Whatever your discipline, give yourself the competitive edge this summer with the Teque-Style Performer Competition Shirt.

Unmatched for style and elegance combined with unrivalled comfort, the Teque-Style Performer competition shirts are manufactured using the revolutionary fabric technology hydropore moisture management fibre. Especially designed to keep you warm in winter and cool in summer, this complex fabric will wick moisture away from your skin keeping you dry and comfortable all day, whatever the weather.

Ideal for wearing under your jacket when competing, this unique fabric stretches with the rider’s movements but doesn’t compromise style, as the shirt is enhanced with cotton look crisp panel at the front that gives the appearance of a smart traditional shirt.

Available in stock and shirt collar designs for both men and women. Sleeveless or long sleeved with different sleeve lengths to suit personal preferences.

Colours New Blue, Mint, Ice White and Vanilla for men and women and, also, Soft Pink for women. Prices start from £46.

Contact Teque-Style on 0845 873 7264 or visit their website www.teque-style.com to check out their great on-line offers

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Blaze, the new equestrian clothing company, have devised a new initiative to encourage budding designers to put their ideas into production, as well as helping to raise money for the Animal Health Trust (AHT). The Blaze Design A T-Shirt campaign invites designers to submit their ideas for a new t-shirt, which, if chosen as the winning design, will be put into production for sale this summer. The winning design will be chosen by a panel of judges including Blaze Design Director, Lisa Richardson, and a proportion of the proceeds of each sale will be donated to the AHT.

“People often come up with really great ideas for designs to go on t-shirts, and we thought it would be fun to turn these ideas into reality and raise some money for charity at the same time”, said Lisa. “The Animal Health Trust do fantastic work which touches the lives of most horse, dog and cat owners at some time or another. Even if we have not needed their services directly, the research that they do to improve diagnosis and treatment of illness and injury in small animals and horses is invaluable to vets, and we hope that our project will help to raise valuable funds to support their work”, she said.

“We are delighted that Blaze have chosen to support the AHT with this campaign, and we very much look forward to seeing the winning design. We receive no government funding and rely on the generosity of our supporters to continue our work”, said Andrew Simmonds, Fundraising Manager at the AHT.

The Blaze equestrian clothing collection has been going from strength to strength since its launch by GNY Sourcing last August, and this initiative builds on their commitment to put something back into the equestrian world. The brand has already developed a strong presence in the equestrian market and its exciting combination of modern, technical fabrics and designs that are stylish, hardwearing and practical have proved popular with riders. Blaze are also major sponsors at both the spring and summer Stafford Horse Trials, and support talented young riders in dressage, show jumping and eventing, with a training bursary through the Blaze Academy.

For more information on the Blaze Design a T-Shirt Competition, in aid of the Animal Health Trust, visit the competitions page on our website, www.blazeclothing.co.uk or call the Blaze Hotline on 01423 359197. Designs should be emailed to marketing@blazeclothing.co.uk or sent by mail to Blaze T-Shirt Competition, Unit 28, Centre Park, Tockwith Industrial Estate, Tockwith, York, YO26 7QF. Closing date 31 May 2008.

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Blaze, the new equestrian clothing company, are delighted to take on title sponsorship at both Stafford Horse Trials events this year, as part of their initiative to support the grass roots of equestrian sport. The first Blaze Stafford One Day Event will be held on 28th to 30th March 2008 at Park Farm, near Stafford.

The Blaze equestrian clothing collection has been going from strength to strength since its launch by GNY Sourcing last August. The brand has already developed a strong presence in the equestrian market and its exciting combination of modern, technical fabrics and designs that are stylish, hardwearing and practical have proved popular with riders.

A stand showing the full range of Blaze clothing for Spring and Summer 2008 will be located adjacent to the show jumping arena at the Stafford horse trials and details of stockists nationwide will be available for visitors.

Blaze are committed to supporting talented young riders, both through the Stafford sponsorship and through the Blaze Academy. The Academy provides a training bursary for six up-and-coming young riders to help them achieve success in Eventing, Dressage and Show Jumping. Event riders, Abbie Hughes and Emily Philps, successfully completed a rigorous selection process and will represent the sport in the Academy for the 2008 season. Abbie will be competing her young horse, Celtic Bay, a 6 year old mare, in the Intro section at Stafford, having already had a successful outing finishing second at Morton Morrell the previous weekend.

“As in any sport, it is hard for talented young riders to get to the top. The Academy was launched to support our promising young riders, and I am pleased that we are able to fund some extra training that will help them to achieve their goals. Our sponsorship of Stafford fits in well with this objective and I am delighted to be involved with the event”, said Blaze Managing Director, Gary Yates.

For more information on the Blaze collection and for stockist enquiries, call the Blaze Hotline on 01423 359197 or visit www.blazeclothing.co.uk

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Horse owners have known for many years that when it comes to insuring their horses and ponies, South Essex Insurance Brokers (SEIB) will provide the cover they want. Over this time, SEIB have been frequently asked to provide cover for pets, particularly dogs and cats, and as a result they have now launched Pet Insure, a new insurance policy specifically designed to protect small animals.

Insurance experts at SEIB have researched the pet insurance market and have looked at how to provide a good policy to protect small animals at the best possible price. The solution is an uncomplicated and inexpensive insurance policy that provides pet owners with the cover they want and peace of mind.

With Pet Insure, owners can rest assured that they have the essential cover for veterinary fees should their dog require an operation or their cat suffer an injury. The pet can receive the best care and, without the worry of paying for expensive treatment, the owner can concentrate on nursing their pet back to health. The policy also provides cover should the animal die, or if there is a claim for liability.

SEIB have been providing innovative insurance solutions for horse owners for 35 years and have been responsible for the introduction of many aspects of today’s equestrian and equine cover now taken for granted as standard, including high-value veterinary cover, reasonable cost horsebox insurance, cover for the older horse and pony, loss of use and the vet helpline.

For further information about Pet Insure, or any other SEIB insurance product, visit www.seib.co.uk or call 0845 450 0652.

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The US based Absorbine® brand of horse care products, manufactured by W F Young Inc, is synonymous with the very best turned out horses, and top show producers around the World rely upon Absorbine® products such as ShowSheen, ShowClean and SuperPoo to help them produce that winning look. The Company are delighted to announce their sponsorship of leading show horse producers, Carol Bardo and Jayne Webber, as part of their European marketing strategy.

Carol and Jayne are renowned as producers of show horses at top level and they are a fitting advocate for the Absorbine® range here in the UK.

“Absorbine® have always had really good grooming products that you can trust to get the job done well and I have always liked their ShowSheen for detangling tails. I also like their SuperShine hoof polish to add that finishing touch, and, with so many greys in the yard, ShowClean is invaluable”, says Carol. Working as a team, they produced Silverstream II to take the 2006 Supreme Hunter Championship at the Royal International Horse Show as well as many other championship titles.

Also part of the Absorbine® Gleam Team for the second year is show horse producer, trainer and judge, Jo Bates. Although Jo has fewer horses in her string she is the consummate professional, setting standards in turnout and performance that others aspire to and passing on this knowledge through her teaching commitments. Jo had a highly successful season last year with her two show horses, Broadstone Dolce Vita and Blue Chip That’s Grand, amassing numerous championships. “I am delighted to be working with Absorbine. I have always used and been impressed with their products – nothing beats them on performance”, says Jo.

Absorbine® products are available from most equestrian retailers. For product information, visit www.absorbine.co.uk.

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Nupafeed UK, suppliers of superior supplements, are delighted to announce that they have signed a deal with the National Pony Society to sponsor the Nupafeed NPS British Isles Supreme Ridden Championship for 2008.

The Nupafeed NPS British Isles Supreme Ridden Championship final will be held during the evening performance at the NPS Summer Championship Show, at The Three Counties Showground, Malvern on 6th to 8th Aug. Qualification for the finals can be gained at some forty classes throughout the summer season staged at shows across the country. The qualifiers will be contested by the best from the Show Pony & Show Hunter Pony Lead Rein, First Ridden Show Hunter Pony, Show Pony, Working Hunter Pony, Cradle Stakes, Nursery Stakes, Large and Small Hack, Large and Small Riding Horse, Intermediate Show Hunter Type, Intermediate Show Riding Type, NPS BALANCED Horse Feeds Show Pony/Hunter Pony Champion, NPS Nick Snelling Novice Show Pony/Show Hunter Pony Championship, NPS Eqvalan Duo Mini Lead Rein & First Ridden Champion or class winner (where there is no individual Championship) making this a most hard fought and prestigious championship.

Mrs Sheila Noble, Managing Director of Nupafeed UK said ‘ We are delighted to be associated with the NPS and supporting what is one of the most sought after and prestigious championships available to ridden ponies’.

Nupafeed UK are renowned for their highly effective and totally legal supplement range that includes Nupafeed Magnesium MAH® Calmer, the proactive joint supplement FlexGLM and the new Nupafeed Staying Power, an L-Carntine based liquid supplement that maintains energy, sparkle and performance without overheating during competition.

The Nupafeed team can be contacted on 01438 861 900 for advise on all of the products or visit their website www.nupafeed.co.uk

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The annual Racehorse To Riding Horse Performance Awards, sponsored by South Essex Insurance Brokers, were presented during a glittering ceremony at the British Breeding Breeders Awards Dinner, held at The Grange City Hotel, London on 12th January.

It is some 35 years since South Essex Insurance Brokers (SEIB) entered the world of equestrian insurance. The company’s Managing Director, Barry Fehler, created his own insurance for one of his very successful show horses, found a company to underwrite it, and went on to develop specialist insurance products to meet the needs of horse owners. The company has been actively involved in supporting equestrian events across a range of disciplines ever since, and one of their most popular innovations has been the introduction of the Racehorse to Riding Horse competitions.

The Racehorse to Riding Horse Performance Awards were instigated by South Essex Insurance Brokers to support the retraining of racehorses, and to provide a platform to show how a correctly re-schooled ex-racehorse can be successful in a new career. Thousands of horses come out of training each year and their futures can be bright – with time and patience, they can go on to compete successfully in many different disciplines.

The competition is open to thoroughbreds that have been in racing and awards are given for 5 sections, based on the accumulation of points throughout the 2007 competition season. The 2007 winners are:

Combined Discipline Winner - Don’t Tell Rosey 7 year old, bay gelding, by Barrathea out of Patsy Western Owned by Mrs Susan Avagnano and ridden by Fiona Avagnano, of Faringdon, Oxon

• Don’t Tell Rosey, known as “Gummy”, won once and was placed 4 times in 15 runs during his racing career in training with Michael Blanshard, but suffered a career ending fractured pelvis. Susan bought him for very little and started his recuperation, slowly bringing the horse back to work after a prolonged rest.
• Susan’s daughter, Fiona, produced the horse and, having won this prize previously with another horse, aimed for it again in 2006 with Gummy. Unfortunately, the horse suffered a further setback when a bone infection in the hock necessitated an operation but after another long recouperation with a slow return to work, he was able to attend his first competition in January 2007. Initially competing in showing classes, they moved on to jumping in the spring and have competed regularly throughout the season in unaffiliated show jumping and novice cross country as well as working hunter and riding horse show classes.
• Fiona says that Gummy is able to do anything at all. They stay in contact with his racing connections and they are all delighted that so much has been achieved with a horse that was so badly injured.

Affiliated Endurance Winner - Maiden Ray 11year old, bay mare, by Gildoran, out of Croix Val Mere Owned and ridden by Karen Whittington of Chale, Isle of Wight

• Maiden Ray, known as Mary to her friends, was bred and trained by Harriet Gosling and ran in point to points ridden by Andrew Sampson. Without success, she was sold at Ascot and Karen purchased her in October 2002.
• She really took to her new career as an endurance horse, showing natural ability and going from strength to strength. By the end of 2003, Mary had gained 10th place in the National EGB Novice Award out of around 300 horses, and 2nd in the South East region. In 2004 they progressed to Intermediate level and finished in the top ten nationally, moving up to 8th place nationally in 2005. 2006 was their best year yet, with several grade 1 and 2 finishes, representing the South East group in several team events and being selected for the England team for the Home International in August. During 2007, Karen suffered a back injury and was unable to compete for part of the year, but later in the season they soon caught up. The highlight was becoming the fastest horse on the Lindon Spirit 100km race ride as part of the South East team. Karen says it was a real race all the way, but with 4km to go Mary took the lead, and with the finish on Market Rasen racecourse, she won by 4 lengths in true racehorse style. They have also received a Bronze award for completing 180km, taking them over 2,000 km distance covered during competitions.
• Karen says Mary is very easy and laid back and happily lives in a corral at events. When the lorry broke down on the way to Market Rasen, she stood quietly on the lorry while it was loaded onto a low loader. She really enjoys the racing finish but during long distance rides she stays interested and attentive.

Affiliated Showing Winner - Blue Streak 10 year old, chestnut gelding, by Blue Bird out of Fleet Amour Owned and ridden by Miss Joey Ellis of Bungay, Suffolk

• Having looked after this horse when he was in training, and ridden him in the Diamond Handicap Ladies race at Ascot in 2001, Joey was able to buy him after a claiming race at Plumpton in October 2004. He remained in training with Kevin Bell and Joey rode him in several races under rules. Blue Streak won 4 of his 63 starts and was placed in a further 10 races.
• He retired from racing in 2006 and Joey decided to try showing, winning his first outing at a local show in August of that year. 2007 was his first season showing at County level and he stood Supreme Champion Ex-Racehorse at the Royal London Show and was Ex-Racers Champion of Champions.
• Joey says he has a fantastic temperament and has really taken to his new career, winning 12 times from 16 outings. Their ambition is to get to the Horse of the Year Show.

Affiliated Dressage Winner - Kings Piper 15 year old, bay gelding, by NIckel King out of Lady Cynthia Owned and ridden by Miss Liz Harcombe of Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk

• Kings Piper was given to Liz 3 years ago after a point to point career notable only for its lack of success. He went to the Suffolk Hunt as a hunt horse but was regarded as too timid for the job so Liz took him on.
• After 2 years of re-schooling, they won this prize in 2005, and since then they have continued to move on up the grades and are now well established at Medium level. He consistently gains good marks, winning the East Anglian Dressage Championships at Elementary and Medium levels and has qualified for the Elementary Winter Regional Finals.
• Known at home as “Gawky”, he is still spooky and flying changes remain a bit of a mystery to him, but Liz says it is amazing what fun a 15 year old thoroughbred can bring, especially when occasionally upstaging his more illustrious dressage warmblood cousins on the yard.

Affiliated Show Jumping Winner - Cool Mandy 16 year old, bay mare, by Buzzards Bay out of Petite Mandy Owned and ridden by Miss Jodene Tarling of Leominster, Herefordshire

• Jodene has known Cool Mandy since she was a foal, as she was bred and trained locally by Richard Price. After a spell point to pointing, Cool Mandy came up for sale and Jodene was able to buy her 5 years ago.
• At first steering was a problem as she only knew how to go in straight lines, and fast canter was her only speed. Having worked on this, they discovered a talent for show jumping. She became British Unaffiliated Champion in 2005 and won the Trailblazers ex-racehorse class. In 2007 they won the 1.05m qualifier and were placed in the finals at the Scope festival and were placed in the 1.05m final at the Welsh Masters, being one of only 9 double clears. They won the Amateur Championships Grand Prix at Arena UK and held the lead in the class to win a Car for over 2 hours, eventually finishing 4th.
• Jodene says she is extremely careful and can now turn on a sixpence, although she still will not be interfered with going into a fence. She never stops or hits a fence, and now that she has figured out how to turn, she is unbeatable against the clock.
• Cool Mandy originally had very poor feet and was given 2 months will shoes off for her feet to improve. Jodene noticed that her movement improved and she became freer in her shoulders, so decided to leave the shoes off. She now competes with no shoes, usually aiming for classes held on all weather surfaces, but when she hacks out on the road she wears red socks and “trainers”!

Affiliated Eventing Winner - Native Caption 12 year old, bay gelding, by Be My Native out of Hard Lady Owned and ridden by Miss Karen Harrison of Heath End, Cheshire

• Native Caption was the second to last lot on the last day of the Doncaster Sales and, having been outbid on everything else, the Harrison’s bought him as a 7 year old. He had been in training with Tom Tate but clearly had no taste for racing, finishing once from 4 starts over hurdles.
• The Harrison family brought him on to do a bit of everything, and then go eventing. During 2007, his third season eventing, he won at Solihul, Somerford Park and Kelsall Hill Horse Trials. He was never out of the placings and finished on his dressage score every time in 11 outings, competing at Intro and PN level. He has won the British Eventing points award for the North West and is BE leading overall horse in the area.
• Karen says he has a fantastic temperament and anyone on the yard can hack him out. He is a very honest and uncomplicated horse and snaffle mouthed, but he does like to play in the field.

SEIB also support the Racehorse to Riding Horse Show Championships, with its prestigious final held at the Horse of the Year Show. For more information on SEIB Racehorse to Riding Horse Performance Awards and Show Championships, and details of the 2008 schedule, visit our website at www.racehorse2ridinghorse.co.uk.

For more news please visit our archives.

The Blaze equestrian clothing collection has been going from strength to strength since its launch by GNY Sourcing last August. The brand has already developed a strong presence in the equestrian market and its exciting combination of modern, technical fabrics and designs that are stylish, hardwearing and practical have proved popular with riders.

The Botham jacket is a rugged, windproof, performance fleece that will certainly live up to its name. The advanced Windbloc fabric keeps out 98% of the wind to prevent wind chill, but is highly breathable and allows enough air to circulate to keep you from overheating, particularly while riding. It also provides warmth without the weight and bulk of traditional insulating fabrics and the water repellent surface sheds rain and snow. The 4-way stretch fabric will not pill, has a soft hand feel and creates less noise than a conventional shell jacket, a helpful consideration particularly when working with horses. The Botham jacket unisex styling features a zip closure, secure sleeve phone pocket and two zipped front pockets and is available in Navy and sizes XS-XXL, RRP £39.95.

For more information on the Blaze collection and for stockist enquiries, call the Blaze Hotline on 01423 359197 or visit www.blazeclothing.co.uk

For more news please visit our archives.

Hadlow College are hosting a lecture demonstration by Jennie Loriston-Clarke on Thursday the 28th February at 7.30pm. The evening will include a demonstration of Grand Prix movements, basic training and advice on progressing from Prelim through to Elementary and tips on what the judges may be looking for.

For further details and ticket prices please contact Sarah Craighill on 07976 381597 or email sarah.craighill@student.hadlow.ac.uk

Jennie Loriston-Clarke
Jennie Loriston-Clarke is one of Britain’s leading riders and trainers and has represented Great Britain in four Olympic game’s. Before concentrating on dressage Jennie made her name in point to pointing and horse trials qualifying for Burghley on Dutch Gold.

Jennie is a FEI international dressage judge and a FEI international 3 day event judge and currently focuses on judging and bringing on some of her own homebred horses from the famous Catherston Stud. Earlier this year Jennie became Chairman of British Dressage. She is also a Fellow of the British Horse Society, holds the National Pony Society Diploma and is an examiner for both societies. In1979 she was awarded the MBE for her contribution to equestrianism in Britain and in 2001 she was awarded not only the Animal Awards Trust’s Special Award (a rarity) but was also made a member of the Worshipful Company Of Farriers for her dedication to equestrianism. In 2006 Jennie was the first recipient of the Queen’s Award for services to equestrianism.

Jennie is perhaps best remembered for her Long Reining displays with Dutch Gold where she and the horse dance through Grand Prix movements to music.

Hadlow College
Hadlow College is Kent's premier land-based college and one of the top three such colleges in the United Kingdom. Our primary aim is to offer high quality education across all levels and curriculum areas and we benefit from a dedicated and hard working team of people who are passionate about their subject.

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