About Our Club
The HWU Equestrian club caters for people of all levels, from complete beginners to experienced riders who wish to compete.
We have teams who represent the University and compete in the BUCS leagues which involve a novice level dressage test and a round of showjumps (max 85cm).
As well as weekly Teams training, the club organises lessons for those who are not on the teams; these are held at a stables on a bus route where possible (unless you have a car) and are arranged as often as you want them, usually on a Wednesday afternoon.
We also organise a few group social rides each semester, such as hacking and beach rides. These have been open to alumni members as well, allowing them to come and experience a fun ride again with their favourite club!
As well as the riding and competition side of things, we are a very sociable club. The Sports Union organises an annual ceilidh and ball, which are both great fun and we encourage members to attend. Throughout the year we also hold several meals and nights out, which are usually themed. While we do enjoy a classic Shanghai Wednesday night alongside many of the Universities sports clubs, we also host regular sober socials such as movie nights, dinners and Christmas Market visits. We welcome social members to the club who wish to participate in only the social side of the club and do not wish to ride. We will always welcome anyone with open arms!
Our club charter
We aim to provide the following service to our members:
- To provide students with coaching and competitive opportunities so they can represent the University.
- To provide a full calendar of events to give social members the opportunity to participate in the sport.
- To provide an opportunity for members to gain a worthwhile social experience through the sport.
What does a typical season involve?
Training
Training sessions are held every week and are usually alternated between flat work and jumping. You will get to work on your position, effectiveness of aids, ability to adapt quickly to different horses and just generally improve your riding skills.
You will get to practise jumping courses, elements of the dressage test and, everyone’s favourite: non-stirrup work.
Competitions
We have two teams that compete regularly. Each team has three or four competitions in the BUCS leagues each year. There are also Varsity, SSS and friendlies held annually which are under similar formats. Each team consists of four riders and there are three or four teams in each league.
On competition days, the dressage event is first, where each rider on each team picks one of four horses out of a hat to ride (so that one person on each team rides the same horse). You then get to see the horses ridden and are then given seven minutes to warm up and get to know your horse before doing your test.
Each team member is scored relative to people on the other teams who rode the same horse. The rider with the best score starts with a 0 and the next having the difference in penalties (0 being the best) and so on. All scores are counted.
The showjumping event is style jumping, so is judged not only on penalties for knockdowns and refusals, but also marked on your approach, take off, flight, landing and get away from each jump. You are marked out of 10 for each fence. This is run in the same format except you only get five minutes and a maximum of three practice fences before you jump your course.
The team with the lowest score at the end wins. There are also individual placings.
Our teams also hold their own Home competitions throughout the year. On home competition days, we encourage all members to come along and get involved with the setting up and running of the competition. These are always great fun-filled days and allow all club members to broaden their equestrian experience.
Volunteering
Since 2019, many members of our club have been volunteering weekly at the local RDA (Riding for the Disabled Association) centre in Ravelrig. Our involvement there has included helping with Thursday evening lessons and Sunday morning chores (mucking out, cleaning the yard, making and dispersing feeds, grooming horses, filling haynets and water buckets). As well as this, we have aided with the association with fundraising at Musselborough races, car boot sales, car washes and tack sales – all to help raise funds for the charity.
Our volunteers have continued with this amazing community programme not only in term time but during the summer and winter months too! Our efforts for the RDA won us the first ever Sports Union Leadership Trophy in 2022 which was a brilliant achievement for the club and all of our volunteers.
We are very active on our social media channels (instagram and Facebook) so if you would like to get in touch with us with any questions or queries you may have then that’s the best way to reach us☺️.