Amerigo and Saracen join forces
Leading equestrian brands Saracen Horse Feeds and Amerigo joined forces with Wadswick one of the South West’s largest retailers to invite their customers to west Wilts Equestrian Centre for a day of fascinating discussions and demo’s.
The topic of the day was enhancing the performance of the Event horse and from the outset it proved to be captivating for all attending.
Lizzie Drury Head Nutritionist from Saracen Horse Feeds kicked off the proceedings With 3Feeding the Eventer” explaining the feeding regimes for sports horses, what to do and what not to do and gave plenty of top tips.
Following on from this Dr Charlotte Sinclair from B&W Equine vets gave an interesting talk on “Optimising Equine Performance” including looking at stress related conditions such as ulcers and how to combat them.
After a break for lunch as the temperatures soared, Peter Menet from Amerigo saddles based in Switzerland gave an in-depth look at the physiology and anatomy of the horse and how this affects the fit of the Amerigo saddle and how he measures for a correct fit. The guinea pig for Peter’s demonstration was one of Carl Hester’s young horses, an 8yo called Barolo. Lizzie gave the audience an insight as to how this horse was fed to manage it’s rather sharp temperament and then Peter pointed out the weak areas of the horse and where problems areas may occur without correct saddle fitting.
Then the assembled guests were treated to a lecture/demo from Gold medal winning Olympian and Saracen Ambassador Carl Hester. Carl trains many event riders and he proceeded to give leading eventer Nick Gauntlett, riding The Court Jester a great informative session. He started by looking at the horses basic paces, its working paces and then asked Nick to worked on asking the horse for more collection which would then give it more elevation and cadence in its work to gain the higher marks.
Carl then followed this demo by teaching Sam Thurman-Baker on the horse we had previously seen Barolo. This elegant chestnut we were told was very naughty as a young horse spinning around and bolting if another horse came towards it after being crashed into and frightened as a youngster. After it being sold, it came back to Carl a few months ago and they were beginning to start advanced training now the problems had been resolved. It was usually the ride of Charlotte Dujardin so for Sam Thurman-Baker it was quite a difficult task to ride such a sharp horse that she never ususally rides in front of a crowd.
Barolo had lovely basic paces and then when asked for more collection you could see why Carl had high hopes for this fabulous if a bit quirky red head! You could see that by moving the horse backwards and forwards within the paces you could add more lift and cadence.
They gave the horses and riders plenty of breaks as working in the indoor arena on a day when the temperatures reached over 30degrees was quite tiring for all concerned.
The day ended with a Q&A session with Carl and the other professionals and with a free yard visit and feed check for everyone who attended, pus a prize draw and superb lunch the lucky Wadswick customers went away feeling inspired ready to tackle their own eventing.
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uvex is a family run business and has been at the forefront of sporting engineering since its conception and was established in 1926. uvex operates out of three truly state of the art factories, where up to sixteen injection moulding machines can be operating up to any one time.
The uvex staff work in eight hour shifts, twenty four hours a day in order to satisfy the global demand for their products, manufacturing up to 80,000 helmets a month. The company is rightly proud of its heritage and has an in-house museum charting the story of its development and growth, as well as its own in-house testing laboratory, situated in the centre of Bavaria in the city of Fuerth.
All uvex helmets are manufactured in Germany in their state of the art factories, where even the polystyrene is made. The helmets undergo lengthy in-house testing in their own laboratory and are also Kitemarked by BSI to EN1384:1996/BSEN1384:1997 and ASTM F1163:04 therefore satisfying the criteria required by all governing bodies and associations. BSI visited the facilities last year and gave their full and complete approval to the Company, its products and procedures in preparation for their launch into the UK market.
Uvex bring new technology and design at the highest level to the Equestrian market, applying their vast extreme sporting knowledge from a wide variety of ‘adrenaline’ sectors such as cycling, skiing, snow-boarding, motor racing and tobogganing to the protection of riders at all levels. uvex combine technology, safety and style with a sleek sporting athletic image. As leading riders have been saying; “We are ready for change”. The uvex designers work closely with their chosen Ambassadors from each sport to produce helmets that people want to wear, that are extremely lightweight, and up to the minute fashionable. Computer analysis ensures that helmets are fine tuned for their purpose, and aesthetically each model is cutting edge and tailored to the requirements of the discipline it is particularly suited to. The patented IAS 3D (Individual Adjustment System) allows for a truly bespoke millo-metric fit. This caters for both the height/depth and circumference of the head, thereby creating a fit for the majority of equestrians.
The suxxeed helmets are more traditional and classical in appearance, and the ventilation system is subtly integrated into the helmet. It comes in a number of finishes to suit every preference, be it smooth matt, or a suede-like material. The helmet is lined with coolmax™ which helps with the cooling process, wicking sweat away from the surface of the skin.The harness system is also unique to uvex and is designed so that the rider only has to use one hand to fasten and unfasten the clasp; this is known as the ‘monomatic’ adjustment system. The suxxeed helmets have a high quality synthetic leather harness which does not rot, stain or fray and subsequently remains soft against the skin because it does not harden with sweat.
Uvex suxxeed helmets are available in xxs-s, s-m, m-l, and l-xl.
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Exclusive Sprenger Competition
Sprenger Bitting Clinic
This informative bitting morning will take place at Somerford Park home of eventing for the North West and the retail store Hope Valley.
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A bitting expert from Zebra Products Ltd, the UK distributor for Sprenger, will demonstrate how to fit a bit correctly and how to measure and assess your horse’s mouth conformation which is very important when deciding which bit to buy.
They will explain why Sprenger are the leading choice, the research behind the brand and why Aurigan – the gold coloured metal exclusive to Sprenger cannot be successfully copied by other brands.
You will also find out why the angle of a bit and where it lies in the mouth is so important to get a light, responsive, relaxed horse.
Ruth Edge
In addition to the in depth bitting clinic there will be a demonstration by leading event rider Ruth Edge. Ruth will host a lecture/demo on how to get the best dressage marks in this forthcoming event season.
Ruth has represented Team GB on many occasions and now also rides at top level dressage – she has used Sprenger products for many years and knows they make a difference.
Hope Valley
If you decide to buy a Sprenger bit on the day Hope Valley are offering a 10% discount to all the readers who attend.
WIN
We will also be putting all the names of the people attending into a draw and they will receive a pair of Sprenger Bow Balance Stirrup Irons worth £220.
How to enter
The date for the Sprenger bitting clinic will be in April so if you are interested in joining Equestrian Plus and Sprenger simply register your interest on the Equestrian Plus Facebook page and your names will go into a draw to receive a pair of tickets. You will be notified by email/Facebook message of the date and times nearer the event.
Should you have any bitting questions you can email them to info@zebraproducts.co.uk and we will answer them – or save them for the Sprenger bitting event.
