olympic riders Archives

Horse Scout CEO Lucienne Elms and all members of the Horse Scout Agency Team are thrilled to announce that leading Olympic riders from across the disciplines, as well as horse racing jockeys and celebrities have shown their support for a major fundraising initiative launched by the team behind Bolesworth and Liverpool International Horse Shows.

‘Equestrian Relief’ is an urgent fundraising campaign to raise money and change lives, with donations going directly to support the efforts of the wonderful work being carried out by the NHS.

Leading names are all showing their support including two Eventing World Champions Ros Canter and Zara Tindall, Olympic Gold Medallists Carl Hester & Scott Brash and racing legends AP McCoy and Frankie Dettori.

Each day two members of each team will take part in a daily challenge. The five challenges, which are; On the Gallops, Plankety Plank, Horse Drawn, Showstopper and Dark Horse will test our riders skills physically, creatively and artistically. Much more will be revealed over the coming days so make sure you join in the fun at 7pm each evening from Monday 6 April – Monday 13 April where our daily highlights will be broadcast across all the Liverpool International Horse Show channels and all info can be found at www.equestrianrelief.com

Nina Barbour, Bolesworth Managing Director:

“Our priority is to unite the horse world to support our health workers and our goal is to raise a sum of money that will make a real difference. All donations will go directly to NHS Charities Together Covid-19 Crisis Fund – supporting NHS staff and volunteers on the front line as they work under pressure and in the most challenging of circumstances.”

“We’ve already got some fabulous sponsors on-board – including long standing Bolesworth supporters Equerry, Equitop and Horse Scout – who have all made generous contributions to get us started.

The campaign will also be launching a charity auction On Monday 6 April with a host of ‘money can’t buy’ experiences up for grabs! Bid for the chance to get one on one with some of our equestrian celebrities for an exclusive Q&A session online, go behind the scenes with ITV racing, or even bid for a round of golf with AP McCoy and Oli Bell. The paintings produced by the teams in the Horse Drawn challenge will also be included in the auction lots!

Zara Tindall said: “It’s a very challenging time for the equestrian community right now with so many people affected in so many ways. Being a high-risk activity, we also have a responsibility to minimise the impact on the NHS who are valiantly working to support the nation and save lives. Taking part in Equestrian Relief and knowing that donations are going directly to help NHS workers on the frontline makes it a no-brainer for me. I am happy to be part of this campaign and look forward to seeing just how much we can raise”.

Frankie Dettori said: “I am super excited to announce that I will be taking part in Plankety Plank and Bake Off Easter Showstopper all in aid of Equestrian Relief. It’s going to be great fun, however we are all very competitive so I can’t wait to get started – so please make sure you support us!”

Scott Brash said: “All over the country we are coming together to support the phenomenal NHS staff during these very challenging times. As a strong equestrian community we must stay united in the battle against Covid19 and we are hopeful that Equestrian Relief can make a huge impact in raising funds directly to support those who are putting their own lives at risk to help others. Let the challenges commence and please make sure you support us and give what you can to this incredible cause.”
Ellie Orton, CEO of NHS Charities Together said: “Every person on our team and NHS teams throughout the country, are playing a vital role in being there for others during this emergency. Please join in with the Equestrian Relief team effort by showing your appreciation, gratitude and solidarity for our NHS workers who are responding heroically to the biggest challenge the NHS has ever faced’.

To donate and for details of the Equestrian Relief campaign visit www.equestrianrelief.com

THE SPONSORS

Equerry Horse Feed – A range of top-quality horse feeds produced using the finest ingredients, manufactured by HJ Lea Oakes

www.equerryhorsefeeds.com

Equitop – Manufacturers of Equitop Myoplast – a Unique amino acid supplement designed to support healthy lean muscle growth, and Equitop GLME – a unique joint supplement specifically designed to support healthy joint function in horses containing sustainably harvested Green Lipped Mussel Extract.

www.equitop-myoplast.co.uk

Horse Scout – The UK’s leading equestrian marketplace

www.horsescout.com

Horse Scout Agency – The largest equestrian distribution in the world

www.horsescoutagency.com

ABOUT THE TEAMS

#TeamRacing

AP McCoy – Racing legend, Champion Jump Jockey (a record 20 consecutive times) and BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2010

Frankie Dettori – Racing Legend and Three-time Champion Flat Jockey

Mike Bushell – BBC Sports Presenter and star of Strictly Come Dancing

Oli Bell – ITV Racing Presenter

#TeamEventing

Ros Canter- Current World Champion

Zara Tindall – Former World and European Champion plus Sports Personality 2006

Oliver Townend – Current World Number One

Alex Hua Tian – First rider to represent China in Equestrian at the Olympics

Ben Hobday – Current British Open Champion

#TeamShowjumpingNorth

William Whitaker – international Showjumper and former Youth European Gold medallist

Geoff Billington – Two-time Olympian (Atlanta 1996 & Sydney 2000)

Ellen Whitaker – European Bronze medallist

Harry Charles – international rider on the Global Champions Tour and Son of Olympic Gold medallist Peter Charles

Anthony Condon – Irish International Showjumper

#TeamShowjumpingSouth

Scott Brash – Olympic Gold medallist

Shane Breen – Irish International Showjumper

Daisy Bunn – Director at Hickstead, TV Presenter and Classical Singer

Jessica Mendoza – former European youth gold medallist

Jay Halim – International Showjumper

#TeamDressage

Carl Hester – Olympic Gold medallist

Richard Davison – Four-time Olympian

Gareth Hughes – World Silver medallist

Toni Terry – Dressage Rider and wife of Chelsea Footballer John Terry

Sarah Higgins – International Dressage rider

USEFUL INFORMATION

Website – We’ve set up a dedicated website which is www.equestrianrelief.com

Accounts – The campaign will be run through the Liverpool International Horse Show social media accounts. Handles for these are:

Facebook: @LiverpoolInternationalHorseShow
Instagram: @liverpoolhorseshow
Twitter: @LiverpoolInt

Hashtags – #EquestrianRelief #StayHomeSaveLives #HorseScout

Virgin Money Giving Link: bit.ly/EquestrianRelief2020

Last week, Horse Scout’s Ellie Kelly was in attendance at the World Horse Welfare Annual Conference in London. It is an exclusive event attended by leading figures in the world of veterinary medicine, equestrian sport, horse racing, politics, and animal welfare as well as HRH Princess Anne. The theme of the conference this year was Changing Times. Essentially how change- both good and bad, is continuing at a meteoric rate and what the future for equine welfare might hold.

The day was opened by Michael Baines, Chairman of the World Horse Welfare who had recently visited some of their projects in Cape Town and Lesotho which are jointly run with several other charities based in these parts of the world as well as other international animal charities like The Brooke and The Donkey Sanctuary. “I saw firsthand how important it is to take a holistic approach to equine welfare and, to be prepared to work with multiple stakeholders to achieve the best results,” said Michael.

Perhaps this is a lesson we can all take away generally when striving to improve not only our horses lives but also our own livelihoods and interests in the equestrian sphere. As equestrian sport, recreational riding and general horsemanship evolves and improves in some areas but declines and is devalued in others. The advent and reliance on social media for information and as a marketplace is both a vice and a virtue.

Utam Kaphle, a young professional from Nepal, spoke on the innovative work being done by Animal Nepal. As Executive Director of the charity, he has spearheaded projects to improve animal welfare in the country by working with the local communities. With the help of government institutions, Animal Nepal has helped the lives, health and education of poverty-stricken communities as well as their working animals and the large number of strays which can spread disease.

Four-time Olympic Dressage rider Richard Davison then gave some compelling arguments on what was wrong and right in the sport horse industry. “When we riders, in our quest for success and our competitive side gets the better of our horsemanship.” Rollkur, hyperflexion and nose pressure was a recurrent theme and he expressed the importance of more clarity in the rulebook and more scientific evidence to prove the effects of a tight noseband- more on this in our next blog.

The future of Gypsy Cobs was addressed by Andrea Betteridge, founder of the Traditional Gypsy Cob Association. Andrea has spent decades obtaining and recording historic information and collecting DNA from different herds to prove the heritage of the breed and its historic bloodlines. This formed the foundation for recognition of the breed by British and European governments with member registrations from over 35 countries and the authentic breed database recognised all over the world. Overbreeding has led to the “dumping” of cobs, which the so often become welfare cases. As well as establishing the breed and educating would be breeders on the implications, Andrea has prompted other initiatives such as specialised showing classes and “Give a Cob a Job”.

Tim Collins, a former Tory MP talked about the perceived implications which Brexit will have on the equine world as well as the enthusiastic following and power that animal charities had at the present time. At this stage in political proceedings, no one really knows what will occur after Brexit. Although he highlighted the reality that nothing will happen quickly as it will take years for the UK to fully leave the EU. “The average time it takes to even join the EU takes a decade and for Estonia, it was 20 years,” he said, with a further warning. “Therefore the issues you care about in the horse world are going to carry on but you must not take our eye off the ball and assume that this is all going to be carried out in the next few months. There is nothing as long as the temporary arrangement. We may have to live with this for a very long time so don’t assume any arrangements can be fixed later. Bear in mind how immensely powerful those of you who care and campaign about animal welfare actually are. For example, the inflection point in the 2017 General election was when the Conservatives got on the wrong side of animal welfare on the ivory trade and fox-hunting and that lesson has been learned deeply in both the party main headquarters. One of the biggest issues amongst the young population is animal welfare, so you guys can be pushing on an open door.”

The next topic covered was how charities and win trust and broaden their horizons. This came from Joe Saxton who featured in the top ten of the most influential people in UK fundraising. He is also the founder of a research consultancy for charities called nfpSynergy. The main pointy to take away was that support for animal charities is well up the national order, featuring higher than charities concerning homelessness, social welfare, overseas aid, religious and environment and conservation. So we Brits remain, “a nation of animal lovers”.

The day was rounded off with a discussion panel between influential veterinary delegates who covered topics such as changes in culture, technology and the internet and social media- friend or foe to both horse owners and vets. Overweight riders and horses were also commented on as this is a welfare issue we all see too often at shows around the country.

The use of artificial aids was also addressed, where Gemma Pearson highlighted horses “limited learning capacity”. She explains: “the spur and whip refine our instructions further so we can be more precise about what we are asking. But what we need to move away from was using the whip and spur for punishment as that is what creates problems”.

The Chief Executive Roly Owers summed up the conference: “When we talk about making change we have to base it around common sense, around experience and around the evidence. The second point is the issue of value. The value of our reputation, the value of time, the value of trust and the value of horses.”

If you would like to watch the Conference in full as well as discussions from previous years, click on the link:

http://www.worldhorsewelfare.org/conference