Whitegate Farm Livery & Training Centre

13/11/2024

Gentle reminder - all livery enquiries to Francesca Bradley 07584 991995. Steph is away on holiday in NZ where we are 13 hours ahead 😴😴

12/11/2024

Enjoy! 🎧

Headphones on, we've got another fascinating podcast to bring you!

Our membership is made up of a whole lot of fantastic females, and we've brought the inspiring Steph Bradley into the Dressage For All Week conversation to raise awareness on the effects and impact of the menopause on equestrian activity.

Hear Steph talk through what the effects are, what the impact is on participation and how we can best manage this chapter whilst enjoying the sport we love 🩷 Check it out here ➡🎧 https://bit.ly/BDpod-StephBradley

01/11/2024

We made it into Horse & Hound! Great job everyone! Super team effort!! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Riders have held a Macmillan coffee morning “with a difference” raising more than £2,000 for charity – while showing the public the joy of horses. On 28 September coach and saddle fitter Steph Bradley welcomed around 75 guests to her yard in Wrexham, where she hosted a quadrille display in ai...

31/10/2024

Our onsite British Equestrian Level 4 coach Steph Bradley specialises with riders with occasional or more frequent confidence issues.

Where do you see yourself in these images…?

Are you happy there? Or do you need support to move to the next stage…?

Whitegate Farm offers many clinics for a variety of riders - plus individual lessons of preferred!

28/10/2024

Our onsite coach Steph Bradley was asked to present at the British Dressage Wales Health and Wellbeing Conference yesterday in South Wales.

26/10/2024

We are starting to get very excited at Whitegate Farm, as Steph and Colin head off to Auckland, New Zealand in a week’s time for the Masters Hockey World Cup.
Steph was interviewed by a local Wrexham newspaper - and Whitegate Farm even gets a mention!

NORTH WALES players will be able to demonstrate they are masters of their craft in New Zealand.

21/10/2024

🥁🥁🥁Coming soon…. 🥁🥁🥁

Bookings now being taken!
http://freedomsaddleryappointmentbooking.as.me/schedule.php

☕️Coffee morning and group lesson !
-Wednesday mornings starting in December. A fun morning in a group lesson, followed by coffee, cake and chatter. A friendly supportive group.
All welcome!

🐴 ‘Know Your Horse’ clinics starting January
An ‘on foot’ session where you will discover more about your four legged best friend.
Sessions will include:
-Performing a back health check
-Observing a trot up - seeing more.
-Templating your horse’s back
-Basic saddle fitting and safety checks
-Basic bridle fitting and safety checks
-Weigh bridge, weigh taping and height stick
-Feeding optimally.
-Foot care
And much more!
These can be booked by a voucher - the perfect Christmas present for the caring horseowner!

👯‍♂️ Formation riding - dancing with your horse to music! Starting January.

😱 Confidence sessions…. Our research shows that perimenopause can cause issues with riding confidence for 75% of female riders. These sessions are designed to help you enjoy your ride, and improve your confidence - shared or private lessons. Starting January.

And so much more for 2025!!

21/10/2024

Here is the link to vote… let’s get behind Suki and Georgia Wilson who generously was our special guest at our Macmillan Coffee Morning🥈🦄

Who do you think should be crowned Dressage Horse of the Year at the annual Horse & Hound Awards, in partnership with NAF and Agria

11/10/2024

Two years ago Sport Wales selected little ole me, a British Dressage Wales coach, to join elite coaches and PDs from other Welsh sporting organisations, to study on a programme mapped directly against CIMSPA Chartered Coach Developer requirements. It meant attending 6 three day residentials and undertaking CD work to create a portfolio. Initially on the course, I felt like the odd one out! All others worked for their sporting bodies and were from South Wales - knowing many of the same people.

Well, the programme ended yesterday, culminating in a day celebrating the success of the programme. My portfolio work for chartership is marked and completed, and I’m just awaiting CIMSPA ratification on the 20 November.

I was hugely honoured to be asked to share my coach development/mentor experiences, presenting my reflections and observations with the attendees at Sport Wales National Centre in Sophia Gardens yesterday.
The benefits of coach developers working with coaches across different sports is immense - concentrating on the inter and intrapersonal skills as opposed the technical and tactical. I worked with three lovely coaches from Welsh Hockey and Manchester City Football Academy. Thank you Jennie K for facilitating my Academy work! And to Tom W for reigniting my love of hockey!

To Gruff, Mike, Jo, Els, Donal and Rich - thank you for being such fab colleagues. To Deirdre Angella from Sport Wales thank you for your support and counsel
The team at Cardiff Met Uni were incredible - Dr Christian Edwards (Swanny), Dr Andy Lane, Dr Gethin Thomas - all so inspiring. Sportsmen who had then followed an academic route but still active as coaches.
And I was just so lucky being mentored by Prof. Robyn Jones - hugely knowledgeable, but very approachable too!

Thank you to the support of British Dressage and Angela Wetherall BHS Wales in my application. I hope both organisations consider how this can be used within our sport.

Sport Wales are likely to be running this programme every two years. For Welsh coaches wanting to work in this space, I can highly recommend it!

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿👩🏼‍🎓⚽️🏈🎾🏐🏊🏻‍♀️🚣🏇🥋🏑🏋️🥊🚴🏏

04/10/2024

Happy Friday All!

I thought I’d reach out and ask you what you’d like to see in terms of clinics here.

Some ideas so far are:

🐴Private lessons
🐴Shared lessons
🐴Test riding
🐴Practice test riding
🐴Formation riding (to music)
🐴Pole work
🐴Confidence clinics
🐴Rider position clinics
🐴”Know your horse” clinics - to help you identify issues - including trot ups, saddle and bridle fit, back checks, ‘learn to template’ your horse and so on.

🐴Plus unaffiliated dressage comps

And as a Coach Developer I will be hosting a series of coach development workshops too - for both experienced, new and aspiring equestrian coaches.

I’m planning the winter clinic series and would like to put on events you want to attend - your feedback is needed! Preferred days of the week needed too.

We are blessed with a fabulous indoor arena which is such a bonus as the nights draw in and the weather gets more extreme.

If you’d prefer to message me feel free - 07921 227241.

Steph 😀

02/10/2024

A great afternoon at the AES grading at Whitegate Farm Livery & Training Centre organised by Eden Equine Fertility with this stunning mare, who quite rightly scored Gold Premium! Congratulations to her very proud owner Nikki ❤️

02/10/2024

Fabulous Dane Rawlins Clinic held here at Whitegate Farm over the past two days
Dane is an International Grand Prix Rider and a British Equestrian Elite Coach, coaching riders of all levels from non competitive up to international Grand Prix (Olympic).
He trained for three years as a young rider with Theodorescu in Germany, meeting many of the greats. He has since trained many horses to Grand Prix and is a British and Irish Dressage “treasure”.

Seen here helping Steph Bradley with the Piaffe-Passage at the recent clinic.
Dane visits Whitegate Farm every 4-6 weeks and has been a regular visiting coach here for over 7 years!

Next clinic 13 & 14 December. Please PM Steph for a slot.

29/09/2024

Great research Russell ! 👏🏻👏🏻

**𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗖𝗛 𝗣𝗨𝗕𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗛𝗘𝗗 𝗜𝗡 𝗘𝗤𝗨𝗜𝗡𝗘 𝗩𝗘𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗬 𝗝𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗡𝗔𝗟**

𝗡𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲’𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝗼𝘁

MacKechnie-Guire, R*, Williams, J.M., Nixon, J., Fisher, M., Fisher, D., Walker, V., Murray, R., Clayton, H.M

𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 (read without a subscription):
https://beva.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/evj.14420

For the past four years, we have investigated the pressures beneath different nosebands when adjusted from 2.0 to 0.0 finger tightness (0.0 finger adjustment so that the noseband was touching but not compressing the skin).

Poor noseband adjustment could create high pressures that may risk pain or tissue damage. This study is a step forward in providing quantitative data relating to pressures associated with noseband type and fit when adjusted to various tightness’s.

𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀:

🐴No significant difference between noseband pressures when the noseband was adjusted from 2.0 to 1.5 finger tightness.

🐴Noseband pressures were highest on the mandible vs. the lateral aspect of the nasal bones.

🐴No differences were found in noseband pressures between the cavesson, flash or Swedish (crank) noseband types at 2.0 to 0.5 finger tightness.

🐴The Drop noseband had the lowest absolute nasal pressures (mandible pressures not measured) and significantly lower values than the other nosebands. We need to be mindful of the position of the traditional drop. More work needed.

🐴Noseband pressures were lower when ridden in trot, compared with when chewing a treat.

🐴Noseband pressures were cyclical (rise and fall) and not continuous – changing during the stride and the chewing cycle of the horse.

As always, this is a team effort. Thank you to our research assistants, riders, owners and horses.. Thank you to our funders, World Horse Welfare, British Equestrian, Canadian Sport Horse Association, The Worshipful Company of Saddlers and Hartpury University.

NB image taken from pilot testing and was not included in the main study. All noseband types are described in detail in the manuscript.

28/09/2024

💚Today is our Macmillan Cancer Support Coffee Morning!

💚Please support by coming along - all welcome!

💚Or please donate via the link below!

https://cm24.macmillan.org.uk/fundraising/CM24044516

💚We are just £640 off our target! £1360 raised already by generous kind donations! 😮

💚Thank you thank you thank you!

Support my Macmillan Coffee Morning for people living with cancer

27/09/2024

💚One more sleeps until our MacMillan Coffee Morning extravaganza!! 💚💚💚

💚All welcome!

💚Please donate if you can’t be here!

💚 Every penny counts!

💚 We are over a 1/3 of the way to our target! Thank you to those who have donated!

Support my Macmillan Coffee Morning for people living with cancer

09/11/2023

👏🏻

Have you ever met another horse owner at breaking point? No?

Actually the answer is yes. Yes, you have.

They don’t wear a t-shirt, They might not have told you. In fact I’d put good money on them NOT looking rabid & crazy & bellowing ‘LOOK AT ME! I’m as close to the edge as you can get!!
But I can tell you this:

You have met someone who underneath their bluster & brags was secretly wondering how they are going to meet their next haylage bill

You might have met someone who won 3 classes but they were physically & mentally spent.

You might have met someone who has a swanky lorry & posh tack but terrified they are making an utter arse of themselves.

You might have met someone who laughed, joked & acted without a care in the world who inside was riddled with self doubt & fear.

You might have met someone who is just so tired of being strong when it all feels like it is going wrong for them.

So just imagine if you met someone & you gave them *that* smile, you asked if they needed a hand with anything when they were struggling in a warm up, you told them ‘well done’ after their clear round.
Just imagine how lighter their heart would feel if you just asked them if they were ok when they looked worried. Just imagine the joy that could be spread by sharing your moments of idiocy to make someone who’s had a bad day feel better.

No horse has ever jumped better because their rider has bi***ed about someone else. No rosette was won because one person slated another. Making someone else feel bad won’t make your life suddenly all sparkles & free gin. Fact.

In all honesty the best days can be had with poles flying like skittles, dressage tests of utter chaos & walks of shame back from eliminations on the cross country course. The days when you laugh like loons about stupid things you’ve done & cheered on your fellow competitors, they are the days when you come home a champion, no matter what the scoreboard says.

People say that the horse world is ruthless, that it is bitchy. But some of the kindest things I’ve ever witnessed & the best friends I could ever hope for have been made in the horseworld. I know it’s not a bad place.

Let’s be the fist bumping, cheerleading kind sport that we know we can be.

A candle stays just as bright even when it lights another.
Word.

08/11/2023

Book in!

📣Join us for an evening with Richard Baldwin as he delves into the judges' perspective! Whether you're looking to enhance your riding skills, improve your judging acumen, or simply expand your dressage knowledge, this event is tailored for you.🤩

🌟Perfect for coaches and worth 8 technical CPD credits - 4 rider development and 4 horse development!🌟

https://horsemonkey.com/equestrian_event/50699/4667+-+BD+Wales+-+Dressage+Unveiled%3A+A+Judges%27+Perspective+with+Richard+Baldwin%2C+Northop+Equestrian

🌟Test Riding also available at Whitegate Farm with Richard on Monday 13 November! Test rides include free arena hire courtesy of Whitegate Farm!!🌟