Nuala took some great photos earlier this year, in particular from the hunter trials. They are now available under Photos. Apologies to Nuala for taking so long to get them uploaded!

The scores for the Bel-Air Riding Club League 2008 after the summer show are available under Results. Currently in the lead is Darina on 64p, followed by Alison Boydell on 58 and Sandra Stanley 52.

A big congratulations goes to our 2 teams competing at the Qualifiers. They all put in a lot of work and it sure paid off. Teams were 6th & 7th after the first round with riders being a little tense. Scores improved dramatically in the second round which pulled one of the teams into 2nd place overall and qualified for the final on 24th August. David Freeney won the Open Ind. Class as well so it was a good day all round. Well done again to both teams - David Freeney, Sandra Stanley, Jane Dare and Tricia Hattingh. Gina McGarry, Sandra Stanley, Darina Marks and Rosie Armstrong. Also to Aisling Fenton who did so well as an individual. The only disappointment of the day was that David didn't get time to make his Banoffi Pie. He promises to have it for the Final!

Bel-Air Riding Club numnahs and rugby shirts are back in stock. Available to buy in the hotel.

Each year we run an internal league at Bel-Air, over all events at home. There is a perpetual trophy, which is currently minded by Rosie. Last year Jane had it. It looks like it's going to be very close this year. These are the top five riders after the one-day event on May 31st. Darina Marks 40p, Rosie Armstrong 40p, Nuala Tuffy 35p, Sandra Stanley 35p, Tom Vervoort 34p. Check under Results, for a list over all riders who currently have more than 10 points (many!).

At our one-day event M;ay 6th, €5 of each entry went towards Grace O'Gorman's Fund. We also had a collection running during the day. Between us, riders, helpers, etc. we raised more than 1000 euros for Grace towards her treatment. Thanks everyone!

On the web, there is a video of the Pony Club Hunter Trials held at Bel-Air recently. It was a glorius day, and there is some really nice footage of our XC course. Have a look, and see how all that hard work paid off! There are two paths to the video. You will find a link to it on www.thehorsesmouth.ie. Or, you can go directly to You Tube at www.YouTube.com and search for "Wicklow Pony Club".

There is a simple way to protect your Ifor Williams horse-box, and make life a bit more difficult for people who steal horse-boxes to sell them on. Ifor Williams keep a register of their boxes; who owns them and whether they are reported stolen. To keep this register up-to-date, you need to do the following: BEFORE YOU BUY A SECOND-HAND BOX – Take the serial number of the box. Phone Ifor Williams to check that it is not reported stolen. AFTER YOU BUY A NEW OR SECOND-HAND BOX – Register it in your own name. Keep the number safe, so you know it even if the box isn't there. IF YOUR BOX IS STOLEN – Report it stolen to Ifor Williams. PHONE NUMBER: Call Ifor Williams on 00441490412626. Ask for Customer Care.

The Bel-Air 70 year party raised more than €18.000. Well done to all of us! Deirdre Hughes from Friends of St Luke's Hospital came to Bel-Air to collect a cheque of €18.201 this week. She met with Will, Aileen, Maggie, Noni, Jake and some of the Bel-Air staff, riders and friends. (Photo under the Photo section on this site.) Deirdre thanked all for their contributions and acknowledged how much hard work goes into raising this kind of money. Our cheque will be used towards a second CT simulator for St Luke's. It will complement two new and two replacement linear accelerators, that have already been funded by the exchequer. The total cost for the simulator is 1.2 million, and we were told most of this money has now been raised. Therefore, it shouldn't take too long before it can be bought. Well done everyone, and thanks again! We know we will have a few more euros to send in a while. Talk to Maggie if you feel you want to contribute some more. There are also a few more photographs for sale and some signed copies of Marsha Hunt's book.