London, UK -(AmmoLand.com)- Top-class racing, Christmas shopping, a huge hound parade and music from the Chip Shop Boys will be just part of the fun at the Cheltenham Countryside Day on Friday, 13 November, in aid of the Countryside Alliance and Equestrian Team GBR.
The first day of the Open Meeting, the Countryside Day could be said to mark the start proper of the jumps season. The Countryside Alliance’s annual Morgan draw will also take place at Cheltenham, with one lucky ticket buyer winning a classic car worth £32,000 – built to their own specifications.
Only 2,000 tickets have been released and there are still a few up for grabs, priced at £50. Tickets are still available from our website – click here.
In addition to AP’s dressage lesson with Carl and Charlotte (see below story), local hunts will parade on the course after the second race, and there will be six high-quality races. The feature event will be, as ever, the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase.
Foxdenton Gin is supplying 16 bottles of its sloe gin – sized from a mini bottle to a Goliath (a gallon) – for the draw. And even if you are not lucky enough to win you can ensure your hip flask is well topped up for the season as they will have a stand in the Food Hall.
Shopping will very much be the order of the day and you will be able to buy the Countryside Alliance’s 2015 Christmas card collection, 2016 calendar and our new Hunt Country Map by George Butler which is surely the most covetable present for friends and family this Christmas.
- Buy your tickets to the popular Cheltenham Countryside Day here.
- Win a pair of William Evans Connaught Premiums worth £23,000 – click here.
AP to get a dressage lesson at Cheltenham Countryside Race Day
Britain’s undisputed champion jockey of all time, AP McCoy, will be making the leap from racing to dressage at the Cheltenham Countryside Race Day on 13 November. AP will take part in a crash course in high dressage with the Posh and Becks of equitation, London 2012 medallists and Rio 2015 hopefuls Charlotte Dujardin and Carl Hester.
“I’m afraid we are going to throw him in at the deep end,” says Carl. “He will be trying to do some very advanced moves. The horses are very well trained. As long as you put your legs in the right place they will do something… exactly what that will be remains to be seen!”
“I think it was (British equestrian team world class performance manager) Yogi Breisner who talked me into it,” AP says. “I’ve known Yogi for a long time and obviously it’s for a good cause – the British Olympic team and the Countryside Alliance – so I agreed, but dressage is not something that I have had any great desire to do before.”
“Dressage takes a lot of patience and I’m not overly patient. I like things to happen quickly. I don’t think I have the talent, patience or skills for this. I just hope I will not embarrass myself too much. I can’t dance myself, so I’m not rating my chances of making a horse dance!”
Read the rest of this article, first published in our Autumn magazine, here.
About Countryside Alliance:
The Countryside Alliance is known for its work on wildlife and management, but its agenda is far broader than that incorporating food & farming, local businesses and services and the injustices of poor mobile phone signal and broadband in the countryside. We are anything but a single issue organisation and represent the interests of country people from all backgrounds and geographical locations. With around 100,000 members the Countryside Alliance promotes and protects rural life at Parliament, in the media and on the ground. Our vision is a future for the countryside which both preserves its traditional values and promotes a thriving rural community and economy; a countryside sustainably managed and sustainably enjoyed; a countryside where rural communities have equal access to the facilities and services enjoyed in urban communities; a countryside where people can pursue their businesses, activities and lives in a society that appreciates and understands their way of life.
Join the voice of rural Britain today at www.countryside-alliance.org