THE POPLAR PARK SANDLINGS
RIDE
Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th June 2019
Welcome to the Poplar Park Sandlings Ride
Many thanks to all those who are making the trip and supporting the event now in its fourth year - and thankyou for all your wonderful feedback. Of course I couldn't organise this event without my amazing helpers, your assistance is greatly appreciated!
In 2019 we will be holding a wide range of competitive and pleasure rides over the weekend. The coralling and vet area will stay at the bottom of the hill as this worked very well this year. We will of course have a BBQ on Saturday evening as well. We are looking forward to welcoming many local horses and riders as well as those of you from further afield who are willing to travel for excellent going underhoof!
Already well known in the British Eventing calendar for our fantastic and reliable ground conditions, Poplar Park and the Sandlings area in general are perfect for barefoot and offer fast sandy tracks with gentle undulations.
Situated in one of the most beautiful parts of the country, the Poplar Park Sandlings Ride derives its' name from the Sandlings area in which the venue lies. The uncluttered coast, estuaries, farmland, sweeping forest and heathland is of high scenic value, and in 1969 it was designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
The Sandlings area is both dramatic and picturesque. The huge sky, golden gorse, sandy fields and swathes of heathland large enough to support wildlife that can exist nowhere else certainly make for a truly memorable riding experience. Upper and Lower Hollesley Commons are fine examples of large surviving heathlands that support wildlife species such as the attractive silver- studded blue butterfly, woodlark, stonechat, Dartford warbler, nightjar and hobby. Fallow, red, roe and muntjac deer also live on the heathland in the Sandlings.
The origins of Rendlesham forest can be traced back to the creation of the Forestry Commission in 1921 to provide timber resources for the nation from new forests. At that time, landowners were eager to sell poor, semi-derelict farm- land and heathland to the Commission. Large areas of sandy soil in the Sandlings region of Suffolk were planted and today they have grown into atmospheric pine forests that include Rendlesham where much of the ride will take place.