Being in a team

ECCTG is affiliated to British Riding Clubs and is a member of Area 3 which includes clubs from Cheshire, Lancashire and Cumbria.  Our Area holds qualifying competitions for the BRC Championships for Dressage, Dressage to Music, Showjumping, Eventing and Hunter Trials. There are regional opportunities in Endurance too.

We have some fantastic teams and have had a lot of success over the years. Plus there is always a great team spirit and lots of fun to be had so do get involved! Get in touch with the relevant chef d’equipe (contact details for them are on the team pages  and the committee page) to let them know you are interested. They will be able to give you full details of all competitions, dress, saddlery and tack, eligibility of horse and rider, and dates of Area Qualifiers.

Click the links below for more information on each discipline;

Dressage and riding test
Show jumping
Horse trials
Arena eventing / Combined challenge
Endurance

There is lots of information that Chef d’Equipes need to complete entries….

When you confirm your entry for a Qualifier, your chef needs your name, horse’s name – and it must be the one on the vaccination cert, – your BRC membership number (please take your Membership Card to both area and national competitions) and any BE points, BD points, BSJA winnings as relevant.

A couple of vital points for anyone wanting to be in a team:

ENTRIES

Entries have to be made 21 days before the qualifier so your chef d’equipe needs to know you want to compete and have your details well in advance.  Please be proactive and contact the relevant chef yourself – don’t wait to be asked!

VACCINATIONS

Each horse must be up-to-date with flu vaccinations and passports are rigorously checked at all area qualifiers. The horse must not have had a vaccination within the preceding 7 days, including the day of the competition or entry into the competition stables.

CHAMPIONSHIPS

Those who do well at area competitions will qualify for the national championships and will be expected to represent both ECCTG and Area 3 at the finals. The number of teams and individuals that qualify depends on the number of starters and the eligibility of all competitors. Those entering area qualifiers should make note of the championship dates and ensure they are able to compete at the championships, should they qualify. Historically, the club has done well at both qualifiers and nationals and taking part in the Championships is always good fun!

There are opportunities for additional pre-championship training for those that qualify and each chef d’equipe offers support to both teams and individuals preparing to take part. The club pays the entry fee for championships and provides a subsidy towards stabling/travel fees.

VOLUNTEERS

It is a condition of team entries at area qualifiers that clubs provide volunteers to help run the competition; the number of volunteers that the club must supply at each qualifier depends on the discipline and the overall number of entries. Show jumping and dressage, for example, usually only require one helper per team, whereas horse trials requires one helper per rider. It is sometimes the case that the organiser of the area competition does not need to allocate a job to every nominated helper. In these instances, the organiser allocates roles equally across clubs and the individual chef d’equipe then allocates these roles across their list of helpers as fairly as possible.

Where members have difficulty finding an available person to be their nominated helper, we would encourage them to work together, for example by exchanging area duties where possible with competitors in other disciplines, or by asking other members to swap ordinary duty days with them. Contact details of all members are available in the back of the programme, or from the secretary and the committee is happy to assist by posting notices on the website or social media.