Sara’s three-step Good Coach Guide

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6 November 2021

Riding is a constant learning curve and at some point most of us reach for the help and support of a coach. But how do you go about choosing the right one for you?

Now, with the winter approaching and summer competitions finishing, the horses may be having a
break before begining their preparations for next year. It’s a good time to pause and think about your coach – or to find yourself one. But where to start?

1 – Check the qualifications

Any coach should have some sort of qualification, usually through the British Horse Society, Association of British Riding Schools, UK Coaching or The Pony Club to name a few. Any of these societies require the coach to have a Disclosure & Barring Services (DBS) check, a Safeguarding Certificate and a First Aid Certificate all completed or updated every 3 years.

Almost as important is the Continual Professional Development (CPD) courses being done regularly. The BHS require 6hrs every year, The Pony Club require attendance at a CPD every 2 years. This is to show that the Coach is keeping up to date with modern and new ideas in the industry.

During Covid there have been many online courses of great interest, which has been a saving on travel time!

There are also courses on a variety of subjects including working with riders with autism and disabilities.

If you’re hoping to compete in a specific discipline, British Dressage (BD), British Eventing (BE) and British Showjumping (BS) all have coaching development and grading programmes to ensure their coaches have the highest standards of professionalism.

2 – what’s your style?

Would you prefer to join a group, or have private sessions? There are benefits to both – group sessions take the pressure off, are a great environment for both you and your horse and allow you to watch and learn from others.

Individual training sessions are often more intense and really good for working on specific areas. Private sessions allow the coach to work on a weakness in a highly individual, targeted way.

3 – Find the right coach for you

The most important thing is that the coach suits the rider and the horse, making training fun as well as informative, regardless of whether it is for competition. There should becomes a bond between coach and rider, with the coach leading the rider to become confident and independent.

Together the coach and rider should be looking for tiny attainable tickable targets. Many riders have no intention of competing but love training to improve their riding and their horse. Many riders are competitive, but still need to learn the basics.

Think of building a house. Each brick is a tiny target, and when you have built your house you reach your main goal. But if you missed a brick or two, the house will fall down – and in the same vein the rider missing a few ‘bricks’ will have a problem later. Please choose an accredited coach, and enjoy riding your horse.

Sara Greenwood BHS AI, UKCC L2 PC Area 14 Centre Co-ordinator PC Assessor E-AH test RDA Coach

Autumnal Sausage Bake

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Editorial team

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6 November 2021

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Who doesn’t love a One Dish Wonder, full of local produce? This sausage bake has even won over my fussiest child, who now ranks this dish as one of his favourites.
Do of course try and source your sausages from a local butcher – if you don’t normally use your butcher, then sausages are a great way to start (and don’t forget the nations best sausages are made in Ludwell, just outside Shaftesbury). I have also made this with an abundance of other local ingredients, including the delicious Olivero Olive Oil (a family business with olives grown in Italy and oil bottled in Dorset), From Dorset with Love Fig Vinegar in place of Balsamic, a local honey and Dorset Sea Salt Co Garlic infused salt. Each local ingredient adds a little something extra to the flavour and its great knowing that it’s been made with care and so close to home.

Heather

PS – don’t forget to start thinking about your Christmas cake this month. You can see my own foolproof recipe featured in last December’s issue here – it reliably gives that delicious deep Christmassy flavour whether you make it two months or two days before Christmas.

Autumnal Sausage Bake

Ingredients

(feeds 4)

8 sausages
small potatoes
cherry tomatoes (cut in half)
onions (cut into large chunks)
plus any other veg you would like to add (peppers, carrots, parsnips etc) cut into 1-inch ish pieces.
Balsamic Vinegar
Honey Method

Pre-heat the oven to 180o fan/gas 6.
In a large oven dish, drizzle in some oil and sprinkle in some salt.
Cut the potatoes into 1inch-ish cubes (you can peel if you wish but you don’t need to) and place into the oil and salt, loosely stirring through. You can also add any root vegetables here like carrots and parsnips (I do peel the root vegetables).
Pop into the oven for 20 minutes.
Once the potatoes have had a little time, remove the tray from the oven and add in the sausages, cherry tomatoes and onions (as well as any other veg you haven’t already added (peppers etc).
Drizzle over a little honey and balsamic vinegar (if you only have set honey, simply warm it in the microwave for 10 seconds).
Stir the whole lot together carefully.
Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove and stir carefully again.
Bake for another 20 minutes (or until the sausages are cooked and the potatoes are soft).

by Heather Brown

Dorset’s winter hedgerows

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Editorial team

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6 November 2021

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If you’re taking a stroll through the country lanes of the Blackmore Vale this winter, here are just a few of the hedgerow plant species you might spot. Hedgerows provide an often diverse range
of trees and shrubs, making them a thriving habitat for all sorts of wildlife. At this time of year, berries are particularly tempting to birds, but not all berries are safe for them (or humans) to eat.

Image shutterstock –
“I coulde never learne an Englishe name for it. The Duche men call it in Netherlande, spilboome, that is, spindel tree, because they use to make spindels of it in that countrey, and me thynke
it maye be so well named in English seying we have no other name. … I know no good propertie that this tree hath, saving only it is good to make spindels and brid of cages ” [bird cages]. William Turner’s ‘Newe Herball’, 1551

Hawthorn

Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyny) is one of the staple shrubs found in our autumn and winter hedgerows, producing deep red fruits resembling very small apples, called ‘haws’. These fruits are enjoyed by many birds including hawfinches, thrushes, fieldfares and redwings, as well as a range of small mammals. Waxwings will also enjoy any haws that are left on the tree in December or January. Common hawthorn is also a rich habitat for all kinds of wildlife beyond birds, from hawthorn shield bugs, to wood mice and slow worms that shelter in the thorny thickets.

Spindle

One of the most striking, vibrant berries you can spot in early winter can be found on this small hedgerow and woodland tree. The berries that appear on spindle (Euonymus europaeus) are bright pink with bright orange seeds inside; they may look exotic, but this is a native plant in Britain. The berries are toxic to humans, but enjoyed by a range of wildlife including mice, foxes and birds such as house sparrows.
Spindle is an ancient woodland indicator; its presence in woodland settings may mean you are in a particularly special habitat. Ancient woodlands are woods that have continuously been on the same site since 1600 or before, creating a specific ecosystem with a host of plants and animals. One such woodland can be found at Hibbitts Woods, a Dorset Wildlife Trust nature reserve near Yeovil.

image Shutterstock –
*Culpepper the herbalist said “briony” were “furiously martial plants”, imbued with the warlike spirit of orange twinkling Mars in the night sky*

Black Bryony

Take a look at an autumn or winter hedgerow and you might see stems of bright red berries climbing up the trees and shrubs. This may well be black bryony (Tamus communis), our only native member of the yam family. Despite this, it is a poisonous plant. Its leaves are glossy and heart-shaped, and in summer it flowers with yellow- green, six-petalled blooms. Despite their names and similar hedgerow climbing habits, white bryony (Bryonia dioica) is not
a relative of black bryony. The poisonous berries are not of much value to wildlife, though the summer flowers are visited by pollinators.

by Dorset Wildlife Trust

ABP Sturminster Newton | Various vacancies

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Editorial team

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5 November 2021

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Find our more at https://www/abpuk.com

Or contact us at [email protected]

or call us on 01258 474200

Join our Home Care Team | Apex Prime Care

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Editorial team

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5 November 2021

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Join our exceptional home care team and make a real difference!

Call 0330 2020 200

Or visit: https://www/apexprimecare.org

General handy man needed for busy equestrian farm

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5 November 2021

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4 days a week 9 – 5pm near Sturminster Newton.

Varied duties including but not limited to:

Property and vehicle maintenance, tractor driving and towing trailers, HGV, DIY and gardening.

Please call 01258 817604 or email

[email protected]

Newly Qualified Accountant (ACA/ACCA) | Ward Goodman

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Editorial team

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3 November 2021

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Newly Qualified Accountant (ACA/ACCA)

Salary on application

Ward Goodman is an established and leading provider of accountancy and financial services based in Dorset. As Chartered Accountants, Registered Auditors and Independent Financial Advisers, we deliver a trusted and valued service to clients that require an expert view and a joined-up approach to their finances.

Client satisfaction is paramount to us. We have a broad range of clients, and we endeavour to offer them the best service possible through continuous improvement and focus on doing things right first time.

Our team are friendly and like to be in touch. Our people know that they must deliver the level of service that they would expect to receive. Through innovation and design we create useful offerings for our clients and ensure that through teamwork and asking the right questions, we are always one step ahead.

We have a vacancy for a newly qualified ACA/ACCA Accountant to join our growing team.

You will work jointly from our Ferndown and Shaftesbury offices and will need to demonstrate experience in the following:

portfolio management
holding and leading business meetings with clients
using Xero/Quickbooks

You will be:

friendly and approachable
able to build rapport quickly and easily
focused on delivering the highest standard of service
commercially minded
able to deliver to deadlines
able to seek out new business opportunities to build and develop your client portfolio
enthusiastic and energetic

Salary: on application

20 days holiday plus bank holidays pa

Holiday entitlement rising to 25 days holiday pa with length of service

Opportunity to buy and sell holiday

Cash plan medical benefit scheme

Free onsite parking

As this role will be working across two offices, you need to be able to drive and have your own transport.

If you’d like to join an established firm with an excellent reputation for putting clients at the heart of everything we do, then we’d love to hear from you.

Please apply by sending in your CV and a covering letter:

By email to: [email protected] using reference BAS001 in the subject title.

Or

By post to: FAO Holly Druce, Ward Goodman Limited, 4 Cedar Park, Cobham Road, Ferndown Industrial Estate, Wimborne, Dorset, BH21 7SF.