• Copy of Competitor times 11pm 3.7.18
• CS2018 XC_times & obstacles

Cheshire Shield SATURDAY 7^th July 2018

Third Bulletin – Wednesday 4^th July 2018

PLEASE NOTE:

Contrary to scurrilous rumours we are not:

1. Moving the event to the following weekend;
2. Stopping the event for 2 hours at 3 p.m.; or
3. Erecting a big screen in the centre of the SJ arena.

Times

The times for the competition are attached and will soon be published on the East Cheshire BPC website. The document attached is a Microsoft Excel document divided into sheets. Each sheet contains a single Class and Sections. The Class/Section you are interested in can be accessed by clicking on the tab in the bottom left hand corner of the document.

If you discover any errors or omissions, please let me know immediately.

We have tried to accommodate as many requests as possible but a few which came in very late in the day we have not been able to deal with before the allocation of times. There may be an opportunity to address any outstanding requests on the day but if not, my apologies.

We have our largest entry ever and it is very important that the event runs to time. I would ask that all competitors ensure that they are at their allotted  arena or course start point in good time – if you arrive early we will try to slot you in if there is a natural gap but priority will be given to those presenting on time.

Declaration

• On arrival on site you will need to declare at the Secretary’s Marquee – alongside the Show Jumping Arena – and pay £10 for the bib-deposit.
• We do require all riders to use the XC bib issued by the Event Secretary. It is most important that you declare – you will not be allowed to commence any phase of the competition until you have done so.
• If you decide to withdraw – please let us know as soon as possible – even on the day – it is very frustrating to be waiting for riders who have decided not to compete further.

We have decided that we will NOT surcharge for the course watering but as this may impact upon the amount of our donation to the Air Ambulance, we would ask you to be generous with your donations. Last year we were able to send £2000 to the AA and we would like to at least meet that this year. However the cost of watering the course will severely impact upon our ability to do so unless you are generous.

Results

We will try to get scores & results out as quickly as possible after the conclusion of each class but we would ask you to understand how complex the scoring is for this competition. There are, in fact 7 separate competitions in each class. We have an overall Cheshire Shield Team and Individual competition for PC members and a CS individual competition for non-PC riders. Additionally there are separate qualifying team and individual competitions for Area 4 and Area 5 members and for Area 3 members in the PC110 (Open). I am, as ever, very grateful to our team of scorers who have been closely involved in the build up to the event to try to ensure things run smoothly on the day. We have a total of 52 teams entered and over 280 riders!

Weather

You cannot have missed the fact that we are enjoying(?) one of the hottest and driest periods on record. We last had serious rain in Somerford on the 16^th June and there is none forecast before the weekend. SPF have spent much time and money on watering the course during the last week and we have already announced that about one and half million litres of water will be applied on Friday – the cost of this alone will be about £2000. We will share this cost with SPF and Area 3 RC’s who compete on the following day.

Please ensure you keep yourself and your horse/pony well hydrated and use plenty of sunscreen.

Dress

• We would ask ALL competitors, both PC and non-PC alike, to conform to the following guidelines on dress:
• Jackets need not be worn for either the Dressage or Show Jumping phases of the competition, however we would expect all riders taking advantage of this rule relaxation to wear a sleeved white shirt – no sleeveless shirts please – and either PC ties or stocks.
• We highly recommend the wearing of sleeved shirts or skins for the XC phase although the PC rules only require shoulders to be covered.
• Please dress smartly (ideally white shirts) for prize giving although hats need not be worn.

XC Courses

The whole course, which is looking remarkably good given the lack of rain, will have a final inspection on Friday morning and will be available for walking from 2 p.m. on Friday. It may be possible to walk earlier but only with the permission of SPF and at your own risk of changes up to 2 p.m. When walking, please be considerate of others AND KEEP DOGS ON A LEAD, park considerately and prettily on the right hand side of the track to ensure you do not block space or access for trade stands and infrastructure. Also – beware of the tractors and tankers spraying water on the course. They travel very slowly (about 1.5 mph) but are also very heavy (about 20 tonnes in all).

The course times and distances are attached and course maps can be accessed here

• Download the Course maps here

NEW RULE WARNING – please note – the XC start/finish judges will be on the look-out for riders deliberately slowing down after the final fence – to do so could incur 10 penalties.

Please note, there are no ‘L’ fences on any of the courses but there is one ‘Black Flag’ alternative fence on the PC110 at fence 9C – the Carrot Box.

There is a water tank at the XC finish, adjacent to the collecting ring. This is for the use of riders and horses which have completed the course – please do not use it unless you have completed your XC phase.

I hope you have a wonderful and successful day – and catch the match later in the day.

Good Luck … Geoff Bell … District Commissioner

• Copy of Competitor times 11pm 3.7.18
• CS2018 XC_times&obstacles

Email:G.Bell@stevenssolicitors.co.uk
25 Chelford Road Somerford Congleton	Mobile	07540721155	Office	01782344200
Cheshire CW12 4QD	Home	01260272122	Fax	01782599321