2023 Comes to a close

After a very successful 2023 where we are firmly back to normal running after the madness of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are coming to a close on the year.  We’d like to thank everyone who supported the club during the year riders, landowners, sponsors and of course the organisers and volunteers.  We are planning a training session early in 2024 and looking forward to confirming our calendar and issuing it in the New Year.

So all that’s left to say is congratulations to our trophy and rosette receipants from our enjoyable Awards Night, if you want to see who got what, check our our Trophy Page and we hope you have a wonderful Holiday season and an excellent start to 2024, see you next year!

2023 Calendar

We are very excited to say that the team for the Home Internationals and Celtic Challenge will be announced at the weekend, it is fantastic that Ireland is fielding a team again for the first time since before the pandemic and as Endurance Ireland we are delighted to be Chef d’euipe ably supported by the Irish Long Distance Riding Association (ILDRA) as Assistant Chef d’equipe.  Wishing Team Ireland the very best of luck on the 30th September and 1st of October.

We have been busy getting ready for the 2023 Season and have the calendar ready for issue.  More details will be available on the website and entries will open in advance of the rides and in the coming weeks to both members and non members on www.itsplainsailing.com/org/ei

26th February Baunreagh, Co. Laois Organiser Yvonne Croke

12th March Ballinesker Beach, Co. Wexford Organiser Marty Delaney/Anne Kinsella

26th March Galtee Ride, Organiser Teresa Moore – Exit 11 off the M8, proceed along the R639, take the first left and the venue is down the road

23rd April Stradbally IDHBA ODE Ride, Organisers Yvonne Croke & Anne Kinsella  This ride has all of our usual classes and is open to everyone.  We will also have a class for Irish Draughts only with prizes for 1st to 6th

30th April Wolfhill, Co. Laois, This is a Charity Ride to support our member and Para-Dressage Rider Heather in her quest to qualify for the 2024 Paralympics, if you can’t come but would like to support check out https://www.gofundme.com/f/donate-to-help-heathers-paradressage-journey Organiser Teresa Moore/Anne Kinsella

14th May Leinster Way Ride, Co. Carlow, Organiser Evelyn Moore

28th May Kinnitty, Co. Offaly, Organiser Yvonne Croke

11th June Timahoe Co. Laois, Organiser Anne Kinsella

25th June Mountshannon, Co. Clare, Organiser Eamon Conway

2nd July IMFHA Show Stradbally, Organisers Anne Kinsella/Yvonne Croke

23rd July, Kilsheelan Tipperary Ride – Organiser Aisling Doyle

13th August, Wofhill Ride, – Organiser Anne Kinsella

27th August, Endurance Ireland Nationals, Larkfield, Athy, Organisers Anne Kinsella/Yvonne Croke  This event will have classes for all members and non members.  All classes available will be up on www.itsplainsailing.com/org/ei and for those who are members of another club and wish to take part in a CR class please just contact Anne or Yvonne to make the booking.

10th September Kinnitty, Co. Offaly, Organiser Yvonne Croke

8th October Inistoige, Co. Kilkenny, Organiser Evelyn Moore

22nd October Fun Halloween Ride, Timahoe, Co. Laois, Organiser Anne Kinsella

 

2022 has ended!

Well after a fun night on the 26th of November in the Maldron Portlaoise, our 2022 season has come to an end.  Our Annual Meeting will be held online on the 12th December and an email with all of the details has gone out to the members.

If you want to check out the winners of the 2022 Awards, please see our trophy page.  Looking forward to seeing you all again next year!

 

 

 

What’s happening in November?

So our riding season ended on the 24th of October with our fancy dress ride.  It was great to see so many out in costume on the day.

Next we have a training day and demonstration on the 14th of November.  This event is open to all, with tickets available on  https://www.itsplainsailing.com/org/ei.  The morning session will include fitness, crewing, shoeing, with a talk from veteran Master Farrier Tommy Fahey.  The afternoon session will be a demonstration given by Derek O’Byrne-White who is an IQHA Level 4 Instructor, the only one in Ireland who will do an introduction to horsemanship.

Our Annual Meeting and Awards night will be held on the 27th of November, while the meeting is open only to members the dinner and awards portion of the event is open to all.  This is our 10 year anniversary event and we are delighted to be able to gather together to celebrate.  The event will be held in the Abbeyleix Manor Hotel with tickets for the meal available on https://www.itsplainsailing.com/org/ei

September & October Events

All our last 3 events this year are as follows:

26th September Cullenagh Ride

10th October Kinnity Ride

24th October Timahoe Fun Ride

 

Entries on https://www.itsplainsailing.com/org/ei

Huge thank you to our supporters at this event on Sunday, Connolly’s Red Mills, TRI Equestrian, Nikki Tillett (Owner of Arab Stallion ARQ Santoni) and our anonymous benefactors.  Their generosity has made this our best year yet in Larkfield.

Our next event is our 10 year anniversary event in Larkfield, Athy and to celebrate we are hosting a marathon event.  The event and the marathon are sponsored by a number of businesses so cash prizes are on offer.  The event is open to both members and non members however you MUST pre-enter on www.itsplainsailing.com/club/ei.  There is a password so contact Yvonne on 087 9512896 after 5pm for calls or texts all day or Anne on 087 6552250.

We are running a full marathon with cash prizes for 1st to 6th place, we are also running a half marathon and an Irish Draught Class. Connolly Red Mills, TRI Equestrian, The Tilletts – owners of ARQ Santoni have all kindly agreed to be our supporters at this event.  All classes will be awarded rosettes from 1st to 6th with all those who complete receiving a medal.  All horses will go through a metabolic and gait check before and after the half marathon distance with a mid way required at the full distance.  Endurance Ireland rules, polices and procedures apply to the day, all of which can be found on this website or are available from the secretary at endurancesecretary@gmail.com.  All those who take part in the day will receive prizes so get entering!!

We will be announcing our venues for the following dates in the next few weeks also, the 26th September, 10 October and 24th October.

2021 Kicks Off

Thankfully now, with the current Government announcement and plans we are in a position to commence our 2021 season.  We are delighted to welcome back all of our members from last year and membership is open to new members who wish to join.  We are delighted to announce that we are now open to non-members again, however all attendees must comply with our COVID procedures as well as our rules and polices as normal.  In addition, please note our Stradbally event remains closed to non-members due to number restrictions.

2021 Season off to slow start

While we have not published our calendar, be assured we do have plans for 2021, we are currently waiting to see when the restrictions will relax to allow us to recommence running our events.  We will, as always, be holding our events on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of each month, once we can start the season.  In the meantime we have decided to run equestrian Pilates classes for 5 weeks in order for us all to get ready to the return to the saddle!

We have been in contact with Victoria (Toria) Moore who is a chartered physiotherapist and Pilates instructor and also a keen equestrian.  She has developed a class geared towards those of us who ride.  The cost of the class will depend on the numbers, so if you are interested please contact Anne on endurancesecretary@gmail.com or through our facebook page before the 31st of Jan.

2020 Annual Meeting

All we will be hosting our 2020 Annual Meeting online on the 13th of December, this is open to members only and we will be discussing plans for next season.  This event is open to all members and information has been sent out, if you have received any correspondence please contact the Secretary on endurancesecretary@gmail.com.  Looking forward to catching up with you all.

2020 – Season ends early

On behalf of the Endurance Ireland committee we are disappointed in having to bring the endurance season to an end for 2020.
We have taken direction from both the Government ( www.gov.ie/covid19 ) and Horse Sport Ireland in relation to the current Level 3 lockdown. https://www.horsesportireland.ie/equestrian-covid-19…/…
The next two events come under the current lockdown.
We would like to thank everyone for their continued support and backing of Endurance Ireland and look forward to seeing everyone in person in 2021.
Kind regards
Paddy Miller
Endurance Ireland Chairman
More details on our virtual Annual Meeting will follow in the coming weeks.

2020….Take 2?

Our next event, which would usually be our Nationals, will take place at Larkfield, near Athy.  We are running a full and a half marathon (trail ride) at this event.  Please book in through www.itsplainsailing.com/club/ei  As we have said previously the rides, due to the pandemic will be members only, however you can still join the club if you want to ride at our events and your membership will carry over to 2021.  Keep an eye for updates.  Our Endurance Ireland Event Procedure is now online see below:

Tellus Survey aircraft to begin flying over the south east of Ireland.

Conducted by the Geological Survey Ireland (GSI), the Tellus survey collects geochemical and geophysical data on rocks, soil and water across Ireland.

To collect this data, the latest phase of the survey will involve a low-flying aircraft flying from August 2020 until the end of the year (weather permitting) over Counties Laois, Kilkenny, Tipperary and Waterford, and neighbouring parts of Kildare, Carlow, Offaly and Cork. For up to date information and the planned weekly flight schedule, please visit www.tellus.ie.

The aircraft will fly at a low level of 60 metres over rural areas (approximately eight times the height of a standard two storey house), rising to 240 metres over urban areas. The sound of the plane is similar to that of a passing lorry and it may startle sensitive livestock, such as horses, pedigree cattle, sheep-in-lamb and poultry flocks. The speed of the aircraft is about 216 km/h or 130 mph.

As it is vital to raise public awareness of the project, particularly amongst farmers and animal owners, the Tellus team is delivering an ongoing communications campaign across the region to ensure all stakeholders are informed. If you have any  concerns about the survey, particularly if you own sensitive livestock and you would like to be kept informed of latest flight plans in your area,  you can contact the Tellus Freephone information line on 1800 45 55 65 or visit www.tellus.ie. You can also follow Tellus on twitter, @TellusGSI

It has been a difficult few weeks and the Committee of Endurance Ireland have been working hard with Horse Sport Ireland to agree a date to recommence our normal riding during this pandemic.  Horse Sport Ireland have made a submission to the Government in order to resume equestrian sport.  What this means for Endurance Ireland is as follows:
1. Members only at our events
2. Restrictions at our events
What the Committee has done in order to comply with this and help our riders is develop a number of documents and controls:
1. Revised the Safety Statement
2. Issued the Endurance Ireland Event Protection Procedures (this will follow once HSI have approved the contents)
3. The Committee has decided that anyone who pays membership in 2020 will have their membership extended to 2021
We all hope we can get back riding safely soon, so take care and keep in touch and an eye on this website and our facebook page for updates.