Category: News

HOYS – Non Stop Action for Day Three  Horse of the Year Show Day Three Round-Up Day three of Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) started with a win for Bridget Edmondson’s Blairfield Silicon in the Guy Fawkes III Intermediate Show Hunter of the Year Championship with Meg Edmondson in the saddle. Next up in the Andrews Bowen International Arena were the Catplant Group of Companies Ltd. Lightweight, Middleweight and Heavyweight Show Hunters of the Year. The Championship took place later in the evening and saw 18hh Heavyweight Hunter Bloomfield…

HOYS Day Two – Winning Streak for the Ladies If you’ve ever been to Horse of the Year show you’ll know it’s jam packed full of action from the minute you arrive. If you dare to go shopping, good luck finding your way back to the main arena where all the main action takes place as the shopping village is just immense! Day two of this year’s action seen in a dominant winning streak from the ladies! In the TopSpec Arena the British Show Pony Society M&M Working Hunter Pony championships…

Olympic riders feature in ‘Dressage Friday’ at Horse of the Year Show 2016 Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) is set to bring another unforgettable five days of entertainment to the NEC in Birmingham this week. With show stopping displays, exhilarating show jumping and outstanding showing championships, this year’s show is setting supreme standards by adding two Olympic dressage champions to the line-up. Olympic dressage rider Carl Hester MBE will be hosting a dressage spectacular on Friday 7th October at the prestigious Horse of the Year Show. The dressage masterclass…

September brought the return to competition for Crystal Ka for the first time since our mis-hap with the ditch in early June. A quick 200 mile round trip to Goring Horse Trials in Oxford for the Intermediate Novice class resulting in a neat test for a score of 30 (70%), then a ‘sack the jockey moment’ in the show jumping where I interfered far too much causing two rails. On to cross-country, we enjoyed a super easy clear ride with 0.4 time faults to follow, as I stupidly set my…

Tarzan Learns the World is Not Such a Scary Place It has been over six months now since Tarzan has been receiving rehabilitation from the team at World Horse Welfare’s Penny Farm Rescue and Rehoming Centre after he was found abandoned and severely underweight, with a body condition score of one. Tarzan was found alongside a filly that sadly had to be put to sleep after becoming unwell on arrival at the centre. It is no surprise to learn that Tarzan found it difficult to initially trust the staff at…

Another Facility Awarded Funding to Improve Facilities Hoof Club CIC at Local Equestrian Centre Rein & Shine Awarded £68,000 from Sport England The team at Hoof Club CIC (Community Interest Company), based in Braydon, Wiltshire, is thrilled to announce they have secured £68,000 of National Lottery funding from Sport England’s Inspired Facilities fund. Since 2011, Inspired Facilities has been helping breathe new life into tired community sports facilities and converting existing buildings into venues suitable for grassroots sport.  This grant has been awarded alongside partnership funding from Rein & Shine…

A third of UK horses are lame reveals horse survey A third of the UK’s horses (32.9%) were recorded as lame during this year’s National Equine Health Survey (NEHS). Consistent with previous surveys lameness was shown to be more likely to be caused by conditions such as osteoarthritis in the limb rather than problems in the foot. Blue Cross carries out NEHS in May each year, in partnership with the British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA). It is sponsored by Dodson & Horrell and Zoetis and supported by the UK’s leading equestrian organisations and…

Finalists announced for Equine Thesis of the Year competition With the preliminary judging now complete, the finalists of the prestigious British Equestrian Trade Association Equine Thesis of the Year award – an academic initiative designed to put undergraduate research back on the map – have now been announced.Universities and colleges throughout the UK offering equine-related courses took up the challenge to submit one student thesis as part of this highly regarded competition and the following have made it through to the finals. ● Harper Adams University – Lucy Morgan. Thesis: Equitation…

Young Driving Talents perform at top level  By Cindy Timmer From 22nd to 25th September, Schildau in Germany hosted the very successful fourth edition of the FEI European Championship for Children, Juniors & Young Drivers. A total number of 82 children and young drivers from 12 nations were represented. Nine nations battled it out in the Nations Cup. After four days of sport at this high quality event, six new European Champions were crowned at this season’s highlight for the young driving talents. Warm welcome The sun came out every…

Land Rover Regional Championships Conclude for 2016 The inaugural Land Rover Pony Club Regional Championships have reached their conclusion for 2016, seeing over 2,000 grassroot horse and rider combinations taking part; some of whom were experiencing a competitive environment for the very first time. Dressage riders and Show Jumpers took part in qualifying rounds in each of the 19 Pony Club Areas, where the top ten headed to one of five championship events where teams and individuals were crowned winners in their regions. Pony Club Member Keira Shafiq* pulled out…

Hoof Capital funded Centre celebrates opening of new facilities Hoof Capital funding allows centre to move forward. S&G Equine Limited will unveil their new equestrian facilities at an open day on Friday 30 September. Thanks to the British Equestrian Federation (BEF) Hoof Capital funding award of £17,500 along with investment from landlord Adrian Marsh, the centre now features a newly resurfaced main arena with top quality Martin Collins surface and a new warm-up and beginners arena, utilising the old surface off the main arena. Over the last three years the…

BEVA Announces New Junior Vice President BEVA, the British Equine Veterinary Association, has elected Renate Weller, Professor of Comparative Imaging and Biomechanics at the Royal Veterinary College, London, as Junior Vice President of the Association. Three new Council members have also been elected. The new appointments were announced at the BEVA’s Annual General Meeting, held at BEVA Congress earlier this month. Professor Weller has been an active member of the equine veterinary profession for over two decades, working in primary practice, clinical research and referral practice. She has served on…

2017 Trailblazer Qualifications Now Under Way Qualifiers are under way for the prestigious SEIB 2017 Trailblazers Championships. There are over 60 equestrian venues throughout the country offering Trailblazers qualifying competitions and the series provides competitors with an opportunity to compete at different levels in their chosen discipline. The 2017 Trailblazer competitions include show jumping, dressage, showing, working hunter and combined training and there are classes for both senior and junior riders. For dressage, show jumping and combined training, qualification consists of a first and then second rounds.  Competitors in first…

Local riding school provides opportunities to those who may miss out Educating Through Accessibility Mark A local riding school in Merseyside is helping young people with learning difficulties to find a career path, with the help of a nationally recognised scheme. Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA), in partnership with Hoof, the British Equestrian Federation’s (BEF) participation programme launched the revolutionary Accessibility Mark scheme with the aim of getting more disabled people to participate in riding. Wendy Kinnin, owner of Knowsley Village Stables is passionate about providing opportunities for those…

David Britnell Blog September Courtesy of David Britnell’s sponsor, Timothy Foxx www.timothyfoxx.co.uk So, Continuity is now on a well earned holiday after a magical season together culminating in a very special tenth place in our fIrst ever FEI CIC3* at Hartpury International. Outings with the other horses have also been very productive. At Solihull back in August I had a super outing Sir Gawain at BE90 which he found very educational as it was a very twisty track compared to his previous runs, with a good variety of fence types,…

Man serves sentence for horse neglect A 25 year old man from South Yorkshire was handed an 18-week custodial sentence and a lifetime ban on keeping equines after a group of ponies was removed from his care last winter. World Horse Welfare was called to a youngster in distress and Field Officer Sarah Tucker attended as a matter of urgency, finding the 6 month old foal collapsed. With the assistance of the RSPCA, Bransby Horses, a vet and the Police, the foal and two other ponies were removed from the…

Goodbye to a friend – Steph Gumn Blog Gosh, I don’t even know where to start. The past couple of months have flown by and so much has happened. I’m not sure where to even start. Axl had been jumping very well in the run up to nationals. The national 4 year oldfinal was the first big show he had been to, bigger atmosphere and more pressure than before. Axl has always had a good brain and he coped like a pro jumping a clear in the final round of…