Newsletter - October 2023
Fellow Loriners,
Welcome to the October edition of our newsletter, which features a selection of different events that I, as Master, have attended in recent months on the Company’s behalf.
I am delighted to report that our social media presence continues to expand and is attracting a great deal of attention. If you would like to see our regular updates and pictures for yourself, handy links appear below that will take you straight to the Loriners’ pages for LinkedIn, Instagram and, most recently, Facebook.
I look forward to meeting many of you at our Autumn Court Dinner at Goldsmiths' Hall on 18th October or at our Loriners' Away Weekend on the Isle of Wight from 3rd to 5th November. Both events are already sold out, but will be featured in the next edition of our newsletter and on social media as they happen.
As the year continues to 'gallop' by, keep checking your emails for information regarding future events, including our Christmas Carol Service and Reception, for which bookings are now being taken.
With my kindest regards to you all,
Master, Colin Gurley
Determination and Resilience at The Pony Club Championships
On Saturday 19th August the Master and Mistress, the Immediate Past Master and the Steward for the Pony Club were warmly welcomed to the Pony Club Championships near Leamington Spa. The sun shone as we were chauffeured in buggies around the extensive site by Pony Club Chief Executive Marcus Capel (speaker at our recent Mansion House Banquet) and Vice Chairman of the Pony Club Claire Valori.
We were delighted to meet the Chair of the Pony Club Tim Vestey and watch the Musical Ride performed by young riders in teams and in costume appropriate to their theme and music. We enjoyed the impressive cross-country event, which showcased the determination and resilience of these young riders as they tackled the challenging fences. We were also able to observe some of the exacting and detailed Pony Care classes that were taking place and meet a number of the many volunteers who keep these very well organised Pony Club events on track.
The Pony Club promotes the education of young people through the provision of instruction and examination in riding, horse care and animal welfare. As Loriners, through our charitable giving to the Pony Club, we enable young people in urban areas, who would otherwise not be able to afford to take part, to advance their education in all things equestrian. In 2022, we were able to help 144 young people and, this year, we have provided a similar grant to support them.
Court Assistant, Alexandra Maule
The Army claims victory for the UKAFEA Loriners’ Cup
On Tuesday 12th September, The Master, accompanied by the Mistress, the Immediate Past Master, the Under Warden & Steward for the United Kingdom Armed Forces Equestrian Association (UKAFEA), together with a party of eight Loriners, attended the final round of the 2023 Loriners' Cup, which was held at the Addington Equestrian Centre near Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire.
This round comprised of combined training, which tested riders' skills in both dressage and show jumping. The competition was as fierce as ever between each of the services.
During lunch, Brigadier Matt Jackson, Chair of the UK Armed Forces Equestrian Association, addressed all invited guests and congratulated the competitors for participating in the competition this year. Privately, he also expressed to both the Master and myself the importance of the highly valued relationship between the Worshipful Company of Loriners and UKAFEA, which goes back many years. Without the Loriners' support, the entire series of competitions could not take place.
Whilst this particular day's round was won by the Royal Air Force, after four rounds of fierce competition, victory for The Loriners' Cup 2023 was finally claimed by the Army.
Under Warden & UKAFEA Steward, John Morton
Refurbished Railway Arch for Ebony Horse Club
On Friday 15th September, a group of Loriners accompanied the Master, visited Ebony Horse Club in Brixton to see first hand the club’s facilities and its newly refurbished railway arch. The arch compliments the club’s existing facilities and provides an additional multi purpose training room.
They received a warm welcome from Susan Collins, Chair of Ebony Trustees and Sidony Holdsworth, COO, who are pictured with the Loriners’ party. The Loriners are proud to be the longest standing supporters of Ebony, whose aim is to transform young lives through horses - (ebonyhorseclub.org.uk).
Master, Colin Gurley
Driving the Flock for Free!
Sunday 24th September witnessed an early start to set up the Loriners’ stand at the 10th Annual Lord Mayor's Sheep Drive, held this year on Southwark Bridge. The Master was extremely thankful to be joined by the IPM and Wardens, as well as several teams of our Liverymen (all volunteers from the Livery Committee), who helped man our stand throughout the day.
At 10.30am, the Master Loriner, together with the Master Mercer (pictured) exercised a Freeman’s 'ancient right’ to drive their sheep to market over the bridge toll free!
The Loriners’ stand attracted a large number of visitors throughout the day, including former Lord Mayor and current Master Woolman, Vincent Keaveny, and Celebrity Guest of Honour, Chef Richard Corrigan, pictured with the Master and Upper Warden.
Together with stands from the Worshipful Companies of Woolmen, Saddlers, Weavers, Upholders, Turners, Basketmakers and Bakers, the day provided a great opportunity to meet other Livery Masters and Liverymen from many other Companies. This popular event raises funds to support both the Woolmen Charity and The Lord Mayor’s Appeal.
Master, Colin Gurley
Use Social Media to support and benefit our Company
Since our Summer Court Lunch, which was held in July, our Social Media platforms have seen an increasing number of supporters join our online community. We have also received numerous enquiries from individuals wanting to know more about joining the Loriners, which is great news.
In addition to LinkedIn, Instagram and, more recently, Facebook, we have also extended our presence within Instagram Threads, a sub-platform of Instagram. We have already engaged more than 1300 accounts over the four platforms and sent over 600 posts, ranging from the presentation of prizes at the Summer Court Lunch to the latest visit to the Wormwood Scrubs Pony Centre. We have also featured details on our charities, education programmes and our Company history. The benefit to our Company from our engagement with social media has already delivered at least 10 inquiries for membership, with half of those having already been interviewed.
As our Finance Group Report, which was sent out 18th August, stipulated, we need to increase our membership and support the Company to secure a resilient future. Social media plays a vital role in increasing the visibility of our Company. Most of us use it for work, hobbies or even personal entertainment. We would therefore urge you to use your social media to contribute to our efforts by connecting, following, liking and engaging with comments on our posts on the platforms we have setup. By doing so, not only can we make an impact online, but also directly on society, as we reach out to and engage with our own individual connections.
If you already have an Instagram or LinkedIn account, please tag us and add comments to your posts when you take part in our events. If you don’t, simply click on the links below and start following us today!
Find us @worshipfulcompanyofloriners
Social Media Committee Lead and Liveryman, Bogdan Zaha
Messages from The Clerk
Dear Loriner,
Well you’ve done it. With the Autumn Court Dinner just around the corner and with your fantastic support throughout the year, you have made all our Company events a fantastic success, all sold out on every occasion. Thank you. I hope you have enjoyed them as much as I have.
Tickets for the Carol Service and Reception on 30th November are very popular so, again, I would urge you to book ahead and not wait for any last-minute disappointment. If you don’t have the whole evening to spare, please do think about coming to the service itself, where we are back at St Lawrence Jewry. It really has had the most wonderful face lift.
If your surname is early in the alphabet, you may have already been contacted by our Administrative Assistant, Mrs Georgy Armitage. Thank you to those who have set aside time to talk to her, as she goes about her task of engaging on a personal level with each and every Loriner. There has already been a number of suggestions made and I hope to be able to implement some of them as a result.
My final point (save for one Parish notice at the end) is to continue to ask you all to follow our Social Media platforms. With our Facebook page now set up, I hope we now have everything we need to promote our wonderful Company. Each platform enables us to engage much more widely than we have previously been able to and we have had success in recruiting potential Loriners as a result. So please do ‘like’ and ‘share’ to increase our reach.
Finally, one notice to any Padel player:
Inter-Livery Padel Competition 31st May 2024
The first Inter-Livery Padel Competition will be run by the Saddlers’ Company at the LTA Centre in Roehampton. Padel, the fastest growing ball sport in the world, offers players of all standards the opportunity to compete in mixed pairs for their Livery Company in the best facility in the country. The day will conclude with a dinner.
Thank you
Communications Committee
October 2023