News
Posted on September 24th, 2014
Animal Thanksgiving and Blessing Service, Norfolk
On Sunday 5th October, World Horse Welfare will be holding its annual Animal Thanksgiving and Blessing Service at the charity’s Hall Farm Rescue and Rehoming Centre in Snetterton, at 1pm.
The service gives long-term – and new – supporters the chance to come along and remember their cherished pets as well as celebrating the joy that our pets, still here with us today, bring to our lives.
Last year, the charity was joined by not just human guests but also their horses and dogs and World Horse Welfare hopes to see yet more animals of all shapes and sizes this year.
During the service, candles will be lit in appreciation of the unconditional love that pets show to their owners every day. Even if you are unable to join the charity at the service you can still dedicate one or more candles which will be lit on your behalf at the service.
Organiser and legacy fundraiser at World Horse Welfare, Dawn Witney, says: “This is the second time we are running our Animal Welfare Service – it proved so popular last year that we decided to make it an annual event. Our expectations for this year are to see lots more people, with their furry friends, joining us in celebrating the unconditional love that our animals so willingly give to us every day. We would love to see you at the service but if you are unable to join us then please consider dedicating a candle: your donation for a dedicated candle will help support the work of World Horse Welfare to improve the lives of horses in need across the UK and overseas.”
Posted on September 24th, 2014
Lara and Rufus Win TopSpec Intermediate ll Championship
A delighted Lara Griffith and the Dr Bechtolsheimer-owned Rubin Al Sad were in winning mode at this year’s LeMieux National Dressage Championships when capturing the prestigious TopSpec Intermediate ll final.
Now 12-years-old and known as Rufus at home, Lara’s broad smile said it all and she was over the moon with his performance; winning the TopSpec championship on 71.95%.
“I can’t get the smile off my face. I’m so proud of him,” said Lara. “He’s low-mileage competition-wise having competed at Small Tour just a couple of times last year, and this is only his third ever test at Intermediate ll. He’s a little shy in the arena so I have to coax him out but he’s gaining in confidence and is a fantastic talent for the future. He was amazing today and very positive. I am looking forward to moving up to Grand Prix in the spring which is very exciting.”
Lara has ridden Rufus for the last five years but has taken him slowly after he damaged his back muscle when getting cast in the stable.
“He is very special and we didn’t want to rush him so have worked away quietly and I couldn’t be more pleased today,” she added.
Zoe Sleigh and Rhodez took the runner-up spot on 68.16%, with Alex Hardwick and Donauwein claiming third on 67.12%.
Also at the LeMieux National Dressage Championships HorseHage-sponsored para-dressage rider, Bert (Roberta) Sheffield, was winner of the KBIS Para-dressage Grade III Championship. Bert was riding Double Agent (Darcy) and scored 70.81% to take the crown.
Darcy was bought by Bert as a two-year-old after first spotting her as a foal in a picture, and unseen without a rug. But the gamble paid off and Darcy qualified for the Alltech World Equestrian Games in 2010 as a six-year-old at only her third show at Hartpury CPEDI with a Grade 1b rider.
Said Bert: “Darcy was fantastic today – she wasn’t fazed at all and handled the atmosphere very calmly. I was so pleased with the fluency of the test – it just felt right.”
Posted on September 24th, 2014
Marriage’s Secure NOPS Quality Accreditation
Marriage’s has been working toward Naturally Occurring Prohibited Substances Accreditation (NOPS) at their Lincolnshire facility for the last six months, so are delighted to secure accreditation at their first audit this September.
The NOPS accreditation follows a risk assessment based approach and regular auditing of suppliers and staff. It looks at sourcing, storage, transport and the manufacturing process to reduce the risk of including any of the prohibited substances banned by the British Horseracing Authority.
Prohibited substances naturally occur in many raw materials including caffeine, theobromine from coco and morphine from poppies. By having the NOPS accreditation it means that supplier has a managed and controlled process to help prevent the risk of these substances getting in the supply chain.
NOPS accredited also gives Marriage’s the opportunity to display the NOPS logo on their products, communicating with customers that they have the accreditation.
Posted on September 18th, 2014
Essex’s Showjumper Shelly Dedman Wins the Dodson & Horrell 1.05m National Amateur Second Rounds
Shelly Dedman, 22, from Roydon, Essex on her own 15 year-old bay gelding, Loftsome Minstrel secured the victory in 1.05m Dodson & Horrell National Amateur Second Round that took place on Saturday 13th September 2014 at Weston Lawns Equitation Centre in Bulkington, West Midlands.
Each competitor was aiming to collect one of the twelve direct qualifying places on offer in each second round for the Dodson & Horrell National Amateur Championships, which take place at Aintree Equestrian Centre in Liverpool during the 19th – 23rd November 2014.
Forty-five competitors contested this Second Round and nineteen combinations went through into the jump off. Eleven double clears were produced overall, which meant that once again, the rest of the field were competing for the remaining qualification place for the Championship Final.
Shelly and her ride rode at the midway point during the jump off and they produced a quick but careful round to stop the clock in 38.39 seconds.
Second place was awarded to 26 year-old Luke Humphrey from Wisbech, Cambridgeshire on his own 15 year-old dark bay gelding Soraja. This combination crossed the finish line with an immaculate double clear in 39.11 seconds.
Shelly Dedman then added to her win when she went on to take third place with her own 14 year-old dun gelding Mosstown Berti. Another double clear from Shelly saw her clock this one up in 40.95 seconds.
Posted on September 18th, 2014
Hertfordshire’s Showjumper Tagatha Payne Wins the Dodson & Horrell 1.05m National Amateur Second Rounds
Tagatha Payne, 18, from Welwyn, Hertfordshire on board her own 9 year-old dark bay mare, The Maharanee took the win in the 1.05m Dodson & Horrell National Amateur Second Round hosted by Bury Farm Equestrian Club in Slapton, Buckinghamshire on Sunday 14th September 2014.
Each of the competitors were aiming to collect one of the twelve direct qualifying places on offer in each second round for the Dodson & Horrell National Amateur Championships, which take place at Aintree Equestrian Centre in Liverpool during the 19th – 23rd November 2014.
A total of twenty-five combinations started out in this second round, with sixteen going on to produce a first round clear to enable them to go through into the jump off. Seven combinations then secured a double clear.
Tagatha and The Maharanee produced an extremely quick jump off round to take victory with a double clear in 36.43 seconds and this left them with nearly nine seconds in hand over the second placed combination.
Posted on September 16th, 2014
East Anglia Breeders Gain Elite Premiums at the BEF Futurity
Local horse breeders, Kirsty Millard (26) from Bradwell Essex and Sharon Keable from Writtle in Essex gained elite premiums with foals they have bred at the Baileys Horse Feeds/ British Breeding/British Equestrian Federation (BEF) Futurity held on the 14th August at Writtle College, Essex.
The BEF Futurity Evaluation series aims to identify British bred young potential sport horses and ponies destined for careers in dressage, eventing, showjumping or endurance. It may even find the stars of the future who will go on to compete at World Championships or become Olympic Champions
Sports pony filly foal, KMD Dornlight, bred and owned by Kirsty took an elite premium of 9.02 in the dressage section at Writtle. An elite premium indicates that the horse has the potential and outlook to perform at international level.
This is the second year in a row that Kirsty has bred a foal that has scored an elite premium at the BEF Futurity. Kirsty said, “It is just brilliant, Dornlight is excellent. We are only breeding a couple of foals a year, its pretty much back garden production”. In 2013, Kirsty’s KMD Rialto scored an elite premium of 9.07.
Kirsty bred Dornlight from her mare, Daylight who has represented GB on pony teams. She is now retired from competition and Kirsty intends to breed further foals from her. Kirsty said, “I am planning to move up to Scotland so we haven’t put the mares in foal for next year. Daylight is a great mare and I jumped at the chance to buy her to breed from”.
KMD Dornlight is by the pony stallion, Rembrandt.
Kirsty is a former member of British Young Breeders. She represented GB at the International Young Breeders Championships. Kirsty added, “The experience I gained from the Young Breeders team and championships was absolutely invaluable. I learned so much from it”.
A delighted Sharon Keable, owner and breeder of dressage colt foal, Divine Comedy, said, “My boss, Jenny Belloy gave me the opportunity to use her broodmare, Bieke Van Ter Lint to breed a foal for myself. She is a lovely mare and I jumped at the chance. Divine Comedy is lovely, he has a fantastic personality and is kind and trainable. I was worried before the Futurity in case he didn’t get a good score!” Divine Comedy scored an elite premium of 9.00.
When it came to deciding upon a stallion, Sharon spent a lot of time deciding which stallion to use. Sharon added, “I spoke a lot to British Dressage judge, Gloria Leverett who suggested using Debonair. I went to see him and went through his pedigree and we decided to use him”.
Sharon continued, “It is all so exciting and I am just thrilled to bits with Divine Comedy. I will keep him and compete him myself”.
The Futurity is a continually evolving process, 2013 saw the introduction of the Futurity equine bridge which is now being run as an extension of the Futurity evaluations. The Futurity equine bridge provides top Futurity graduates with the direction and support they will need as 4 year olds so that they begin their early years under saddle in a way that allows for sustained physical and mental development. In order to be eligible for the Futurity Equine Bridge all horses must obtain a Futurity score of 8.5 or above in their three year old year.
Head of Equine Development at the BEF, Jan Rogers said, “The Futurity is now in its ninth year and over this time we have seen it develop to provide real support to British breeders to help achieve their aims. Through their carefully planned breeding decisions, year on year we are seeing an improvement in the horses presented at the Futurity for evaluation”.
With entries limited to 60 at each evaluation venue, places are keenly sought after. Entries are categorised by discipline with age groups for foals, yearlings, two and three year olds and each horse is evaluated in hand and loose in a safe indoor environment as well as undergoing a vet’s assessment.
The BEF Futurity Evaluations are held at 11 venues over 14 days throughout the UK and young horses go home with a BEF Premium (grade), a stylish rosette and a detailed, informative score sheet. An attractive certificate to keep and frame follows on after the event. All results are published on the fully searchable British Breeding website. www.britishbreeding.org.
Posted on September 11th, 2014
Cambrigeshire’s Showjumper Luke Humphrey Wins
26 year-old Luke Humphrey from Wisbeck, Cambridgeshire on board his own 15 year-old dark bay mare Soraja took the victory in the Dodson & Horrell 0.95cm National Amateur Second Round that was held at Patchetts Equestrian Centre in Watford, Hertfordshire on Sunday 7th September 2014.
All of the competitors were aiming to collect one of the twelve direct qualifying places on offer in each second round for the Dodson & Horrell National Amateur Championships, which take place at Aintree Equestrian Centre in Liverpool during the 19th – 23rd November 2014.
This second round attracted forty-two starters and the jump off proved to be competitive after nineteen combinations produced a first round clear. Six combinations then secured a double clear, leaving the rest of the field to battle it out for a place in the Championship Final.
Luke and Soraja benefitted from being drawn last to go in the jump off and they used this to their advantage, putting in a clear in a fast time of 34.45 seconds. This gave the combination the win with over one and a half seconds to spare.
Second place was taken by 30 year-old Shari Butchart from Waltham Abbey, Essex on her own 9 year-old bay gelding, Anquis. Shari produced two immaculate rounds to take her place in the top two in a time of 36.02 seconds.
Tagatha Payne (18) from Welwyn, Hertfordshire took third on her own 9 year-old dark bay mare, The Maharanee. This combination put in two foot perfect rounds to jump their double clear in 37.04 seconds.
An additional nine riders also achieved their qualification for the Dodson & Horrell 0.95cm National Amateur Championship Final.
Posted on September 11th, 2014
Hertfordshire’s Showjumper Kerrie Goodwin Wins
Kerrie Goodwin, 22, from St Albans, Hertfordshire on her own 18 year-old chestnut gelding, Roscoes Golani were victorious in the Dodson & Horrell 1.10cm National Amateur Second Round that was held at Patchetts Equestrian Centre in Watford, Hertfordshire on Sunday 7th September.
Sixteen competitors came forward for this Dodson & Horrell 1.10m National Amateur Second Round and the jump off was contested by seven of these combinations. Three double clears were produced overall.
Kerrie and Roscoes Golani took advantage of being drawn last to go in the jump off and did so in style by producing the quickest double clear of the class. Kerrie produced a quick but careful jump off round from her ride to stop the clock in 39.38 seconds.
Second place was awarded to 26 year-old Kate Lister from Halstead, Essex on her own 8 year-old black gelding Bono Du Rouet Z. This combination crossed the finish line in 48.14 seconds.
Third place went to 16 year-old Georgia Payne from Welwyn, Hertfordshire, riding her own 15 year-old bay gelding Carino II. An accurate double clear from this combination ensured a top three finish in a time of 49.10 seconds.
Another four riders also achieved their qualification for the Dodson & Horrell 1.10m National Amateur Championship Final.
Posted on September 11th, 2014
Emily Finishes Just Off The Podium in Poland
Emily Viller from Sutton St James near Spalding, Lincolnshire, finished just off the podium in fourth place at the FEI European Youth Championships, held in Walbrzych, Poland 21st to 24th August. She was competing as an individual in her first international championships.
Driving in the Junior section, 16 year old Emily had a dressage score of 59.27 for fifteenth place after the first phase. However, she made up considerable ground in the obstacles to finish third for an overnight place of eighth overall; a double clear in the cones saw her leap-frog up the leader board to finish a highly creditable fourth. Emily was overwhelmed by how well she and her pony Ryan had gone and could only say: “I’m really grateful for the opportunity to compete at such a special event. I’m lucky to have such an amazing pony!”
Posted on September 9th, 2014
Rare Breed Bonanza at Redwings!
Two extremely rare Suffolk Punches have arrived at the Redwings centre in Norfolk.
Wilf and Stanley, two Suffolk Punch geldings, were rescued by Redwings Field Officer Julie Harding and World Horse Welfare’s Jacko Jackson from a site in Norfolk after they had been found being kept in a tiny barn. Wilf was suffering from severe sweet itch that had caused the majority of his mane to fall out, while both had very poor feet that had not been trimmed in some time.
The two horses, both 16hh and 7-years-old, have been together since birth and are firm friends. Their owner agreed to sign them over to Redwings so they could receive all the treatment they needed.
Julie said: “We are just so glad these horses will be able to get all the proper care they need and that they are able to move about freely at last. We feel so privileged to have two such stunning chaps in our care and we hope they will soon be able to go to one of our visitor centres so our supporters can see these magnificent and historic creatures close up.”
The iconic Suffolk Punch (or Suffolk Horse) is the oldest breed of heavy horse in Great Britain. Their lineage can be traced back to the 16th century. They were used across East Anglia for hundreds of years for farming but the industrial revolution caused a devastating decline in their numbers and in 1966 there were just nine foals born in the whole of the UK. Thankfully action was taken before it was too late and although they are still included on the Rare Breeds Survival Trust watchlist as critical (less than 300 registered breeding females in 2014), population numbers are now on the increase thanks to the efforts of charities and the breed societies. They are always chestnut (known as ‘chesnut’ for this breed only).
