Anyone live near Chard?

[henryhorn]

Would you mind helping, some friends have bought a beautiful yard, he teaches and was manager at a prestigeous training centre for years, but as a stranger to the area needs to know the best places to advertise. What is the local horsy newspaper there (we have Western Morning News on a Friday for example) ?
Would you approach places like Stockland Lovell/Blackdown Hills to run courses or are they pretty well covered?
What about riding clubs, is there one near Chard? is it dressage orientated or not?
I wish I could help but we are around an hour away so I don't think I know anyone in that area at all.
Are there any main tackshops/feed centre etc ?
I have suggested they get a "name" down to run a three day dressage course, but are there enough people round there who would be interested?
If you don't want to say anything on open forum please pm me!

 

[LizzieJ]

The 'tack shop' in Chard is Henry Bowers. Unicorn Saddlery in Taunton is just over the hill. Don't know about the riding club round there though, sorry. It's probably worth giving Pontispool and SLM a ring - they will know the Quantock and West Somerset riding club details. Maybe the Somerset County Gazette on a thursday? Piaffe would know about the south somerset scene I think.

 

[LEC]

I would have thought nearest RC would be Blackdown Hills.
http://www.blackdownhillsridingclub.com/welcome.html

Mid Somerset is not far away either and tend to hold a lot of stuff at Millfield.
http://msrc-online.co.uk/

Sout Western Dressage Group is in Yeovil Direction so about 20 mins away.
http://www.swdg.org/

I think good places to advertise are Western Daily Press as that covers most of Somerset especially in the Riders section.

I also think Ridgeway Rider is pretty good as covers all of the area and is free so a lot of people pick it up.

 

[SouthWestWhippet]

Taunton District Riding Club is fairly local as well - I'm fairly sure that we have rallies as far out as Chard. there is quite a bit dressage 'interest' in the club with active members takin part. I would think a course would be popular. We have a website with contacts on it.

To advertise as well as Henry Bowers, you have Mole Valley off Junction 23 in Bridgwater and West Country Feeds just outside Taunton. Also Wrantage Feed Mills in Wrantage. these all have very horse-orinetated notice boards.

Local Riding Schools / Riding Centres would most likely include Drake's Farm in Ilminster as your nearest BHS RS. I think there is (or was) one in Curland as well but it may have shut down. Conquest (big RDA venue) is in that kind of area as well and is a popular dressage venue, it just a bit more on the Minehead side near Pontispool.

Of course, Heazle Riding Centre is up on the Blackdowns (Devon Somerset border) which is where I work

. We have a lot of unaffiliated SJ at Heazle.

I think lots of Dressage goes on a Neatherclay which is the big and rather swish livery yard associated with Unicorn Saddlery. Not too far from Chard and probably worth approaching.

Western Daily Press or the Western Gazette (out on a Thursday) are the local papers.

Pontispool and Stockland Lovel are the two big XC course venues in that kind of area. I'm sure there are others but I mostly know North Devon ones for the smaller venues which is probably a bit too far out for you.

I'm mostly based in the Taunton/Devon Border area but I hope some of this is useful.