Club History
SWDG was founded in the l949 and was centred initially in the Blandford area. As it grew the club expanded its activities offering instruction and competition in all the riding disciplines. Access to the facilities of Wylye, and other venues, played a large part in the early careers of past club members who have gone on to great success in the eventing and dressage worlds, including Olympic teams.
SWDG stands for South Western Dressage Group and has come far from its original focus on dressage to encompass a wide range of equestrian disciplines.
SWDG stands for South Western Dressage Group and has come far from its original focus on dressage to encompass a wide range of equestrian disciplines.
About Us
South Western Dressage Club (SWDG) is a BHS-affiliated riding club covering Sherborne,Yeovil, Gillingham, Shaftsbury, Blandford and Wimborne, Westbury, South Somerset and West Dorset, stretching right down to the Dorset Coast and the Devon Border. We hold competitive events, guided hacks, demos, flatwork and jumping tuition plus specialist clinics.
SWDG Teams and individual members have been successful at Area Championships and at national level, winning or being placed in the National Riding Club Championships
The new millennium saw further successes at this level and also internationally: SWDG won the Dressage to Music Championship, the Senior Show Jumping Championship, and went to Olympia with its Quadrille, and to Ireland where the Senior show jumping team beat riding club teams from the home countries and abroad. In 2006 further successes have followed at national level with a Junior Team winning and being well placed at the BRC Championships at Lincoln, including a member becoming Junior Rider of the Year, and Senior members qualifying as teams and individuals at all the National Championships where again they either won or were well placed.
Today our club continues to attract new members, mainly through the excellence of its instruction, the variety of programmed events, and the numerous riding and non-riding activities aimed at all levels of rider and horse. Leisure riders and weekend riders are as welcome, as are those pursuing a career with horses, and the club also welcomes spectators at its clinics and events, with members participating as helpers as well as competitors. Instruction and competitions are offered on both weekdays and at weekends, and in the evenings during the summer months. T
During the year we run competitions within the club where points can be scored towards the annual awards that the club makes to successful horses and riders. These trophies are presented at the AGM in November.
This is a friendly club offering members the opportunity to enjoy and educate their horse and to improve their riding and members have the chance to meet nice people in lovely surroundings!
What is a riding club?
It’s a club catering for riders and horses of all abilities and experience, so whatever your aims or aspirations your riding club can provide the opportunities you are looking for. Amongst other things you will find ready access to experienced and skilled local instructors, and national trainers, at highly competitive rates, as well as a warm welcome from a new group of friends and acquaintances with interests in common.
Riding clubs also have access to a national network of training and development opportunities provided by British Riding Clubs. Membership of an affiliated club ensures availability of insurance, discounts, and other benefits - so why not join? You don’t have to own a horse, or even be a rider, to join a riding club - all riding clubs welcome non-riding members and you will soon be given a job, as riding clubs are totally dependent on helpers to make events happen!
What is a BHS-affiliated riding club?
A riding club affiliated to the BHS is autonomous and runs its own affairs, whilst benefiting from the ‘umbrella’ of the main equestrian organisation in the UK. Over the years, the number of affiliating clubs has continued to grow and establish an identity together as a group which calls itself British Riding Clubs. Now, as a result of affiliation, there are more than 430 clubs and 38,000 members in British Riding Clubs.
What is Area 12?
One of the largest riding club areas in the national network with an area stretching from Devon, north to the Severn Vale, east to Chippenham, and south to the Dorset coast. There are 31 affiliated clubs offering a host of equine activities and workshops to well over 2,500 members on weekdays, at weekends, during the daytime, and the evenings. Each year they compete in a series of Area Championships and National BRC Qualifying competitions in the various disciplines, and many of their teams and individual members go on to compete with great success at the national British Riding Clubs Championships and other national championships.
SWDG Teams and individual members have been successful at Area Championships and at national level, winning or being placed in the National Riding Club Championships
The new millennium saw further successes at this level and also internationally: SWDG won the Dressage to Music Championship, the Senior Show Jumping Championship, and went to Olympia with its Quadrille, and to Ireland where the Senior show jumping team beat riding club teams from the home countries and abroad. In 2006 further successes have followed at national level with a Junior Team winning and being well placed at the BRC Championships at Lincoln, including a member becoming Junior Rider of the Year, and Senior members qualifying as teams and individuals at all the National Championships where again they either won or were well placed.
Today our club continues to attract new members, mainly through the excellence of its instruction, the variety of programmed events, and the numerous riding and non-riding activities aimed at all levels of rider and horse. Leisure riders and weekend riders are as welcome, as are those pursuing a career with horses, and the club also welcomes spectators at its clinics and events, with members participating as helpers as well as competitors. Instruction and competitions are offered on both weekdays and at weekends, and in the evenings during the summer months. T
During the year we run competitions within the club where points can be scored towards the annual awards that the club makes to successful horses and riders. These trophies are presented at the AGM in November.
This is a friendly club offering members the opportunity to enjoy and educate their horse and to improve their riding and members have the chance to meet nice people in lovely surroundings!
What is a riding club?
It’s a club catering for riders and horses of all abilities and experience, so whatever your aims or aspirations your riding club can provide the opportunities you are looking for. Amongst other things you will find ready access to experienced and skilled local instructors, and national trainers, at highly competitive rates, as well as a warm welcome from a new group of friends and acquaintances with interests in common.
Riding clubs also have access to a national network of training and development opportunities provided by British Riding Clubs. Membership of an affiliated club ensures availability of insurance, discounts, and other benefits - so why not join? You don’t have to own a horse, or even be a rider, to join a riding club - all riding clubs welcome non-riding members and you will soon be given a job, as riding clubs are totally dependent on helpers to make events happen!
What is a BHS-affiliated riding club?
A riding club affiliated to the BHS is autonomous and runs its own affairs, whilst benefiting from the ‘umbrella’ of the main equestrian organisation in the UK. Over the years, the number of affiliating clubs has continued to grow and establish an identity together as a group which calls itself British Riding Clubs. Now, as a result of affiliation, there are more than 430 clubs and 38,000 members in British Riding Clubs.
What is Area 12?
One of the largest riding club areas in the national network with an area stretching from Devon, north to the Severn Vale, east to Chippenham, and south to the Dorset coast. There are 31 affiliated clubs offering a host of equine activities and workshops to well over 2,500 members on weekdays, at weekends, during the daytime, and the evenings. Each year they compete in a series of Area Championships and National BRC Qualifying competitions in the various disciplines, and many of their teams and individual members go on to compete with great success at the national British Riding Clubs Championships and other national championships.
SWDG Committee
The committee for 2018/19 and their responsibilities are:
Tor Douglas-Johnson (chairman)
Carolyn Price (secretary)
June Eames (Treasurer)
Mandy Bluck
Tracy Scammell
Sue Soame
Kate Hurford
Tor Douglas-Johnson (chairman)
Carolyn Price (secretary)
June Eames (Treasurer)
Mandy Bluck
Tracy Scammell
Sue Soame
Kate Hurford
Constitution
Download here
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Privacy Policy
This is the privacy policy for The South Western Dressage Group (SWDG)
Contact Information Our homepage on the Internet is located at http://www.swdg.org
You may contact us by e-mail, mail or phone from our committee page
Dispute Resolution Disputes will be handled by our customer service representative.
Our customer service will promptly correct any errors.
Data Collection When visiting Web sites certain information about you and your computer can sometimes be collected. This section explains what information SWDG collects, and how it is used
We collect the following information about our visitors:
Log files do not contain any personal information and they are not used to identify any individual patterns of use of the site.
What happens when I link to another site?
The site contains links to other websites. This privacy policy applies only to our site, so you should always be aware when you are moving to another site and read the privacy statement of any site which collects personal information.
Your email address and what you are interested in is collected if you enter such into our on-line forms. This information is used to send you information and offers we believe may be of interest to you. You may request us to delete your information from our systems.
We do not pass on any personal information you have given us to any other site or organisation.
Contact Information Our homepage on the Internet is located at http://www.swdg.org
You may contact us by e-mail, mail or phone from our committee page
Dispute Resolution Disputes will be handled by our customer service representative.
Our customer service will promptly correct any errors.
Data Collection When visiting Web sites certain information about you and your computer can sometimes be collected. This section explains what information SWDG collects, and how it is used
We collect the following information about our visitors:
- user.business-info data
- dynamic.clickstream data
- dynamic.http data
- dynamic.clientevents data
- Completion and Support of Current Activity
- Web Site and System Administration
- Research and Development
Log files do not contain any personal information and they are not used to identify any individual patterns of use of the site.
What happens when I link to another site?
The site contains links to other websites. This privacy policy applies only to our site, so you should always be aware when you are moving to another site and read the privacy statement of any site which collects personal information.
Your email address and what you are interested in is collected if you enter such into our on-line forms. This information is used to send you information and offers we believe may be of interest to you. You may request us to delete your information from our systems.
We do not pass on any personal information you have given us to any other site or organisation.
