Yesterday saw the Ballinger Equine team on duty as the official on-course veterinarians for the 2019 Gosling Cup. This is the 73rd competition for the historic Gosling Cup and 18 years since it was last hosted by Enfield Chace Hunt Pony Club.
Pony health and welfare first and foremost
In yesterday’s heatwave conditions, Ballinger Equine’s most immediate concern was to ensure all 78 ponies were comfortable and healthy in the high temperatures and bright sun. At the start of the day, the Ballinger Equine team set up their own system whereby every pony exiting the cross country course was immediately cooled down with copious quantities of cold water and then assessed by Ballinger Equine’s Veterinary Director, Dr Susanna Ballinger MRCVS. Every pony’s welfare was thus assured on completion of the most physically demanding element of the event.
It is testament to the excellent care the teams take of their ponies that all of them completed the cross country phase fit, healthy and in good condition. On such a hot day, every owner, rider and team coach and manager deserves praise for ensuring their ponies were fit, healthy and perfectly prepared for competition. In between competing in the various disciplines ponies were kept watered and in the shade.
Competition for the Gosling Cup involves up to 25 teams of 4 members from invited Pony Club Branches in Essex, Suffolk, Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire. The one-day-event comprises Tack-and-Turnout, Dressage, Team Ride, Cross Country and Show Jumping. Congratulations to this year’s winners, Newmarket and Thurlow A Team with a score of 646.92. Congratulations also to the day’s highest scoring individual competitor, Charlotte Mackley, of the Essex Hunt North team, who scored an outstanding 151.02.
The Ballinger Equine team score was: 3 ice creams, 2 choc ices, 17 glasses of refreshing homemade Gosling Cup mint and elder-flower cordial and some 374 buckets of water!
