By Andrew Clarke

Last updated 15:55, Wednesday, 07 May 2008

FOR almost 50 years, horse riding enthusiasts from the length and breadth of the county have enjoyed the camaraderie and competition offered at Cumbria Riding Club.

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Competing: Lin Richardson and Hobie in a One-Day Event in 1984

Operating mainly from Newton Manor, at New Mill near Gosforth, the club’s membership generally fluctuates between 100 and 150 with a mix of riders of varying abilities from as far afield as Barrow-in-Furness in the south of the county, and Aspatria in the north.

Founded in 1960, the driving force behind the club was the late Joan Williamson who, having worked with fell ponies, gradually built up a small herd of her own and set up a riding school at Silecroft.

A contract with a girls’ boarding school meant that, during term time, the horses would be taken across to Seascale for the children to ride. In 1959, the wives of workers at the nearby Windscale and Calder Works (now known as Sellafield) took advantage of the riding school coming to their home town and began to help ride the horses back and forth to Seascale.

The group of adult riders were keen to gather more people to ride with so they agreed to form a club.

Joan’s daughter, Lin Richardson, was one of the club’s founding members, along with Joan herself, Pam Eldred, Nora Vincent, Hazel Moore and Audrey Fenwick.

At this time, the West Cumberland Pony Club (WCPC) was in its infancy and Commander Hugh Falcon-Stewart, a stickler for punctuation and precision, was the district commissioner, running events on his land at Newton Manor.

The enthusiastic team approached the commander to be their chairman, which he accepted, and the parents of children involved in the WCPC wanted to ride themselves so joined the new club.

The group were very proud of their club and were keen to make it official so they affiliated to the British Riding Club (BRC) and, on February 26, 1960, the Cumbria Riding Club was born.

Lin Richardson, who was a founding member and is still active today, has had horses all her life and is a qualified BHS A1 instructor, having also achieved the equivalent of the Riding Club Grade 4 in Horse Mastership.

She took over the running of the family riding school as a young girl of 17 and, through the commander, she met her late husband, David, whom she married in 1965. Like Lin, David was horse mad, and was particularly fond of his infamous cob Peter Gurney.

In the 1960s, few people owned horses so most rode Joan’s riding school steeds, and all members were encouraged to take the Riding Club tests in those days.

They often rode each other’s horses, gaining the valuable experience from a variety of different breeds and natures.

Events that existed during that time included; riding and road safety, hunting, one-day event, handy hunter, hunter trial and the much-loved Peter Gurney timed ride.

Today, the club has a wide variety of well-attended events to suit all tastes with an array of trophies on offer, some of which are new but others and steeped in history from long-gone but not forgotten horses.

Members have the chance to compete in the BRC National Championships as both individual and team entries, while an annual camp and monthly club nights offer social opportunities.

The 2008 schedule kicked off on April 6 with the Cross County Instruction, and continues right through to September with the Autumn Hunter Trial.

For more information on Cumbria Riding Club contact Christen Hilton on 019467 28455.