13/08/2024
Well done Team Cottingham Equestrian Centre for another incredible show 💜
Well WHAT a day!!
We genuinely don’t know where to start! Today has been busier than we could have ever imagined, and we were simply blown away by the support we received today. This was supposed to be brief, quick post after an incredibly long day, but it’s impossible to keep it brief when we have a small army of people to thank 🥰
Firstly, even we didn’t expect the turnout we had today - we expected to be busy, but boy was we busy! It was wonderful to see the show ground absolutely buzzing from the moment the first class started, until nearly 6pm this evening when the Supreme Champion finally made its way to the ring.
Thank you incredibly to our judges across all the rings today - Mark Taylor, Poppy Denton, Lisa Soanes, Laura Kenyon-Brodie, and Charlotte Sinclair - you all did the most incredible job in the heat to keep the huge classes moving, and to give the competitors a wonderful experience in the ring. And we know you made so many people go to bed with a smile on their face tonight!
A huge thank you to our ring stewards - Jack, Elliot, Lucy, Sophie and Jody - who are were all key cogs in the machine today! They kept the classes moving, competitors where they should be - never under estimate how appreciated you are!
Our secretaries, Pat and Judy, are seasoned pros when it comes to the summer show, and despite the increase in footfall, they remained cool as cucumbers, never getting flustered as they worked their way through a substantial queue (all day long!) to the entry box.
Our food vendors and stall holders - we have too many to name - thank you for attending and being present to assist keeping everyone supplied with food/drinks/and displaying your wonderful products, throughout the day. It was lovely to see you all and we hope you enjoyed the day.
Steph at AlfaMed- Specialist Emergency Care & Training joined us for the third year in the row, making the journey from Warwickshire to join us. Having Steph with us throughout the day is a huge reassurance, and whilst she luckily only had to attend a couple of riders, having her paramedic experience is incredibly reassuring.
Craig Ellis Photography and his team today did a superb job, covering the rings. In fact, Craig was so busy he didn’t even have chance to wind up the CES team - a true rarity!
Thank you to Jon and Laura for running the Dog Ring - always a busy day, and they needed no direction as they took the reins (or rather leads!) to run the ring without any assistance from the CES team.
Thank you to our sponsors, whom without their support, this show wouldn’t be possible. Too many to list right now, but whether a main sponsor, ring sponsor, or class sponsor, your support means everything.
Thank you to the CES Team - you really are the most wonderful lot, always stepping up to the mark, having smiles on their faces, being jack of all trades, and well, making the events happen! It was lovely to have Lilly join us again today, and also a nice way to wave Sophie. L. off as she focuses on her freelance career. Good luck Sophie, you will smash it!
And most importantly, thank you to every single person who joined us today! We honestly never expected anything like how today turned out to be - the classes were huge, there was some standing around (the joys of showing!) and we know we had a few teething problems here and there with the trailer park etc being so busy. BUT despite this, we had so many lovely conversations up and down the show ground, from those that were having a wonderful day, meeting friends, getting unexpected placings, and having a wonderful day.
Thank you once again your your incredible support, and patience. It’s over and out now, with a glass of wine now in hand.
See you next year,
Nikki
