Page 47 - 1RHA 2023

Golf within the Regiment this year has been challenging with the Regiment going on to the Op CABRIT rotation from March 2023 until 2025. Having lost E Battery’s golf-
ers, initially to Mission Ready Training (MRT) for and then deploy- ing onto Op CABRIT in February 2023, followed by B Battery on their own MRT and deploying to Estonia in September 2023. That being said golf within in the Regiment has been extremely suc- cessful with a number of players returning to the sport after a hiatus, and several players brand new into the sport.
With the Regiment being so busy the majority of golf played this year has been during the routine Wednesday sports afternoon and within the Battery’s who have organised their own days out. A Battery, the Chestnut Troop have led the way organising multiple days out to the Hampshire Golf Club and Upavon Golf Club. The days generally start with a bacon sandwich followed by 18 holes of golf with a long drive competition and a closest to the pin com- petition. Being situated in Larkhill we have an abundance of good golf courses in and around Wiltshire ranging from par 3 courses to PGA level courses, leaving the Regiment’s golfers spoilt for choice.
The end of the year saw four of the Regimental golfers travel up to Albemarle Barracks to play at Maften Hall Golf Club in the Royal Artillery Autumn Golf Championships. The competition was con- ducted over 36 holes, with 18 holes in the morning consisting of singles and the second 18 holes in the afternoon consisting of a
The 1RHA team at the RA Autumn Golf Championships
two person alternate shot, interjected with smaller competitions over the 36 holes. The course itself was very challenging with all four of the Regimental golfers having never played the course before and having to learn on the go as they went around, with the wind playing a massive factor on most of the holes. A challenging but ultimately successful year for golf in the Regiment, the Regi- ment’s golfers look forward to building on their achievements in the future.
1st Regiment Royal Horse Artillery
Football
SSgt Moore, Regimental Football Team manager
The Regimental football team came back together at the end of August ’22, following summer leave and a busy period for the Regiment. The aim was to get the squad ready for the start of the new season in the Western Premier Division. This was the first time in years the Regiment would be playing in the top league in our region, after being pro- moted as champions the previous season. Due to the Regi- ment’s high work tempo and varied commitments the team didn’t see its first league action until the middle of September.
Undeterred, the coaching team of SSgt Moore, WO2 Mcdon- nell and WO2 Isle set about putting the team through their paces with some challenging but enjoyable training sessions. This culminated in the team’s participation and victory in sev- eral friendly fixtures against fellow Gunner Regiments, within Larkhill Garrison. The focus then shifted, with the new sea- son’s fixtures published, to getting the team ready for what would be a challenging but enjoyable season, in a new league with stronger opposition.
The team played their first league fixture in September with several more fixtures prior to Christmas. The period before leave saw the team sitting 6 points clear at the top of the league, with the standout result being a 5-3 win, away, against the current Army Cup champions 4th Regiment RLC.
This was, sadly, the only fixtures the team would play for the remainder of the season, as the difficult decision had to be made to pull the team out the league season due to deployments and other commitments. The focus is now on the 2023-2024 season. With an aim to continue the success and strong bond the team has built over the last few seasons, when everyone is back and available. This may be with a new coaching team due to personnel moving on, but the founda- tions are there for the team to enjoy continued success.
Anyone who has not already been to be training, but is inter- ested in playing Regimental Football, is welcome to come along, no matter what standard. Look out on Part One Orders for dates and timings of training sessions.
Golf
Bdr Crown A Bty, The Chestnut Troop
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