very achievable and firmly insight.
As a training facility Lindores is great, one horse had an ‘issue’ with ditches and it’s an ideal place to address this. After sessions finished the lovely walk down the hill means that the horses are nicely cooled down by the time they get back to the stables.
As lots of happy faces congregated in the bothy, shared stories, experiences and write their days highlights on the ‘achievement board’ Lou had another amazing meal prepared.
During dinner one of our lovely campers set up a slide show of the achievements she had captured in between her own lessons. I really enjoy the fact that the campers are all so supportive of each other and this really is what makes camp so fab (of course I’m biased!)!
After dinner we welcomed Julia Craig to chat about saddle fitting. As always Julia was enthusiastic and informative and our campers learnt lots about different kids of saddles as well as tack fitting. Big thank you to Julia for giving up her time to chat to us.
Another long but very enjoyable day at Lindores and we are all looking forward to day three!
More to follow tomorrow,
Liz
Equiteam Confidence Camps Facebook page
Julia Craig Saddle Fitter
Danny MacAskill Wee Day Out – Behind the scenes of Hay Bale Film Footage
Lindores Cross Country – Horse Holidays and Camp venue
Lindores Lodge – Luxury self catering accommodation in Fife, Scotland
by Lindores Cross Country | Apr 28, 2017 | News
Scottish Rider Magazine April 2017.
We’re delighted that the front cover is a fabulous photo of British Eventer Louisa Milne Home riding Future Plans at Lindores Cross Country.
Scottish Rider Magazine ran a feature page covering the recent developments at training facility Lindores Cross Country and they loved the photograph (taken by professional Dave Mackison) so much they used it for the front cover of their mag.
Here is what Scottish Rider had to say about us:
Full speed ahead at Lindores Cross Country
Equestrian Business of the Year nominee 2017
Anna Black, manager of Lindores Cross Country, and the team at Lindores Cross Country were delighted to be nominated for Equestrian Business of the Year in the HorseScotland Awards 2017. Lindores Cross Country, which has expanded heavily in the last few years since it was established in 1989, now operates as a full equestrian training centre. The growth and expansion of the business has been based on their customer feedback and a desire to always do better.
On course for success
Lindores now have 30 stables, show jumping paddocks, a sand school, luxury accommodation, campsite and living space to offer customers so their offering is more than simply cross country training.
The well established course boasts 125 fences built to British Eventing standards, ranging in height from tiny open ditches up to 1.2m so riders from beginners up to two star eventers will benefit from training at the facility. Fences are built by BE accredited course builder, David Wilson, who has been designing and building bespoke fences at Lindores since 2014, ensuring the centre’s standards are upheld.
A lot of hard work was put into the development of the cross country course in 2016, and the centre’s hard work is paying off. The course is rapidly becoming one of the best facilities around, not only boasting fence heights and styles to suit all levels, 26 riding camps have been booked in so far for 2017 – an astonishing growth compared to just two camps held in 2013. Independent hosts and instructors frequent the centre to hold clinics, some of which sell out in minutes.
As well as hosting more camps in the future, Anna and the team are hoping to provide further opportunities for horse holidays with their 30 stable capacity, and the expansion of the luxury holiday lodges with hot tubs to provide more dwellings.
Danny MacAskill’s Wee Day Out
Recently Lindores Cross Country became the setting for a hay bale stunt in Danny MacAskill’s Red Bull film “Wee Day Out”. This inspired the recent creation of the unique six metre high keyhole fence, the Danny MacAskill Hay Bale fence.
“Danny receives thousands of offer to perform stunts at various locations across UK, so for him to take us up on our offer to film at Lindores was an honour,” Anna explained.
Scotlands most iconic hay bale fence was officially opened on 8th March, by Danny himself and one of Britain’s top event riders, Louisa Milne Home riding Future Plans. They spent the day filming stunts over many other fences on the farm and completed a race across stunning countryside and horse jumps requiring bravery, skill and determination. They jumped pheasant feeders, whisky barrels, steps and cottages, finishing with the iconic Danny MacAskill-inspired fence.
Danny then made the most of the facilities on-site and stayed in Lindores Lodge, the relaxing rural retreat. He chilled out in the hot tub like many horse riders do after spending the day outdoors. In fact Lindores Lodge has been so popular the team are building a couples luxury retreat and a two bedroomed lodge in 2017.
Like Clockwork
New addition to the facilities at Lindores in 2017 is Scotland’s first fitness and pace training facility. With BE regulations allowing riders to compete with stopwatches from BE80 and above. It is now more important than ever before that riders practice using a stopwatch and get a feel for the correct pace. Many riders don’t know or have the facilities to practice pace and control over authentic cross country ground, so Lindores have introduced the facility which can be used with or without its brand new fences. And for those not sure whether to invest in a stop watch if you hire one at Lindores you can try before you buy.
Moving forward
Anna makes sure she listens to customer and industry figurehead feedback when expanding Lindores’ offerings, meaning that customers are at the heart of all of her decisions. The team offer something for everyone, for those looking to bring their non-horsey friends or other half, the sporting venue is also able to offer clay pigeon shooting, as well as walks and spa treatments, with a great range of other attractions nearby.
Anna Black, Danny MacAskill and David Wilson
END
Scottish Rider Magazine Website
Lindores Cross Country Facebook
Lindores Lodge Website
Lindores Lodge Facebook
British Event Rider Louisa Milne Home Eventing
Danny MacAskill’s ‘Wee Day Out’ Red Bull film and the Hay Bale Trick behind the scenes footage
Photographer Dave Mackison
by Lindores Cross Country | Mar 8, 2017 | Course design
Lindores Cross Country, nominated as Equestrian Business of the Year 2017 by HorseScotland is the location of Scotland’s newest and most iconic Danny MacAskill hay bale cross country fence.
It is a phenomenal and unique horse jump that was inspired by Danny MacAskills hay bale trick from Red Bull’s – ‘Wee Day Out’ filmed at Lindores, Fife.
In 2016 the globally recognised mountain biker attempted one of his most creative and hardest stunts ever. Danny cycled down a grass field, caught up with a rolling bale, mounted and dismounted it on his bike all while the bale was still gaining momentum rolling down the hill. The extremely dangerous and brave the stunt was branded ‘The hay bale‘ and has had over 7m hits online.
Anna Black who manages Lindores Cross Country where the filming took place was incredibly inspired by Danny’s 3 days of persistence, skill, and creativity. Anna regularly see’s such qualities in the horse riders that camp, train and holiday at Lindores. Danny however has taken his determination to another level – he would never give up until he got the stunt he so desperately visualised.
Lindores Cross Country now have a horse jump to remind all sportspersons that when you put your mind to a challenge anything is possible.
The creator behind this iconic horse jump is British Eventing Course Builder David Wilson. David designed and built the phenomenal 6metre high structure. It is a double sided palisade jump with keyhole which allows horses to jump the fence in both directions. The jump is 60cm downhill and 95cm uphill. At 3m width it makes it suitable for most levels of riders.
The ring of wood that creates the surround is made up from 72 pieces of 200mm x 45mm, these are cut at 7.5 degrees on either end. They were then glued and screwed, half lapping the 3 layers to create a strong laminating effect. It had to be left in 2 parts for transport and handling reasons.
The base sits on recycled telegraph poles, which have been treated with creosote which will help to protect against the wood rotting in the future. The rest of the frame is for solid stability to hold the large 4m circle.
The bike and rider are also made from wood and painted to recreate the effect of the original picture.
Once on site the 2 parts of the circle could be reunited. The completed jump was then dug into the hill side to leave it standing level, and fixed to the ground, thus it is ready to jump.
Set overlooking stunning countryside views of Perthshire, Angus and Fife it really is breathtaking.
On the 8th of March Danny MacAskill and one of Scotlands top eventing riders Louisa Milne Home will officially open the fence and spend the day filming stunts over many of the 125 British Eventing standard fences and water complex at Lindores Cross Country. Louisa has been training at Lindores since it opened in 1989 and her training has been key to her success. Louisa has been long listed for the British Europeans. She and her horse King Eider were one of only 6 horses that completed Badminton and Burghley in 2014 and the aforementioned famous horse King Eider who started learning cross country at Lindores is aiming for Badminton again this year.
During the filming on the 8th March – Danny isn’t getting an easy ride he will be challenged to ride Scotland’s first pace and fitness training facility which has been designed to aid horses for events but we’ll soon see if Danny can keep the pace of a horse!
At the end of the day Danny will replicate the experience the horse riders get – and he will stay in luxurious Lindores Lodge for a well deserved soak in the hot tub!
www.lindoreslodge.co.uk
We look forward to releasing the footage which is sure to be entertaining!
