by Lindores Cross Country | Feb 22, 2020 | Award
THE WINNER OF THE
LINDORES EQUESTRIAN
DESIGN A FENCE COMPETITION 2020
Polly Quaile Designed A Whale!
Congratulations to Polly Quaile aged 14 who is the 2020 winner!
The judges at Lindores Equestrian were overwhelmed with all the design entries for this years competition. We have to congratulate everyone who made the effort to create and send in such impressive designs. The standard of concepts are getting better and better every year which is making choosing one winner harder and harder for Lindores Equestrian.
Why did the Whale win?
The judges loved Polly’s design for a number of reasons. The concept with ‘no more plastic’ grafitti’d on a whale is extremely important message to save the beautiful planet we live in. We’ve never seen a jump design like it and we’re 100% behind what it says! The design has a very safe and forgiving profile for a training facility like Lindores. The design also has three jumping heights that can be wide enough to comply with British Eventing standards. The whale concept very cleverly allows for the 50cm height to be in the middle which we also loved for training.
Who came close second?
Competitions don’t normally tell everyone who came second – but this year we wanted to share a design that gave us the biggest laugh. We liaised closely with our British Eventing Course Builder on this design but sadly it just didn’t tick as many boxes as The Whale. So well done to Caroline Wilson and Frances Ferguson with their ‘Brave Pants and Posh Pants’ design. Inspired by the Equiteam Confidence Camps that are hosted here at Lindores. ‘Brave Pants’ was a strong re-occuring theme that clearly means a lot to many riders. Well done everyone!
Greta Thunberg inspires Polly Quaile
Polly Quaile the winner of this years competition is a member of Strathblane Pony Club and has a 15.1hh Irish Sportshorse called Noah. Polly learnt to ride in her local riding school from age 4 but she is also a keen sailor. She often sails with her dad on the west coast. She said she feels strongly about plastic pollution and she see’s plastic on the beaches and it makes her sad. At the time of this competition Greta Thunberg was sailing across the Atlantic and after a bit of research Polly realised there was no whale cross country jump in existence. Polly said,
‘I want to make a change and just like Greta I want to raise awareness of plastic pollution. This idea was a nice way to do it’
When Equestrian Manager Anna Black announced to Polly that she was this years winner Anna asked if there was anything the equestrian industry could do to help tackle plastic pollution and she raised a very clear point. Polly said:
I think it’s the small things, the industry could think about recycling feed tubs and doing their bit.
We both hope that this jump at Lindores Equestrian will help raise awareness and generate idea’s on how the equestrian industry could reduce plastic pollution.
What’s Next?
The whale design is incredibly large scale and and it requires a 6metre long tree that is 1 metre wide. A huge amount of resource and effort was taken to find the perfect tree. The team at Lindores sustainably sourced a tree from the local town, Cupar. We will be telling the story of the tree and its journey to becoming a whale in future blogs.
The Whale will be carved and painted over the coming weeks by our British Eventing course builder. We will invite the winner of the competition to open the fence and be the first rider to jump it. After that, everyone is welcome to jump ‘The Whale’ at Lindores Equestrian training venue in Fife which opens 1st March 2020 and is open 7 days a week during daylight hours.
Until then, stay connected – and think about what you could do to reduce plastic pollution!
by Lindores Cross Country | Aug 15, 2019 | Offers
HORSE HOLIDAY PACKAGE
– 1 night stay for a group of friends and their horses (minimum 4)
Cost: £90 per rider and horse
Check in Saturday 7thSept 2019 from 9am
Check out Sunday 8thSept by 12noon
Due to a cancellation we are offering this fantastic horse holiday package to a family or group of friends who fancy a short break away to stay, ride and relax at Lindores Equestrian. Awarded Equestrian Business of the Year 2019 this is a your chance to experience Lindores! The offer is suitable for a group of 4 or more riders and their horses.
What’s included during your stay:
Stable with hay and straw
Exclusive use of The Bothy
(The Bothy space has a kitchen, lounge and dining area and can be used until 10am Sunday 8thSept)
Accommodation: In The Bunkroom overnight (sleeps up to 6) or Tent Pitch
Parking for lorries, caravans or horse boxes
Hacking to enjoy the stunning countryside views
On Saturday 7th:
Arena hire with show jumps available for 1.5 hours
Working Hunter jumps on grass available for 1.5 hours
On Sunday 8th:
Lindores Cross Country available for 1.5hours
Optional extra’s not included in package:
Shavings
Instruction
Dog Stays
Luxury Lodge with Hot Tub
Electric Lorry/Caravan Hook Ups
Check in from Friday 6thSept from 6pm is available if preferred
To secure this package offer we require full payment and 20% of the balance is non refundable in event of a cancellation. If you wanted to enjoy more facilities or change the package slightly that is possible and can be agreed in advance. Horses must be fully vaccinated up to a year and guests must comply with the Lindores Equestrian Terms and Conditions which are provided at point of sale. Offer is subject to availability.
BOOK YOUR HOLIDAY TODAY – CONTACT:
07736 044 058
Stay in touch:
www.facebook.com/lindoresequestrian
www.instagram.com/lindoresequestrian
www.twitter.com/lindoresxc
by Lindores Cross Country | May 12, 2017 | Camps
Author: Equiteam Instructor Liz Daniels UKCC Level 2
Wobbleberries Camp Day Three – Event Day!
Day three is our final day of camp and it’s a busy day again for the campers. The day starts with a bacon and egg bap (thanks Lou – you rock) and of course endless cups of tea!
As this camp is for Wobbleberries who are aiming at BE80 we carried on our eventing camp theme and today our campers rode all three disciplines (a dressage test, show jumping course and cross country) in one day. Day three is about consolidating what has been learnt during camp and gaining extra confidence / self belief to then go and recreate it on their own.
After wolfing down breakfast I went out with some campers to walk the grid distances that were still out from yesterday, so that they can practice at home. After that it was down to the dressage field where I had a quiet half an hour with one lady who is dyslexic and struggles to learn her dressage tests.
I always love working with people, finding out what makes them tick and ways which I can maybe help a little. It doesn’t matter what someone’s own challenges are I’m a great believer that many roads lead to Rome and it’s just about finding out what works for the individual.
We soon had a plan in place of what we were going to do and how we were going to approach the dressage test riding together.
Dressage tests and show jumping…
We invited instructor Dossie Wang to judge the dressage tests and Lou did the writing. Its such a huge bonus having an actual dressage arena set out in a separate field for our use, and is so good for test practice. Each camper is allocated extra time so that Dossie could give extra feedback.
As the first couple of campers rode their dressage tests I built a show jumping course so that following their dressage they could come and pop around the show jumps, with the dreaded F word. For those of you unsure of the F word.. its fillers!
All of the campers jumped amazingly and proved that fillers are not as scary as some thought! What was really nice to see this morning was the new found confidence in both the campers and also in the horses. One camper had never jumped a course before today and went straight in and happily popped over an 85cm course like she had been doing it all of her life.
Three of the very inexperienced horses, (one had never jumped at all prior to camp), came in brimming with confidence and really wanted to do the job. The ground being so hard due to lack of rain at the moment has of course been a real consideration throughout camp and coupled with tired ponies everyone just jumped one round.
After 11 horses had jumped round I went to help the lovely lady with her dressage test. She did an absolutely brilliant job, I was super proud, and she bagged herself a lovely 65% test!
An afternoon of achievements…
After a super quick lunch it was time to climb up Lindores for my favourite office view and we were back up the hill for the cross country. Today I wanted to simulate course riding so after a warm up we walked the course discussing the varied fences and terrain and then each rider rode a course to suit the level they are currently riding at. Again Lindores Cross Country is so great for this as there is a big variety of fences.
One lady had a fall warming up cross country. As we all know this is something which happens, but it’s never nice for the rider (or instructor – believe it or not we dislike this as much as you!). She was soon back on her feet and dug really deep to carry on. This can often be the hardest part – getting back on after a fall and jumping the same fence again and then pushing yourself some more. The lady did absolutely brilliantly, rode amazingly and finished the session grinning from ear to ear having added many more achievements to her belt.
Everyone jumped brilliantly and some riders bagged the Lindores Boat in the water complex for the first time – lots more grins from horses and riders and a huge well done to you all.
After the last group walk back down the hill Lou and I had a mini de-brief about camp and we sat for 10 minutes in the glorious sunshine among the coconut smell of the gorse. Simply amazing! I always feel a mixture of emotions after the lessons have finished, so genuinely happy for people’s individual achievements, but sad that’s its almost over.
The final presentation…
Back at the hub of camp life (The Bothy) we did a final presentation, shared some big achievements, recounted a few highs and lows and of course thank our campers. We always ask our campers for feedback and ways of improving our camps in the future but once again we were totally humbled by comments and feedback – thank you so much. Watch first hand how our campers felt at the end of the experience here
This camp was dedicated Wobbleberries, inspired by Hannah Francis, and so Equiteam (Lou and I) and Lindores Cross Country will be donating a % of the camp profits to this fabulous cause.
As another camp has come to a close there are two tired but very happy camp hosts looking forward to an early night! A massive thank you to everyone who came to another brilliant camp and once again to the Black family at Lindores. Without this facility we would be unable to host anything like that in this area and I feel so very lucky to have it. We are always made to feel so welcome, nothing is ever too much trouble and I joke that Lou and I will be moving in soon!
For anyone thinking of hosting a camp I couldn’t recommend it enough. Thank you Anna and family – you guys are awesome.
Thanks for reading my blog
Liz
If you’re interested in attending an Equiteam Camp with Instructor Liz Daniels
If you’re interested in stable hire or training your 
horse at Lindores Cross Country
If you fancy a holiday with your horse
- Read about staying at Lindores Lodge and using all the equestrian facilities Liz mentioned at Lindores Lodge website
For Wobbleberries updates
by Lindores Cross Country | May 9, 2017 | Camps
Author: Equiteam Instructor Liz Daniels UKCC Level 2
Event: Wobbleberries Camp May 2017 – Day 1:
Lou and I arrived at Lindores this morning at 8am to lots of slightly petrified looking faces!
We did our camp introduction to mostly silence! This is not uncommon for day one when people are sitting there wondering what an earth they have let themselves in for! Of course we always try and make people feel at home and the Lindores experience and the fabulous atmosphere is all part of that.
As an instructor and host it’s really interesting seeing the personal journeys people go on and I love remembering the transition from introduction to the final presentation on day three.
After the Wobbleberry rider introductions we started our day with flatwork. We have 12 horses at camp (and 11 riders!) and on day one I split them into three groups of four riders.
As the campers do their first lessons you can see them starting to take a breath and realise that maybe they might enjoy it! We ride in the front field, which is a great space to work in. It’s enclosed but big enough for riders to have plenty of room.
In the morning session I often go right back to basics and this morning there were definitely some eureka moments for riders resulting in some fabulous flatwork.
During the morning we also had a visit from Sarah Cruikshank, who is the Bailey’s Horse Feeds Scottish Rep. Sarah came with the weight bridge and all the campers got their horses weighed and given nutritional advice.
At lunchtime you might be forgiven for thinking we let the camps sit down and have a chill in the sunshine.. Not likely! It was time to get the trainers on and David from Culture Health and Fitness came and put us through our paces with some circuit training.. Cue achey legs and lots of sweaty ladies!!
I feel really strongly that you need to be fit enough to do the job that you are asking your horse to do. You wouldn’t expect a horse to do XC without being fit, but we often forget our own fitness levels.
After a lovely lunch, provided by Lou, the sunshine really started to break through, the sunglasses came out and our busy afternoon sessions got underway.
The afternoon was pole work which progressed to some jumping. A couple of campers jumped their PB height wise and everyone did really fantastically and came out smiling – alongside safety I see this is as one of the most important parts of my job – after all that’s why we do it!
Once the sessions had finished it was back to the Bothy where Lou had an amazing tea on the go. We had ran out of drinking water and within minutes fresh water appeared -The Black family really are the most fabulous hosts and we really couldn’t ask for them to be any more accommodating.
As some people went for a sneaky dip in the hot tub, the hardcore campers got showered and ready for dinner.
No sooner is dinner finished Jane Brindley from Horse Riding with Confidence Scotland arrived to chat about the mental impact on riding and mental toughness.
We had another great talk from Jane, followed by yummy brownies! The people staying in Lindores Lodge went back for a glass of wine and to soak their muscles in the hot tub, while the hardcore campers all relaxed in the bothy, making life long friends!
It’s been a really good day one and we can’t wait for day two which is based around grid work and cross country!
More tomorrow, Liz
EquiTEAM Confidence Camps
Baileys Horse Feeds
Culture Health and Fitness
Wobbleberries Challenge
Horse Riding with Confidence Scotland
Lindores Lodge
