Wellington Area Trail Riding Club

Photos from Waitarere trickling onto Flickr

2008-10-04T17:05:00.002+13:00

With a backlog of photos to edit from the Wairarapa 2 day Tinui event, it's taken me a while to get started on Waitarere, but I hope to have caught up before the next WATRC ride at Maymorn.

Rather than keep folk waiting, I decided to upload the photos I've selected so far, and I'll carry on with the edit task and upload the rest as I'm able, finalising the set sometime next week.

In some ways, the hardest part is done, with most of the forest photo selection done. Photographing riders in the Waitarere forest quickly exposes the limitations of one's gear and talents. At low resolution , some of you may notice that the forest pictures have greater contrast than the farm shots. At high resolution, you'll notice a lot of "noise" in the darker parts of the images. This is from pushing the sensitivity of the camera so as to shoot in low light.

If you also notice some bluriness, this is more to do with the limitations of the photographer. Using telephotos at slower shutter speeds (again because of the low light) a steadier hand is required ;-)

Anyway, as the caption on the photos page says, editing and uploading is still in progress, so if you saw me on the trail but there isn't a photo of you yet, look again when the set is final, and with any luck there'll be a shot of you.

Waitarere - first ride of the WATRC season - 28 September

2008-09-19T20:43:00.004+12:00

A flier for the ride was posted to the mailing list a week or so ago, and I've been very remiss in not getting it onto the website sooner, so this quick note by way of notification in case any of you are users of the blog or the RSS feed (that works automatically off the blog). Check the details in the Calendar

In fact, Leslie and I have an early start in the morning, travelling over the hill to Tinui and the Wairarapa club's 2 day Endurance ride. They're putting on a 2 day pre-novice 40 km event (40 kms each day) but we'll only be competing on the Saturday, staying overnight to help out for a part of Sunday before coming back. Mainly a matter of seeing a new venue and getting a good training ride in before Waitarere.

Hope to see some of you there, but if not, no doubt we'll catch up at Waitarere.

Wairarapa's Clareville Ride - Photos on Flickr now

2008-09-11T22:39:00.004+12:00

Well, we're back. While the WATRC season doesn't start for another couple of weeks, some of our members made the trek to Clareville last weekend and got a head start on the season.

The day could not have been better weather-wise. The rain abated for a day that started with a frost that caught a few of us by surprise. Although the sun shone, there was a cooling breeze throughout the day - good for the heart rates.

Perhaps most surprising was the size and strength of the Open field - 13 competitors took advantage of the flat Clareville course, an ideal test of the horses' start of season fitness.

Some very muddy sections of the trail tended to slow the pace, but despite this riders mostly managed their time very well - a few even managing to rush the course and come in too early.

The photographer, having to work to an Open class timetable to assist with strapping, took an "out-and-back" route, getting as far as the river crossing before returning to meet riders on their return to base. Consequently most riders completing two loops passed him twice, and some three times, affording ample opportunity for shots.

You can access the photos from the link on the WATRC Photos page

Enjoy

Newsletter 109 published - Prizegiving and AGM date set

2008-05-18T18:00:00.001+12:00

With the riding season over, things do go a little quiet on the club front, and so there hasn't been much to report for some weeks. Now however we have a confirmed date for the Prizegiving and AGM, combined with the celebration of WATRC's 21st birthday - a milestone in the life of any entity.

It's clear that our committee have been busy on our behalf in the times between. The issues that the club confronted in the latter half of the season have still to be addresed, but it's encouraging to learn that relations with ESNZ remain cordial, and discussions continue. Even more encouraging is the desire reported on behalf of ESNZ to see CTR grow, along with the willingness of our own members to continue to put forward remits aimed at the betterment of the sport under the ESNZ umbrella.

Details of the Prizegiving and AGM can be found in the latest Newsletter or in the Calendar. We hope that as many of you as are able will be there - it will be fun to catch up.

Network problems at WCN

2008-05-07T21:09:00.003+12:00

Along with other sites hosted by the Wellington Community Network, WATRC was unavailable last weekend due to problems outside the WCN's control. If you were trying to access the website and couldn't, that's why.

With the weather forecast looking very marginal, the Orongorongo fun ride was called off. Apparently the Terawhiti ride on the Saturday did proceed, despite the cold conditions.

Orongorongo Trek - wrap up the season with a fun ride

2008-04-12T22:58:00.002+12:00

Just when you thought it was all over for another year, the club has a fun ride planned for Sunday 20 April. Check the flyer for details. From the road end at Orongorongo Station to Barney's Whare via the coast is about 6 kilometers, so with a relaxed pace and a stop for lunch this should not be too taxing a ride. Barney's Whare is on the western coast of Palliser Bay, about halfway between Turakirae Head and Fisherman's Rock.

We understand that there will also be another fund raiser ride over Terawhiti on Saturday 19 April, possibly following a trail to the Terawhiti homestead, but we have no other details, sorry.

Upload of the Rewanui photos is now complete and there is a link from the Photos page

Wairarapa's Rewanui CTR photos uploading

2008-04-12T17:10:00.002+12:00

As I write, a set of photos from the Wairarapa Endurance and CTR Club ride held at Rewanui on 30 April (originally billed as Tinui on the Wairarapa ride calendar) is uploading to Flickr. This was the last ride of the Wairarapa club's season.

As I understand, this was the first time the Rewanui Forest Park has been used as a CTR venue, and competitors are grateful to the Trimble Foundation, the farm leasee, and the farm manager, Paul, and his family. And of course, to the stalwarts of the Wairarapa club who organised the day.

As noted previously, we found a window of opportunity in the weather, and most of the day was fine, if a little overcast. Because of the lower than usual light levels, the photos have been shot at 1600 ASA, with the result that they are a lot "noisier" than usual. This manifests in a somewhat "grainy" appearance and the colours are a little "flat" and the focus a little "soft". At screen resolution, it probably won't show too badly, but if you want to blow up an image to a larger size, for printing, then you should check before you spend.

Our personal thanks to Paul and Noelle who kindly allowed us to camp overnight at the venue - we would otherwise have had a prohibitively early start to our day ;-)

Photos from the Makara Fund Raiser Trek uploaded to Flickr

2008-04-06T18:16:00.002+12:00

At last, I finally have a set of photos from the Makara fund raiser trek uploaded. It's been a long two weeks trying to fit in a number of obligations, and I've generally failed to meet them !

Of course, the whole thing has been compounded by the failure of my main PC - not a disaster, but certainly a major inconvenience. I'm limping along on a laptop that only has a small subset of my usual tools, and is missing some vital pieces of information.

Consequently, it will be a few days before I can update the photos page with a link to the set above, so if any of you recognise some of the riders who are not club members, could you please let them know the photos are online and perhaps send them a link. I'm sure they'll appreciate it.

In the next week I'll be busy editing the next and last set for this season, the Wairarapa club's Rewanui (Tainui) ride. It turned out we were very lucky with the weather on the day, the ride starting soon after some showers ended, and finishing before the next ones began. Happily the overnight rain had softened the ground a little, and the overcast conditions meant the horses didn't overheat on the challenging terrain.

It was a nice laid back event and good to see familiar faces from both the Wellington and Wairarapa clubs.

Waitohu photos now available on Flickr

2008-03-27T07:47:00.002+13:00

You can check out the Waitohu photos now on the Flickr website.

Wairarapa Rewanui ride now includes short Open and Intermediate

2008-03-26T20:56:00.002+13:00

For those of you looking to ease down your season, the Rewanui ride, last CTR event of the national calendar now offers a 1 loop 17 km Open and Intermediate class, in addition to the regular 2 loop rides in those classes.

Given the current very dry conditions and what we're told of the terrain, this may be an appealing option for those looking for a last competitive ride that's not too hard on their mount. The Wairarapa rides typically start later in the morning than the WATRC rides and the heat of this wonderful late summer is also a factor to be considered.

As I write, photos from the Waitohu ride are uploading to the Flickr website. I hope to have a link posted either later tonight or early tomorrow morning. I'll update the blog as usual.

The Makara fund raising trek was a great success with about 30 riders taking the opportunity to ride from Makara Farm on Quartz Hill over Terawhiti Station to Te Ikaamaru and Ohau bays, parts familiar to WATRC riders from past events. A longer option carried on to the Cable station at Oteranga Bay. On return to the Makara Farm woolshed, riders were treated to a sausage sizzle and refresements. It was a stunning day.

For those of us familiar with the territory, the roading infrastructure put in for the installation of the West Wind project came as quite a shock. Made for large heavy tansport, the roads cut through hillocks and bridge steep gulleys - better roads in fact than the Makara and South Makara roads themselves! Many of the windmill foundations are progressing apace. The site has been closed to public access since November last year, so this was a rare opportunity and priviledge to ride again over country many of us love.

There will be photos in another week or so as I try to catch up on my backlog ;-)

Photos from Pikarere (at last)

2008-03-21T23:30:00.002+13:00

Photos from Pikarere are now on the Flickr website. Access them from the club photos page as usual.

I've just noticed that the Flickr page layout has changed slightly, and there is no longer a "See diferent sizes" link. Instead, there is now an "All sizes" link that sits just above the top left corner of the selected image. Click on this to go to the all sizes page, from which you can download the original size image as before.

The lighting conditions at Pikarare on the day were a little more challenging than usual, and as a consequence the photos were shot using a higher sensitivity, and this results in more "noise" in some of the images. The effect is that some images may appear "grainier", an effect rather similar to "push processing" a film.

My next challenge will be to try and get the Waitohu photos edited in a shorter time ;-)

Pikarere and Waitohu results published

2008-03-19T20:21:00.002+13:00

The results were downloaded from ESNZ - the files are a little larger than usual as these have been scanned from hard copy, rather than the PDFs being produced directly from Excel.

Also, flyers for the Makara fundraiser, and the late breaking Wairarapa CTR Points ride. If you really can't believe the season is over, there are still a couple of rides your can do before daylight saving ends.

Still no photos, sorry. With all the rides on back-to-back weekends, I haven't had a chance to catch up with editing, and the last two rides I took a lot of photos. I will get there, promise, but it may take a while. My Easter is already looking pretty full.

Waitohu - last ride of the WATRC season

2008-03-13T19:14:00.002+13:00

The Calendar has just been updated with directions to the Waitohu venue and details of the ride distances. Waitohu is a lovely venue, but challenging for Open and Intermediate competitors who ride the course twice, passing through the start / finish line at their halfway mark. Most mounts have quite firm ideas about when enough is enough!

I have to confess that I'm way behind with the photos from Pikarere. I doubt that I'll have them done by the weekend, sorry, but they will come eventually - it's been one of those weeks at work.

See you all at Waitohu.

Newsletter 107 published

2008-03-01T19:20:00.002+13:00

The latest newsletter includes an inspired "Days of our Rides" from Jo Lake, a report of the recent Special General Meeting, and directions to Pikarere, our next ride.

Manakau ride photos uploaded to Flickr

2008-02-29T18:51:00.003+13:00

It was great to be at the beach for a WATRC ride. Those long, flat soft straights unleashed the speed freaks amomgst our members, and what a lot of you there are !

Of course, riding on sand, one has to be careful. Sudden changes in the firmness of the going can lead to tendon injury, so it was good to see riders taking the firmer going as they stretched their horses out for a canter.

For the photographer, being able to see my subjects coming from hundreds of meters away, and having a wide choice of position and angle was a bonus I rarely get on some of our more confined trails, and I took advantage. Great fun, and I hope you enjoy the images.

It will be wonderful to go back to Manakau next season, and I'm sure we all hope this venue will be included in the calendar. That said, there are a few lessons to be taken out of the event this year that will improve what is already a magnificent ride.

If we have another beach ride that will involve river crossings, we're going to need a few small things:
1. Accurate information about the tides, their timing, and their impact on the course;
2. A technical delegate monitoring each crossing and empowered to make a call in respect of the safety of the crossing
3. An alternative safe route to cross, or an alternative route that allows competitors to complete the course, or a shortened course.

The most frustrating thing for all members was the ultimate cancallation of the ride. One cannot dispute the wisdom of the call - safety was a very real issue.

The timing of high tide, which was published as 12:05 pm in the NZ Almanac and on the MetService website, neant that riders in the Intermediate class, would have been making their final crossing of the Waikawa stream as the tide was starting to ebb, and the flow from the estuary would have been seawards - not a safe option.

As it happened, there was an alternative route (bridge crossing at Waikawa Beach) and potentially alternative options (turn south and do the leg to the Otaki River mouth again) that were not explored on the day. There may well have been others.

Absolutely, this is not an issue of looking for scapegoats - quite simply it's a matter of learning from experience and improving our performance in future.

Think of this as an opportunity, and make something of it.

Newsletter 106 and Special General Meeting

2008-02-18T18:21:00.004+13:00

By now, most members should have received the latest Newsletter 106 by email. It's also available for viewing or download on the website. In this newsletter, and on several pages of our site, you will find a call to attend a Special General Meeting of the club.

In the newsletter on page 5 under the banner "The Future of WATRC: Part of Endurance NZ or Going it Alone???" are reproduced a number of emails documenting the to and fro debate that has been on-going between our Committee and Endurance New Zealand.

It's clear from the emails that WATRC is in dispute with EnNZ over the matter of outstanding levies on ride entries. EnNZ believes that WATRC has failed to pay levies that are due and that WATRC is obliged to pay under the terms of its affiliation to EnNZ.

WATRC has for some time deducted a ground fee from its entries, and this deduction has been excluded from the amount on which the EnNZ levy was calculated. WATRC has done this in good faith, believing they had a dispensation (if only in precedent) to do so. EnNZ has no record of such dispensation under the rules that could allow it, but points out that in any case they would not and do not normally grant such dispensation.

Consequently, WATRC is considered in arrears on its levies and has been asked to pay the outstanding amounts.

Although EnNZ has acknowledged the widespread disatisfaction with the basis of levy calculation, their position is that it would be unfair for WATRC to be exempted their arrears when other clubs have paid the correct levies. They maintain that despite disatisfaction with the present regime, the proper way to address the problem is through the EnNZ AGM, which was the member's forum that set the present unpopular levies, and at which WATRC was represented.

In my opinion, it's unfortunate that our newsletter frames this is issue in terms of whether or not to remain affiliated with EnNZ. In my opinion, this is a reaction to the situation, not a solution to the issues, and as such it has the unintended potential to mis-direct member's thinking.

The fact is that EnNZ considers themselves in financial dispute with WATRC. What this means is that regardless of whether or not WATRC remains affiliated, EnNZ are likely to seek to recover outstanding levies.

While it's easy to criticise EnNZ and NZEF (the over-arching body for equestrian sport in New Zealand) for taking levies and giving little in return, the fact is that there are benefits to being a part of a national sporting body, and while those benefits may seem a little intangible at times, be assured that WATRC does benefit.

EnNZ believes that our ride fees are too low, and that we could and should raise them. WATRC has suggested that raising the fees will reduce ride attendance. Regardless of the merits of either argument, if WATRC is to consume the services and resources of EnNZ, it ought morally to pay its fair share to support EnNZ. In particular, it is bound to meet the obligations it accepted when it affiliated to EnNZ.

While I think the whole question is premature, if members are going to make this an issue of whether to stay in EnNZ or go it alone, then they need to be better informed about what leavng would mean.

It would mean WATRC would become in effect a private riding club. It's events would have no standing with respect to national awards. Riders would have to go to other club events to qualify for national events. No resources from EnNZ would be available to the club. We would no longer benefit from buying power and economies of scale that a national body can secure. We would probably lose credibility with sponsors and supporters of equestrian sport. It would, in my opinion, probably spell the end of the club.

Likewise, if members prefer to remain affiliated to EnNZ they need to consider what is the value to them of WATRC, and what they're prepared to pay to be part of the national sport and to have a viable club that runs rides at such magnificent venues. If you look at the costs of other entertainments, do you think our ride fees fairly reflect their value to us?

Equestrian sport is not cheap. Shoeing a horse is not cheap. Running a vehicle powerful enough to tow a horse float is not cheap. We won't even talk about the costs of feed, grazing, veterinary care, worming, saddlery, covers, ... the list goes on. Just owning a horse is not cheap.

We pay a lot for our big pets. Do we value our rides enough to pay a little more for those too?

Here's something to think about.

WATRC has been paying the EnNZ levy (25% +GST) on half the ride fee. That is, it pays $2.81 for each $20 ride entry. It retains $17.19

EnNZ requires a levy on the full $20. That would make the levy $5.63 (rounded up) and WATRC would keep $14.37.

If WATRC raised it's ride entry to $25, the EnNZ levy would rise to $7.03, and WATRC would keep $17.97.

$5 more per ride entry is all it takes to meet our obligations to EnNZ and maintain our present level of club funding.

If the ride entry were raised to $30, the EnNZ levy would be $8.44 and the club would keep $21.56.

Now ask yourself - what can I get for $30 ? Here's some ideas:
2 movie tickets
A 2 course meal for one in Wellington (cheap and no drinks)
A 2 course meal for 2 at a country pub (maybe, and still no drinks)
One bottle of wine to go with the meal
4 glasses of wine to go with the meal (buy the bottle)
3 horse wormers (cheap ones heavily discounted)
1 shoe for your horse (fitted)
A month of halfway decent internet access (if you can get broadband in your area)
A Lotto Combo with PowerBall
15 minutes with a therapist

Hell, after getting home knackered and starving from a ride, we order in a pizza and garlic bread (from Hell) and that costs more than our current ride entry.

So it all boils down to this. Are our rides worth $5 more to help WATRC remain viable and meet it's obligations ? Or looked at another way, are our rides worth as little as a takeaway meal for 2 ?

There is of course a second question, and that is, do we perceive value from the levies on our ride entries paid to EnNZ, and the other levies paid to NZEF as club affiliation fees, and by registered riders and horses to NZEF for eligibility for national awards (this last bit raises a question for individuals - is it worth paying your NZEF registration if the club is not affiliated)?

But I emphasise that this is the second question, not the first, and it should only be asked once the first has been answered.

I remain painfully aware that club members don't have equal access to the club's publishing outlets. We have no forum where club members can debate these issues, other than at a meeting. I don't normally wade into a political debate on the club's website, and I feel I must apologise for doing so now.

Be assured that while I do have an opinion, my purpose is to support the club, its members, and its officers in reaching an informed and balanced assessment of the current issues we face, the potential consequences of our actions, and to find a beneficial resolution for all parties. If I can assist any member with makng their voice heard on this matter, I will certainly do so.

I will be at Thursday's meeting, and I urge all members who can to attend it also.

David Fitzgerald-Irons

Photos and Results from Bright's Farm

2008-02-17T17:56:00.002+13:00

Bright's Farm is always a challenging venue, with long climbs and descents on steep trails. Happily the weather was fine, and this year we didn't have to contend with rain sodden trails.

With the two loops having common portions at both the beginning and end, it was feasible to snap the entire field as they were going out, and then again as they were coming home or on their second loop. Despite a relatively small field, I actually got to take quite a lot of photos.

Results were published a day or two ago on the ESNZ website - one of the few times they get them out before we do..

Regretably, the club has some serious issues to resolve with Endurance New Zealand, and I urge you to read Newsletter 106 in full. More on that later no doubt.

Photos migrated from Yahoo to Flickr

2008-02-09T20:17:00.000+13:00

I discovered a few days ago that photos that were previously hosted on the Yahoo photo site are no longer available. Yahoo photos has been closed down, and they are now putting all their energies into Flickr.

I probably missed the announcement of this change - it's been a while since I logged into my Yahoo email account, and I think I had to re-activate it recently - so, my own fault really.

Anyway, fortunately I've kept back-up DVDs with the published photos from the 2006/2007 and 2005/2006 seasons (all shot at 8 megapixels), so uploading these to new sets on Flickr wasn't a problem.

For the 2004/2005 season when I was still using film and having my film processor scan the negatives and produce a CD, there was a litle more work as I had to re-edit the sets. Consequently there may be some different shots in the set, or some that were present on Yahoo may be missing from Flickr. Those shots were scanned at about 1.5 megapixels - good enough for standard sized photo prints, but a bit of a stretch for anything larger.

However, I doubt that anyone will be concerned, and uploading the photos again was mainly about keeping the historical record intact.

It's been a salutary lesson about the value of keeping back-ups in a digital world, and an example of how some of these "free" internet services can be here today and gone tomorrow. Let's hope that Flickr (now owned by Yahoo, and for which I pay a "pro" account fee) is a little more pro-active about letting me know if things are going to change ;-)

Tomorrow we'll be up early and on the road to Bright's Farm. Fingers crossed for some good riding for you and photo opportunities for me. Hope to see you there.

North Island CTR Championships results published

2008-02-03T22:46:00.000+13:00

Congratulations to all place getters and qualifiers in the CTR. While the number of competitors in the discipline was small, the quality of the competition was strong and all can feel proud of their achievements.

The Ngaroma course was set in beautiful rolling country and managed to incorporate some challenging and strategically placed hill climbs. Aside from the extra distance, the terrain was really no more challenging than many of our local venues, and the early start meant that riders could for the most part complete the ride in the cooler hours of the morning. By 10:00 am however, the sun was well up and the heat was building rapidly.

The longer distance endurance riders had an even earlier start, riding in the night with head-lamps and following a fairy-lit trail, but judging by the small number that completed the distance, those hills must have taken a toll.

Photographically speaking, my challenge was to get to a place where I was likely to see riders. With an inner loop of 20 km and a 20km extension hooked in at 13 km, my best strategy was to walk the 7 km reverse course of the inner loop in the hope of catching the CTR riders before they reached the junction. This meant I met the "gut-buster" hill going out (and had to live with the realisation that it would still be there, but higher coming back ;-)

I never made it to the junction in time - partly that hill, and partly dallying over the sunrise as I crested it, and partly because the riders would have been doing their first 13 km of flat easy going in about one hour - but I did meet some endurance riders and so all was not lost. When I did get to the junction, I carried on into the extension and waited for riders to return. It was fun, and I hope people enjoy the pics.

It was with some disappointment that I've since read the CTR report. We had not waited for the prize giving, having a five hour drive to get to our over-night stop in Marton (thanks Amy and Anthony) and we'd left feeling that some of the unfortunate issues of last year had been put behind us. And yet, similar isues have arisen again. I really don't want to say more than that, once is unfortunate happenstance, twice is coincidental but begins to look like a pattern of behaviour. Let us hope that we don't get to three times.

However, let it be said that despite some glitches, the trail was brilliantly marked, the facilities were very good, and we had a wonderful time. Despite the distance, it was well worth the trip.

Thank you to all those who made it happen, and to all those who stepped into the breach when things looked a little pear-shaped.

Brights Farm ride confirmed for 10 February

2008-01-29T21:56:00.000+13:00

The Bright's Farm ride has now been confirmed for 10 February and the ride co-ordinator Judy Edginton is looking for people to assist. If you can help out on the day or before, please contact Judy on 04 902 4166.

Photos from Waitarere Endurance available now

2008-01-17T22:39:00.000+13:00

Finally finished the edits of the Endurance day last night, and upload was completed this morning.

Photographing the Endurance day was a bit different for me as I had to stay fairly close to the ride base and couldn't walk the trail as I usually do with CTR. However, it worked out well as the logistics of a multi-class Endurance competition over the same track on the same day meant that there was an almost continuous procession of people finishing a loop as others were starting theirs. I was racing around on the top of the hill over-looking the start / finish like a fly in a bottle!

Now we're just a week away from starting the trek up to Ngaroma for the North Island Championships. For those of you who are going, good luck, and I hope to catch a few of you on the trail on the CTR day.

Newsletter 105 and Waitarere results posted

2008-01-16T22:42:00.000+13:00

While many riders are focussing on the North Island Championships, those of you who are looking towards the next club ride should note that the Bright's Farm dates are under review. Tentatively, the event will now be held either on 10 or 17 of February. We suggest you pencil in these dates for now, and we'll publish finalised dates as soon as they are known.

Also note that the Manakau ride has been deferred for one week and will now be held on 24 February.

I'm still chipping away editing the Waitarere Endurance photos, and hope to have them published before the weekend is over.

Results for CTR and Endurance are now on the website.

Photos from Waitarere CTR available soon

2008-01-13T21:43:00.000+13:00

In fact, as I write, photos are up-loading to the Flickr website. Because the upload will take some time, I'll create the set and put a link on the WATRC site now, but be aware that the set may not be fully populated until Monday evening.

So far I've only had time to edit the CTR photos, but I'll start editing the Endurance day shortly.

Waitarere having longer rides and attracting more entrants, always means more photos to edit. The trail layouts also allow multiple opportunities to photograph competitors in the longer events. In the 4 hours available to me between strapping duties, I managed to get around the 13 km inner trail and caught many riders several times, and took an embarassingly large number of pics.

The one set of people I missed was the Open riders. With their early start and faster pace I simply never caught up with them, despite my shortcuts - sorry guys - that's how it goes some days.

It was great to see a lot of new faces on the ride, as well as many familiar one. Also the new combinations of horse and rider. Most of all it was great to see everyone having fun.

The Endurance photos will come, but it may be another week, sorry.

Battle Hill results and Newsletter 104 published

2007-12-17T18:29:00.000+13:00

Newsletter 104 has been distributed by email and is now available on the website.

Also available are results from the Battle Hill ride.

Thanks to Aimee for putting this all togehter while Catherine is overseas for the Xmas break. It takes a lot of willing hands to keep our club going and everyone's contribution is appreciated.

On that note, if anyone can offer assistance at the Waitarere ride's on the 5th and 6th of January, do get in touch with Eunice and offer a hand. There are always lots of jobs to do on the day around the ride base and many hands make for light work.

Do enjoy your Xmas break and we look forward to seeing all our friends and fellow competitors safe and rested in the New Year.

Battle Hill photo set available on Flickr

2007-12-16T12:07:00.000+13:00

Uploading of the Battle Hill photos was completed last night and a link is now active on the Photos page of the WATRC website that will take you to them. Included at the end of the set is the group shot of the 1st placed partnerships and indivifual shots for those who requested them.

We're still hanging out for official results and the newsletter, but they'll be posted to the website soon after they're emailed to members.

I've noticed that the presentation of the blog isn't all it should be in a Firefox browser (works as intended in IE 7) so I'll have a look into that and see if I can work out what the problem is.