Wellington Area Trail Riding Club

Belmont Regional Park gets a promo in Schmap

2009-04-25T18:31:00.005+12:00

Schmap is a publisher of digital travel guides for destinations throughout the United States, Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. It can be browsed online, and has versions optimized for iPhone and Nokia users. You can learn about it on the Schmap website.

Why mention this ? Well, the publishers of the Wellington guide asked if they could use a photo from a WATRC event, and chose one from the recent Belmont Regional Park ride. You can see the guide entry here. Look for a shot from our event in the set of four photos associated with the entry.

Schmap presents information from a variety of sources, including Google Maps and Flickr. Clicking on the image takes the viewer back into the image in Flickr, where I've added a link back to the WATRC website and other Belmont sets.

Check the April 2009 Sportaloosa Quarterly - see "Miss Autumn" ;-)

2009-04-13T20:23:00.003+12:00

A few weeks ago, I received a request for the use of a photo from a member of one of the HorseTalk forums. The contact turned out to be one of the publishers of the website and quarterly online magazine of a non profit organisation that promotes spotted breeds as sport horses (therefore, "Sportaloosa"), and they were looking for a suitable cover photo for their second magazine.

The request arose after Leslie had posted a favorite picture of Dove from the Waikawa Beach ride to the HorseTalk forum.

We were rapt to receive today a link to the latest Sportaloosa Quarterly, a short online magazine downloadable for free as a PDF file. No prize for guessing who is the latest "cover-girl". It being a quarterly magazine and this being the April edition, in our household at least Dove has been temporarily dubbed "Miss Autumn" (which is probably better than "Miss Fall" as she might be were it October and this the northern hemisphere ;-)

Anyway, the terms of use of the image was an attribution for the photographer by name with a URL to the WATRC website, so with luck the club will benefit from some additional exposure.

For those of you with spotted horses, whether purebred Appaloosa or Knabstrupper, or an out-cross with spots, take some time to check out the Sportaloosa website.

Bulls Championship photos on Flickr

2009-04-09T09:28:00.002+12:00

Put on a spurt last night and burned some midnight oil to complete the first cut edit of the Bulls set. Concluded that with care-giving for Leslie including a vist to the hospital today and the likelihood of new cast being fitted, plus the need to pack myself up and get to the Wairarapa for the Endurance National Champs, a second go-through was not really on the cards.

So, they're up - a little bit raw still, but it's done.

What a great venue we have at Bulls. Without the support of the land-owners we would not have access to such a range of fabulous trails, and we're very grateful for their willingness to open their properties to the club.

Great job all the organisers, officials, and helpers. A well marked course and a well run event. It's too easy to just not notice the work that goes into a sporting club event but I'm sure our competitors all apreciate what makes a successful event.

I had a fine walk and there were lots of photo opportunities. Also, the earlier start meant some of the first shots of the day got the benefit of some wonderful morning light, and I'm particularly pleased with some of the backlit shots that catch highlights around horses and riders. While shooting in that light has it's challenges and none of those photos are technically perfect, the effect is stunning, and it's the impact that matters.

I hope you enjoy them

Championships Results, Turakina Flyer and Newsletter 121 online

2009-04-07T23:03:00.002+12:00

Results from the Championships ride at Bulls were emailed today and are downloadable from the results page. The latest newsletter came out at the same time and can be downloaded from the news page.

Shortly afterwards a ride flyer for Turakina was published and contains some important updates relating to entries. Please refer to the flyer on the calendar page rather than the details in the newsletter.

Photos from Bulls are not available yet - I'm still editing the set, but hoping I may be able to upload on Thursday before heading over to the Endurance Championships hosted by the Wairarapa club at Whareama. If I can't make that deadline it will unfortunately not be until after Easter.

Waitohu Photos uploading - results on the WATRC site

2009-03-20T21:33:00.002+13:00

It's great to have finally caught up on the backlog of photos. Waitohu is uploading now, and all going well, I'll be able to put the finishing touches to the set in the morning. You can get to the set through the photos page as usual.

Results were out today for Belmont and Waitohu, and are now on the results page.

We're looking forward to the club championships at Bulls. It's a great venue and ideal terrain for a championship event.

Waitohu was a challenge for me, photographically because of the amount of forestry. In a mature but well maintained forestry block you have low light areas that are often mottled with very bright areas where the sun is able to break through. The smaller patches of very bright light amongst otherwise quite dull areas make it more difficult to get exposures correct.

Compensating for low light without flash means sacrificing some quality in the image to get the picture, and close examination of the shots taken under those conditions will reveal the speckling of the image that comes from using a "fast" sensor setting (eg. ISO 1600) and the fuzziness that comes from the blurring of moving subjects at low shutter speeds, or in elements of the picture that are not within the compressed "in focus" range that results from wide apertures.

I guess you could say that was my own fault - I could have kept to the open areas of the trail and minimised the time spent in the forest. However, I had a very good walk so can look forward to planning next year's outing with much better knowledge of the trail than I've had to date.

Photos from Waikawa Beach uploading

2009-03-11T19:41:00.003+13:00

It's certainly been a marathon editing session with the Waikawa Beach set and not without it's challenges, as I'm sure you know. I've concluded that rather than reviewing and re-reviewing the set, given the delays so far, I'm better to get it on-line and move on to the next event. So, here it is, or at least, here it comes.

It's a bigger than usual set, but then, Waikawa Beach provided exceptional photo opportunities. I usually take a number of shots of each rider at each encounter in the trail, and select what I hope are the best from each. This time, with riders clearly visible from a distance there was opportunity to take longer sequences of shots, and some of you will find yourselves quite heavily featured in a sequence, or even two.

It's going to take most of this evening (Wednesday) to complete the uploads, and the set remains in a partially completed state for most of that period. However, if you just can't wait, you can monitor the photostream during the upload, and a simple browser refresh will show you whatever is new - it's taking about 30 - 60 seconds to upload an image.

Aaaaarrrrgggghhh @#$%^&* !!!

2009-03-04T18:36:00.002+13:00

Please forgive the language -some days it's the only appropriate response to events ;-)

I've been grinding away at editing the Waikawa Beach photo set, trying to judge when to apologise for my tardiness, and finally the time has arrived. Unfortunately, it's not one of those "but won't be long now" scenarios.

You may as well have the whole story.

Waikawa Beach, being an "out and back" ride starting at the trail's mid-point, is one of those WATRC rides where a well placed photographer gets to see all the riders multiple times. It's probably fair to say that being a wide open space with few hiding places, the riders get to see the photographer several times too, and from far enough off that a decision to up the pace and fun level in front of the camera is more temptation than many can resist (and good-on-ya ;-)

The upshot is a huge amount of raw material (probably twice as many shots as I've had from even the largest ride before) and a massive editing job to get them into a manageable set for uploading. There I am then, just approaching halfway through and feeling good about the results so far, but conscious that it's taking longer than I'd like ...

... and the laptop dies. Hence the scream and profanities.

All is not lost - I still have backups of all the unedited photos on my my main computer, and I'm backing them up to another as I write this. The loss is in the work and time spent so far. For me, editing consists mainly of selecting the best photos and deleting those that don't make the cut. Chances are everything to date is still there on the laptop's disk drive, but in the time it will take to get that fixed, I might as well start over.

So - deepest apologies - yes, the Waikawa photos will be available, but good things take time and it won't happen overnight.

Newsletter 118, Manakau Farm results and photos

2009-02-15T22:09:00.002+13:00

Newsletter 118 and the Manakau Farm results were emailed today and have now been posted on the website. Manakau farm had another very large turnout and was a very popular venue. We hope to be able to use it again in future and extend the range of trails available.

The newsletter further clarifies the qualification criteria for the club championships event to be held at Bulls on 29 March, but unfortunately contained an inadvertant error that was corrected in a subsequent email. The corrected information has been placed in the website Calendar page.

Finally, the photos from Manakau Farm have been loaded to Flickr and linked from the club photos page. Sorry for the delay - it's been one of those weeks.

Pikarere Photos on Flickr (at last)

2009-02-05T18:28:00.003+13:00

Sincere apologies for taking so long with this set - the large turn-out and a lot on at work, along with family committments and another back-to-back WATRC event have conspired against me. But finally, its now linked from the photos page.

Now, if I can just make time to get Manakau Farm sorted before Waikawa Beach, perhaps I'll have caught up ;-)

Photos from Daisybank (Wairarapa) on Flickr

2009-01-18T12:14:00.005+13:00

As mentioned in the last entry, Leslie, Dove and I didn't make it to Bright's Farm. Instead we went over the hill to Daisybank, just out of Martinborough and on the eastern (drier) side of the valley. We usually make a Wairarapa trip an over-nighter, camping the night before or the night after the event, depending on the start time.

Daisybank is an attractive venue for Wellington based riders given it's relatively close for us compared with some of the Wairarapa venues. We hadn't been to Daisybank before, but had good reports of the terrain and going, backed up by Google Earth and TUMONZ. Had it not been for the clash of dates, we think more WATRC riders would find Daisybank a worthwhile outing.

As it was, there was a small field of competitors. Many of the Wairarapa regulars chose to rest their horses following the North Island Endurance Championships, held the weekend before. The weather was perfect for CTR, remaining overcast throughout the day, with light to moderate wind, and a little light drizzle towards the end of the ride. The course mainly followed well formed farm trails and in places crossed paddocks or skirted crops to link into other parts of the farm.

From different points on the trail one could look to the north over the Murdoch James vineyard, west across the valley to Lake Wairarapa and the Rimutaka Ranges, east to the Hau Nui Wind Farm, and in every direction over the award winning Daisybank farm itself. The rolling country means that the course is not as demanding as some of our hillier Wellington venues, making the slightly longer distance feasible. As already mentioned, I managed to walk one loop of the course in slightly over the Intermediate 1 time allowed, and I can't usually manage that on steep terrain ;-)

Anyway, despite this not being a WATRC ride, I thought some photos might be of interest to members, and perhaps might encourage more to consider making the trip over the hill to this or other venues in future. Take a look - aside from familiar faces from both clubs, I've tried to make a selection that shows the venue to advantage as well.

See you at Pikarere.

Newsletter 117 and Brights Farm results posted

2009-01-16T17:34:00.003+13:00

Having survived the festive season, it's back into the second half of the CTR season with a vengence. Leslie and I were not at Brights Farm, so if anyone got out and took photos, drop the WATRC webmaster a line and we can get some onto the site.

Instead, we tripped over to the Wairarapa and the Daisybank CTR. An award winning farm near the Murdoch James vineyard south of Martinborough, Daisybank has gentler terrain than Brights - probably comparable to Waitohu. I amazed myself by walking the 20 km loop in slightly over the 40 km intermediate time (but suffered for it the next day ;-). Dove unfortunately threw a shoe, so Leslie withdrew on completing the first loop in an emergency boot.

Like Brights, we had good weather with a few spots of drizzle that never developed into rain, although further north we could see the signs of a downpour in progress. The overcast conditions and light southerly helped keep things cool. The event had a smaller turnout than Brights, as many of the Wairarapa regulars were resting their horses following the North Island endurance championships the previous weekend.

We're now looking forward to Pikarere and the rest of the WATRC season, and no doubt will see you all there.

Battle Hill prize winners photos on Flickr

2008-12-19T22:29:00.002+13:00

Well, it's been a bit of a marathon, but finally, we have a wrap. I've placed a low resolution photo of each of the five class winners on the Photos page, but if you click on any one of them, it will take you to the full set on Flickr and you can find the original photo in the set.

The set includes everyone who turned up for the post prize-giving shoot, so even if you don't see your photo on the WATRC photos page, check the set - you'll be there.

Battle Hill Results and Newsletter 116 published

2008-12-18T19:52:00.003+13:00

The last newsletter before Xmas was emailed today, and with it the results from the Battle Hill ride.

Battle Hill is always a challenging venue, and the hot mid-day and firm tracks have been reflected in higher than usual vet-outs. Well done to the survivors, and commiserations to those who didn't qualify - better luck next time.

From the ride base, the hill itself looks quite tame, and indeed the clockwise direction of the Puketiro loop takes the worst of the steepness out of the up-hill section.

But the steepness is not really the issue - it's the height and the length that take their toll. The climb is close to 400 vertical metres over an unrelenting 3 kms, and it has to be approached with respect. Add to that your descent from Water Point 1 into a valley and a climb back out of it (mercifully not the whole 400 metres) and you begin to get the picture. Of course the Open and Intermediate 1 classes do yet another descent and climb on their extended section of the ride. Although it's a little out of date, the 2006 trail profile gives you a rough idea of what you tackled.

Nor is the homeward section of the Puketiro Loop to be underestimated. It is at least downhill, but downhill throws enormous strain on the horses' forelegs, and combined with the additional weight of a rider on their backs leaves them less ability to pick their way through stones, which is one reason many riders get off and lead their horses on this section (and it's easier on the rider if they have to trot the horse to make up time)

Bright's Farm is a similarly challenging venue. The trails are not as firm as they have not been constructed to carry logging trucks, but they can sometimes have long grass which can be slippery, especially if wet. High steep hills are a feature of this ride also, making it one of the toughest in the WATRC calendar. Again, an out-of-date trail profile is available, but do not rely on this as a guide on the day - the course may cover different ground or go in different directions.

Think about a ride strategy. Doing your speed work and covering distance up-front lets you take the end of the ride more slowly, allowing the horse's heart rate to come down, but remember that course layout and conditions can force you to re-think on the fly. If the underfoot conditions are good, that's an opportunity to make up time and distance at any point in the ride. If the underfoot is bad, slow down regardless - you're better to vet through late than to arrive lame on time.

Never forget your horse - most CTR competitors only have one mount - look after them and they'll look after you. Plan to finish this ride and be back for the next - don't blow it all on one day.

Photos from Battle Hill uploading

2008-12-17T23:37:00.002+13:00

It's taken a bit longer than usual to get the Battle Hill photos organised, and it's still a work in progress - I'm trying to wrap up all sorts of work stuff before the Xmas break, and meeting the usual seasonal social obligations has been diverting my attention. However, we are getting there.

The Battle Hill set is partially uploaded, and the balance of the set can be found in the photostream as it uploads over night, if you just can't wait. Once the upload is complete I'll put the finishing touches to the set and it will be done.

Sash and ribbon winners - I'm still working on your photos and hope to have them ready by the weekend. I'll put them into a separate set with their own link from the photos page.

Unfortunately, I missed a number of the later starters due to my timetable (I had strapping and final vetting duties back at base) and the route I followed on the trail (cutting across from Water Point 1 to the Puketiro Loop homeward section) put me well ahead of any who hadn't passed me on the hill climb. Maybe next time.

Merry Xmas and a safe holiday to everyone, and we hope to see you all in the new year.

Newsletter 115 Published - Battle Hill details confirmed

2008-12-01T09:13:00.002+13:00

The latest newsletter is now on-line and has been posted to subscribers. Included are further details of the Battle Hill ride. Due to pressure on the venue from other users, times allowed will not be available until a final course measurement can be taken, probably the day before.

Overnight camping and grazing is available. Anyone needing this should contact the ranger in advance. Contact details are in the newsletter and on the calendar page.

Battle Hill hosts the club's "Rhona Frazer Challenge" event, a club premiere points ride (double placing points to count towards club end of season honours) and is the pre-Xmas wrap-up ride for 2008.

Hope to see you all there.

David

Battle Hill preliminary details released

2008-11-30T22:48:00.003+13:00

Due to a delay in posting the newsletter, a quick update to the calendar has been released for the Battle Hill ride. More complete details are expected when the newsletter is released.

Also, photos from the second Maymorn ride are available via links form the photos page.

Wainuiomata - Results and Photos published

2008-11-16T09:15:00.003+13:00

The Wainuiomata ride is probably one of the most beautiful venues on the WATRC calendar, with spectacular views to the south and west of hidden valleys, the city and harbour entrance as a backdrop, and the Kaikouras (on a fine day) a distant couterpoint. To the north and east, the Orongorongo's overlook the picturesque Wainuiomata River valley with the southern end of the Rimutakas behind, and the plateau above Baring Head falls in steep cliffs to the stoney beach.

This year the trail included an inspired detour around the eastern edge of Lake Kohangatera and the Gollans Stream wetlands. This area has been longingly admired from the top of Valley View Hill on previous rides, and it was a pleasure and priviledge to descend into the valley. For horses and riders this new section of trail added some welcome softer going on the flat and the opportunity to blow out some cobwebs - most riders took advantage of it.

By getting out a little ahead of the first riders, I was able to catch the first few in a warming morning light ahead of the full sun of the day. My trail followed the planned Novice route, but with the loop past the lodge and along the lakeside in reverse so that I could meet the riders rather than be overtaken. A trot downhill allowed me to meet a pair exiting the lake reserve who I had snapped as they entered the downhill part of the loop. The only downside of this plan was the very steep climb I had back to the main trail, but it paid dividends as I met every novice rider at some point on that loop.

Congratulations and thanks to Sharon and the numerous helpers on the day. A highly successful event and a magnificent venue with new gems revealed.

With results and the latest newsletter published, the photo set completed (at last) we now have a second chance at Maymorn to look forward to.

See you there.

Bulls photos uploading

2008-10-31T21:49:00.002+13:00

As I write, photos from the Bulls ride held on 26 October are uploading to the Flickr website. I've posted a link to the set on the photos page, but the photos will only be added to the set when the batch is completed. If you want to get an early preview of the photos, go to the photo stream instead. If you refresh the page every 5 minutes or so, another image or two should be available.

Although there was a small field of riders due to the dire weather predictions that never really came to pass, I've taken a lot of shots, and the layout of the trail meant that I had several opportunities to take shots of most people. Being a new venue, I've also left more than the usual number of landscape and environment shots in the set.

It certainly is a beautiful venue, and the recent rains had left the free draining sandy soil of the farm quite soft underfoot, but not muddy. The day was overcast but not at all cold, and if there was any wind (and there certainly was plenty as we headed home through the Manawatu), the venue was well sheltered from it and we never really noticed.

This is a great venue that I'm sure riders will look forward to next year.

Tomorrow (Saturday) we head off to Wairarapa and the Whareama CTR day and Endurance ride. It'll be an early start and we'll come back on Sunday - again, the weather predictions are not good, and this time we think they just might come true ;-)

I'll leave the upload running overnight, but in the past these have been prone to failures, so bear with me if the complete set of photos doesn't get completed and finalised until Sunday evening.

Newsletter 112 and Maymorn results published

2008-10-20T18:32:00.002+13:00

Check the website for the newsletter and the Maymorn results if you haven't already received them by email.

Please note also a small change in the directions to the Bulls venue this weekend. The entrance has been shifted and is now just after the 65 kmph bend. This will mimimise any inconvenience to the land owner who has so generously allowed us access to this new trail.

Also note that as you enter you will be on part of the course for a short distance and you may encounter riders. Please keep well to the left, go slowly, and stay alert for horses that may become alarmed.

Maymorn photos now available to view on Flickr

2008-10-18T21:08:00.002+13:00

I've not long completed the selection and upload of shots from Maymorn, and you can now link to the set from the Photos page as usual.

It was great weather for the ride, and with the day heating up as time passed, the early starters were glad of their "red-eye" choice.

Coming up we have the Bulls ride - a new venue for the club and one we hope to see you all at. See the Calendar for details

Ride flyer for Bulls (26 October) and calendar updates posted

2008-10-13T20:46:00.003+13:00

Details of the Bulls ride to be held on Sunday 26 October have been emailed to newsletter subscribers and now posted to the website. This is a new venue for the club with terrain reputably similar to Waitarere - mostly flat going with farm and forestry trails.

In fact, Bulls is the first of a number of new venues this season, and updates to the calendar have now been posted outlining some of these. February will be a very busy month for the club with an event each weekend.

The Maymorn ride was a great success, with riders enjoying wonderful weather to complete a well loved course in generous time.

Photos from Waitarere trickling onto Flickr

2008-10-04T17:05:00.002+13:00

With a backlog of photos to edit from the Wairarapa 2 day Tinui event, it's taken me a while to get started on Waitarere, but I hope to have caught up before the next WATRC ride at Maymorn.

Rather than keep folk waiting, I decided to upload the photos I've selected so far, and I'll carry on with the edit task and upload the rest as I'm able, finalising the set sometime next week.

In some ways, the hardest part is done, with most of the forest photo selection done. Photographing riders in the Waitarere forest quickly exposes the limitations of one's gear and talents. At low resolution , some of you may notice that the forest pictures have greater contrast than the farm shots. At high resolution, you'll notice a lot of "noise" in the darker parts of the images. This is from pushing the sensitivity of the camera so as to shoot in low light.

If you also notice some bluriness, this is more to do with the limitations of the photographer. Using telephotos at slower shutter speeds (again because of the low light) a steadier hand is required ;-)

Anyway, as the caption on the photos page says, editing and uploading is still in progress, so if you saw me on the trail but there isn't a photo of you yet, look again when the set is final, and with any luck there'll be a shot of you.

Waitarere - first ride of the WATRC season - 28 September

2008-09-19T20:43:00.004+12:00

A flier for the ride was posted to the mailing list a week or so ago, and I've been very remiss in not getting it onto the website sooner, so this quick note by way of notification in case any of you are users of the blog or the RSS feed (that works automatically off the blog). Check the details in the Calendar

In fact, Leslie and I have an early start in the morning, travelling over the hill to Tinui and the Wairarapa club's 2 day Endurance ride. They're putting on a 2 day pre-novice 40 km event (40 kms each day) but we'll only be competing on the Saturday, staying overnight to help out for a part of Sunday before coming back. Mainly a matter of seeing a new venue and getting a good training ride in before Waitarere.

Hope to see some of you there, but if not, no doubt we'll catch up at Waitarere.

Wairarapa's Clareville Ride - Photos on Flickr now

2008-09-11T22:39:00.004+12:00

Well, we're back. While the WATRC season doesn't start for another couple of weeks, some of our members made the trek to Clareville last weekend and got a head start on the season.

The day could not have been better weather-wise. The rain abated for a day that started with a frost that caught a few of us by surprise. Although the sun shone, there was a cooling breeze throughout the day - good for the heart rates.

Perhaps most surprising was the size and strength of the Open field - 13 competitors took advantage of the flat Clareville course, an ideal test of the horses' start of season fitness.

Some very muddy sections of the trail tended to slow the pace, but despite this riders mostly managed their time very well - a few even managing to rush the course and come in too early.

The photographer, having to work to an Open class timetable to assist with strapping, took an "out-and-back" route, getting as far as the river crossing before returning to meet riders on their return to base. Consequently most riders completing two loops passed him twice, and some three times, affording ample opportunity for shots.

You can access the photos from the link on the WATRC Photos page

Enjoy

Newsletter 109 published - Prizegiving and AGM date set

2008-05-18T18:00:00.001+12:00

With the riding season over, things do go a little quiet on the club front, and so there hasn't been much to report for some weeks. Now however we have a confirmed date for the Prizegiving and AGM, combined with the celebration of WATRC's 21st birthday - a milestone in the life of any entity.

It's clear that our committee have been busy on our behalf in the times between. The issues that the club confronted in the latter half of the season have still to be addresed, but it's encouraging to learn that relations with ESNZ remain cordial, and discussions continue. Even more encouraging is the desire reported on behalf of ESNZ to see CTR grow, along with the willingness of our own members to continue to put forward remits aimed at the betterment of the sport under the ESNZ umbrella.

Details of the Prizegiving and AGM can be found in the latest Newsletter or in the Calendar. We hope that as many of you as are able will be there - it will be fun to catch up.