News, Updates and Results 

Site Updated On Sunday 14th February 2010 

14 Feb - Happy Valentines Day!  A warm wish to everyone on Valentines Day ... if only our horses could send roses!

10 Feb - Next clinic at Elms Farm EC is 1st March and then fortnightly - just as the weather is turning nicer and the nights starting to pull out a little, why not join us at Elms (anytime from 12 on a Monday - all the way through til as late as you like) and get your season off to a great start.  PLUS bonus for our pockets, prices remain frozed from 2008!   Still only £20 for half hour session - both Trudy (from Elms) and Julie (DCUK) are working together to provide this training at subsidised rates.   Book with Trudy on 01400 272275.

8 Feb - HI!  So sorry its been a while since we updated.... business is booming and we've had a super couple of weeks.   On the domestic front, Mum is better, my 'man-flu' is disappearing (!) and we've finally had an outing - the first in 3 months.   Ruby (Strawberry Tart), owned by Julie Cooper, had a great time at Sheepgate yesterday and stormed through her walk trot test (without any of the antics we had in November! lol) and won her class with 65% (should have been better if her rider (me!) could keep a straight line lol, we looked like our centre line was influenced by gin!) .  Struggling for oxygen (the head cold excuse again!), Crazy Diamond - our little Stan - was an angel.   Its often that the warm up is superb and THEN we get the big spooks but yesterday was just wonderful.  He warmed up calmly, with the odd sense of humour half spook, we actually got ALL the way around the arena without demolishing any boards before the test started and then when the bell went he lit up - in a good way.  I could feel the smile creeping across my chops as the test went on - NO, yes, NO(!) spooks at hedges, gorgeous work and really really listening.... and a win with 69%.  Suffice to say we ended on a good note - thrilled.  Our clients had a great day too - oh, apart from poor Donna, who's rush to hospital the night before meant that Sunday was off the cards for her - get well soon!   Katy and Ted performed superbly - their first dressage outing, and won a class.   Anita and Tyler had a good day - although the old boy has a proper sense of humour and develops a 6th gear when you least expect it; despite the scores, I was thrilled that Anita did not only 2 tests, but an elementary as well.  Jo and Freckles decision to do a late entry paid off - it was a good training day for them, ably supported by friends Nick and Sue.  A big thanks also to Julie and Stuart and to Paula for coming along to support.

More important bit of news .... we were extremely lucky to have a couple of news team arrivals in the last week - check out the Team DCUK horses pages...... :-)

Also, to welcome on board Sarah Rhodes - who has quickly established herself as Julie's right had woman!   'Groom' certainly doesn't cover it all, but you'll see Sarah around both at the yard and competitions, hopefully also with her horse Spud and newly acquired Freckles.  Sarah has her BHS Stage 2 and is working toward her Stage 3 and PTT; she is also able to help clients out with mobile and competition grooming and support at your home if you need an extra pair of hands!  Guess this means we should give Sarah her own page too!......

19 Jan -  Never thought I'd be pleased to see rain!  More so, be pleased to ride in it lol!  Finally got Crazy Diamond back into work after his well deserved holiday (which was more imposed on him bless given whats been happening at home).  We're well and truly back on track and I've been incredibly motivated by great feedback from clients (well done to Donna too, for a massive breakthrough with Susie Lou :-)).  Our congratulations too to Wendy Bunting, we've given her a helping hand on the coaching ladder and she's now stepping into the solo world - we wish you the very best of luck Wendy and for those on facebook, check out the Eastern Schooling Group - which Wendy has set up.  Hopefully we'll be back out playing with competitions soon .... coaching commitments allowing... thankfully business is absolutely booming - so much so that I've stepped down from Regional BD committee work to make sure that I can concentrate on business commitments and our clients/friends. 

13 Jan - Happy New Year to all our friends!  Sorry I've not been around (on the website) for a while but, as an update to the last news item.... we sadly lost our gorgeous Billy Brown, our Bernese Mountain dog, on 10th December - my thanks to everyone for such kind messages; he was a huge character (and at 9hands a big dog too!).  I then had a few weeks commuting to the North East as my mum was quite poorly, and we've just, in the last week, started to get back into our normal routine - albeit severely thwarted by the weather!   Snow, beautiful - yes, but I am rather tired of purely being a stable slave and having little riding pleasure! lol.  George has taken some lovely shots (not the most flattering of me doing an impersonation of a wrapped up telly tubby!) and I'll upload them here in the next day or so.   We had planned to do another Sheepgate outing this Sunday but I think Stan's sense of humour doesn't quite need an outing just yet in the snow!  The diary is still healthy though (and proving a bit of a juggling act !) and I'm currently taking bookings for the week of the 26th Jan and early Feb - that said, there are a few gaps and as ever I'll do my level best to work to what you'd prefer.  Don't forget to have a natter on our facebook page too...... off to do more office work now!

8 Dec - Hi!  I can't believe its a month since I was last able to do an update!   We've had a bit of a few weeks..... George and I had a great couple of weeks in Cuba following our Sheepgate outing (and the Just Dressage finalists penultimate day on 9th Nov) and arrived back in the UK on 25th Nov.  We then had a 'bit of a do' with our beautiful boy, our Bernese Mountain Dog, Billy-Brown, at 7 1/2 yrs old he's a pensioner in Bernese terms!, but thankfully he's now home and doing ok, but has got to know our local vets (Kirks - superb!) very well and also had the chance to win the hearts of everyone at the Animal Health Trust, Newmarket, Small Animal Centre.  As a quick aside, they are absolutely fantastic!  With a couple of other family/friend worries on the go at the same time, I did not help matters by getting too familiar with a bedroom chair in the middle of the night and breaking a couple of bones in my left foot!  (Yes, even the A&E doc laughed and yes, have heard no end of bad 'toe' jokes!).  So, on the horse front..... they had a bit more of a holiday than we expected, although are happily back in work now!  We'd also like to send our love to Ruby's mum, wishing her a speedy recovery too (told you it had been a 'bit of a few weeks'!:-)). Our training day (Leadership workshop - Ride and Lead) with Ride Welland (www.ridewelland.co.uk ) was out of this world, and I'll try to pick up the photographs link and post details here too as soon as I can.

Thanks to Julia Shearwood, we also received some gorgeous pics from our last show with Crazy Diamond and Strawberry Tart....

Stan at Sheepgate BD 7/8 Nov 09

8 Nov  -Great weekend at Sheepgate for us.  Firstly congratulations to Donna Hill and DCUK Susie Lou - fabulous that they've acquired another BD point - well done Donna - and in some good company and with a strict (but fair) judge too - you deserved a good result and I was thrilled that Susie warmed up better than she ever has before.  So, to our little Crazy Diamond.... its strange that 12 weeks ago I never thought I'd be riding, let alone competing, this side of Christmas, so how on earth did I end up with 2 competitions, 2 wins and searching for that final tick for BD Winter Regional Championship qualification (a win and at least 66%)!   Maybe thats the little competitive streak in all of us...... or a 'what if'.... as although I've done Summer Regionals and some lower level 'big stuff' with Frizzell's Banjo, I've never been to a Winter Regional.

I did think that we'd be fine with 2 competition days and 4 tests but even I was a bit over eager!  (Hence we withdrew from the second test today - my body was starting to fall out with me!).  Saturday was just fabulous.... Marc Fox and his lovely young 4 year old mare quite rightly beat us in the N28, they did a great test (oh, and I did have several rather exciting piaffes past the dressage markers!) - yep, not required but you try telling Stan that! lol.  We did have a super second test (N22) and as they say, small things make you happy, how happy was this coach that she got round past every letter (well, nearly, did an unrequired canter piroette at R, from walk, and then resumed the test... another 8 - 2 - 7 'well recovered!' ha ha).  We finished 2nd in the N22 (section and overall class), with a personal best score for the test for Stan .. we picked up a 65 and a 66% and cracked the 100 point marker with him - yep, champagne last night and X factor party(twins... NO!) ha ha!  Today, well, I was absolutely thrilled with how he felt, and although the percentage wasn't quite what I'd expected, he did come 2nd, he listened, no spooks, not even an unrequired piroette!  Both he and I were physically tired and decided home was the best option.  Mind you, not before seeing Donna ride a beautifully quiet test on a very keen Susie!

A note also to DCUK friend Alice Elliott - well done for yesterday (and today) Alice, you've had such a challenging few weeks - our love is with you - you were a star and its great to see you back out competing.

And finally - a VERY happy birthday to DCUK friend Alison Woulds!  40..... 40... (did we say that loud enough!)   and only 30 days behind me too!   Have a super birthday Alison, sorry we can't be with you but no doubt the bubbles may make up for it a little.

Final thought for the day ... this weekend has been wonderful and humbling.  Lets always remember to smile at each other (especially in that very 'serious' warm up) and although we do, and always will, compete against each other, lets enjoy it while we do and supporting each other makes our sport a better place to be.

28 Oct - Results update.... DCUK Crazy Diamond, 'Stan', and I had a quiet outing to Sissons Farm EC yesterday after Ann kindly accepted a late entry for us; what an amazing day!!! Bearing in mind our last trip there resulted in me being concussed (LOL - yes, he spooked!) and funny though it was I was a little unsure I'd get anywhere near the flowers at E or tower at B!   Clipped with a diamond on each bottom (his not mine!), he rose to the occasion and I was absolutely shocked at how great he felt, even though my return to riding fitness (post op) still needs some work, he was just gorgeous in the first test but, given the others in the section and class (and my dwindling fitness as the test went on!), it was more about getting around the arena than placing.... but bless him, not only did he win the section, he won the class and cracked the 70% ceiling too (70.4%).  I was over the moon to say the least!  Our second test felt lovely and again, although I 'contained' some potential spooks, he listened and felt great and we finished 2nd on 65% as runner up to Matt Cox and Korenbloem Vamos (who rode a great test and deserved the win on 69%).  The day was made even more special by having the support of clients there too - thank you Sue for reminding me just to sit up, breathe and get on with it!  Stan's now sitting on 95 BD points and I standy by my promise, when we crack the century of points on him, its champagne all round!

21 Oct - We are thrilled to announce that DCUK are honoured to be working closely with Sue Carson Saddles.  We've created a special page and we'll post details about SCS full range of fabulous products ... plus, keep an eye out for special events that aren't just limited to saddle fitting!  I'm personally very touched that Sue is openly enthusiastic about supporting grass roots riders.... your saddle is just as important as your horse so why not give them a call - you'll be surprised at what amazing quality, support, and aftercare await you.

20 Oct - New events added to the Whats on Page ... and they're well worth taking a peek at!

13 Nov - XFactor to Music.... charity dressage to music event in aid of Children in Need and CRY

2 Dec - 'Ride and Lead' .... a very special joint venture between Julie and Ride Welland.   As ever committed to supporting grass roots riders (and leaders in this case), Ride Welland are hosting a FREE leadership and management workshop, facilitated by Julie, at Vale View EC on Wed 2nd Dec.  The workshop will cover a variety of key leadership skills and qualities and will be of as much benefit to those attending as to the employers releasing their staff to attend.  Oh - none of this lecture format though - this workshop is going to be interactive, fun and keep everyone thinking about the leader we all have within ourselves.

Following the workshop, Julie will do a short demo on riding to music and how to have a little fun with your horse... no need to have any competitive ambitions, this is all about the 2 of you having fun and getting more from each other (but she's there to help if you do fancy a go at competing!).  The full details are on the Whats on page and also at www.ridewelland.co.uk

18 Oct - Oh what a wonderful few days!  Turning to today, Sheepgate Winter Series Qualifiers .... and 10 weeks post op, Stan was an angel and won the Prelim and Novice!  (yes, few tears!) Wendy Bunting and Don Daphney (gs  Donnerhall) qualified for the starter and prelim finals - yes , we made Wendy cry!!!!   Julie C and our  gorgeous Ruby, DCUK Strawberry Tart, had a good prelim warm up then stormed to a novice open qualifier - 61% - superb - what a super  day for our combination that won the Summer Series Starter Final - proves progression IS achievable.  Thanks especially to Julie's husband Stuart and our joint 'encouragement' that Julie should do the Nov 22 not me...lol.   My lovely hobby horse Stan (Crazy Diamond), looked after me today .... scarily gorgeous, well behaved, the judge wrote 'harmonious' ... US  - harmonious, how lovely ha ha!  That, backed up with the judge chatting afterwards congratulating me on 'getting around arena 3 without  a spook!' - proves the training works - thanks to everyone (esp the Sheepgate team).  Stan also did an affiliated comp last week and we won the BD affil qualifier, big smiles, but whats made today even more special are the team successes ....

Julie and Ruby - superb riding, and a qual too - well done

Wendy and Daffy - TWO quals - superb

Lisa and Nutneg ...... how amazing - you were great

Tara and Homero .... what a thrill... great day and cant wait to ride him too!!!!!

Lily WB - so hard on yourself ... and you did brilliiantly!!!!! Amazing new horse, super performances x

Becky - my lucky charm - came to help us and clearly were the luck charm!!!!

Congrats to Sue for a great performance at Sissons - those in the know know its a massive achievement  - I am SO SO proud Sue - well done!!!!!!

Well done also to DCUK friend Alison Woulds on a great achievement becoming a List 5 BD judge!   Super!

Finally - well done to Kara and Kinny - great performance today and so lovely to hear that Kinny went so well and you did it all yourself - massive achievement, well done.

On a judging note, was really disappointed to hear that an unaffiliated judge was overheard publically commenting negatively about a client today.  Schoolboy error.... and a silly unprofessional thing to do - Julie's making a formal complaint but theres sadly not much we can do as the event and judge were unaffiliated.   Hopefully my previous comments may help constructively change things for the future though. 

Mon 19th Oct - Update on my comment above  ... credit where credit is due - following feedback about this incident an apology has been made and 'good on' the organisers for doing that - it meant an awful lot - thank you.  So nice to see a gentlemanly thing done, much appreciated.

4 Oct - Great training day for DCUK - with our clients and our own horses at Sheepgate (Have a Go) today.  Superb training in the dressage arenas (Stan decided now that hedges are fine but hey, those dressage letters are a bit dubious lol!).  Julie C and Ruby worked beautifully and Stan had a couple of +70%s (despite a few unintentional lateral movements!).  Super organisation from the Sheepgate team again.  Well done to everyone - great to see you there.

15 Sep - Congratulations to Julie Cooper and Strawberry Tart for their incredible win of the Sheegate Starter Summer Final ... absolutely over the moon. 

Well done also to Donna Marie Hill and DCUK Susie Lou for superb performances in the Finals for the Elementary and Novice, with great placings in both ... Donna made the prize giving for the Elementary (superb result, even if the judging was harsh to everyone, sorry, don't normally mention a judge but I saw all the Elem tests and even the weakest ones rode a 60+% test).  It was really unlucky for Donna to miss out on the Novice prize giving ... literally 0.1% out!    great results for everyone though - well done!

Rememer to call into the Meet And Greet team and say hello if you're off to the Nationals this week!

10 Sep - BRITISH DRESSAGE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS!  17th to 20th September at Stoneleigh.

Why not call in and see the DCUK team whilst you're there (and we can put the kettle on for you too!).  Since its inception, Julie (with her BD Participation Advisor hat on) and the DCUK team have acted as the Meet and Greet team at the National Champs ... the team is there to to support first time National competitors and be a helping hand to answer the questions you think you should know the answers too! And you'd be amazed at some of the questions we do get asked!  So if you're off to soak up a wonderful atmosphere, rub shoulders (literally!) with our top riders and trainers, then call in as see us at the Stable Managers office... which is just on the left on the way up from the car park right on the edge of the show.  Alternatively, call in to see Sarah (editor, Just Dressage) at the Just Dressage stand.... we may have a kettle, but Sarah has promised everyone Pimms!!

Oh and don't forget, we'll be at our local important Championships ... this Sunday at Sheepgate ... we're looking forward to another great day, fab organisation, lovely rosettes and prizes (lets hope our boy and girl behave themselves though!).  Julie will be on hand to help any and all of our clients, just text me when you want to start your warm up x

10 Sep - DCUK merchandise updated and upgraded, check out the shop at DCUK Clothing Page.

10 Sep - Next Elms clinic is confirmed as the 28th Sept ..... make the most of the discounted rates.... fab training for only £20 per half hour (Julie and Elms sponsor this training, making it cheaper for our clients)

30 Aug - Where is the year going?! Another great training day for Donna and Julie C and so nice to see dressage making it to the BBC!  We're now planning for area festivals and the Sheepgate champs and I'm itching to be back on the horses, especially seeing how well Ruby, Joe and Stan are going - they're a credit to Julie C, Kate and Amy, who have been subjected to me sitting and coaching (not that they had a choice!) in all weathers just to keep my sanity lol!  So good to see that the Brits have done so well at the European Championships but especially Emma Hindle and Lancet - Emma also had an ovarian tumour, removed just before the Olympics, and was riding an incredible 5 weeks after surgery ... mind you, as I've been reminded (and playfully threatened by husband!), Emma's tumour was 8cm, mine was a football so maybe I should be a bit more realistic about launching myself back into the saddle! 

27 Aug - Bit of a change around for the website background and layout!   As ever we're trying to keep updated and fresh and thought it was about time our background changed!  That said, can't go away from the blue, our DCUK colour.  Julie isn't far off being able to travel out to clients again and coaching is going well for clients travelling to us.

Well done to all our clients who have qualified for the Sheepgate Equestrian Summer Unaffiliated Finals on 13th September.  Julie was lucky to qualify Stan but sadly won't be cleared to ride until October time but, as promised, we'll be there to support Julie C on Starwberry Tart and our own Frizzell's Banjo, Donna and Susie Lou as well as our many other clients.  Congrats to all.  Details of all qualified combinations are on www.sheepgate.co.uk

Wendy is still busy covering the Wisbech/Holbeach and Kings Lynn areas .... and to help our clients we're offering special deals for Wendy's coaching for those who book 2 or more sessions. 

Stan, Joe, Ruby and our new addition Daisy are thoroughly enjoying what for them must be spa time!  Bit of a gymnastic work out, massage, groom, bath and eat!   Both grooms Kate and Amy seem to be their favourite people at the moment!

26 Aug - Competition well dones to all our clients who competed at Elms Farm Equestrian Centre on Sunday 23rd Aug.

Pages also updated - Crazy Diamond, Susie Lou, Strawberry Tart

All our clients had a wonderful time and complimented Trudy and Steve on the smooth running of such a well attended show!  Special congratulations must go to....

Donna Marie Hill and DCUK Susie Lou - well done!  Your first BD point !

Rosie Rosier and Java Jiva II - another well done - your first BD points too! 

Sarah Glendinning and Linby Lad - only a second outing but second set of BD points!!

Kirsty Young and Mona Lisa - great outing - well done

Helen Clark and Miss Hollie - Facebook fans who tried the DCUK WT tests - welcome to Lincolnshire Helen - hope you had a great time.

Sorry to Wendy - DCUK coach - a lights problem (transport!) meant they missed out.

Well done also to Jenny Homes and Trevor, who train with Trudy at Elms.

 15 Aug - lots of news for today .... yep, you can tell Julie is limited in mobility at the moment ! lol - the website is getting lots of updates!   Want to see something on here.... just email Julie and we'll sort it... and dont forget to upload your pics to our new facebook page!

15 August - Facebook ..... our new page ... plus we've got the link on the new 'FACEBOOK' page too.

http://www.facebook.com/developers/wizard.php?page_id=116290274911#/pages/Dressage-Coaching-UK-DCUK/116290274911?ref=nf

12 August - Hi - Julie's home!  Thank you so much for the dozens and dozens of get well cards and the beautiful flowers that so many have sent - I'm now on first name terms with the Interflora delivery lady!  Thank you.  Rehab going well, albeit frustratingly slow, but the more I take notice now (of both the Docs and George!) the easier return to coaching and riding is going to be.  Little things like this do make us appreciate the great things in life and put a lot into perspective.... I'm extremely lucky to have such a wonderful husband, home, horses, dogs, family, friends and - of course - my DCUK friends/clients - I am absolutely astonished - and so very grateful - for all the messages that you've sent through, its been a real boost, thank you from the bottom of my heart.  

There are so many to thank, not least to my wonderful husband George who is literally doing everying around the house and yard, but importantly also to the medical team at Lincoln County Hospital ... sorry but  I do have a few thank yous!  To head girl Kate, who's run the yard superbly (with me pottering in and out interfering in her plans!lol) and Ruby's owner Julie who has run the yard on weekends for me.  A special thank you also to Julie for schooling the boys (include the spookmachine!) superbly and competing both Ruby and Joe at the weekend ... and she QUALIFIED!!! (Despite Joe being exceptionally cheeky!).  With the help of our young groom Steph and 'field maintenance expert', Sam, they've been a great team and derserve the public thank you. :-).

So what other news .... More pics added to DCUK Susie Lou's page... owned and ridden by Donna-Marie Hill, our sponsored grass roots rider... and also a well done to her for braving a rather harsh judge last weekend - we all face them, but the pictures are evidence of a nice test - well done Donna.

Yep ... you'll have guessed, Julie is stuck in the office (of course I'm not working too hard George and no, haven't lifted anything! lol), hence all this info ... but wait for it..... the newest bit .....

WE'RE ON FACEBOOK!    We've got our own page, Dressage Coaching UK, and it would be superb if you could become a fan..... we'll spread the word about great fun for grass roots riders!

Watch out for the link when I can figure out how to do it LOL

4 August - Just a quick hello from Julie to thank everyone for their wonderfully kind messages :-) - looking forward to catching up with everyone - keep an eye on the News page for updates and coaching dates. xx

Changes to the For Sale page .... Wendy competed Casanova to success at Sissons .....

Superb results for DCUK and Julie's friend Julie Robinson and Pattika .... who won their BD Regional Championship and are heading for the British Dressage National Championships at Elementary!   Super super result for an exceptionally committed hard working rider ...... we send our warmest congratulations and best wishes to Julie and her long standing trainer and friend, Sarah Payne.

Well done to Rosie Rosier and Syd for their BD debut .... and to Sarah Glendinning and Rowan for a prelim debut at 67%!

Our commitment to grass roots riders continues with sponsorship of Donna Marie Hill's Susie Lou .... watch out for 'DCUK Susie Lou' competing soon!  Donna's recently tackled unaffiliated elementaries and already had success in affiliated prelim and novice tests (on a BD day ticket).....we're proud to support Donna and Susie.  Susie has also gained her own page ......

5 July - Fabulous results for our clients at Sheepgate's Unaffil Championship qualifier.....

Julie Cooper and Strawberry Tart .... with a personal best in percentage terms and a 3rd place too!  A lovely calm test today with Ruby really listening and enjoying her work.

Donna Hill and Susie Lou .... although I understand she didn't get much sleep last night worrying about today (Julie convinced her that she should try an elementary test!) she's done amazingly well and qualifed for the final for both novice and elementary, despite the onset of a thunderstorm as she entered the arena at A lol!  Such an achievement today - well done.

Tara Harris and Homero - wonderful test with Homero showing off throughout!  Lovely to see everyone admiring this Spanish chap too!  Well done Tara, am thrilled with today's work.

And for Bryan Swain and The Rickster.... what a day.  Bryan's first competitive outing away from 'home' and an amazing 62% - made even more memorable and impressive given that Bryan - a Para-equestrian Grade 2 rider - was competing in an able bodied class - so so very chuffed, great outing!

Stan .... did his hedge training!   We had entered but for a number of reasons (outside Stan's control!) we didnt compete but made use of Sheepgates pre-comp warm up around the arenas.... who would have guessed that pansies (in the tops of the dressage letter markers) could be so blooming scary!   A good training day for Stan though.

24 June - Great day for our clients at the Lincolnshire Show - well done on some superb results, especially in the Retrained Racehorse classes.

22 June - We hope you're all well!   Great to see we've broken yet another record with unique visitors to the site..... 14,000!  Thanks to everyone for their continued support.  Thanks also to everyone for the kind words of condolence sent through to Julie following a family loss - very much appreciated and thank you for your cooperation in moving appointments/sessions etc.  So what other news do we have? 

We had a fabulous first scholarship day - watch the Just Dressage magazine for the update, there's an overview on the Scholarships page.  An awful lot of laughter and some great coaching sessions .... but we wont steal JD's thunder - the full lowdown will be in the next magazine!

Frizzell's Banjo, Joe, my wonderful old man, was doing so well with his 'ticking along' schooling at home that in a moment of madness, I re-registered him with BD and took him to Elms Farm EC on Wednesday 17th June! What a superb day out ... with Joe and Stan .... Joe won both his classes, 2 elementaries (he's just finding the lateral work at medium and above a little too much of a struggle to do competitively I think), and little brother Stan, Crazy Diamond, upped his points total again, coming away with a couple of 64+%s and 2 seconds which I was over the moon with as we were pipped to the post in both classes by Sarah Payne, on a lovely horse, who was on top form and deserved to win both classes.  Joe slept for what seemed like days! Bless him, but he's getting livelier by the week..... wonder where we'll take him next!

2 June - And the year really is flying away with us..... we've had a short break (and a wonderful time sampling the delights of Los Angeles - no, nothing to do with Katie Price's dressage, just time with some great friends!).  But back to DCUK... the Scholarship programme run in conjunction with Just Dressage magazine, starts at Elms Farm Equestrian Centre next Monday.... for the lucky winners, details have been posted to them but a full copy of the day's programme is on the Scholarships page.

More updates to follow as we catch up after our break.

6 May - Where is the year disappearing to?  (Heavens, I sound like my Nana!!!)

Just thought we'd update on Julie and Crazy Diamond ('Stan').  At the Sheepgate Summer Series we had an extremely spooky day .... I guess that Arena 1 is safe given that Stan was a gem and won his large Prelim open class with 70% .... and then came 3rd with a corking 58% in the Novice in arena 3!   Another test where we gave the judge the opportunity to use the full range of marks .... 8's down to 2's (yep, those gremlins again!).  Not to worry though, at least we qualified for both the Open prelim and open novice classes.

However, today at Elms Farm BD, I thought we'd up our game and see how the training has been going .... by entering Stan in 2 elementaries that would test the work we've been developing at home (medium and collected canters, counter canters, simple changes).  I hoped that he'd just try for me in the tests but he far excelled that, bless him, by winning E44 with 64% (section and class) and then having a 2nd (again class and section) in the E50 with 63%, a much more challenging test for him.  To say that I was thrilled would be an understatement.   Thanks to Trudy, Steve and Wendy for the support on the day.  A huge thank you also goes to Bryan, one of DCUK's para clients, for coming to the rescue with the loan of transport (a garage glitch for Julie!).

More well dones though,,,,,

To Tara Harris and Homero - qualified for Trailblazers Finals at Stoneleigh

To Donna Hill and Susie Lou - qualified for Trailblazers and Affiliated Area Festivals

To Sarah Glendinning and Rown .... off to Newark and Notts County

To all our clients who did so well at Belton Horse Trials - all our clients were in the top 10 in each of their sections.  Well done also to our Pony Club stars for doing so well in the Burghley Event Pony classes .... superb results.

29 April - New services on offer:

Now that the team has expanded, we're able to offer a wider range of services, please see the new 'Range of Services' page.

29 April - New horse for sale on behalf of an existing DCUK client - absolute bargain.... sadly circumstances forcing a very sad sale.

23 April - Pictures added to the For Sales page.

21 April - Again, another incredibly busy month but great that so many of our clients are training hard, competing well and keeping us on our toes!  Updates.....

Fabulous new horse for sale - at an absolute bargain.  Sam and Kenny had a training session with Julie, who is more than happy to endorse this cracking horse - when the advert came through, we couldn't believe how low the price was ... this is a true reflection of the credit crunch but Kenny is a star who will make someone extremely happy (and guarantee armfuls of rosettes!).

Murphy has returned to his owner as planned after time with Julie (and a couple of BD elementary wins under his belt now too!), but again, with the climate being what it is, his price has been dropped as work commitments for his owner are extremely demanding.  That said, if a 5 star home came along as a loan home, then that would/could be an option .... why not give Julie a call and she will happily put you in touch with his owner.

The Whats On page has been updated.

Team Horses pages are updated .....

Assistant Coach page updated ..... see under the About DCUK page

Feed .... so pleased are we with the Simple Systems Feeds that we are now stocking the feed and able to supply you.  Feed page about to appear (depending on how much work Julie can fit in in the office tonight!) please call to  order - we are more than likely to have what you need in stock.

2 April - Hi again!  Sorry its been such a long time since the last update ... we've been incredibly busy - but the good news is that despite the credit crunch, DCUK is expanding! 

Many of our eventing clients are now back training and we're welcoming new clients every week.  Such is the demand that Julie's diary is now getting booked up about 7 - 8 weeks in advance but we're over the moon to announce we have a new member on our team .... Julie now has an Assistant Coach, Wendy Bunting.  Wendy has trained with Julie for the last 2 years and has worked her own horses in the DCUK way with success up to National Trailblazers classes.  Importantly, Wendy is also BHS qualified (now working on Stage 4) and is an NVQ Assessor - meaning that DCUK can offer our clients even more services, training and support.  More details to follow ... Coaching fees pages updated with Assistant Coach rates and Wendy's background and training.  Please keep an eye on the news page for developments on additional training and services.

Competitively, we've had a great few weeks.  Head Girl Kate and Gem Springs had an outstanding time at the National David Broome Dressage Finals (in Wales - what a trek for them!).  But it was well worth the visit with Kate once again cracking the 70% ceiling with Gem and gaining 8's in the collective marks.

Our own Crazy Diamond has been working hard at home with Julie having had some great training with our new trainer, Anna Ross Davis.   We're also still working with Jill Day too as Julie finds her training quite inspirational - we're with Jill next week again but thats a lot closer (Norfolk) than Coll EC!  We had one outing to Sheepgate mainly as a training outing to see how the spook machine would cope .... mmmm.  Interesting!   Never mind the spooks, half the national team and strong opposition meant that it really had to be taken as a training outing .. mind you, we were thrilled with Stan gaining 66% and a 3rd in one test .... and then less than 60% for his second test, thanks to some gales, hail and markers moving in the wind!

15 March - Great day once again hosted by Trudy and Steve Clark at Elms Farm Equestrian Centre.  A huge thank you to their support team - even when they were let down by others at the last minute, they pulled together and delivered a cracking show - even Steve and Trudy did some writing for the judges!

Superb result for our DCUK friends too - Antonia Bealby and Monty did ever so well in the prelim, and Alison Woulds had a fabulous return from a nasty injury last year to win both mediums - well done Alison, our thoughts are with you.

Ruby - our little Strawberry Tart (!) - was super in her first outdoor competition (and first BD bless her!).  Julie Cooper, her owner, rode with admirable composure and empathy as Ruby was unsettled by seeing horses in adjoining fields when she had to work.  Brought a smile to many faces and thank goodness Stan didn't call back to his 'woman' when she kept calling for him before the test.  A massive improvement on previous unaffiliated outings, with a firm (but fair) judge, saw Julie C in the ribbons with Ruby today - well done - especially as Julie then had to rush home to carry on with lambing!

New team member Murphy, here until we can find a new home for him, had an exceptional day ... with a 3rd placing in the warm up elementary and a win in the qualifier!   Shocked, yes we were.  Murphy's an eventer, qualified to go BE Intermediate, and has been working with Julie (and his talented event rider owner Sophie Townsend) for 18 months now and Julie jumped at the chance to do a little dressage with him as Sophie has a career opportunity of a lifetime. That said, Julie's only been riding him for 10 days so his performance was even more pleasing.  Thanks to Sophies partner, mum Dee and sister Antonia Bealby for their support too.

From Julie:  And to Stanley, mine and George's  Crazy Diamond (named after something to do with Pink Floyd!!)  Remembering that competing is my hobby (not a business day today), Stan is my hobby horse and its nice to enjoy time with him (and Ruby and Murphy!) Two very much more settled tests and the second test gave me goosebumps!   So nice to feel that I can now trot past a gap in the white boards without a spook and whip round.  We still need to work on his engagement and 'push' but its coming and I'm really fortunate to be working with some cracking trainers myself too.  Today though, even though he was in low placings (4th and a 5th) I was genuinely thrilled with him and percentages were decent too (66%+) - we were beaten by blooming good riders on established horses.... today was about me and Stan and a comfortable obedient outing - I can ask no more of him than that - and I enjoyed myself too :-)

5 March - Updates  ....

Whats on page - new clinic and comp dates.

Well done to Donna Hill and Susie Lou - winning at LMEC at one of their first affiliated outings!  Well done, again, Donna - great news.

Livery page - sadly no vacancies

DCUK clothing ... now available, DCUK saddle cloth!  Direct from Julie to gain the discount.  Mark Todd dressage pad with

Dressage

Coaching UK

in the bottom right hand corner. 

18 Feb - What a fabulous day at Elms on 15th Feb  - once again! - Stan was incredible, however, most importantly, a huge well done to so many of our clients who surpassed themselves on Sunday .... to name but a few .....

Donna Hill won the Prelim Open with Susie Lou - outstanding.  And even more impressive at it denotes that since we've worked together over the past year, she's worked that hard she's managed to increase her test percentage by more than 15%!!! (and ironically judged by the same judge all that time ago).  Well done Donna - great result.

Antonia Bealby and Monty - her project dressage pony - surprised everyone (not least herself) by winning her Prelim at Monty's first ever show, and a second place in his second class too.  Monty has been produced by Antonia over the last year (he's still only 6) and is going to make a small adult or child a very very happy (and winning!) owner ... he is for sale, if you'd like details, please call Julie and she'll put you in touch with Antonia

Leanne Gregson did superbly with Fudge - never mind the cob comments Leanne! - he was a star.

........and to our little Stan -  Crazy Diamond!  Despite the snow, 3 hacks and the only canter in a fortnight being on the lunge the day before the competition, he did DCUK proud by winning the Novice qualifier class and section (in a very strong field of 22) by a margin with a personal best of 69.27%.  Julie is thrilled and grateful, as ever to sponsors Equinity, (husband George too).  Thanks to to Hannah Hemmings for helping Julie and Stan out on the day.

Pictures should soon be available on Julia Shearwoods website.... http://www.equestrianphotography.co.uk/

10 Feb - Snow snow and more snow!  We hope you've been able to get back on board; our team have had an unscheduled break but are now back hacking ... thankfully our village roads are thawed and quiet too.  Julie's trying her very best to fit everyone in who had icerinks instead of arenas - we'll do our level best to get to you as soon as possible.  For those who fancy a winter outing ... why not head to Elms Farm this Sunday.... Trudy is still taking entries on 01400272275.

P.S. Couldnt resist this photograph sent to me ... a great one for all those who think their horse wouldn't 'do' dressage!

28 Jan - Amazing opportunities coming up!   Check out our new page ... Scholarships on offer .....

Also updated .... the whats on page too.

22 Jan - Great day out at Elms Farm for Julie and DCUK Crazy Diamond.  Stan gave one of his most settled performances yet to win the Novice (non qualifier) class and gain the first part (of 3 required) of his qualification for the BD Regional Championships.  He had a bit of a blip in the qualifier (no, we've no idea what happened but instead of cantering he suddenly saw something and developed an amazing squirrel trot!!) but he still was in the ribbons with a 4th and another test sheet to smile at (... 7,7,7,8,8,1, 3,4,7,7!!!) yep, you guessed where the blip was - and another test where our reader (thanks to Trudy at Elms this time) could hardly read the test for giggling at him!   Good news though, he picked up another 5 points yesterday and has now upgraded with BD.

On a serious note about how much more settled Stan is becoming, we strongly recommend our clients and friends consider Simple Systems feed.... the proof has been in the pudding with all our horses.  Stan performed superbly without any feeding supplement (calmer) or show-day calmer, he's gained weight, topline (with work too of course) and is a dream to handle.  Joe is lively (so much so that he's back in work at 21!) and keeping weight on too.

14 Jan - Updates to the following pages:

Check out the Dressage Workshop page .... amazing pre-competition workshop at Elms Farm on Sunday 25 Jan ... includes doing a test as part of their unaffil comp that day too.

Whats On page updated with more clinic dates and events.

31 Dec - Happy New Year to all our clients.  Site updated today with the following:

Livery page updated - we've new stabling and have a vacancy for a full or competition livery - this also increases our capacity for schooling boost visitors too.  Good news on the financial front too ... prices frozen to support our clients through the current economic climate.

DCUK Clothing - now available through Spreadshirt merchandising

More clinic dates added plus details of forthcoming competitions at Elms Farm that we actively encourage our clients to plum for - relaxed, fun and extremely well organised

Sponsors page - details of Simple Systems Ltd ... a different, completely natural way to feed your horse - we've tried it for a month now and the difference in all our horses is incredible.  So impressed have I been with how much more settled Crazy Diamond is (now there's tempting fate!) that I even called the Simple Systems team whilst I was riding as I genuinely couldn't believe the difference.

Merry Christmas to all our clients ... exciting news for 2009, watch for details of new courses to help you kick start a competitive plan - something for every level!

Sun 14 Dec - The weather won .... we sadly withdrew from Sheepgate today not due to the rain and gales but, to our surprise this morning, snow! 

Sat 13 Dec - Various pages updated, Team DCUK members, Whats On? and competitions.  Hopefully, weather permitting, we'll be out at Sheepgate with Crazy Diamond (and potentially Joe) tomorrow but it will be weather permitting - we've been concentrating on training and the outing is a gauge of how things are going, but if the weather is either too icy (our road isn't gritted!) or blowing gales and raining, we may play the 'fair weather rider' card (and bear the friendly leg pulling from Mr Frizzell!) and withdraw as the training is going too well to risk upsetting Stan's confidence at the moment.... watch out for the news tomorrow!   We've also a new addition to Team DCUK, Ruby, a gorgeous mare (the apple of Stan's eye currently!) has joined us at home.  Ruby is owned - and competed - by Julie and Stuart Cooper.

Sat 13 Dec - Please note that for 2009, recognising the squeeze we all have on our equine budgets, coaching fees will be frozen at their current rate (which has been in place since 2006) - we guarantee no rise before June 2009, with our aim being to confirm in June that they will remain at the 2006 rates until 2010.

25 Nov - Following up on our earlier news that Crazy Diamond has attracted sponsorship, we're thrilled to announce kind support from EquinEty .... orders booked through DCUK will attract a 5% discount, have a look at www.equinety.co.uk choose what you'd like to order - they make perfect Christmas presents, and then email Julie with the details to julie@dressagecoaching.co.uk.  Orders placed by Julie will receive the discount, cheques made payable to EquinEty.

17 Nov - Updates on the Team DCUK pages ... with more photographs added to all our horses own pages.  A new page too - Para-Equestrian.

16 Nov -  Great day at Elms Farm Equestrian Centre once again!  Head Girl Kate had a cracking showjumping round and Crazy Diamond's return after his little holiday was a little eventful!  Playful in the warmup, he settled better than Julie could have believed around the ponies warming up for their showjumping.  The indoor was terribly scary and the first test had more spooky spins that a waltzer!  That said, he still tried hard and came 3rd. His second test, Elem44, was a bit of a suprise, he really tried his heart out, listened and at one point Julie even thought she had his full attention (a rareity!).  He received some lovely comments and won the class on 64% - picking up Trailblazer Second Round qualifications at Novice and Elementary.  Thanks to Trudy and Steve for a great day.

 A MUST BE SEEN!    For all those who love either Will Young or .... feel for someone on the end of judges views (and raised eyebrows) ... enjoy .. . trust me, its a tongue in cheek video (maybe!) I wonder if its really Will Young riding!   http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=1agz_QGfv1U

15 Nov - Superb outing for our head girl Kate .... 2 tests and both over 70% results!  Outstanding Kate - well done, we're over the moon for you - now qualified Trailblazers, David Broome, UK Riders, Dengie ... the list is endless! :-) !  Julie's a little worried now..... with Kate doing so well, the pressures on Team DCUK  :-)  - will Julie survive a new environment with Mr Spook (no, not mispelt, we mean spook not spock! - Stan of course!).

And another amazing day ... for our para-equestrian client Bryan .... such a great competitive outing .... two scores over 60% too!   65% in Para1 test and 60% in the BD Intro test.  Both Julie and George, and Bryan's wife Jo (and their children too!), carers Mark, Karim, and Radek and personal trainer/physio Richard have helped Bryan achieve such superb results today - we are so genuinely proud of this what Bryan has achieved. Of course a mention must also go to his angelic mount Rickster ('Rick').   Not only did Bryan excel today but he also, yesterday, did his first 'hack' in 6 years;  an outstanding couple of days.  Our thanks must go to the back room team that helped Bryan get to today's success..... Jo, the children, his right hand men(!), his personal trainer and medical team. 

Well done Bryan ...

Watch out for Bryan's own page!

10 Nov - We are incredibly pleased to announce that Julie and DCUK Crazy Diamond have been offered an amazing sponsorship deal with Equinity....... watch this space for details of the wonderful equestrian jewellry (diamonds and all!) that are available from this groundbreaking company.

9 Nov - Head girl Kate has made Julie (and Sue and Rob, Kate's parents) extremely proud with an amazing dressage outing yesterday .... topping 79% with Gem Springs, Kate made Julie's month let alone day!   Well done Kate, now qualified for a host of dressage series.

8 Nov - Due to a technical hitch in our winter break, content on a couple of pages (News, Sales, Contact us and Photoboard) may appear corrupt - if this happens to you, or you can't read the content, please let Julie know so that we can inform our website builder and management team.  Thank you.

14 Oct - What a fabulous weekend for both the Team DCUK horses and our clients..... the Sheepgate Tack and Togs Championships were eventful to say the least .... Bendicks (who was full of the joys of spring!) picked up points in both his Novice classes and came away with rosettes.  Crazy Diamond was a little monkey!   Clearly there was something that was terrifying in the hedge but, luckily, despite a couple of '2's on the score sheet (that'll be the scary hedge between C and M then!) he was still in the mounted prize giving but, importantly, he didn't lose his confidence completely and let Julie ride him through the rest of the test (give or take the odd leap).  

Elms Farm Equestrian Centre affiliated competition on Sunday 12th proved to be an even better day!  Crazy Diamond warmed up a bit spookily but Julie was amazed at the feeling he gave once he started his test, he still needs to grow in strength and confidence, but he was a little angel in the novice qualifer.... although Julie was unsure about him going on to do Elem 44, we thought we'd give it a shot - and were again amazed at this little chaps willingness!  Rarely lost for words ( :-)) Julie was a little quiet to discover that although she'd felt the tests were the best he'd done, so did the judges.  'Stan' won both his section and class in the Novice with 68% and part qualified for the BD Winter Regional Champs, and then won both section and class in the Elementary - on 65%!   Needless to say, he was a bit spoilt on Sunday night and has earnt a good few days hacking and playing.

Well done to DCUK friends too ..... Superb results for Rosie Rosier, who took 3 classes - 3 red rosettes, absolutely brilliant.... and to Sarah Glendinning who also qualified for Trailblazers second round.... and Lily W-B ..... superb results all round!

Please do come along and support the DCUK walk trot tests ..... for only £5 a test you really can't go wrong!  Contact www.elmsfarmequestrian.com for more details or call 01400 272275

6 Oct - DCUK Crazy Diamond and Bendicks are off to the Sheepgate Tack and Togs Championships this weekend.  Crazy Diamond qualified for the Prelim Open and Novice Open and Bendicks qualified for the Novice Open and Elementary Open, although we're hoping to have a fun outing (given the very strong field of qualified combinations) and Julie has everything crossed that Crazy Diamond's sense of [spooking] humour doesn't come out to play too much!!  We're also fully supporting Elms Farm dressage, which is taking place on Sunday 12th too.

2 Oct - Sovereign ... our wonderful gentle giant is in desperate need of rehoming.  His details are on the sale page but also on the Horse and Hound website... this is a heartbreaking sale for his owners (sadly due to illness) and I can't stress enough that the home really is more important that the price.  Sov needs bringing back into competition fitness but has returned to work with Julie with a fabulous attitude - we love this horse dearly, and if the right home, right person, and long term home came along, its a wonderful opportunity for someone to gain a genuine schoolmaster. 

24 Sep - DCUK are proud to announce that Julie has been given support by Equilibrium and Elevator, both of whom have provided invaluable support to Julie for the Team DCUK horses and Julie herself.  We are also grateful to Chris and Helen Jones of Get Knotted Pine Furniture, provides of bespoke oak and pine made to order furniture, for their ongoing commitment to supporting DCUK.

7 Sep - DCUK are extremely proud to sponsor the AHT series of talks for British Dressage which are aimed at helping anyone with a passion for improving how we manage our horses, training and focus within dressage.  Please see the new page for details.

7 Sep - Due to sad circumstances, DCUK are trying to find a new home for Diamonds Sovereign, former Team DCUK star.  Through absolute genuine circumstances that are completely unrelated to horses, Sov must find a new home ... please call Julie if you feel you can help.

7 Sep - Congratulations to our clients who have done extremely well in the Burghley Young Event Horse 4 and 5 year old classes!  Outstanding results - Julie is thrilled!   Good luck also to our clients involved in the Burghley Event Pony finals on Sunday!

2 Sep - Our apologies but we need to remove the guestbook as our computer firewall security has advised that attempts to access the website builder have been made.  As this happened through the guestbook, Julie is removing this guestbook but will, once all is resolved, replace the guestbook archive and open a new blog for our clients and visitors.

29 Aug - Sheepgate BD - Another fabulous day.  Head Girl Kate had placings in both her prelims with Gem Springs - well done!  After a bit of a do earlier in the week, (resulting in Julie being a little bit knocked out following a rather massive spook - not the horses fault at all!), we were thrilled with today's outing.....  Crazy Diamond's confidence (after his scare eariler in the week) was Julie's big concern today but kind 'words of guidance' from husband George and friend Becky (just get on with it!!!) made the difference...... Stan won the prelim qualifier (Tack and Togs qual) with more than 70%, received a plaque and ribbons too as well as vouchers for Tack and Togs shop (he gave them to Julie!).  He then waited 4 hours patiently for his second test and gained a superb 68+% score in the Novice too.... despite the challenges of a hedgecutter and tractor behind the judges box, he was quite spooky still but his test sheet is amazing...... fair few 8's, few 7's, couple of 9's(:-)) but two 2's and a 3 too (the tractor!!!!).  He was a little star.  Bendicks, Gilly MacFarlan and Jock Bissett's fabulous Gelderlander, was just a true gentleman.... he produced foot perfect tests and, to our joint amazement, won his first ever Elementary!  (Won the section and class :-))  and qualified for the Tack and Togs Elem Open Championships.  He also had a super placing and more BD points in his Novice too.

17 Aug - Elms Farm BD.  Fabulous day out for Team DCUK..... Proud day for Julie as she saw her Head Girl Kate win the Prelim qualifier on her own horse Gem Springs and take 2nd place with Frizzell's Banjo (Joe), who also picked up a second place in the Training section of the Novice.  Kate did a great job with Joe, who clearly didn't realise that at 20 he can have so much fun!

Bendicks was a star - won his Novice class and was placed in the Novice qualifer.  Gem Springs and Julie took the training section in the Novice class and the Crazy Diamond went on to 2 top 3 placings in the elementaries!   Although we know that he's still only working at lower end novice level, all the movements in the 2 elementary tests are already part of his training at home so, as part of his training, we thought we'd have a go! (We didn't tell him how difficult they were meant to be ! :-)) but he surprised us by coping extremely well with the more difficult movements, picking up 3 BD points and gaining 2nd and 3rd placings - the class had several strong combinations in so we were particularly chuffed with the way he just got on with the job.  A big thank you too to his aunties who came along for moral support (or was it for the £250 payout for a thrills and spills clip!!).  Great day for Team DCUK too - our clients did well - great performances from Andrea's Bess, Kate and Adrian's horses and Donna's mare Susie-Lou.

Finally, a huge well done to Sarah and Rowan .... coming 2nd in the Retrained Racehorse Challenge at the Newark and Notts County Show - you've come such a long way in the last few months - outstanding result, fabulous rosettes and a jacket too!

13 Aug - SUNDAY 17TH AUGUST - ELMS FARM EQUESTRIAN CENTRE ARE RUNNING OUR DCUK WALK TROT TESTS AT AN AMAZING £5 PER TEST!   THERE'S STILL TIME TO ENTER, call Trudy on 01400 272275. 

Team DCUK are also having a bit of a party outing there too, with head girl Kate riding Frizzell's Banjo in prelim & novice plus her own horse Gem Springs in the prelim.  Julie will then be riding Gem in the novice training section, Bendicks in the novices and Crazy Diamond in the elementaries (should be fun, possibly a little lively too as its his first batch of elementaries!); we're also on hand to help our clients who are competing there too.

8 Aug - Great news for Team DCUK, both Bendicks and DCUK Crazy Diamond have qualified for the Tack and Togs Championships at Sheepgate in October.  This adds to their qualifications for the Area Festivals and Crazy Diamond's qualification for BD Regionals, none of which would have been possible without the generous support of our owners and sponsors.

2 Aug - Congratulations to all the Burghley Pony Club dressage competitors who did outstandingly well at the Area Dressage Championships..... of the 8 arenas, there were 2 wins and placings in nearly every arena!   The seniors came 4th out of around 12 teams and the juniors bagged a 3rd place, again out of 15 or so teams!  Superb riding - Julie is a very proud coach!!!

1 Aug - Well done Wendy and Lucy!   Good performances at Trailblazers with 60+% scores at both novice and, impressively, elementary - great news, very proud of you both!

26 July - A good luck message for Wendy Bunting and Fallen Angel ... they're off to Trailblazers National Championships this week and DCUK are proud to offer sponsorship to them for a class.  Its about the taking part, having fun and enjoying the experience of a National Championship .... good luck Wendy, be proud, you've come an extremely long way in less than a year (oh, and a message to Lucy, when your mum cries, just keep trotting!!) with a superb horse who, at 16 years,  is still improving and exceeding our expectations - you've both worked so hard for this, well done and good luck x

22 July ...... Fabulous day for Team DCUK.   Crazy Diamond gained more points and qualified for the Tack and Togs Championships (despite a VERY spooky arena!) and Head Girl, Kate, rode Frizzell's Banjo superbly to top 3 placings in a class of 12 - even though he clearly was cheeky ... given his background you'd think he'd know better than to stop for a poop mid circle!  (oh and then do tempi changes when he should be trotting!)  well done Kate!

22 July - Wednesday 30th July - Elms Farm are running our Walk Trot Tests..... with a fantastic deal - only £5 per test!!! Entries open until Monday 28th

21 July - Our warmest congratulations to Angela and Tim - Nell's new parents....

18 July - A superb day for Bendicks!   Competing at Sheepgate at his first outing in several months, he produced 2 wonderful tests!  Details on his Team DCUK page.

7 July - We're trying out a new on line shop with branded  DCUK clothing, have a quick look at  http://376818.spreadshirt.net - there are more product types that we'll try too.

2 July - Clinic dates now fixed for Julie at Elms Farm EC - DCUK are going to subsidise your training at Elms Farm!   With the subsidy the cost is down to only £20 per half hour (warm up first though to make the most of your money!).  Morning, afternoon and evening sessions are available, please book with Trudy on 01400 272275 letting her know your preferred times.

20 June - There has been a wonderful invitation for Julie this week, from Trudy and Steve at Elms Farm Equestrian Centre!  Not only are Elms running the DCUK Walk Trot tests from the end of this month, but they've also very kindly invited Julie to do fortnightly clinics at Elms too!   A great chance to use superb - large! - arenas, with the back up of the indoor too.  More details on both Elms website www.elmsfarmequestrian.com and our Whats On page too. 

20 June - We've had a wonderful week!   Nell won her first elementary class and had a 2nd place too and Stan won a novice open qualifer for the British Dressage Regional Finals in August and, much to Julie's delight, owner Becky Ireland also won a novice class on Stan too with a great percentage!

11 June - Team DCUK member, Dreaming On, is for sale, a very sad sale of a much loved horse due to overseas commitments.  Details on Nell's page and the For Sale page too.  Photos will follow.

11 June - Thursday 17 July - first in a series of Optimising Performance talks at the Animal Health Trust, Newmarket, sponsored by DCUK.  Julie is proud to announce this series of 4 talks that DCUK are please to sponsor.... watch out for more details.  The talks are aimed at riders, trainers, or, indeed, anyone with an interest in doing what we do (whatever that level may be) better.

9 June - everything needs a freshen up and with one thing and another, we thought the site needed a fresh look too!  Feedback so far is fab - thank you.

9 June - IN THE NORTH WEST?  Then we are extremely pleased to be able to offer clinics by the very kind permission of Dreaming On's owner, Julie Walton.  If you'd be interested, then please email Julie (Frizzell that is, lots of Julie's!).

9 June - We are extremely proud to announce a fabulous new addition to Team DCUK ... Dreaming On, 'Nell', an outstanding Oldenburg mare owned by Julie Walton.   Have a look at the Team page for updates on this wonderfully promising dressage mare ..... a quirk of fate .... both Dreaming On and Mr Trix have the same grandsire!

ALL PREVIOUS NEWS ITEMS ARE NOW IN THE NEWS ARCHIVE

15 August - DCUK is proud to not only support and sponsor dressage grass roots riders, we've performed so well that we want to spread a little happiness.... and sponsor our local village Sunday league team.  The support will be for kit, enabling the team to look the part (!) - you'll have guessed that most of them wondered what on earth 'dressage' was! but Julie's keen to support grass roots sport both nationally, through DCUK, and locally.  Even a little bit makes a difference (and we're not talking snaffles! lol).   Why not look at the teams website.... or join on facebook as a fan ..... www.helpringhamroversfc.co.uk or their facebook page ... http://www.facebook.com/search/?q=helpringh&init=quick#/pages/Helpringham-Rovers-Football-Club/115879355169?ref=ts

This combination have come so far ... in a year they've added 20% to their prelim and novice results.  Superb result... pics will be on her Team DCUK page soon.  Julie was also overall 6th (out of a huge class!) with Ruby in the Prelim Final and a credible 4th with Frizzell's Banjo, Joe, in the Elementary - only the second time Julie had ridden an elementary test!