🎄🎅🏼✨ U21s Christmas Camp 2024🎁 🐎🧑🏻‍🎄

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Entries for this hugely popular event are now open!!!

This year’s dates are 13th - 15th December, held at the Unicorn Centre, Stow on the Wold. We are excited to have trainers Theresa Szostek and Maddy Frewin, alongside test riding, Christmas Quadrille, sports psychology and lots of Christmas fun🤶

Online application form plus deposit secures your place! Please ensure you have completed a 2024/25 membership form before applying.

Fun, friendship, laughter, ponies, horses and a little bit of dressage……all wrapped up in a weekend of glorious sunshine ☀️💛 Camp summed up in the words of our members: ‘happy time, support, simply the best, gorgeous time, magical, Under 21s family, making memories, wonderful camp experience, fabulous weekend, on a high!’

11 hand ponies to 17 hand horses, riders aged between 8 and 18, all working together, learning so much and supporting their dressage journey.

Saturday evening fun with ‘Olympic’ themed games and a compulsory water fight (courtesy of Moira!). Then amazing Pizza freshly cooked to order by JoJo’s Dough on the Go! Yummy!!!

It takes a team of incredible people to make our weekends so special: Our trainers, Maddy Frewin and Janet Horswill, coaching and encouraging with so much learnt by all riders.  Brilliant Sports Psychology sessions both days with Moira Lafferty and feed help and advice from Top Spec. Even the horses got on the scales! Supporters, Bates Saddles and EqWeigh provided a host of gifts and goodies for the members at the end of the three days, we are always so grateful for their generosity 💞 Finally, our Under 21s home, the Unicorn, they never fail to make us feel so welcome 🦄💞

The spirit of Under 21s; friendship, support and a willingness to learn something new, whilst enjoying the sport we all love. 

Already planning the next one………..🫶

Our first camp of 2024 and it was wonderful to be joined by so many existing and new members 🥰. Our U21s home, the Unicorn Centre, made it possible to extend the One Day Camp by staying the night before, enjoying pizza’s, great company and an obligatory Team Game (no adults allowed this time!).

Ridden training started early the next morning with Maddy Frewin and Theresa Szostek, while Miche ran sessions in the classroom. It was inspiring to watch the riders development through their lessons, everyone is always so keen to learn something new. The lunchtime demo with Maddy and Theresa entertained everyone whilst highlighting many of the aspects brought up in the ridden training sessions. Theresa’s horse, Alan, loved his new found fame and certainly danced for the crowd! Huge thanks to Maddy and Theresa for sharing some of their training tips with us all.

The hard work and dedication put in over the winter months was clear to see in the afternoon test riding! Everyone rode down the centreline with a positive mindset and a smile on their face, resulting in some truly uplifting performances! 

We ended the day with a Treasure Hunt in the glorious sunshine, and as always, they did many more laps of the Unicorn Centre than was necessary!! We had to feel sorry for those with the littlest of legs, there were lots of red faces at the finish line!!

As ever, the day was filled with laughter a plenty. We are all lucky enough to be part of a sport we love, surrounded by the support of so many friends. Thank you to everyone, riders, parents and team for being a part of creating these experiences.

Until Summer Camp………

Christmas Camp is proof that we are more than just a dressage group. Our under 21’s family (new and old) kicked off the festive season with an unforgettable weekend of friendship, support, laughter and some incredible riding & training. 

Inspiring coaching sessions from Maddy Frewin and Lewis Carrier, helped further develop the rider’s skills, clearly seen in the fabulous test riding. Huge thanks to our judge, Mark Philpott, for his encouraging words.

Our ‘on foot’ sessions from Moira Lafferty and Lucy Middlecote gave everyone  lots of practical knowledge to take away, thank you both 🥰 Christmas Camp wouldn’t be ‘Christmas Camp’ without unforgettable team building games, our themed musical rides and a magical visit from Santa himself! 🎅❤️

We are so privileged to be part of something so special. Riders, parents and all of those involved in the training, throw themselves into making this so memorable. Merry Christmas everyone!!

Summer Camp 2023 was an absolute blast!

We dove into a whirlwind of lessons, test riding, workshops, and team games. Kudos to the incredible Maddy Frewin & Jackie Beaven who, with unbridled energy, guided the riders—yes, even with some running around the arena! Our riders got a chance to apply what they learned in the test riding sessions. Some scaled new heights, some prepped for championships, while others took their first plunge into dressage. A big shoutout to our judges, Martyne Galland & Abbie Newbury, for their uplifting feedback.

Moira Lafferty's insights in Sport Psychology have been a cornerstone, equipping riders to fully relish their sport. Hats off to Moira! 

Amidst our packed itinerary, we managed to slip in an equine biology workshop, all thanks to Lucy Middlecote. Teaching a group ranging from age 7 to 17 is no mean feat—thank you, Lucy!

Our riding demonstration, featuring Maddy Frewin's newest equine member, 5 year old Zebbie, and her GP horse, Dexter (beautifully ridden by Sofia Games), was sheer delight. Cheers to both Maddy & Sofia for the stellar show!

Who enjoyed our spirited team games more, the kids or the adults? Well, this camp saw parents laughing until tears flowed. Respect to Moira for her ingenious game ideas that quickly become camp favorites.

The past three days were painted with joy, laughter, and elated young riders. Until our next adventure!

It was lovely to see so many smiling riders at our Easter One Day camp at the Unicorn Centre! 

We started the day off with training sessions with Maddy & Abbie before moving into the classroom to launch our new Training Award Scheme 💫

In the afternoon we watched brilliantly ridden tests in front of judge, Mark Philpott, all horses and ponies beautifully turned out 💞

The sun came out (finally!!) for the mandatory Easter Egg Hunt, three teams ran around the grounds of the Unicorn following cryptic clues - the boys trying to convince us that as ‘gentlemen’ they thought they’d let the girls finish 10 minutes before them!! 😝

Once again, we welcomed lovely new members to the group and witnessed how resourceful existing members can be when they need to borrow ponies at the very last minute!!! 

Huge thanks to our trainers, Maddy & Abbie, and to our fabulous judge, Mark Philpott xx