Welcome to Rearsby Lodge Riding Club's Quadrille Team!
As another summer flies by and the Country Show season gets well underway, the Quadrille Team have been out and about, enthusiastically flying the RLRC flags.
On Sunday 25th June the team of 15 horses and riders and Riding Master, David Boyd, braved the scorching temperatures at Blaston Show to deliver their first official public performance of the year ‘Songs from the Movies’. Donned in co-ordinating tail jackets and glittery hat silks (kindly provided by team sponsor Woodlodge Silks) they sashayed down the centre line to a musical medley of popular movie soundtracks.
Despite a last minute substitution as showtime approached, due to a horse parting company with his shoes, the team, as professional as ever, shone, smiled and sweated (!) around the arena to the delight of a large audience, keen to participate in the comradery that was Mary & Bramble. A faultless performance from David cannot go without a mention either.
The team were also able to showcase their matching embroidered RLRC saddle cloths, generously provided by sponsor R & R Country... and there was cake and a generous donation of £500.
A few weeks of respite followed, giving the team time to reflect on their performance at Blaston, iron out a few technicalities and continue with their training in earnest.
Early July saw a return to Ashby Show, following an invitation from the organisers. Wagons rolled again on Sunday 9th, right into the main arena, to deliver another show stopping performance to their largest crowd yet. Leaving the arena waving their UK and Danish handheld flags high the crowd roared with applause, and high praise also followed from David himself – team spirits were high, and rightly so. As the thunder clouds rolled in and the rain fell, they left site just in time to miss the torrential downpour that followed, spirits were however, not dampened.
The team now look excitedly ahead to their first stay away performance at Hartpury College with All-Steps Formation Riding 4-5th August. Watch this space for updates to follow, we wish them every success and look forward to sharing a show report with you all afterwards.
The team continue to provide an all inclusive welcome to anyone wishing to come and experience quadrille and the next ‘Taster Session’ is Saturday 19th August, venue tbc. Please contact Anette Whitehouse for more information. You may even like it as much as we do!
We are delighted to have a few new regular quadders who seem to have been bitten by the bug and are regularly attending our training sessions. David is patiently working with them on the basics and so far so good, you may even be hearing about a few of them in our next update.
From 1.11.22 (the start of the Club’s financial year) to 30.6.23 - a period of 8 months, we have run 18 sessions with 271 attendances.
Please continue to follow on this page, where we can keep you updated with news from our shows and details of our forthcoming sessions.
That’s a wrap from us all for now.
Sponsorship For The Display Team...
We are delighted that the Quadrille Team is now sponsored by Woodlodge Silks who will be supplying bespoke silks for our displays as well as sponsoring classes in our Arena Eventing competitions.
Have a look and see what we do...
2021 Quadrille News...
We are delighted to announce that our Quadrille Team of Helen Griffith, Merlin Harper, Steve Johnson, Jacqui Ludlam, Jane Wood, Joanne Stout, Jenny Pick, Julie Marie Cawthorne, Linda Winston, Lucy Greaves, Rebecca Farrer and Anette Whitehouse with Charlie Haynes & Becca Smith as reserves will be taking part in a Quadrille Display on 8 August 2021, 10:30 - Wittering Academy Riding Club.
This all came about when many months ago Emma Windsor from WARC came to ride with our team a few times. She absolutely loved it! As a result we have been invited to go there to showcase quadrille and our team in a 12 horse display to music.
After our display David (our Riding Master) will do a first lesson for 12 of WARC riders, following which we will ride as a 24 horse team! We will then chat, eat and drink before we head home.
It would be fantastic to have the support of everyone associated with our wonderful RLRC team, so please feel free to offer to help and to come along to the day (provided we remain out of lockdown).
Anette
Come And Join Us...
The amazing Rearsby Lodge Riding Club Quadrille Team is now in its 5th year of development. Expertly coached by our Riding Master, the retired cavalry officer, David Boyd we will be riding in two fabulous venues during this Spring and Summer; indoor at Pickering Grange and outside at Aylesford Equine.
You may know that in 2019 we won the Quadrille Competition at Equifest with a sizzling score of over 90% from one judge! We hope to send at least one team this year (21 - 22 August at Peterborough) that will ride in costumes and to music. Can we beat our own now 2 year old score?
If you are interested in riding with us, you must be able to ride in all three gaits confidently and independently. Please call Jane Wood on 07976 359586 for more information and to book a place. We look forward to hearing from you; the team always gives new riders a warm welcome!
Please click the button below to be taken to our Calendar page for an up-to-date list of our Quadrille training dates.
The History Behind Rearsby Lodge Riding Club's Exciting Quadrille Team...
Quadrille means a ‘drill in a quad’, i.e. a sequence of commanded movements within a confined space with four corners.
We originally formed in 2016 to enter the British Riding Clubs ‘Team of 6’ dressage competition in 2017 and believe that we are the only British Riding Club with an established permanent Quadrille Team that rides regularly.
The team’s riding master is the incomparable and wonderful retired cavalry officer, David Boyd.
We now have a ‘core’ of around 10 members, who are at most sessions - plus roughly another 6, who ride as often as possible. We ride twice a month in the summer at Aylesford X-country course and less frequently in the winter at Pickering Grange.
Quadrille riding is a dying art, but in bygone years war battles were fought on horse back, and it was crucial to your very survival that you could ride precisely and in complete unison with others. Ceremonial duties were part of the role of cavalry men as well, and military music would often accompany a display. There were ‘quadrille conventions’ that were ‘handed down’ from one generation to the next. We have written them down and adhere to them when we ride.
The team won a pure quadrille competition at Equifest in 2019 with a huge score and we want to repeat that as soon as possible. We give displays when asked.
We love what we do and have great fun with much comradery and many friendships.
Our team’s motto is: ENJOY AND ENCOURAGE and anyone new gets a warm and supportive welcome.
The practise dates for 2022 are in the calendar section of this website, and you are welcome to try it out. To book a place or to get further information, please do contact the Team Manager, Anette Whitehouse on 07901 976905.
A Friendly Inter-Club Quadrille Competition on a wet and windy Saturday in October...
Quadrille Team Happy Memories...
Equifest 2019
We came...We saw and We conquered!
The team did an absolutely fantastic job at Equifest in a very exciting atmosphere and took the winning trophy with a huge score!
