We will be holding a D-TREC event (WCT league leg 7) on 16th November 2025 at Bantry Bay Pony Trekking (P75 H019).

D-TREC is a combination of dressage and TREC disciplines. In D-TREC, obstacles are incorporated within a dressage test, which will be judged by two judges. A dressage judge will judge the dressage movements of the test including the style at the TREC obstacles. They will be looking for balance, rhythm, obedience, and effectiveness of rider aids. A TREC judge will mark faults and penalties at the TREC obstacles (each obstacle will be marked out of 7 marks).

Two levels of test are available for this event (Open and Novice), and we will be running 3 classes: Open, Novice and Under 16 Novice:

• TO DOWNLOAD THE OPEN TEST - Click here
• TO DOWNLOAD THE NOVICE TEST - Click here

Images of the two tests with their associated diagrams can be viewed below, though it is recommended you download the pdf files using the links above.

A body protector MUST be worn by any rider under 18 years of age.  Over 18s may wear a body protector if they wish.  Dressage attire is not essential, but a neat turnout is required. To download the D-TREC Rules (Appendix 9 of the current TREC Ireland Rulebook), please click here.  Riders may ask someone to read out the test for them but a penalty of 5 points (local competition) will be incurred, with the exception of the U16 Novice class who may have the test read out without incurring this penalty.

Entries will be taken via our page on ItsPlainSailing
Start time will be confirmed once entries have closed, we are aiming to start between 10.45am-11.00am (setup commencing 10am-10.15am).  All times are subject to change.

Entry fees:
One test - TI Member €15; non-TI member €20; same rider, different horse €15
Please note we are not currently offering a second test option.

Please direct all enquiries to [email protected]

We will be holding a D-TREC event (WCT league leg 5) on 28th September 2025 at Cashelane Stud Arena near Durrus, Co. Cork.  This stunning 20x60 indoor arena overlooks Dunmanus Bay in West Cork.

D-TREC is a combination of dressage and TREC disciplines. In D-TREC, obstacles are incorporated within a dressage test, which will be judged by two judges. A dressage judge will judge the dressage movements of the test including the style at the TREC obstacles. They will be looking for balance, rhythm, obedience, and effectiveness of rider aids. A TREC judge will mark faults and penalties at the TREC obstacles (each obstacle will be marked out of 7 marks).

3 levels of test are available (Open, Intermediate and Novice), and we will have 4 classes: Open, Intermediate, Novice and Under 16 Novice:

• TO DOWNLOAD THE OPEN TEST - Click here
• TO DOWNLOAD THE INTERMEDIATE TEST - Click here
• TO DOWNLOAD THE NOVICE TEST - Click here

Images of the three tests with their associated diagrams can be viewed below, though it is recommended you download the pdf files using the links above.

A body protector MUST be worn by any rider under 18 years of age.  Over 18s may wear a body protector if they wish.  Dressage attire is not essential, but a neat turnout is required. To download the D-TREC Rules (Appendix 9 of the current TREC Ireland Rulebook), please click here.  Riders may ask someone to read out the test for them but a penalty of 5 points (local competition) will be incurred, with the exception of the U16 Novice class who may have the test read out without incurring this penalty.

Entries will be taken via our page on ItsPlainSailing
Start time will be confirmed once entries have closed, we are aiming to start between 10.45am-11.00am (setup commencing 10am-10.15am).  All times are subject to change. We are provisionally permitting riders to enter a maximum of two tests, but please note we cannot guarantee being able to accommodate second tests at this time.  Much will depend on the level of entries received and time constraints. Every horse/rider combination must get their turn to do one test.  We will review the level of entries after the closing date and if we are unable to fit in the second tests we will contact the competitors to ask/confirm the level for their competition round and we will refund them for their second test fee.

Entry fees:
One test - TI Member €15; non-TI member €20; same rider, different horse €15
Second test - €10 for a higher level test marked in competition or €5 for any level test marked out of competition

We will be holding a D-TREC at Pat Keane's farm in Caherdaniel, Bantry, on Sunday 27th July.  This venue is just outside Bantry town (less than 5mins from Bantry town square), and has an indoor 20x40 arena. There is parking around the far side of the arena. This is a working farm, so please park with consideration.

D-TREC is a combination of dressage and TREC disciplines. In D-TREC, obstacles are incorporated within a dressage test, which will be judged by two judges. A dressage judge will judge the dressage movements of the test including the style at the TREC obstacles. They will be looking for balance, rhythm, obedience, and effectiveness of rider aids. A TREC judge will mark faults and penalties at the TREC obstacles (each obstacle will be marked out of 7 marks).

3 levels of test are available (Open, Intermediate and Novice), and we will have 4 classes: Open, Intermediate, Novice and Under 16 Novice:

• TO DOWNLOAD THE OPEN TEST - Click here
• TO DOWNLOAD THE INTERMEDIATE TEST - Click here
• TO DOWNLOAD THE NOVICE TEST - Click here

Images of the three tests with their associated diagrams can be viewed below, though it is recommended you download the pdf files using the links above.

A body protector MUST be worn by any rider under 18 years of age.  Over 18s may wear a body protector if they wish.  Dressage attire is not essential, but a neat turnout is required. To download the D-TREC Rules (Appendix 9 of the current TREC Ireland Rulebook), please click here.  Riders may ask someone to read out the test for them but a penalty of 5 points (local competition) will be incurred, with the exception of the U16 Novice class who may have the test read out without incurring this penalty.

Entries will be taken via our page on ItsPlainSailing
Start time will be confirmed once entries have closed, we are aiming to start between 10.45am-11am (setup commencing 10am/10.15am).  All times are subject to change. We are provisionally permitting riders to enter a maximum of two tests, but please note we cannot guarantee being able to accommodate second tests at this time.  Much will depend on the level of entries received and time constraints. Every horse/rider combination must get their turn to do one test.  We will review the level of entries after the closing date and if we are unable to fit in the second tests we will contact the competitors to ask/confirm the level for their competition round and we will refund them for their second test fee.

Entry fees:
One test - TI Member €15; non-TI member €20; same rider, different horse €15
Second test - €10 for a higher level test marked in competition or €5 for any level test marked out of competition

WCT are pleased to invite you to our Midsummer 2025 event - a 2-day 3-phase event at Boulta Schooling, Booldurragha South, Co. Cork P51 N263 on 28th and 29th June 2025.

Four levels are available: Level 1, Level 1A, Level 2 and Level 2A, both pairs and individual classes.  Partial event entries are also available for one day only. 

Entries to be taken via ItsPlainSailing: www.itsplainsailing.com/org/wct

Click on the link here to download a copy of the schedule: WCT MIDSUMMER 2025 SCHEDULE

We will be setting up the PTV & MA courses on Friday 27th June from 11am, all help will be much appreciated. 

The start of the POR will be off-site, from a farm in Ballyknock, Killeagh, P36 R761, about a 20 minute drive from Boulta – horses will need to be boxed to this location on Saturday morning.  We will return to Boulta after the POR and will stay there for the remainder of the event.

Volunteers are required on both days, so if you are able to help in any way, even for one day, your help will be much appreciated.  Experience is not essential, as we have jobs for all.  Please submit a volunteer form through ItsPlainSailing.

Camping, Corralling and Stabling will be available at Boulta – bookings via Boulta only, please see schedule for details.

We will be travelling to Cashelane Stud Arena just outside Durrus, Co. Cork on 17th November for a D-TREC event.  For those who have never heard of D-TREC, it is dressage with a difference where riders negotiate some obstacles within their dressage test.  The TREC judge will judge how effectively the obstacles are completed, while the dressage judge will judge the dressage manoeuvres and also mark for style for the obstacles.

Dressage attire is not essential, but a neat turnout is required. To download the D-TREC Rules (Appendix 9 of the current TREC Ireland Rulebook), please click here.

Entries will be taken via our page on ItsPlainSailing.

3 levels of test are available - Open, Intermediate and Novice - these may be downloaded by clicking on the relevant link below. 

There will be 4 classes in this event (Open, Intermediate, Novice and Under 16 Novice).  A rider may have the test called out if they prefer, though this will incur a small 5 point penalty for the riders in all classes except the U16 Novice class.

• TO DOWNLOAD OPEN TEST - Click here
• TO DOWNLOAD INTERMEDIATE TEST - Click here
• TO DOWNLOAD NOVICE TEST - Click here (note this test was updated 7th Nov 12pm)
  

Hope to see you there.

Our Midsummer event is almost here! This is a 2-day 3-phase event that will be split across two different Sundays in two different months and two different locations. The Midsummer 2024 schedule is now available to download, please click here

Entries will be open from Sunday 9th June 2024 via our page on ItsPlainSailing

For those who might not know what D-TREC is, it is dressage the Treccie way! Riders must negotiate a couple of obstacles whilst riding their dressage test!  A TREC judge will judge how the obstacles are completed (effectiveness etc) while the dressage judge will judge the dressage manoeuvres and also mark for style for the obstacles.

We will be travelling to Keane's Farm, Caherdaniel, Bantry, P75 VH26 for this event, for our "dressage with a difference".

The venue is just outside Bantry town (less than 5mins from Bantry town square), and has an indoor 20x40 arena. There is parking around the far side of the arena. This is a working farm, so please park with consideration.

Dressage attire is not essential, but a neat turnout is required. To download the D-TREC Rules (Appendix 9 of the current TREC Ireland Rulebook), please click here.

Entries will be taken via our page on ItsPlainSailing. We are restricting entries to one test per horse/rider combination as there are some time constraints and we would like to be able to give everyone their turn.  We will review the level of entries after the closing date and if we are able to allow a limited number of second tests we will let competitors know (second tests - if available - will cost 10 and will be marked out of competition.

2 levels of test are available (Intermediate and Novice), and we will have 3 classes (Intermediate, Novice and Under 16 Novice:

• TO DOWNLOAD INTERMEDIATE TEST - Click here
• TO DOWNLOAD NOVICE TEST - Click here
  

Images of the two tests with their associated diagrams can be viewed below, though it is recommended you download the pdf files using the links above.

Please be advised that the West Cork TREC Annual General Meeting 2024 will be held online via Zoom meeting on Tuesday 6th February 2024.  Anyone may attend, but only members may vote.  Please note the link will be sent automatically to those who were members in 2023.  If anyone else would like to join the meeting please get in touch to request the link.

This one day event is filled with classes for a variety of TREC disciplines, such as MA (control of paces), PTV (obstacles), D-TREC (dressage test with PTV obstacles), Speed TREC (a speed round of obstacles where fastest rider wins but faults are converted to seconds and added to the rider's time) and Arena TREC (both ridden & in-hand classes). Please click here to download the event schedule.

A 2-day 3-phase event split across 2 weekends and 2 months.  The full 2-day event qualifies as a leg for the Abbey Cup.  One-day entries are also accepted, but will be scored out of competition.

Some restrictions will apply for the POR (orienteering) phase:
• no rider may ride as an individual unless they have completed two PORs previously
• two riders aged 16-18 may pair together as long as one has completed two PORs previously
• any rider under 16 years of age must be paired with an adult (over 18)

Schedule is now available to download, please click here

What a lovely course to start of the Winter League of 2022/2023. We would like to thank all those who entered into the spirit of the Christmas theme and decorated their horses and themselves with tinsel, lights, and everything else.
 
A selection of photos has been uploaded into an album on the West Cork TREC Facebook page. The results of this competition can be seen here.
 
Our grateful thanks to Adèle Connor (Technical Delegate), Judith Perrin (Chef de Piste and also Christmas Theme judge), and to volunteers, competitors and spectators, and last but not least to Bantry Bay Pony Trekking for the use of their facility.

The TREC Ireland Championships 2022 will take place on the 18th and 19th June 2022.

This 2-day 3-phase event will be hosted by West Cork TREC, and the venue for the event is Boulta (north-east Cork).

Day 1 (Saturday 18th June) will see the riders heading out on the POR phase (orienteering section). Riders will have to find their way along a planned route.  Our traceur, Frances, has secured access to a considerable amount of off-road tracks and trails, something all the competitors should enjoy.

Day 2 (Sunday 19th June) will see the riders compete in the grounds of the venue itself for the other two phases, the MA phase (control of paces) and the PTV phase (obstacle course). The riders will be started at intervals and will ride the two phases consecutively.

The schedule has now been released for the TREC Ireland Championships 2022 and entries are open.  Please click here to download a copy of the schedule.

We would like to thank Boulta for this opportunity of holding the Championships event at their venue and the landowners for granting us access to their land for the POR routes.  We are very grateful to all who have agreed to sponsor prizes for this event, including the following (in alphabetical order):  Adèle Connor, Bantry Pet and Equine; Barrett AGRI (Bantry); Equine Warehouse; Kellihers Mills; O’Brien’s Saddlery; Orchard Equestrian; Remedy Health; Ryall O’Mahony; and Stephen Crowley Leather Craft.  A number of special prizes will also be awarded on the day of the event, including the O'Reilly Memorial Shield (sponsored by O'Reilly Family and Jimmy McKinney, and to be presented by Jimmy McKinney in person); the Grangeclare Perpetual Cups for each level (sponsored by TREC Ireland); the Kaspyr Kup (sponsored by Celie O'Rahilly), Best Mane & Tail (sponsored by Mane & Tale Equine Jewellery) and Best in Competition (for the highest score for the POR phase, the MA phase, the PTV phase, and the Best U-18 Rider in the overall 2-day event).

Written by W. Bastian published in the March 2022 edition of The Grapevine
 
​Prior to the competition you will be given times for the equipment inspection, the veterinary inspection and for entering the map room.

Always be on time!
 
The Map Room:
When called up to enter the map room, you should have all your equipment ready to use efficiently in the time you are given. The times can vary between 5 minutes for Level 1 and 20 minutes for Level 4. The “master map” is fixed on the table. You will be given a blank map to copy the route from the master map onto your map.

Use a fine liner in a colour which shoes the route clearly on the map. We recommend using “STAEDTLER triplus fineliner” in the colours orange, pink or purple. Other colours could be confused with features on the map. For example: blue shows water, green shows trees, yellow and red show roads. A fine liner makes very fine lines, which is important to mark the route very precisely. The width of 1mm on your map with a scale of 1:25,000 is 25m in reality. For example, your route on the master map can be a very narrow track along the side of a road and is marked on the right side of the road. Do not forget the arrows along the route, which show the direction you have to ride.
 
Basic Rule 3: Copy the route from the master map as exactly as possible, because 1mm copied wrong is a 25m mistake when riding. The map room steward will tell you the speed your have to ride into the next checkpoint and how a “ticket” will look like. They will also tell you when you only have one minute left before you have to leave the map room. Now you should have:

• Copied the map already,
• Collect your map room equipment,
• Put your copied map into a map holder,
• Be ready to leave the map room immediately when the steward tells you.

Leaving the map room late, will incur penalty points. Keep in mind, that the timer is already running when you leave the map room. Do not lose time to adjust the take on your horse, mount quickly and off you go.

To be continued with POR (Orienteering) Part 3

Written by W. Bastian published in the February 2022 edition of The Grapevine
 
At TREC Ireland and West Cork TREC, we use the Ordnance Survey Maps of Ireland, Discovery Series. The OSI maps have a scale of 1:50,000 (1cm on the map is 50,000cm or 500m in nature), but are normally blown up to a scale of 1:25,000 (1cm on the map is 25,000cm or 250m in nature).
 
West Cork is covered by the OSI maps Nr.84 – Nr.87, available in your local bookstore or tourism information centre.
 
On the bottom of the map is the “Legend”, which explains in detail what you see on the map: roads, rivers, woodlands, houses, and other landmarks, which help you identify your position.
 
Make yourself familiar with the map. Take it to a place in your area and find your position and your surroundings on the map.
 
Attend a map reading training. West Cork TREC offers training days – for more information on these training days check our Facebook or Instagram pages or our calendar.
 
Basic Rule 1: The top of the map is geographically North, the bottom is South, the right side is East and the left side is West. Obviously, it depends in which direction you hold the map in front of you, that the North on the map (⇒top of the map) is identical with the Magnetic North of in nature. You will need a compass to align the map with the Magnetic North.

The North on the map is called the “Grid North”. You can see parallel vertical and horizontal lines on the map. These are the “Gridlines”, which run vertically from North to South and horizontally from East to West.

These Gridlines are in numerical order and are important for the “Grid References”, which you will need when moving to a higher level in TREC.
 
Basic Rule 2: The gridlines make squares, where they intersect each other. Each square is 1km long and 1km wide, no matter what the scale of the map is. This helps you to estimate distances on your map.
 
To be continued with POR (Orienteering) Part 2

We had another fantastic turnout for our second league event held in Bantry Bay Pony Trekking, with a total of 18 riders taking to the arena.

The course was designed by Chef de Piste Elaine, and Frances was our Technical Delegate.  On arrival, it was all hands on deck to help set up the course.  With the course maps in hand people helped manoeuvre equipment, measure and mark out the 50m corridor, the slalom and the other obstacles needed.  The course consisted of 8 obstacles 1-8 repeated for obstacles 9-16.  The overall lap would be untimed, as there were a number of timed obstacles within the course to contend with.

The riding order was the same as the first leg, so Level 3, Level 2, Level 1.  Adèle and Bastian judged all levels, with help from riders and their helpers - while one level was competing, riders of the other two levels were in the arena judging obstacles, acting as scribes for some obstacles, and/or rebuilding obstacles as required.

Many thanks to Georgia and Bantry Bay Pony Trekking for the use of their facilities, to all the riders, judges and helpers, to Frances as the Technical Delegate, and to Elaine for designing the course (and also for sending the scoresheets to Jill to input into the scoring spreadsheet).

Please find below the results summary.  With Christmas fast approaching, we are taking a break from the events until the new year - let us hope that the numbers will begin to drop soon and allow us to continue our plans for training and events in 2022 (provisional dates etc. to be confirmed at our AGM in January).

The day of the first leg of the WCT PTV League Bantry got off to a rocky start with an urgent phone call from the Technical Delegate Elaine and Chef de Piste Frances.  The jeep had broken down en route not far from Cork city (and a good hour from the venue).  Not only were they towing their horses, but they also had with them a couple of obstacles that we would need plus all the judge’s paperwork in their car, however a quick phone call to Bastian ensured we could get a second set of the obstacles to the venue for the competition, and Jill photocopied the necessary judge’s data sheets and score sheets.
 
The replacement obstacles and paperwork arrived at the yard around the same time, about 40 mins later than planned.  Everyone pitched in to help set up the course.  Poles were put in place for the slalom, rein back, s-bend and corridor, and marked the areas for the mounted immobility and mounting.  The acting TD, Megan, went around to measure widths between the poles etc for the mounting, s-bend, rein back and corridors.
 
Once the course had been built, the riders were given a course walk by Adèle, and then the Level 3 riders left to get their horses ready.  The Level 2 and Level 1 riders then took up their judge’s sheets and stationed themselves at the various obstacles, along with judges Sara and Megan.
 
Since Frances and Elaine were stuck on the side of the road still, which meant we had just 3 riders for level 3. Judith was the first to ride, followed by Annie and then Kate.  Barely started, we then had to break after the Level 3s to let the Level 2 riders get their horses ready while Level 3 put their horses away.
 
A quick reshuffle of judges, and an adjustment to heights/widths of obstacles as necessary, and the first of the seven Level 2 riders began.  Once the Level 2 riders were finished their round, they went to put their horses away, and the level 1 riders went to get their horses ready.  The Level 2 riders were drafted back in as judges, so that the Level 1 riders could begin their rounds.
 
The course of 16 obstacles included: Slalom, S-Bend (ridden and in-hand), Corridor (ridden and in-hand), Rein Back (ridden & in-hand), Mounting, Tree Trunk, Mounted Immobility.
 
One horse, new to TREC, decided the flour marked circle of the mounted immobility obstacle was something akin to a trap, but eventually was persuaded to enter.  Once inside he then had a few sniffs and sampled a taste, curling his lips at the experience – to much amusement (and some sympathy from onlookers who experienced their own sudden flash back of memories to the taste of sandwiches on a sandy beach).
 
The in-hand corridor proved to be a sticky obstacle, with a couple of riders unfortunately forgetting to dismount. The different rein backs caused another issue.  While some of the horses appeared to get a little better the second time around, others were not as lucky.
 
Overall, there was a good turnout, with a total of 17 riders. A big thank you to all the riders, judges and helpers, and to Georgia of Bantry Bay Pony Trekking for the use of their facilities. It was great to see some new faces, looking forward to the next event.

In preparation for the beginning of our winter league, we started nice and easy with a PTV training session, where the riders attempted a handful of obstacles both ridden and in-hand. In total there were 8 riders and a handful of volunteers. Trainers Elaine and Frances split the riders into two groups of 4; group one would ride first while group two would be on foot, gaining experience from a judges perspective. Learning what the judges look for helps the rider learn what mistakes to avoid.

The trainers took two riders each to opposite ends of the arena, and with the volunteers/helpers similarly divided, the first training session began.  The riders got to practise the obstacles prepared with help and advice from the trainers on their performances. After the rider had completed the obstacle Elaine and Frances then asked the opinions of those on the ground, the “judges” to mark them: did the rider demonstrate the correct approach and negotiate the obstacle correctly? What marks were awarded for gait or style?  Armed with the obstacle data sheets and score sheets, the judges debated how they would score the rider’s performance, thus learning how to fill in the score sheets correctly.

When the riders had done all of the obstacles in the arena, they were then given the opportunity to do their own course of 8 obstacles, in whatever order they wanted, in-hand or ridden, or both. The volunteers on the ground could pick an obstacle and judged that obstacle, while those with more judging experience chose to judge a number of obstacles.  After a break for lunch, it was then the turn of group 2 to ride, while group 1 would judge.
​
Overall, the day was a success, many questions were asked, riders and judges alike learned a lot. We are all now looking forward to the league event in November.

Report by Frances Whooley Riding Level 3 with Siobhan Wolf.

We rode from the farm-yard through the quiet county roads of East Cork. Our first section of off road was riding at the Coolguerisque bridge where we turned righthanded and followed along one side of the river with a steep incline on the other, into a lush grass field.

Following the route on the map we found an opening in the hedge to another series of grass fields where we got the opportunity for a lovely canter. We came upon a closed gate onto the road, which Siobhan kindly opened and closed again. We went downhill to the left and our next entrance gate was open on our right which took us along a grassy track, a bit above the river. After about 5 minutes of trotting, we came to a river crossing followed by a second river crossing. Thankfully, both our horses were happy to step into the flowing water. We entered a lovely mature wood and followed the track to a steep incline to find our exit out onto the lawn of Aston Grove – a lovely old Georgian house. We followed the path out through the entrance, and when we rounded the corner we came upon our checkpoint 2 with Megan.

When our 5 minutes rest was up, Megan unexpectedly produced a sheet of paper with details of a grid referencing section, which we then had to transfer onto our map. Having completed this exercise, we negotiated our way via these grid reference points into a Christmas tree plantation, noting some tickets along the way. We exited the farm once again, and on our way out, along a country boreen, we met a small excavator mending potholes. Our two steeds were not bothered by this, and we carried on gaily, only to find Barbara and her daughter at checkpoint 3 lurking around the corner. Consulting our map, we saw that we were to go under the motorway and along another quiet small road. Mindful of our allocated speed, we kept up a brisk trot along the quiet stretch while we admired the dairying countryside that surrounded us.

On our way past the local disused graveyard, we came upon a checkpoint which was not for our level, so after a brief chat, we carried on down into a valley. Crossing the river again – over a bridge this time – we climbed up the steep hill on the other side. Shortly after passing an entrance to a large farm-yard, we found the entry to the next off-road section, which was in the main gate of the farmers house – then left into another grass field. Checking our route bearing we crossed the field and found the track which took us down to the river and up the other side. It lead us to a disused farmhouse, and from there out onto another lane just not far from the roundabout for Junction 18 of the motorway. We then turned left, and it lead us down to the outskirts of Riverstown. Here we went under the motorway again and swung left-handed at the edge of a housing estate. We rode down a long avenue into a farmyard where we found our checkpoint 4, along with the farm family out to greet us.

Our maps were then confiscated by Etaine – the checkpoint steward – and put into sealed envelopes for us to carry with us while we negotiated the next section. Etaine then gave us a sheet with a list of bearings which we were to follow. Having taken the first bearing we struck off, counting our strides to the next change of direction. We found this part of the route was very interesting.  We followed a track from the farmyard to a little old narrow stone bridge crossing the river, then following the bearings we found ourselves in a deciduous wood just as it started to rain. Luckily the leaves were still on the trees, and we got some shelter, though our bearings sheet got a bit soggy. We then had to drop into the river to cross it, following a dirt path under the motorway again. We carefully followed the bearing directions and counted our strides. After a short steep descent and another few twists and turns, we found that we were at the Rocky Road – which is a local walking path. We crossed over the wooden footbridge to find checkpoint 5, just up the road. We had a 10 minute break there, as another pair of riders had come in just in front of us. When the stewards Diana and Maria got a chance they gave us permission to open our maps again.

We took advantage of the wait at the checkpoint to locate our position on the map. We were then given the go ahead, to leave the checkpoint. We proceeded up hill on the final leg of the route – homeward bound. The return journey took us along undulating and peaceful country lanes, bringing us to checkpoint 6 near the graveyard, and into familiar territory as we recognised the road back to the venue. We returned to the final checkpoint to hand in our record card. We were incredibly happy to have come to the end of a wonderful day out on our trusty steeds Brandy and Paris.