Opinions on Larkhill or Ebbesbourne Wake wanted please!

TiaPony

TiaPony

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Tia will start her season at either one of these events. Some information on the Intro courses at these venues would be good as I don't really venture into Wiltshire but they're the closest events when I want to start her season.

How up to height are they? (SJ&XC)
Are there any ditches XC?
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Well laid out - easy access to dr, sj & xc? Well positioned?
All comments welcomed please
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Larkhill is easier but I much prefer Ebbesbourne Wake.

The xc start is miles away at both. EW has sj on a surface. Larkhill's dr is on the top of a hill with a view towards the xc and can baffle them a bit. The ground at both can be hard as theyre both on chalk but the ground is better at EW as it's maintained better.
 
have only been to ebbesborne, did the intro last season. id say its quite a good first one, SJ didnt seem to be quite up 2 height but not rediciously small! there was one ditch in the intro but it jumped well. the sj and lorry park are all quite close with the trade stands next to tje SJ which i thought was nice, the xc is a bit of a walk but not to bad and dressage not to far either! all in all i thought it was a really nice event!
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XC at both Larkhill and Ebbesbourne is MIIIIIIILES away! Gives you a nice warm up and cool down stretch though. Ebbesbourne SJ is on a surface, dr at both and SJ at Larkhill on grass.
I'm not an eventing person by any stretch of the imagination but I thought, having walked half of Ebbesbourne's course
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that it looked quite inviting and I could even pop some jumps myself (2'3" scares me usually!) Larkhill is a bit open for me, although Ebbesbourne is also fairly open, I've seen some horses literally go galloping off across the hills at Larkhill
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not that you plan on falling off of course! Oh, water at both is under trees if that makes any difference. That's all I can think of really!
 
People often seem to give Larkhill a hard time. Sure its a bizaare venue and everything is bloody miles away, but I like the xc. Its nice and flowing, encourages you to really open out and canter. The ground can be slightly unpredictable, but I've always had a laugh there.

(Oh, and its got the flatest dressage warm up I know.)
 
I would def choose ebbesbourne. The SJ is on a HUGE 80x60 all weather arena. The ground is also mush better maintained at ebbesbourne and its got a really good atmostphere. The course is inviting and well built and not designed to be trappy or catch you out! The start is a little distance from the lorry park but IMHO is a great warm up and cool down! Larkhill ground seems to be quite 'pot holey' and i wouldn't be overly happy running on it. Hope that helps!
 
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People often seem to give Larkhill a hard time. Sure its a bizaare venue and everything is bloody miles away, but I like the xc. Its nice and flowing, encourages you to really open out and canter. The ground can be slightly unpredictable, but I've always had a laugh there.

(Oh, and its got the flatest dressage warm up I know.)

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I hate the courses there- theyre inconsistant and the ground is horrid. You'll get a big open ditch/brush and a set of 2'9 tyres one after the other in the novice course.
 
Does anyone know how the ditch is presented? Is it part of a combination or just an open ditch?

Ground sounds fairly awful at Larkhill - not willing to run on bad ground
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Thankyou - that should be fine! Ditches are pony's nemises but they don't seem to be half as bad when they're in a combination.
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I did Larkhill intro last year and thought it was great! It is a long way to dress and XC but the SJ was in a huge arena and and the XC started small but got bigger and more challenging the further round you went. The ground was really good too.
 
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