Very quiet in here

[varkie]

I've noticed over the last months that this section is very quiet - almost all the time!

Most of the other sections seem to have nothing going on, but in the South we seem to be conspicuously quiet. Is there a reason for this? Are there less of us? Are we less interested? Or does it just require someone to organise things?

If the last, what would people like to see happen? What kinds of things would people like to do in the Southern region?

Any ideas anyone? Be nice to kick off something in the South. Years ago, we used to have an active Southern region. It was nice to get together & chat with others with likeminds. It would be nice to get that going again.

So come on Southerners. Ideas?

[troop]

its dead my side o the world to

[Caroline]

Some of the forest ladies sometimes have a take-away night, which I gather is well enjoyed. People are always welcome here at my place if anyone is interested. Perhaps we should have a 1st birthday party for Beauty! (She lives in the field behind the house and often hangs out on girls nights!)

Another idea could be a cross-country day. There is a cross-country course here which is used for shows and sometimes pony club or private groups hire it for the day. I could find out how much that would cost if there is any interest? Or there is great forest riding out the back gates...

Depends what people want really...a people day, a horse day. I'm always up for meeting horsey people

Thanks for getting us thinking about this varkie. It would be nice to meet up, wherever or however!

[Pauline]

As we all seem to do different disciplines maybe it would be nice to talk about and maybe do a demo. Maybe we could take some aspect of our sport that could be useful to others.

My own sport is endurance and I am always happy to come and talk to people.

My local endurance group hold a number of pleasure rides on the New Forest and they are a great way to meet people.

I also are a member of Arabian lines and last night a group of us from the mid south area went for a meal. We usually do this about 4 times a year.


Pauline

[irishcob]

Hey Varkie, thanks for your message. Hmm, yes it certainly is quiet in here, but not entirely sure what the answer is. I sometimes read about Horsey Coffee Mornings that other areas organise, and they certainly seem to be popular. Also the Monty tour is starting up soon, with a couple of dates around these parts. Don't know if we could combine the two somehow?

[varkie]

Some great ideas coming along - lets keep thinking, get more ideas of what people want, then start to come up with some concrete ideas.

Those of us in the area, can we also nudge others we know of who are IH minded in the area to look in / take part too?

[Kelly Marks]

How big's the cross country course?!

[mags]

I'm in the South too! I don't have independent transportation for my horse, so my outings are limited to where my friends at the yard want to go, if the horse is supposed to come.
But I would enjoy something like a coffee morning that is people-only. I'm in the Reading area.

[Caroline]

Sept 27, 2010 16:32:16 GMT 1 Kelly Marks said:

How big's the cross country course?!

About 100 acres I think. Not sure how many jumps, it goes over several fields, cuts through a little woodland. There are 3 different height versions of most jumps. It gets used for lots of shows throughout the year.

Some pics of my dog doing some of the more dog-friendly jumps:

www.facebook.com/#!/album.php?aid=179130&id=667819326

(Not sure if that's publically viewable or not!)

[varkie]

So a start with a coffee morning then perhaps? Then perhaps a horsey morning later on? If anyone is ever lacking a pone, I have one I can pimp out, for a shortish lightweight rider.

So lets next figure out whether weekends or weekdays are better for people, and what areas we are all in.

I can do either, and I'm based just SE of Winchester, near Marwell Zoo.

[Suz]

A coffee morning/evening sounds like fun. I'm near Alton and can do most evenings or sunday mornings.

[Lady Equine]

Hi Varkie... Thx for your email and sorry for the delay in replying...

I am in Botley and would love a coffee morning or a meet up of some kind. I work full time so a weekend or evening meet would be better for me.

Maybe coming into the xmas period we could have an IH Xmas meal....!!

LE x

[mags]

I'm near Reading, also working full-time. Weekends would be best (though my October is packed), followed by evenings (any).

[pinkponio]

I'm new to the DG and would really like to meet others from the site. I'm here because Lady Equine introduced me to the concepts of IH and I'm eager to learn more. I live on the outskirts of southampton and a weekend meet would be fantastic!
X

[Louise]

Hi

We did have a Berkshire Coffee Morning last summer which was very popular (ok, it did help that Monty and Kelly came along ;-)). I am more than happy to offer a venue for a coffee morning if it is any help - I am in between Newbury and Hungerford, with an indoor school and coffee area overlooking. Depends where people are coming from as I may not be in the best location - although I am about 10 mins from the A34, so quite easily accessible? Anyway, I would be interested in a get together anywhere :-).

I agree that it might be best just to have a get together first and then we can see what anybody is interested in doing really. At the last coffee morning we chatted mostly and had an informal hoof care talk from Tim Mockford and I did a little bit about body work, Enlightened Equitation and Fhoenix Saddles. It seemed to go down well and people could join in with the talks if they wanted, or could just amble around chatting with each other!

I'll keep an eye on this thread to see if anything happens ;-)!