The Cranleigh School Newsletter Issue No 39
Cranleigh School, Cranleigh, Surrey GU6 8QQ Tel: 01483 273666
Lent 2011
Head s Up RIDING HIGH Dear Parents,
As I write this, I have just returned from hosting a thank-you lunch in honour of members of our support staff who have worked here for over twenty years. There were no fewer than thirty-nine invitees a remarkable accolade, I feel, for the Cranleigh community as a whole. Longevity is important to a community because it provides the very foundations upon which it is built. It may have made saying goodbye to some longstanding retirees all the sadder, but it has made saying hello to our first Old Cranleighan Interns young OCs whose presence with us is bridging the past, present and future all the more exciting. There are more details on pages 6 and 8. At the other end of the spectrum, and yet equally important to a community, is dynamism a sense of progress, of continuous improvement and of vigour. That, I would say, is a pretty accurate summary of this term, with pupils packing as much as ever into every day. There s been the academic work, focused from the outset on the January modules for the Sixth Form, which I hope gave a good indication to all who sat them what they need to do in order to fulfil their potential in the summer exams. There s also been an extraordinary succession of outstanding sporting performances, some enjoyable co-curricular activities, from Debating to Duke of Edinburgh, and, of course, the Performing Arts such a core part of School life. This term s School play, The Suicide, was thoughtprovoking, combining both humour and tragedy, and we were treated to a truly remarkable performance of the Verdi Requiem, involving over 150 pupils and staff, supported by four internationally renowned soloists. And this letter would be incomplete without mentioning Cranleigh s first Charity Fashion Show, which raised an outstanding £5,000 thanks to the enthusiasm of all involved. It s impossible to cover everything here but I hope that, if nothing else, this issue manages to encapsulate both the longevity and the dynamism of Cranleigh. Enjoy your break: rest well, revise well and return refreshed and ready for the demands and delights of the Summer Term.
Guy Waller Head
As our young riders celebrate their new title of National Show Jumping Champions, Chris Allison (Head of Riding) looks at what goes into creating such a successful competition team.
When you are on a great horse, you have the best seat you will ever have. (Churchill) Almost every sport that Cranleigh pupils take part in involves a ball of some shape or size: I can only think of swimming and athletics/running that don t. That is apart from riding, of course, where the ability to co-ordinate eye and hand (or foot) is replaced by the ability to control half a ton or more of horse (usually with a mind of its own) with two disproportionately small leather reins! With established riders making it look fairly easy, a general bystander could well assume that the rider is simply a passenger on board a compliant beast who likes jumping over fences that are, at times, almost the same size as it.
Well, I think that the riders who carried the name of Cranleigh to the National Schools Equestrian Association Championships, and returned as National Show Jumping Champions, might see things slightly differently. One sturdy beast, capable of becoming their best friend and getting them out of ridiculous situations in front of big fences, is certainly a good start but it is only the start. Any rider needs a full measure of support from a trusted backstage team (aka Emma, Fran and Katie, our Equestrian Centre team, in the case of Cranleigh riders) who are prepared to turn out in the dark depths of the morning come sun, rain and snow (plenty of that this winter) to make sure that said sturdy beast is fed, watered, mucked out and turned out into the fields. On top of this you need a good instructor, or team of instructors, who are prepared to work with horse and rider, often through many frustrations, and who turn up at competitions with their broad shoulders squared, ready to take the blame for every fence that is reduced to poles on the floor. Though they ll have to wait until the end of the round to do so: with riding, once the competitor is in the ring no outside assistance (instruction) of any kind is allowed. There is no DRB shouting encouragement from the sidelines, it is horse and rider on their own and getting lost around a long course of jumps is an occupational hazard. It takes a horse and rider about a year to establish what the equestrian world refers to as a partnership : during this
time, and even beyond it, it is inevitable that there will be many disappointments and setbacks. Indeed, even in the week running up to the Nationals our riders, with the help of our Director of Riding, Sophie Spear, were still ironing out problems that months of winter training in the School s arena, on both the flat (the boring bit for many, but essential) and over jumps, with freezing fingers and toes seemingly the only thing to show for the slog, had not fully resolved. Add to this the fact that most competitions are on a Sunday and involve ridiculously early starts to get to some out-of-the-way muddy venue, when most selfrespecting teenagers are enjoying a lie-in, and you will begin to appreciate the dedication of our Equestrian Team (and their unpaid drivers and grooms.) This sort of dedication is not unusual in any sport, of course, and the better the competitor the more training and dedication is likely to have gone into his/her performance. The difference is that a rider has to train both themselves and their horse. They also have to present both themselves and their horse for competitions to an immaculate standard and turning out a horse, especially a grey one, working against ingrained mud and horse pooh, is no mean feat (and that s before you ve even started!)
Then, after everything, all it takes is just one mistake and you can be eliminated just like that. Rules are part of any sport (many fathers, particularly, find netball Continued over.....
For full details of all School and House news, please visit the website at www.cranleigh.org/community
1