Thursday, November 18, 2010

May I Present Babette Cole and The Legover Ladies!

Meet Babette Cole!


















She is a Children’s author and Illustrator. Here are 2 of her adorable books!


















She is also the promoter and partial sponsor for the Legover Ladies riding team and she was kind enough to allow me to publish the following information it. Please visit Babette on her web sight :
http://www.babette-cole.com

















"World first for Babette's Team"
Horse and Hound article
Patey Hay’s Legover Ladies are Jenny Torrance – (Jen on Paddy), Babette Cole – (Babble on Scrappit), Emma Brown – (HotlipsEm on Pip) and Francis Elson – (Skin on Bruno)..
















We are the only side saddle team on the Team Chase circuit.

Ten years ago Babette Cole founded Red Fox Letsgo Ladies. They were Babette Cole, Emma Brown and Hannah Pickering. The only three ladies in the world brave enough to do it!

Since then Emma found us sponsorship from Patey Hats and the team has got a lot faster and more daring! In fact we are usually too fast. Novice classes often have a bogie time (a good hunting pace) and the winning team is the closest clear round to the time, first three horses count.



















We are usually much too fast for these. "All comers" or novice speed classes are our best competitions and we have been in the ribbons many times. BUT on Oct 1st 2006 we made history by WINNING the Belvoir Team Chase, All Comers speed class. 2 miles of up to height (about 3ft 6in) timber and five foot hedges! No other all side saddle team has ever one a national event before!

We are very lucky to have such good horses. They are very brave. They have to balance us we can’t balance them.

All of us represent our individual hunts Jen – the South Notts, Babble – the Blackmore and Sparkford Vale, Skin – the Fernie, Hotlips Em – the Quorne.

Babette and Scrappit hunt side saddle regularly with the B.S.V. infamous for it’s mud and meaty hedges. Scrappit is only 15 hands but has learnt to surf over the mud so that he can fly the wide hedges down here in Dorset. He now thinks team chasing in the Midlands is a piece of cake!

....And Finally....
At the Belvoir team chase a fortnight ago, the Patey Hats Legover Ladies team (right) became the first all side-saddle team to win an affiliated chase.

Emma Brown, Jenny Torrance, Frances Elson and Babette Cole won the novice speed class, run over a substantial, up–to–height hedge and timber track on Garthorpe racecourse.















All four are accomplished all–round side–saddle competitors – and also hunt side–saddle regularly in Leicestershire and with the Blackmore and Sparkford Vale.

"It’s so exciting," said founder member Emma, an HGV lorry driver by profession. "We’ve been team chasing for several seasons and have been in the ribbons many times, but it is hard to win a class. You need well–balanced horses that are good jumpers to do this side–saddle."

Excerpt from Horse and Hound

5 comments:

Unknown said...

That is so neat! I love that they worked hard enough and won something like that its incredible.

Unknown said...

Ok, I've exercised chasers and hunted on staff in Northern Virginia... and I want to jump aside some day. But, I don't know that I'd be brave enough to combine both of those crazy things! Those ladies have guts! Wow, thanks for finding this Julie :)

sidesaddlegirl said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
sidesaddlegirl said...

Heehee, only here in Leicestershire! :-D

Now if only my wrecked body was able to join them galloping around!!

SmartAlex said...

AWESOME! What good horses.

Now why can't I live close to fun ladies like that?