Ride Reports

The Challenges of 2021…

2021 saw the return to normality, more or less, which meant we could organise our EBA rides and you could have some fun riding round the lovely Essex countryside. But we hadn’t reckoned with just how unpredictable our British weather can be…

By Sandra Deeran, Rides Organiser

In July and August it seems reasonable to expect some lovely weather the occasional shower to freshen things up, but not torrential rain! Ashfields was fast approaching and Alison Power and I began contacting people, creating maps and writing marshals’ instructions. I rode part of the route and thought “this is going to be great”. However, Mother Nature thought otherwise and opened the floodgates. We had rain, and more rain. The week before the ride, we were advised one of the main routes on our ride was now impassable, with flooding, deep trenches and lots of mud. Aaarrh without this byway, much of the ride was no longer possible. Lesley Gillman to the rescue, she walked the area and came up with an idea, which depended on a local farmer letting us round his field. I rang the lovely farmer and he kindly gave us permission to ride round one of his fields. So, two days before the ride, I spent Friday re-drawing maps, re-writing marshal instructions and generally running round a like a whirling dervish trying to sort things out.

Sunday dawns and it couldn’t have been more different with over 30 degree temperatures (unfortunately it didn’t dry up the flooded track), but over 100 riders came and had a lovely time! Our thanks to Michael Knight (our lovely local farmer), Ashfields Carriage Driving

and Polo Club (the hosts) and Lesley Gillman (local guru) who made it all possible at very short notice. No sooner was Ashfields completed, the Ramsden Heath ride demanded our attention. Not without issues: when we walked the route, there was a tree down blocking the path and then another part of the route was totally flooded. Added to that, parking was a hay field and the hay hadn’t yet been cut! A nail-biting few weeks…. Thankfully the weather improved and there was a dry/hot spell and Mr Kleider was able to get his hay cut –parking field sorted! Jan spoke to the local landowner, who very kindly allowed us to go into the edge of his field to avoid the flood, but it needed clearing! So, the two Julians (Power and Deeran) set to with chainsaws and strimmers, and began clearing the blockages. Alison and Julian walked about a mile down the bridleway with a chainsaw and loppers and cleared the tree and lots of brambles and general debris from the area – tree blockage sorted! Then Julian and I (and two dogs – who thought it was great fun to run in and out of the muddy flooded area…), walked down the other bridleway for about a mile with loppers and the strimmer to do what we could with the flood and the edge of the field. The landowner had given us permission to use the edge of his field As long as we didn’t go on the crops, so we had to strim the edge and cut back some hedges. Unfortunately, the weather was not so kind to us, and we all got a soaking –two wet people and two even wetter dogs!! End result though, was a nice wide track avoiding the awful muddy flood – job done! When we checked the field entrance on Wednesday, all seemed fine, but Mother

Nature wasn’t done with us yet, and in the days leading up to the ride, she turned on the waterworks yet again. On the Saturday prior, volunteers arrived to mark the route, and the parking field had a layer of surface water, but underneath seemed firm enough. So after much umming and arhhing, we decided to go ahead with the ride. All that Saturday night, neither Julia Wilson, nor Jan Arthur or I had much sleep as we lay awake listening to the rain hammering down, worrying about the field and the ride, but too late to cancel now. Lesley Gillman arrived first to ride the route and check it was safe and all the tape and directional signs were in place. However, overnight, the parking field suffered from the deluge and so did Lesley – her horsebox got stuck! So here’s hoping that the remaining rides on our 2021 calendar will be much easier to organise and please, please, let’s have some nice sunny days without the rain! Thanks once again to all the marshals who helped us on the day – without you these rides wouldn’t happen! Mr Kleider (the lovely landowner) kindly let some of the lorries park on the hardstanding he had, while the trailers with 4x4’s went on the field. Thankfully two wonderful young men (Harry and Gary) – see photo were on hand to help pull four lorries off the field at the end of the day. We couldn’t have done it without you guys – thank you so much! A total of 45 hardy riders turned up at Ramsden Heath and had a lovely time–despite the rain, mud and getting stuck in lorries! Thanks to Mr Kleider for letting us use his field (hopefully it will recover), thanks to Mr Russell, for letting us avoid the flooded area and go into his field and thanks again to Harry and Gary. Well done, all of you!

As the season of giftgiving approaches, Christine Rust reminds us how we can raise funds for EBA without even trying. Here’s how:

PUTTING THE ‘FUN’ IN FUNDRAISING

Amazon Smile (smile.amazon.co.uk) PayPal (www.paypal.com) Easyfundraising (www.easyfundraising.org.uk) If you’re having a problem using any of these websites please contact Christine on 07849 029632 or email ebaprojectmanager@gmail.com

Sunday 16th May Highwood Ride By Louise Fuller, ride organiser

As the country crawled out of yet another lockdown in spring this year, EBA’s first ride of the 2021 season was the popular Highwood ride in May. Still held under Covid rules which restricted participants to 100 members, we relaxed enough to allow rosettes, a portaloo and the on-site caterer. Ten days before the ride, I discovered that an archery club was to hold a field competition in woods either side of one of the bridleways we were using. Of course they couldn’t shoot across the bridleway but we still needed to keep well clear of one another. This we managed through a mutually helpful correspondence with the archery organiser; we will ensure our dates don’t clash in another year. Other preparations were going well as I checked most of the ride on foot in the preceding couple of weeks and rode it on the Wednesday before the ride; no vegetation clearance needed and the ground was mostly good, with one or two small muddy patches, nothing to worry about. On Thursday evening when I checked the car park entrance, had been closed off. Fortunately I know a local resident, and we sorted this one out between us. Friday, I had to resolve a locked gate where the ride passes on to private land, and that evening, a marshal dropped out at the last minute. Saturday morning saw a frantic exchange of texts, emails and phone calls with another landowner, meaning we had to amend part of the route over his land. Just resolved that in time for the marking on Saturday afternoon. Once the route was marked, there was just time to check all the arrangements and issue any final instructions. Then the rain started. It rained very hard all night. The entrance to the car park field has a dip and it quickly became boggy. We tried to bolster the surface with some mouldy hay from the nearby barn and Alison Power stood at the entrance urging drivers to engage four-wheel drive (if they knew how!) and just keep going; don’t stop or they would have got stuck. Luckily I had obtained permission to use some adjacent hardstanding for the big lorries which was a godsend. By mid-morning the sun came out, there was a light wind, the ground began to dry out and everyone left the field safely. The riders came back having enjoyed the ride hugely and although some were muddy, they didn’t seem to mind. The bonus of holding the ride in May this year was that the bluebells were still out in one of the woods; absolutely beautiful – great swathes of deep blue. Seen from horseback with the added advantage of extra height, the riders had a lovely view of them. As with all rides, the huge amount of work involved was greatly helped by enough willing volunteers on the day itself and the days beforehand. My thanks to all.

Why EBA membership matters

By Louise Fuller,

EBA Treasurer

How often do I hear a rider say “I didn’t renew my membership as I no longer go on the rides”? But EBA is about much more than the rides we organise. Of course these are a lot of fun, they are a great way to get riders out into our lovely countryside and they raise valuable funds to support our activities. But our trustees, area representatives and our Historic Researcher and Bridleways Development Officer are very busy behind the scenes, working hard to make sure the interests of horse riders are taken into account on our Public Rights of Way.

This work includes: • Lobbying for equestrians to be given consideration in the planning authorities’

Local Plans and the highway authorities’ Rights of Way Improvement Plans • Carrying out historic research to claim “lost” routes • Following up maintenance issues with Essex County

Council • Organising clearance parties to open up overgrown bridleways • Responding to proposals to divert or extinguish bridleways • Getting involved in developments and planning applications where benefits to horse riders can be gained • Negotiating for new routes which horse riders can use safely.

All this activity is for the benefit of every horse rider, now and in the future, not just for those who go on our rides. The more members we have, the greater our potential impact. So next time you hear someone say they didn’t bother to renew their EBA membership, remind them of all the good work we do, and make sure they rejoin straight away.

At time of writing EBA had around 800 members – a mere fraction of the horse owning population of Essex. Through all the hard work mentioned above, we are making ourselves heard but we are still a tiny organisation in the eyes of those in power. Things will only get worse on our roads for the horse riders of Essex and we must demand more consideration from the authorities. None of us want to ride on the roads so please, encourage your fellow equestrians to join EBA and support the volunteers who are shouting loudly for change and Better Bridleways in Essex. Just £15 a year is surely a price worth paying? And of course, if you would like to join our ranks and play your part, then please get in touch. See pages 23 and 24 for membership and contact details.

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