Welcome to West Cork TREC
We are very pleased to welcome you to our site, where you will find some details about us and about TREC itself. Our site also includes a calendar of upcoming events, news, results and a gallery of photos from our recent competitions and training events. More photos can be viewed on our FaceBook page, please click here to be redirected.
About Us
|
West Cork TREC is an equestrian group which was founded in 2008. We are affiliated to TREC Ireland, the governing body of TREC in this country which was formed in 2007 by Irish riders when they returned from the European TREC Championships in Exmoor, England.
West Cork TREC members have the privilege of riding through the stunning landscapes of the Mizen and Beara peninsulas, with its variety of terrains of coastlines, boglands, mountains and valleys. We are very fortunate to have Winfried Bastian, one of the original founders of TREC Ireland, as our trainer and mentor. Within our group we have national and international officials who organise and run each event. Our members and volunteers are always willing to provide the help needed to make things run smoothly. We organise events throughout the year, a winter and a summer league, our mid-summer competition, training and social events. We travel to competitions held by TREC Ireland or other TREC groups. Our members can also purchase our lovely polo shirts and jackets with the West Cork TREC logos, and a group can create a striking sea of navy and pink, easy to spot at the national events. Every level of horse and rider are welcome, so please, come along and join us. It’s hugely rewarding, wonderfully encouraging and, above all, great fun! |
|
|
Our Achievements in 2018West Cork TREC members competed in various competitions around Ireland during 2018, including the MA/PTV Championships, the TREC Ireland Opens, the TREC Ireland Nationals, and own Midsummer.
The national events for 2018 started off with the rescheduled 2017 MA/PTV Championships in Clonshire E.C., Adare, Co. Limerick in April. Our riders did very well here, coming home with a couple of the trophies and a range of rosettes, including 1st place in the Team PTV Championship class. Next on the calendar was the TREC Ireland Open Championships in May. This competition was held in Slieve Aughty, Loughrea, Co. Galway which also had some international entries competing in the European Cup class. Two West Cork TREC members, Frances and Siobhán, won the Level 2 Pairs class, and the Grangeclare Cup for Level 2 was also awarded to Frances at this competition. Our own Midsummer competition was held near Cork in June, and our members won 1st Level 1 individual, 2nd in Level 1 pairs, 1st and 2nd in Level 2 pairs, and 3rd in Level 3 individuals. The TREC Ireland Nationals was held in The Field E.C., Ballyadams, Co. Laois in July. Three of our members who paired with members from other groups were placed in the Level 1 pairs (1st), Level 2a Pairs (3rd) and Non-Championship Pairs Level 1 (1st). The last of the national events was the 2018 MA/PTV Championships, held in Athlone E.C., Co. Westmeath on 30th September. Our members did well again in these championships, bringing home the Coolroe Gold trophy (PTV Open Championships) and XLE trophy (Speed TREC Open) and a range of other rosettes too. We are very proud of and grateful to all of our members. The support given to each other is phenomenal, from the trainers, parents and members, especially when supporting the young riders who needed a lift to competitions for themselves and their ponies, and also to those who travelled to competitions as judges instead of competing. |
What Lies Ahead?Our Winter League runs from November to April, and our Summer League runs from May to October, so there are many local competitions to enter. The West Cork TREC Winter League 2018/2019 is currently underway. Newcomers are always welcome, and the local leagues are a great way to learn about Trec.
West Cork TREC also hold a number of training courses during the year. These can be for different roles, such as judges, chef de piste, traceur, or for elements of the different phases, e.g. map reading, compass bearing and grid reference training for the POR phase, improving your MA score, PTV obstacle training, etc. In mid January we held two half day training courses (TD & Judges Refresher) on the same day in Glengarriff. These two courses were attended by members from the south west and the east of Cork county and also one member from a TREC group in Donegal. Our annual Midsummer Competition will be a 3-phase event to be held on 28th-30th June. The venue is yet to be confirmed, but one of the venues we are looking at, and are hoping to use, has some nice forestry tracks which should produce some good off-road sections for the orienteering phase. |
|
|
International Competitions in 2019The TREC Ireland Championships in May, which is to be held in Tipperary Mountain Trekking Centre in Borrisoleigh, Co. Tipperary has been classified as one of the legs of the European Cup, and some of our own members will be travelling to Tipperary to compete at this international competition.
In the UK, the TREC GB Championships 2019 will be held at Peebles in the Borders of Scotland on 16th-18th August 2019, and is another leg of the European Cup. Irish competitors must meet the necessary qualification criteria to be considered eligible to enter this competition. This year the major international competition will be the Young Rider European TREC Championships 2019, which is to be held at Brachfield, in the Black Forest in Germany, from August 29th - 31st. This is the biggest TREC competition for 2019 and will include Young Riders (Level 3 Individual) from countries all over Europe. A Young Rider must be aged between 16 and 21 years on the day of the competition to be able to compete as an individual at Level 3. West Cork TREC have both young riders (under 21s) and senior riders (over 21). In the last five years, two of our own young riders and their ponies travelled long distances to compete in the FITE Young Rider European TREC Championships (Annie competed in Italy in 2014 and Fionnuala competed in France in 2017) and four of our young riders (Caoimhe, Kate, Lorea and Millie) competed in the TREC GB Championships in Wales in 2017. Our local and national competitions allow both individuals and pairs to compete, and the younger riders may team up with an adult for these competitions, allowing them to get experience at the different levels. Are you interested in joining our team? Contact [email protected] for further information |
Click on the like button to like us on Facebook. Thank you.